Christmas Day continued....

After the gift opening was finished and the traditional homemade donuts were eaten, we headed out to Grandpa and Grandma Speer's. I did even worse with pictures there. I did get one of Ryan with his gifts before opening them. The kids really enjoyed spending time with Uncle Eric and Aunt Kara while they were in town. It's always a special time when they come into town. The kids LOVE seeing them and spending time with them. We only wish they didn't live so far away.

Christmas Morning

Here is the big day. The kids were so super excited about the gift opening that I didn't get that many pics of the big event. Ryan was thrilled to get his orange trash truck and his star wars. Mad loved her barbies and Baby from Santa. Lauren was glad to get a digital camera and some games for the Wii and her DS. Those were the favorites of the gifts.

Cookies for Santa

Here are the kids leaving the cookies and milk for Santa. They seem a little excited don't you think??

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve at Grandpa and Grandma Buckner's. All the grand kids were there so we took advantage of it and took pics. It was nice to have all the cousins together at one time. It's amazing to see how the family has grown over the years. We are all blessed to be able to get together and spend time with one another. Many families are so spread out and rarely see one another. I'm glad my kids have this opportunity to get to know their extended family. Though it does get to be busy when there are 14 kids opening gifts!! And that's just the kids. There are still nine adults in the mix too!!

The Runaway Toys

The fourth graders put on a play each year called The Runaway Toys. It's really a neat play and the kids work so hard to memorize their parts. Lauren was the dutch doll. She did a really good job though she said she was really nervous. They put it on for the parents and then again for the school. It's something the fourth graders look forward to each year.

The Christmas Picture

It's the dreaded time around our house. The time when Mom gets her camera and the kids have to smile so I can get a picture for our cards. The kids really do NOT like this part but this year I bribed them with milkshakes if they would cooperate. It worked and you wouldn't tell by the pictures that they almost didn't get those milkshakes! Though we weren't the best at sending out cards this year. Sorry. The picture of all three of them was the one in the card.

Kid for Hire!

Ryan LOVES to "woo-woo" (vacuum for the common person). When I told him I was going to clean out the van he was begging to help. Yes, I said begging to help clean the van. He has a good eye for detail and is surprisingly great at cleaning. It's a great help to me too since neither girl seemed to get this clean gene!