Christmas Trip - Part 2, Christmas Day

Christmas Day! Wow! That day was FULL of cheer! As it should be, right?

Morning: We started the morning out with our gift opening and stockings. Then we had the yummiest breakfast I've had in a while! Complete with a sausage croissant bake (with real pork!), hash browns, cinnamon rolls, pigs in a blanket (actually, cows in a blanket), eggs, and fresh pineapple. Yum.

 Be prepared... there's LOTS of pictures in this post! (For the grandparents, ya know...)

 Micah got a golf set. This pic looks like Lucy's about to hit him over the head with it! Ha.

 In a Christmas daze...

 Yay! New Books!

 Dora Potty book...complete with flushing button!

 This "life like" bear from Aunt Sarah was a huge hit with all the kiddos! And the tiny bottle that came with it was even more of a hit! Lucy carried it around like a little baby almost all day! (I think we left the little bottle at our friend's house, though...boo. Liz, if you find it, will you mail it to us?)

 Brad and I got new t-shirts from Aunt Pat! Exactly what we asked for!

 Lucy's big present from us was a girly train set.

 The scene...

 She's even cute bright and early in the morning! I love you, Liz!

 Micah got some new train set pieces, too. He's is ALL about trains!

 Please notice the frizz where the cute blonde curls should be.

 Precious girl!

 YUM!

Christmas night: there were at least 37 people in Liz's house and we had a Mexican feast. It was quite the party! Liz made a birthday cake for Jesus and we sang and had the kids blow out the candles. We did a White Elephant gift exchange that was with completely NICE presents. Have you ever heard of such a thing? It was our first time. We're used to having a few GAG gifts thrown in to keep it lively. Brad ended up with a bag of coffee from a neighboring country, a scarf and a matching necklace and earrings. (He traded for it, saying it was a present for him and for me!) And I ended up with a new manicure set. (I've had the same manicure set, that I affectionately call "the pink thing" since I was in high school, if not earlier. It's had a long, rough life, and Brad's been trying to get me to get a new one for ages!) The kids did a book exchange. Names were drawn beforehand so that the books would be appropriate. She got a very sweet Pink Purse book of numbers. It's precious.

 Yes, I'm in the same shirt for every Christmas event. I got this shirt made by a tailor and I love it! It's my Christmas 2011 shirt! My pal Wendi has one just like it! I sure hope she likes hers as much as I like mine. 

 Enjoying some Mexican.

 Happy Birthday, Jesus! The real reason we celebrate!

 Lucy loved her book, but didn't understand why she only got to open 1 present. She wanted more!

 The scene...

There was a Christmas play with the kiddos. Is this not the cutest Mary and Joseph you've seen in a while?

 The "lesson" was about how the world waited for the greatest gift, Jesus Christ. There was a huge box, and inside it was layers of more boxes, all leading to the final gift that was inside, hershey kisses. (No, there wasn't a baby inside... it was a representation!) Oh, the kiddos had a great time unwrapping, but were quite confused by the whole "open then wait for a verse to be read" concept. 

 Lucy and Micah with their books.

 Our new frame picture!

 It looks like Morgan is strangling her, but she's really giving her a hug. We tried to do a mini photo shoot in front of the tree at the end of the night. It was a long day for them!

 I love the flying hair action shot!

 Sweet friends!

 CHEESE!

 The goal of this was to get them together, hugging or something cute, and looking at the camera and smiling. Well, at least we got them together!

Around 8, wehit the computer for some Family Skype sessions. We got to talk to almost all our family.

 Relaxing at the end of the night with the Dora Potty Book. 

Overall, it was an amazing Christmas Day! Happy Birthday, Jesus!