A Few More Farm Pictures

Our 6th (and final) Christmas

It was really nice to have a break for a week to just hang around the house and play with our new Christmas toys! But now, it was time for some more! My Grandma Finley's Christmas is always fun because she shops all year round and picks up a little here and a little there. I am always anxious to see all of the neat stuff that she has accumulated throughout the year (not only for the kids - but also for myself!). My Grandparents had 5 boys and between the 5 boys, they had 13 kids. About half of the grandkids are married and most of the others are in a serious relationship so usually there are several spouses/significant others there too. Plus the 6 great grandkids. Usually there is quite a crowd! We started with dinner - all sorts of sandwich meats and cheeses, yum! There was also some Chili, plus some other sides (pasta salads, chips, that sort of thing). It was delicious but for me, a ham and swiss sandwich is way up on my list of favorites! We all gathered around the presents and they started passing them out. The kids were opening so fast it wasn't until we got home and I sorted through it all that I really knew what exactly they had!

The biggest hit of the night was a farm set for Brax. As soon as we walked in, the girls pointed out to Brax that the biggest present of all was for him! He didn't want to leave it's side all evening. He was telling everybody, "That my present." He was very excited when he was finally able to open it and it didn't let him down. He loved it! I would say it may be his favorite present of all. He also got a really cool puzzle that he loves too.

The girls, of course, got some neat stuff too. Brecca got a stamp set that she couldn't wait to open and a Hannah Montana sweatshirt. Braylee got some accessories for her dollhouse, a couple of movies, and a game. All three of them got some new pajamas.

Christmas is a busy time of year for us but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I know better than to take for granted all of the wonderful, loving family that we get to spend time with and honestly, we thank God everyday for them! We may have 6 different places to go and a hectic few days but we are so lucky to have that! Our kids are SO fortunate to not only have a mom and dad to love them, but also grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins who love them as well! Thanks to everyone who helps to make Christmas, and every other day, a special one!

Don't pay any attention to the dirty floor!

I have just a few minutes because I am supposed to be getting ready for church so I'll make this short and sweet! We had Christmas with my dad on Saturday. We were actually supposed to do Christmas with the Finley's today but my grandma got sick and was in the hospital so we postponed it until the next Saturday. Papa Randy and Janis came over around 3:00 and the kids were still very excited to be opening yet more presents. You would think the appeal would slightly diminish when you are on your 5th Christmas but for some reason it just doesn't happen! Papa had ordered each of them a piggy bank and I think he was as excited about them as the kids. They are really hard to explain so I won't even bother - let's just say they were a hit and so was the bag of coins that came with them! They also got the kids a trampoline (plus some really cute clothes!). It has the enclosure too so they can't fall off. That was a requirement from mom and dad. No trampoline injuries at this house! The kids wanted to put it up immediately and had a hard time understanding why the have to wait until it warms up. I am sure they would jump on it when it is 30 degrees out but somebody has to supervise and I definitely didn't want to volunteer for that job every day! After we opened presents, we all went out to Kenny and Monica's. The kids played inside while the adults hung out in the garage and played games and visited. It was a little disappointing that we couldn't all get together for my grandma's Christmas today so it was nice everyone got to see one another. Now, I gotta get ready for church! :)

We're still going!

Still doing Christmas posts! I really need to get caught up. I have several funny stories but I feel like I can't write about them until I am caught up! I know you don't really need to hear details about every Christmas but I am using this blog as a reference when I eventually get around to making some sort of scrapbook so I have to jot down enough here so I can keep it all straight.

Friday evening we went to my moms. Chelse and Tylee, Lance and Erin, Nate, myself and the kids, and my mom. It was nice being all together in the house we grew up in. Even though it was the 26th and in the evening, it still felt a little like it used to feel when we woke up at my moms on Christmas morning. We had soups and sandwiches so it was a nice change from the "traditional" Christmas meal (although that would have been good too!). The adults drew names this year and did gift baskets and that was fun. Once again, the kids got way too much stuff but they're not complaining! My dad called and we even invited him over for awhile (our parents divorced when we were small) so he was a nice addition. The kids got a little wild playing around with Uncle Lance and Papa Randy but I guess that is what uncles and grandpas are for, right? I think I can honestly say a good time was had by all!

Here we go again!

It was about time we headed to Nanny and Poppy's so we got on the road about 12:30. Chelse and Tylee came up from Parsons and Lance and Erin came down from Kansas City (I had to put some thought into that UP from Parsons and DOWN from KC thing!). Uncle David and Maya also came down from KC. It was good to all get together again. We ate first out there since everyone was starving and then started on presents. Once again, the kids got way too much but they had a lot of fun! The girls love spending time with Maya and Poppy is one of Brax's favorite people so they were good to go! Actually, the girls ended up spending the night out there (which happens very frequently). We stayed pretty late though and played games and just enjoyed the company. Christmas day at Nanny and Poppy's has always been a tradition in our family so it felt good keeping that up. We had a little break the next day until 5p.m. when we were heading to my mom's house to do Christmas with her. We were looking forward to sleeping in!

Did Santa come?

This is almost unbelievable but we had to wake the kids up on Christmas morning at 8:00 a.m. so we would have time to do our Christmas here before going to Nanny and Poppy's! Brecca and Brax jumped right up but Bray was a little slow to warm up the idea of getting out of her cozy bed. They were all excited to see that Santa did indeed visit us and that they had all gotten what they had asked for! Yaaaaa! They must have been good this year! There were a few times I wondered. :)

So, Brecca got her American Girl Doll, Mia. Braylee got her dollhouse and Brax got his train. They were all excited but I have to say Brax was the most excited! He said, "My Diego train!" as soon as he saw it and didn't stop playing with in until we made him get in the bathtub. Grandma Ann came over before we got the kids up so she got to witness all of the excitement and Papa Randy and Janis and Papa Dave and Grandma Julia stopped by too! We had to be at Nanny and Poppy's at 1:00 though so we didn't have a lot of time to play and then we were off again!

IT"S BEEN AWHILE

Sorry for the total randomness of the pictures. I have issues getting them uploaded in the right order!

Wow, it seems like forever since I have updated! Actually, it has been over 2 weeks and a lot has happened in those two weeks. I think the easiest way for me to get started would be for me to just do each event in a seperate post and get started, so here goes.....

Let's just start with our first of several days of Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we went to Nate's parents house. Julia had bought stuff to make Christmas cookies for Santa and the kids were excited about that. We gave Brax his cookie to frost for Santa and the next time we looked, he had eaten over half of it! The he said "Where my cookie?" We gave him another one and he ate it too! Apparently, he wasn't too concerned about having cookies for Santa!

All 5 grandkids got new bikes so that was VERY exciting. We ate dinner out there and then the kids made reindeer food to sprinkle on our lawn when we got home. We went out about 3 and didn't get home until after 9 so the kids were tired and went right to bed when we got home. We tracked Santa online and he was in Canada :) so they knew they had to hurry and go to sleep so he could come. Up next - Did Santa bring everything they had dreamed of???????