The Long One About Christmas Celebrations

In the past I've done several individual posts about each Christmas celebration we've had but this year I'm going to just put them all in one post.  It will probably be long:) Happy reading.

Saturday, December 17th - H Extended Family

The week before Christmas most of my extended family descended on my Grandparents' house to celebrate.  My cousin Brianna, her husband and two kids were there as well as her parents, my parents, my sister and her husband.  The only one missing was my other cousin and her family.  We enjoyed fried chicken, mashed potatoes, lasagna, salads and many other delicious sides.  We also opened presents.  With two kids now we got twice as many toys and I think Grace was in heaven.  She pretty much claimed them all as her own and Caleb gets to play with his toys sometimes.

2nd cousins.  Pretty sure this was the best picture.

Wednesday, December 21st - Saturday, December 24th - A Family

On Wednesday night Matt's sister Rachel and her husband arrived here after a long day driving from Texas.  We had a nice dinner together and visited for a while before heading to bed.  Then Thursday morning we all hung out at our place until afternoon naptime and then drove up to Matt's parents.

Friday morning was our big Christmas celebration there.  Matt's brother and family came over for that and we got started opening presents right away.  We made a smart decision and let the kids open all of their presents first.  Then they went off and played while the adults exchanged gifts.  It was much more relaxing to do it that way.  Some of the gifts we got were an electric toothbrush (hopefully no more cavities!), books, Packers tumblers, Dominion, games for Grace, and boy toys (dump truck, tractor, etc..) for Caleb.  We finished the day by eating, napping, playing games, and eating some more.

Saturday morning we woke up and hit the road right away for the next phase of Christmas celebrations.

Grace and Caleb dressed in their Christmas outfits.

The whole family.

Saturday, December 24th - Sunday, December 25th - Church Family and Our Family of 4

After returning from Matt's parents we ate lunch and put the kids down for naps.  Then I washed their Christmas outfits they wore the day before and got myself reading for church.  Once everyone was up we headed to our 4:00 Christmas Eve service.  It was kind of weird because I volunteered in the nursery so I didn't attend the service.  After church we headed out for our 4th Annual Chinese dinner with our church friends.

Christmas morning we had to drag the kids out of bed because they were so tired from all the activity leading up to Christmas.  We opened our presents to each other and then hit the road again.  I got Matt a new winter coat and smart gloves (you can use them with a touch screen phone, computer etc..).  Matt surprised me by getting part of our blog printed out in book form.  He just printed the posts leading up to when we announced I was pregnant with Grace.  It has been fun to go back and read them and remember what my life was like before kids.  I kind of forgot.  The other present I got was a KitchenAid stand mixer.  That wasn't a surprise though because I had to be the one to buy it a week before.

Sorry I have no pictures from this leg of our Christmas adventures.  I didn't take any this year and all the other ones I stole from other peoples cameras.

Sunday, December 25th - Monday, December 26th - H Family

After opening our Christmas presents we were on the road again by 9:30 and headed to my parents' house.  We got there in time to have lunch and visit for a bit.  After the kids took naps we opened presents.  Some highlighted presents are I got a cool cast iron casserole/skillet.  It will be fun to use that.  Matt got some nice slippers from L.L. Bean.  My sister made Grace a sweater jacket out of one of her old sweaters.  It is so cute.  My mom made quilts for the kids that are also maps/roads for them to drive cars on. Next we ate pizza and played with my dad's new remote control helium shark.  Finally, we watched the Bears and Packers.

Monday, we just lazed around my parents house and played with our Christmas presents.  Finally around 4:30 or 5:00 we headed home.  We picked up Arby's for dinner and put the kids to bed.  I was exhausted but it was a great Christmas!

Caleb just loved having the Santa in his mouth while opening presents.

Quilts that my mom made.

Upcycled gift my sister made Grace from one of her old sweaters.

Now we're just enjoying the week at home!

I did create an album of pictures on FB so if we're friends feel free to go check it out if you want to see more:)