Our tree on Christmas morning after everyone came over and added their presents was INSANE. Maybe it was a celebration of excess.. yikes! We started off with our famous Waffle Breakfast (this time we used Grandma Jane's yeast recipe - HOLY AWESOMENESS BATMAN! That was the way to go!!! They were the best waffles EVER), then we read the story of Jesus' birth. After that we all gathered in the living room to start the Present Opening Marathon!
Riley was so excited to pick his first present. I was so excited to use my new 17-40mm wide angle lens and get the whole room all at once! Wheee!
Sage came over (we let Titus spend Christmas morning in the garage with his new chew toy and his bed) and she sat on the ottoman with Rick all morning.
The kids got some great gifts from Santa - just three presents, and all of them were gifts they had to share. This one was the big one - a skate/bike ramp! They were a little excited.
Riley LOVED his hat from Aunt Tinty and Uncle Luke. He wears it all the time.
for Papa and Mama Lali, who have everything in the world and are freaking impossible to buy for (because the one time you get something you know they really want or need, like last year when Liane got them Lost Season 3, they had already bought it for themselves. Hmpf.), the kids decided to get them a sheep. This sheep will be given to a family in need to provide milk and wool, and will be the start of a future with promise for someone who might not otherwise have one. The kids wrote and illustrated a story called "A Dream Come True" about the little girl they think received the sheep from Papa and Mama Lali. And Mama Lali cried (SO I TOTALLY WON! HA!!).
Carl's dream came true too. A case of Mexican Coke for Christmas! WOO! They now sell Mexican Coke at Costco and if you have never had one you NEED TO TRY IT. it's made with cane sugar, not corn syrup, so it's a totally different (and WAY AWESOMER) flavor. Trust me on this one. You have to try it. If you don't want a whole case of it, find yourself an authentic burrito place or Latin market and get one. You will be glad you did :)
Violet got a hat, too - and she seriously wears it everywhere. To the snow, to play outside... she even wore it to school the first day back from vacation!
And our super cool awesome family gift from Papa and Mama Lali - the Wii Fit!! WOOHOOO!
After the Christmas Morning Marathon at our house, it was off to Tish's house for more family, more food, and more presents.
(seriously how much do I love this lens?)
The grownups all sat around the big table and ate an amazing dinner of roast pork, potatoes, corn, veggies, rolls, and jell-o (and of course, wine). The kids were at the kitchen table with their own awesome spread, too. After eating, we did our Grownup Gift Exchange (we all draw names and buy a gift for one person). Liane and I had our mom & dad, so we went in on our gift together and got them a Wine Wand. We are not sure how it works, exactly... but encapsulated within the glass wand is the frequency of Oxygen, or something... and when put into a glass of wine for three minutes it does what would normally take 3 hours. The difference in taste is significant and amazing, and we all sampled wine and tried it. And again - finding a gift for our parents that they haven't gotten for themselves is HUGE. So that was good. My cousin Darrick had my name and he got me this awesome magnetic wall calendar with dry erase markers (that is now on my pantry door and looks SO RAD). And Tish had Rick's name... she got him tickets for the two of us to see Man of La Mancha in Los Angeles for Valentine's Day! WOOOHOO!!! I got us ticket to fly down there and it will be a totally fun weekend. Christmas this year was full of joy and blessings and fun and happiness. We are definitely blessed and grateful for all we have, especially our family.
4 comments:
Wow I want to be part of your family next year. You guys look super fun and need to adopt a family....mine :)
You soooo need to put me in your will so i can have the star of bethlehem when you die. You know you can get additional pieces online. There are stores that carry the discontinued items. Also, they have lots of them on ebay. Just the friggin star was like $1,000 million dollars. The rest of the stuff was very reasonable. Do it...come on...do it.
Love the lens! I got a goat from the staff at one of my schools. Great idea to have the kids write a story about it.
What awesome pictures. It's so fun to peak in on your Christmas.
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