As the kids get older the more they sleep in on Christmas morning. I think I was the first person awake this year and that was only because I was up feeding the baby. We told the kids that we weren't going downstairs until after 7am. I think they all slept in until almost 8am. A little before 8am we gathered the kids on the stairs for our annual Christmas morning excitement photo. Since the boys are in the basement now we had to put blindfolds on them to bring them upstairs so they wouldn't see their Santa gifts. There is nothing quite like the surprised and happy faces when they see what Santa brought them. It doesn't matter if you are 15 or 8 years old...kids will always be kids. Christmas morning is such a fun time. The kids LOVED their Santa gifts this year. Abby got white roller skates with pink wheels, Emma got black and purple rollerblades, Peter got fighting drones, and Andrew got a longboard. Boy was I surprised when I went downstairs to take photos to find that someone had left a nice big present for me by the tree. Mike miraculously found me a brand new road bike that was just my size. One of the ladies he works with at the hospital bought the bike new and after a few rides decided she didn't really love road biking. Mike bargained with her and was able to get this $2000 bike for only a few hundred dollars. To say that I was surprised is an understatement.
This year Emma found the pickle ornament and so she got to open up the first present. Like every year, we ripped through all the presents in such a short time. Everyone loved their gifts. Madeline got a fun play mat from Santa and a cute plush elephant from mom and dad, some cute new clothes from Grandma Anne and Grandpa Franz, and a First Christmas sock monkey from Grandpa Al. Abby received a new coat, the Calico Critters School Treehouse, the Calico Critters elephant family, an American Girl Doll make your own scarf kit, new earbuds, fuzzy socks, a new drawing supplies. Abby also received a special gift from our Elves. She had written to them asking for a Black Apple Doll. The Elves put together a fun gift full of cute material and other things she would need to make her own Black Apple Doll. The Elves put in enough material for Emma and Madeline to have a doll. Emma received a new coat, a few books from the Whatever After Series, a 3D pen and filaments to go with it, earbuds, fuzzy socks, the Calico Critters panda family, and an art kit. Peter received some books from the Guardians of Gahoole series, a book set from Grandpa Al, a new lego set, earbuds, an iTunes gift card, . Andrew received a new blanket, shirts from American Eagle, a shirt and suspenders from Grandpa Al, Star Wars socks, earbuds, and a Steam gift card. All of the kids received new sleds from both sets of grandparents. They were so excited that each of them would now have their own sleds. Mike received a chef coat, a new winter hat, a Colorado biking shirt, some Star Wars socks, a new lego set, the Amazon Fire Stick, and a set of TILES that hook onto your keychain and fit in your wallet to help you find them when they are lost. I also wrapped up Mike's lego from last year as a joke since he never put it together. He laughed real hard when he opened that gift. In addition to the bike, Mike also got me some great clothes from Athleta. Mike and I received a Panera gift card and some books about the D&C from my parents and we received money towards guns from Mike's dad. Uncle Jack also sent us an Amazon gift card which was nice.
After the presents were all opened we enjoyed our traditional cinnamon rolls. They were so yummy. I purposely didn't keep track of how many I ate. It was fun to play with our new things. Andrew was excited to get a new game on the computer while Peter played with his drones until the batteries ran low, and the girls rolled around the house on their new skates. Then we got ready and headed to church. It is always such a blessing to have Christmas on a Sunday--and even more of a blessing when you have afternoon church. It was so nice to be able to go and worship for an hour to feel the Spirit and remember the true meaning of Christmas. Of course, when we got home we put our Christmas PJs back on and enjoyed the rest of the day together.
This year Emma found the pickle ornament and so she got to open up the first present. Like every year, we ripped through all the presents in such a short time. Everyone loved their gifts. Madeline got a fun play mat from Santa and a cute plush elephant from mom and dad, some cute new clothes from Grandma Anne and Grandpa Franz, and a First Christmas sock monkey from Grandpa Al. Abby received a new coat, the Calico Critters School Treehouse, the Calico Critters elephant family, an American Girl Doll make your own scarf kit, new earbuds, fuzzy socks, a new drawing supplies. Abby also received a special gift from our Elves. She had written to them asking for a Black Apple Doll. The Elves put together a fun gift full of cute material and other things she would need to make her own Black Apple Doll. The Elves put in enough material for Emma and Madeline to have a doll. Emma received a new coat, a few books from the Whatever After Series, a 3D pen and filaments to go with it, earbuds, fuzzy socks, the Calico Critters panda family, and an art kit. Peter received some books from the Guardians of Gahoole series, a book set from Grandpa Al, a new lego set, earbuds, an iTunes gift card, . Andrew received a new blanket, shirts from American Eagle, a shirt and suspenders from Grandpa Al, Star Wars socks, earbuds, and a Steam gift card. All of the kids received new sleds from both sets of grandparents. They were so excited that each of them would now have their own sleds. Mike received a chef coat, a new winter hat, a Colorado biking shirt, some Star Wars socks, a new lego set, the Amazon Fire Stick, and a set of TILES that hook onto your keychain and fit in your wallet to help you find them when they are lost. I also wrapped up Mike's lego from last year as a joke since he never put it together. He laughed real hard when he opened that gift. In addition to the bike, Mike also got me some great clothes from Athleta. Mike and I received a Panera gift card and some books about the D&C from my parents and we received money towards guns from Mike's dad. Uncle Jack also sent us an Amazon gift card which was nice.
After the presents were all opened we enjoyed our traditional cinnamon rolls. They were so yummy. I purposely didn't keep track of how many I ate. It was fun to play with our new things. Andrew was excited to get a new game on the computer while Peter played with his drones until the batteries ran low, and the girls rolled around the house on their new skates. Then we got ready and headed to church. It is always such a blessing to have Christmas on a Sunday--and even more of a blessing when you have afternoon church. It was so nice to be able to go and worship for an hour to feel the Spirit and remember the true meaning of Christmas. Of course, when we got home we put our Christmas PJs back on and enjoyed the rest of the day together.
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