Christmas

I tell you what. Christmas morning is pretty darn magical with little ladies who are in awe of every. single. detail. We were up around 7, after saying "it's not morning yet!" 3 times. I have to admit, I was just as excited as the ladies. I just LOVE Christmas! At our house the girls aren't allowed to go downstairs to see if Santa has come, till Dad goes down and gives it a once over. Usually he says something along the lines of 'Santa dumped his whole sleigh here!" It makes the girls go crazy with anticipation...and it is something that I grew up with, though my dad would have to light the wood burning stove first and we were all pretty worked up by the time we could go downstairs.

Santa does leave them a little hint that he came by leaving a new pair of slippers for us on the top step with some candy inside.
(The ladies trying on their slippers.)

And then it's stocking time first. Santa goes a little stocking crazy at our house... it's his very favorite part of Christmas. They were stuffed to the brim with some fun things inside, and the girls were just thrilled with every single thing.

I love this picture of Sienna. That lady just smiles with her whole entire face. It's beautiful to me!
They even were thrilled with the things I didn't think they'd care too much for. Adyson saw this headband and scarf and freaked out. Apparently her friend as school has one and she's wanted one for sooo long. (Santa had NO idea...so I guess he really is magical.)
And one of the Elves snuck in a golf glove. Cute, cute, cute.

Then came the main event...time to dig in to the enormous pile of gifts! Adyson saw the big rectangle box and looked at me with huge starry eyes saying "I know this is gonna be my American Girl doll!" (She and Sienna have been begging for one for months, and were really hoping that Santa would deliver.)

And here is my favorite video ever taken. Adyson's face just kills me. Each time she opened a gift she had that same look on her face. It wasn't really a happy face, more sheer awe. She was amazed at everything, it was seriously special. Sienna was the same way, but right after opening each gift, she was ready to move on and see what else was coming! She wanted it all! :)





A few days before Christmas Sienna ran into the kitchen where Skeeter (our elf...remember?) was hiding and said very politely, "Skeeter, I would really like some Twinkle Toes for Christmas. Tell Santa please." And walked out of the room. Then she talked non stop about how Santa was going to bring her Twinkle Toes and she couldn't wait!

Now, my kids didn't get every single thing they asked Santa for....but it seemed like Sienna has pretty much just gone along with what Adyson has wanted all Christmas long, and all of the sudden she was dying for these shoes...so Santa caved and got them each a pair. And I'm sure he is so glad he did, because it made Sienna's morning. Till we realized they didn't fit. But that is a post for a different day. :)

And just when we thought we were all done opening, we realized Santa left a few more gifts by the fireplace. Beds for those treasured dolls, and salon chairs!We then headed back to my moms so she could give them more stuff, spoiled kids! My parents went all out for the kids this year, and it was like Santa came to their house too. They are pretty awesome grand parents. It was great to be there with all the cousins and utter chaos. After breakfast with the fam, we headed to Tree town to Celebrate with the Kidmans. Grandma Lorraine was so excited to give them her gift this year. She made them about a million darling outfits for the AG dolls. The girls were so excited to try them all on, and haven't stopped since Christmas. It was a lot of work for her, and they are sooo cute! We have the best dress dolls on the block!
And then they opened a whole set of pink golf clubs. They are the cutest things. Ever. The ladies were so excited, and T and I can't wait to sign them up for lessons this summer. h
We hung out there for a few hours while the ladies played with their dolls, we did the traditional puzzle, and the Hartfiels came over to visit. It was a great day, but I was honestly dead on my feet by the end of the day. T and I have never been so tired!This week we've let the toys stay in our family room, and the girls have spent every waking moment downstairs with their dolls and new toys. They let us sleep in the other day, and play for 2 hours without even making a peep upstairs, and when I've asked them to clean up their mess, they simply say "ok." and do it. It's been amazing how much we've enjoyed this break and I wish I could keep them this well behaved and grateful all year long!

