Christmas morning

For years, I was the first person up on Christmas morning.  I'd have to wait an hour (or more) before I could start crashing around and making noise to wake up the kids.  We had told them that they couldn't wake anyone up until 7:00 am on Christmas morning, and that if they woke up early they had to stay in bed.  I woke up at 4:00 am and 5:00 am and finally gave up at 6.  I found the boys in Rudy's bed, not-so-patiently waiting for time to tick by. 

Between the three of us, we were able to get everyone else moving, ever so slowly. The boys waited, not-so-patiently, at the top of the stairs for all of the adults to get up and get ready for the day...

The big Santa gift this year was an Xbox One, which really blew their minds.  It never even made it onto their Christmas lists, because they assumed it was out of the question.  Also received:  ornaments with their school logo on them, colored pencils, Flamin' Hot Cheetos (a special request on Brady's list), battle spider bots, and new games.  The socks were Rudy's gift to Brady (and he bought a pair for himself).

Christmas wish list

I love looking back at the kids' Christmas lists, but I'm not always great about saving them.  

Little People

I picked up this Little People nativity set on sale last month.  (Apparently I have a thing for nativity scenes; I realized when we were putting out Christmas decorations that this is my fifth set.) I asked Mary Emma and Rudy to set it up, and found them actively playing with the set.  Little People are one of those timeless toys that appeal to kids for so many years!

Christmas Day 2014

As usual, I was up bright and early on Christmas morning, anxiously awaiting when I could actually rouse the rest of the household.  For the first time ever, though, the kids were ALSO up early.  In year's past, we've always had to wake them up on Christmas morning.  This year, we heard them whispering; then the light went on, and they stayed in bed reading until they were allowed to get up.  Finally, they match my Christmas morning enthusiasm!

Everyone got to open a few presents before breakfast, and then the opening continued after.  Every year, I think Santa is going to cut down on the number of gifts.  He tries; he really does...but then he finds such great bargains on fun little stocking stuffers that he simply can't help himself!

Santa loves bringing books!

 

Nana and Popsie even got a little spoiled by Santa this year:  seasonings and kitchen utensils, new Christmas Vacation glasses, candy, and more!

New ski hats and gloves for both kids and a hard-to-miss neon keeper jersey for Brady:

Keva planks were a new twist on the building toy.  James and Brady spent a long time building this long ramp; these planks have been a big hit!

The weather was nice enough to get outside and try Rudy's koosh toy and to run off some energy.  Oma and Papa joined us in the afternoon for an amazing feast:  prime rib roast, mashed potatoes, candied apples, fruit salad, green salad, yorkshire pudding, asparagus.

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 After dinner, we tried out some of our new Christmas games.  Brady and Rudy stayed with Nana and Popsie, while Oma and Papa headed back to the Residence in with James and me.

Christmas Eve 2014

We decided that the Residence Inn was not where we wanted to spend Christmas Eve, so we relocated to Kathy and Tony's for a few nights.  

We were out of Christmas cookies and took advantage of a real kitchen to whip up a few more batches of sugar cookies and toffee.  We had to have something to leave for Santa!!

We debated hiking into town to attend mass at our regular parish, but decided to go to the closer church instead.  It was much less stressful than hustling everyone out the door for a longer drive to a later service, and allowed us to enjoy the evening more. 

 

These pictures where the timer goes off and no one is ready...always make me laugh!

Everyone was allowed to open one gift after church.  Rudy wound up with Legos to play with and Brady snooped enough to be fairly confident that he was opening his Marvel Comics Encyclopedia.  This enormous book has been a go-to read for him whenever he has a few minutes to spare!

The traditional reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas (on the not so traditional Kindle; what can I say...all of our Christmas books were packed away rather early this year!)

Cookies and milk for Santa, with his reindeer helpers ready to head back to the North Pole after their pre-Christmas shenanigans.  

Christmas decor

This was the extent of our Christmas decor for most of the 2014 Christmas season.  ServiceMaster packed away most everything for us, which I guess was kind of a bonus since I hate packing up Christmas decorations!  Cindy and Andy brought us this Charlie Brown tree to for our home away from home.

Air Hockey

James and I broke tradition a little this year and surprised the boys with an actual material gift from us.  We figured an air hockey table would provide lots of family fun!

Christmas 2013

We headed to Oma and Papa's house for Christmas Eve and Christmas day this year.  It was great fun having all the cousins together for the whole day, with no particular agenda except hanging out and spending time together!  We took our time opening presents, spreading it out almost throughout the whole day, so the kids could have time to play with their new treasures and with each other.

 

Teddy was thrilled with his heroes house.  He also liked the little ride on rocket ship we got him; we all got a kick out of pushing him back and forth with him demanding that we send him "fupa-fast" (super fast).  Fupa-fast has already been added to our family lexicon! 

I was happy that Lila wanted to build her new princess castle with me...it's not often that she's willing to leave her daddy when he's around! 

No one had any energy or desire for more dessert, so we put together plate of cookies with candles as Jesus' birthday cake.  I'm sure he didn't mind.

These two monkeys got something like a combined total of 27 books for Christmas!  AND, as Brian was quite surprised to learn, they weren't even a little bit disappointed!  Harry Potter accessory books, Big Nate, animal saver books, and so much more!