Christmas 2014

Happy New Year!  It is officially 2015.  With The Dad in Cali for the Rose Bowl, we didn't go out with a bang.  The kids and I were in bed by 8:30.  Happy New Year to me.  :)

With the holidays and all the December birthday celebrations in our clan, I always end up with several family photo posts.  I'll try not to go too crazy in the picture sharing department.

I'll start with Christmas morning at our house.  The kids were up at TWO THIRTY AM.  I could hear them out in the living room giggling.  They must have gone back to sleep, but they woke me up every hour until, finally, at 6:30, I rolled out of bed.  At one point, maybe the 4:30 wake up, I heard Baby out there, "Who brought us all this stuff, Emma?  Emma, who brought us all this stuff?!"  It was pretty cute.  Not cute enough to get out of bed that early in the morning, though.

They dug through their stockings as The Dad made a pot of coffee, then The Girl passed out presents and they took turns opening.

I feel like I'm kinda known now for my infamous people pictures now.  They never turn out good, especially with unnatural lighting, but I'm happy to have the family photos, nonetheless.

Ah, the warm glow of a screen.

After the festivities at our house, we loaded into the car in our jammies, and headed to my mom's for brunch with my sister's family.

Ham, cheesy potatoes, eggs, cinnamon apples, and English muffins.

And mimosas, of course.

Yum.

Everyone opened their stockings and, again, the kids took turns opening.

I put together Fairy Garden Kits for both my niece and The Girl, and I'll share more about it once The Girl's is all put together. 

We got the movie Princess Bride for my niece, who had never seen it.  Immediately after opening it, she got a weird look on her face and was refusing to say thank you when prompted by my sister.

Finally, she announced that it was "inappropriate", which of course brought on a room full of laughter from the adults.

I guess it was the kissing on the cover of the case.

Hilarious.

The sticker book went over much better.

Both The Kid and The Girl got gift certificates for A Day Of Fun with Uncle and cousins.

I asked Baby to show me what she got, with her face, and this is what I got.

Once the kids were occupied, the adults took turns opening.

I only got a few decent pictures out of the bunch.

My sister, modeling her new necklace.  :)

The Dad, realizing what he just opened.

He asked several times if it was a joke.

And last, the boys amped up for their trip.

(By the way, we creamed them and won the game.)

I've spent the last few days packing up Christmas stuff.  I've yet to haul out all the things that got packed up to make room for decorations, though.

I'm kinda likin' the empty flat surfaces for a minute.  

Maybe I should use the opportunity to paint walls.  :)

The Dad is homeward bound as I type, and should be here sometime in the middle of the night.

I put the new sheets on the bed for him.  :)

The kids, (and The Mom), are excited to wake up to him home safe and sound.