I will leave you with my favorite picture yet. Sienna came upstairs the other day with a card, and a crayon and asked me how to spell the following. Then she folded it up, tucked it in the envelope, and told me to mail it to Santa. What a sweetie she is!I hope you all had a great Christmas as well! Happy New Year to all!

Christmas Eve!

Christmas Eve is quite honestly my very favorite day of the year. Yes, I like it even better then Christmas Day. (It's close, but Christmas Eve wins every time.) This year my sister and her family were all here staying at my moms, and we were so excited to have the whole family together. The only downfall is that the flu came with them, and a few of us weren't feeling too hot....but that didn't seem to stop the day from being loads and loads of fun.

Every year on Christmas Eve we have a 'friendly' gingerbread house decorating competition. Because my family takes competition to a whole new level, we decided this year the kids get their own little house, so they can get as creative as they want on their own...and us selfish adults can concentrate on our own houses. We put Travis and Cody in charge of hot gluing the houses (We never eat them, and they hold much better this way.)

Who knew these two would enjoy this task so much? Seriously, they spent like 2 hours cutting the perfect square, and adding little extras to each house. They are such geeks. But we love them.While waiting for the prime rib to cook (ya, we are fancy like that. We dined on prime rib, shrimp, hot rolls, baked potatoes, and salad), the kids played a game of Christmas Bingo. How cute are they?
Then Grandma gave them each a plate with an insert to color that said 'Cookies for Santa'. They loved doing this.

Me and T. Ahhh.
After dinner we started decorating our gingerbread houses. The girls had a blast doing that. They would have spent another hour adding sugar to those houses if we would have let them.


And here is T and my masterpiece. I know, it's not great. I was told about a million times during our 'friendly' competition. If you haven't guessed yet, it's not really friendly. We get downright mean while decorating our houses. The terms 'punk ass trees', 'ugly as sin', and 'midget door' were all used. And we've decided that next year we will all have the same base, but are buying our own candy, and getting judges to come and vote for the best. There will be a trophy and everything. I can't wait! T and I shall win!

Next came presents! Can you feel the excitement?

The fam, waiting for the jammies to be opened.
And the adorable cousins. They all sure love each other.
Ellie and Enna.
Then we came home for the night. The ladies put their cookies on a plate for Santa.
And then opened gifts from each other. Adyson got a stroller from Sienna. She lost hers some time ago, and Sienna was so excited to give her a new one!
And Adyson gave Sienna a bag to color. Adyson has one that Sienna loves, so she was thrilled to get one of her own.
And hugs followed. Melting my heart completely.

Then it was off to bed for the ladies. Sienna fell fast asleep, but it took Adyson hours. And then she woke at 4:30 to see if it was time to wake up yet...it was a long night!

Up Next: Christmas!

Pre Christmas Action.

I am undecided if I like the actual day of Christmas better, or all the build up. It's a complete tie. I really love all the traditions and excitement that comes before the big day, and the anticipation.

Each year on Christmas Eve morning, Mrs. Claus leaves the ladies a surprise. It's always a shirt to wear Christmas Eve day, and a small surprise. This year, she knew that we had cousins coming, so she brought the surprise the day before my sister and her family came. The girls FREAKED out when they saw they had a gift under the tree, and Adyson was amazed that Mrs. Claus did it early, just so her cousins wouldn't be left out. What a smart lady that Mrs. Claus is!
A cute new shirt for Christmas Eve, and some color wonder finger paints to keep them occupied during the day. How exciting!
And I was just about as excited to get some sister time in! Christmas Eve Eve, Heather, Breje, my mom, and I were able to get some girl time in. (We missed you Amy!) We shopped and tied up loose ends, and ate a delicious meal at Hamiltons.

