CHRISTMAS MORNING!! It was so fun and the kids were so excited. Listening to them on the other side of the wrapping paper was hilarious. They were trying to figure out how to break out, but dismayed they had no scissors to cut the paper, only toothbrushes 😂 Once the clock hit 7 though, they just started punching at the paper, which made them erupt into uncontrolled laughter, followed by delight when they finally broke through.
The rest of the morning was spent enjoying gifts and time with family. There is nothing quite like watching childhood joy. Whether it was a big Lego set, or the Gatorade in their stocking, they were thrilled. And since our big meal was the night before, we had nowhere to be and nothing to get dressed or prepped for. It was as relaxed as things could be with 4 young kids in the house. We are so grateful for all the love and blessings that come with this Christmas season!
Kids with the remnants of the wrapped door
Everyone got something fun from Santa!
The kids opened all the gifts from us before leaving home, but they still had a few from grandma and grandpa, which added some extra fun to the morning
And Christmas Sunday was actually the next day, but I'm including it in this post anyway
And just for fun, Griffin and Charlie in the same outfit, 2 years apart
We left for Dallas on the 21st, which gave us a few days to fit in some pre-Christmas fun, including a zoo trip (later post) and a family dinner on Christmas Eve. We always look forward to the different people we get to see and traditions carried out depending on where we are spending Christmas that year. The door wrap may become a new Dallas tradition :)
First ever stop at the Buc-cee's in Denton!
Grandma introduced Sophie to nail wraps
We covid tested ahead of gathering with family for a Christmas Eve dinner and then hung them all by the fireplace with care - negative!!
I didn't take a group picture of the family all gathered for dinner, but here are the cute placeholders Sophie made for the table all by herself
Cookies and carrots for Santa and the reindeer
Grandpa reading stories to help Charlie fall asleep
Some Christmas elves wrapped the doorway to keep the kids from peeking
We never have a full December at home due to holiday travel, but somehow manage to pack it all in anyways. Here are a few highlights from the month:
Amarillo actually has pretty cold winters for Texas, but we always get a few random days where you can wear shorts and play outside!
Griffin spends his days oscillating between naughty and nice, but either way he's pretty cute
Dave picked a terrible day to not close the garage on his way to work
A giant tumbleweed blew in front of our car at school pickup and Sophie jumped out to catch it. She begged to take it home but I said no way. Then a few house down Davey grabbed one of his own!
I took Sophie to Canyon High School's production of The Little Mermaid. We met up with our friends Candice and Emery to make it a fun girl's night.
Davey picked out this cute ornament craft kit at Michael's. No gluing, cutting or sewing needed. He was able to complete it all on his own. So cute!
Another instance of Charlie on the floor instead of bed
I got all the kids dressed and ready for church on time AND took a picture all by myself
Our army of "reinbeers" ready to be gifted to friends and neighbors for the holidays
A very Texas Christmas house
Visiting Santa at the ward party
I hosted the letter C at our house early in December. We had everyone wear Christmas pajamas, ate cheese and crackers with chocolate milk, and played other fun games!
Our annual walk down Candy Cane Lane. This year we did it in pajamas! Griffin clearly had more excitement about the activity than the other boys.
We found a little free library on our walk that had wrapped several of the books in the box, which I thought was such a cute idea
We got a new car!! It wasn't a premeditated move. The Ford Focus was having issues, and when we took it in, the mechanic said fix this part to make it sellable and then get rid of it ASAP before this long list of other things goes wrong. So we did. And due to covid, new cars were in short supply, so we walked into a Hyundai dealer and bought the literal only 5 passenger vehicle on the lot. A mini SUV Santa Fe and luckily it's been a great car so far!
School Christmas parties - I arrived just in time to watch each kid eat a treat and throw away their trash
Griffin, who is always in need of a bath for one reason or another, received these fun jellies as a gift and had a blast sticking them to everything
Our local entertainment center had a fun promotion fort the first day of Christmas break - wear an ugly (or cute) sweater to receive 50% off games and laser tag! We met up with friends and were glad to take advantage of deal before heading to Dallas for the holidays. Sophie didn't have a sweater, so wore her Santa dress, which totally counted. It was fun to go play with such a festive looking crew.
With our friends the Taylors and the Halls
Mrs. Claus was a formidable opponent. even in a dress
.jpg)
.jpg)
