Monday, January 16, 2012

We wish you a merry Christmas...

After being up late Christmas Eve, the little ones slept until just after 7. Then, we got to play the game that Dad always played with us... "Now you guys wait here... I have to go see if anyone was here last night... Gotta stoke the fire, get a drink, etc"... They squealed and hung on the gate for about 15 minutes :) What fun!
When they finally came down the steps and peered around the corner, Lucas was greeted by the 6 lane racetrack that he'd been begging for. You can race 6 cars at a time down and the winning lane lights up and announces that "lane # ___ is the winner"... Lottie threw herself down in front of all of her Dora wrapped presents and grabbed one.
Lucas then ran to peek at stockings and found his very own "Smiley" waiting for him, which he promptly grabbed and held onto all morning. Last summer, Max had a black dog just liked it named Smiley that Lucas fell in love with, so he desperately hoped all summer that he'd have his own one day... And he named his "Smiley" also :)
Then, there was much present opening and trying to contain the mess...
After present opening, breakfast, and showers, we got ready to head over to Mommom & Pop's.
Uncle Matt & Gigi were already there... Their Bass Pro truck/boat/camp sets were sitting out, so they went right for those...
Then we had a big lunch!
Then, there was more playing with the Bass Pro sets by everyone...
Followed by a couple more hours of presents...
After that, we set up Lucas' racetrack (yes, he HAD to bring it!) downstairs...
And eventually got some group photos in...
This is what poor Lottie looked like around 5 when we got home...
We skyped on the computer with Aunt Tre, Max, Keira, Ty and Dex... And then with Grammie & Grampie...
And the finally, the kids opened their stockings.
The aftermath after a lot was already cleaned up!
What a long but SUPER fun day! We sure are grateful for all that we received, and that we were able to spend the day with family... But man, we sure were tired!!!


Christmas Eve '11

Bright and early Christmas Eve morning, Mike came over with the kids' present - a karaoke machine! Really a lot of fun for everyone... You can hook an IPod right up to it and sing along! Both kids (and Tony!) were eager to get singing right away...
Around 1, we headed over to Mommom & Pop's. We hung out, watched the Ravens game (they won!), Lottie napped, and the men ate A LOT of oysters!
Later in the evening, we headed next door to Uncle Roy & Aunt Barb's house for the Kisling family gathering!
As always, there was lots of good food and company. The cousins loved playing together... And I had to take this one just to show how much taller Lily is than Lucas:
Back at home, setting out cookies/carrots...
My last 2 pics before bed... First time I've made it to bed before midnight in quite a few years!
Sure hope Santa comes...!