Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve we headed to my parents' house about 3 pm. When we arrived everyone was munching on some snacks and talking in the kitchen. The kids immediately ran downstairs to play with their cousins. I don't think we saw them again for about 2 hours (and I have no problem with this!)

Andrew, my younger brother, gets so excited for presents. It's almost painful to tell him it's not time yet b/c the disappointment on his face is so heartbreaking. My dad let him open one a little while after we got there. Here he is holding the Sprite that Lori got him. He loves Sprite, Cookies and Cream or Strawberry ice cream, and JCW fries. A diet for champions!

The kids kept coming upstairs for little sugar breaks. They loved the fact that the table was laden with goodies and there were no parents watching! Here's Olivia grabbing some more caramel popcorn, always a family favorite.

We brought out the games but I don't think we ended up playing anything, we all just sat and talked.

Finally, around 5 pm or so, the turkey was done and we started getting the dinner ready. We had turkey, gravy, potatoes by Jared (with lots of butter!), asparagus, stuffing, fresh rolls, salad, and many bottles of Martinelli's. It was all delicious.

The adults ate in the dining room- peaceful and quiet!

The kids ate in the kitchen- crazy and loud!

We wrapped up dinner due to many visits and gentle reminders by Andrew that Present Time had arrived. He's so funny- he doesn't say anything, he just keeps coming in and looking curiously around... as if to say, "C'mon people, aren't you done eating yet?!" We finally had some pity on the poor guy and finished up so that he could open his gifts.

 He got a LOAD of DVDs. He has quite the Disney collection, but it's all VHS. So, we've been slowly adding to his DVD collection each birthday and Christmas. He got Tinkerbell, Shrek 3, Jungle Book 2, and Pocahontas 2, but I think our family's gift of Snow White won the award. It's awesome to see his big reaction when he's excited about a gift. He gasped and said in his excited whisper, "Snow White!" It's priceless.

After Andrew had been appeased, he scurried off to his room to begin watching his new movies and we began opening presents for all the kids. I enjoyed the fact that we had the kids open them one at a time- youngest to oldest. That way we all got to see what each child got and the kids didn't get into that frenzied, "Where is my next present!?!?" sort of madness that seems to happen when they are allowed to just rip open at will. We've done it in years past and I couldn't stand it.

They were all so happy with everything they received. It always seems to me that the presents keep coming and coming... they are so lucky!

Above, Landon and Tess are ripping open their presents.

Below, my mom and dad are reading a little book that Whitney made in her class.

Amy surprised all the ladies with some amazing gratitude journals that she made herself; hand-bound, designed, printed, everything. She is so talented that it almost makes you want to hate her... but we can't, we love her too much! The journal has an entry for each day of 2010 and three lines to write things you are grateful for that day. I believe she has at least one available on her Etsy site- too bad there are no more, but I'm sure they are very labor-intensive. Thanks again, Amy, I love it.

Jill gave me a bundle of scissors which totally cracked me up. For some reason, the subject came up one day b/c I had been to 3 stores (Target, Walmart, Kohler's) trying to buy regular scissors and could only find kid scissors, not just good-quality basic adult scissors. She laughed and told me how she gets hers at Macey's for $1 each and how she has a stash. I love this gift and I immediately put them in every room in my house! She also gave me a book in our sibling exchange- Gentlemen and Players.

Lori gave me this cute necklace and a keychain made of adorable brown fabric with aqua blue polka dots that she bought at Beehive Bazaar.

Jared had Randy's name for the book exchange and he got him the Army Survival Manual, which is a perfect Randy-gift. However, it's so perfect that Randy not only already owns it himself, but he's received it again 2 other times! Lori actually got him the same thing, then Jill told her Randy had it already, so she returned it and got something else. It's gotta be nice to know that people get you. Jared received Outliers from Adam, but since Jared already has it, Adam gave Jared his present, What the Dog Saw, since HE already has it. (Did you follow all that?) Seriously, we need help!

Following all of the present giving and getting, we headed upstairs for dinner. I made pumpkin pie, Jill made pecan pie and this yummy oreo peppermint ice cream dessert. By that time it was nearly 10 pm and we were all ready to go home and prepare for the big day.

When we got home the kids opened their Christmas Eve present- new Pajamas! We love this tradition. They were all very happy with their cozy new jammies... and off to their beds they went.