Me and the beautiful Breje.
Mom and Heather.
That night my dad was very excited to take the Grand kids to a ladies home in Richmond. The whole front room is a Christmas village. My dad is a sucker for a good Christmas village, so we made the trek in the seriously foggy weather. It was an amazing village and really fun to see.
Kutter and Adyson. Kutter could have been at the Aggie game, but opted to stay home to play with Adyson, that melted my heart. What a cute kid he is!
Roo was a big fan.
The gang.

The Pre festivities were kind of awesome. I am so lucky to have such a beautiful family!

A chance to give.

In case anyone hasn't seen this yet, my friend Becca has set up an online auction to benefit the Fergeson family who lost their 2 young boys this past week. Click here to check it out, and contact her if you have anything you might want to donate.

Reminscing

This weekend has been a spectacular weekend and one where I've been thinking of my family quite a bit for multiple reasons.

First, because a year ago today my dear sweet Grams passed away. I still miss her. Loads. I miss her bossing us around. I miss her bazillion phone calls a day. I miss watching my kids squeeze her and I miss her beautiful laugh. My Grams was something special.
(My kids still talk about her weekly, and miss her like crazy too. The other day Sienna was coloring a picture, and told me it was for Grandma Great, and she was going to take it to her when she dies. I didn't have the heart to explain that just isn't going to happen, but it was cute stuff.)

This weekend also happened to be my Grandpa's annual Christmas party in Salt Lake. Now follow along, if you want a little family background...if not, then just browse the cuteness of our family in the photos below.

My Dad's father passed away when my dad was just 12 years old. Years later, after my dad and mom were married, my Grandma married Ate. (Pronounced Art). Ate is who I've always known as Grandpa. He grew up in Holland, and is very, very Dutch. I love my Grandpa. He is one of the funniest, kindest, and most lovable people I know. During the war my Grandpa (I forget how old he was at the time) was taken to Germany to work in a camp. I can't even imagine some of the awful things he saw and faced during that time. When he was released he came home to Holland, completely destroyed. Later, he and his wife at the time and their kids moved to Salt Lake where he became very successful and where he grew to love America. He is now a US citizen, and a very proud one. He makes me so grateful to have been born here. He despises his very thick accent, and hates when we can't understand what he is saying, but I have to tell you, I love his accent. It makes him who he is.

My Dads mom passed away when I was younger, and my grandpa remarried his ex-wife, Johanna. (Pronounced Yohanna). She is now just Grandma to us, and we love her too. Yes, we are one big crazy family.

I love his yearly party. He lives mere blocks away from the 9th and 9th district in Salt Lake, in a house he bought and fixed up with his own hands. I love the warmth of their home. Johanna goes all out and makes delicious food, and it seems like the Holidays can start once this party happens.
I could just browse the walls to their home all day. The walls are covered in needlepoint work with windmills, dutch sayings, and beautiful photos of their many travels together.
So very Dutch.
This is my cute Grandma and Johanna.
Brielle and Sienna enjoying some cousin time at they party. I could nibble them both.
It seems everyone else has had family on the brain. Our gift from my Aunt Sue was some old photos of all the cousins framed. We had so much fun looking at them and reminiscing of old times. They were hilarious pictures and it was so much fun to see. (If your wondering, my bangs were quite literally half of my head.)
And our gift from my Aunt Lois was a CD she composed of slides that my dad's father took from 1951-1962. Because he passed away at such a young age, I haven't seen many pictures of them, and not many of my dad's childhood. It has been so much fun seeing what his life was like growing up, and seeing pictures of my Grandpa and Grandma.

Here is an old family photo. My Grandparents, my Dad and his twin Brother Dave, and Sister Lois.

The party was really such a lovely night, and it was so nice to see my family.

Ads and I.


My cousin Linsey, and her nephew Ender. Both are quite cute and lovable.

Me and T

And as previously mentioned, we've been trying to bring some magic into our house by doing some fun crafty things for the next week. The ladies are digging it! First we made googly eyed snowmen.
And today's craft is a secret craft for Daddy. We've got some fun stuff planned for the next few days. And yes, we are getting REALLY excited for the big day, only 5 days left!