We traditionally wear our bows and ribbons. Some years it's hard to see the hair under all the decorations.
Mike opened his gift box from his mom. Christmas and Easter - without fail - includes a toothbrush in everyone's packs. It was the first thing he dug for to make sure it was included...
From the looks of it you would think we are a very formal family...
I wanted to tell him, "Thank you, Webster."
My darling son knows I love jewelry. He ususally tries to pick out something I will like but rarely goes off of my list of suggestions. Mike said it gets painful some years to shop with Jake because he has his own mind made up on what style I would should like.
Last year I mentioned that Mike always buys me an ornament that represents something that happened the previous year. He said he spent three hours searching and finally found what he was looking for.
It's for our Steinway that arrived last February.
Our final gift was for the whole family.
I was a little nervous by Maddie's reaction but 1) Jake was really loud at that point and 2) Since then Maddie has played it almost as much as Jake and actually unlocked several new levels all on her own. The current favorites are either bowling or basketball on Wii Resort and we all have our own characters though Mike's and mine has actually never been used.
I have no idea what Jake will talk about everyday now.
After gift opening we headed over to my parents' house for more festivities.
First we take the annual family picture though this year was fairly easy.
Afterwards the kids dove into their stockings.
I wasn't sure Ashley had any interest at all in her stocking until I knelt down beside her and asked questions about what Santa brought.
Austin was single-minded in his focus. He turned his back to everyone and went to work.
Jake was quite enthused that Santa remembered he LOVES gum. So was I. Not.
Ellie and Riley were ready for their candy!
Katelyn was pretty focused on her new Barbie. Kelly mentioned that Dan had already either played with or put together three new Barbie items. We speak from experience...this is only the beginning for them.
You may wonder what Dan is wearing around his neck in this next photo. When we were kids Dan was in Indian Guides with my dad and Tracy and I did Indian Princesses with him. Each weekly meeting had us dressing in fake leather vests complete with patches as well as these necklaces that bore our Indian names on them. I believe dad and Dan also had some headband they wore. We might have too, but I've repressed that. Apparently my parents found these necklaces while unpacking and thought they'd make lovely Christmas presents.
I can only hope we receive the matching vests next year!
Amidst the hubbub Maddie found a quiet spot and started in on the book she's been wanting all year: Miley Cyrus' Autobiography.
Mom was perhaps the most excited I've seen her any year...
She received a crock-pot, a three pan kitchen warmer, and a set of dishes. Before anyone turns us in for buying her all kitchen gear, you should know these were the top rated items on her Christmas list. And I mean literally they each had three stars by them.
That's right, mom stars her list of items. And it's an awesome list. My mom is perhaps the easiest person to shop for because she'll tell you straight up that she loves presents and doesn't hesitate to give you an itemized (and starred) list of what she wants. She'll even tell you when it's on sale and what coupons to use.
Dad is not the easiest person to shop for. His list often includes four items for his three children to choose from. But he tries.
He also picks things that are hard to disguise.
The rest of the day was spent eating, eating and more eating. We didn't all look like this though...
All that eating resulted in some sugar high crashes by everyone, though Maddie and Ellie looked the cutest...
Eventually we all headed home. Completely full and with a load of memories.
1 comment:
Be careful what you wish for (hee-hee)
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