Our Christmas (Eve) Morning

Christmas #1 of 3

We actually had to wake 2 of our 3 girls. Presley got up around 7:30 and we waited until close to 8 to get the other 2 up. Addy actually had gotten up before we knew it (while we were still in bed) and then came back up and went to bed. When we got her up at 8 she told Presley what Santa had brought her. ; ) Oh well.

We came downstairs and saw that Santa had eaten the cookies and drank the milk, and the reindeer had eaten their carrots. Next we read the letters that Santa had written back to the girls.

Presley was excited for us to open the present she made us at school and wanted us to open that up before she opened all of her gifts. So sweet. Addy, on the other hand wasn't excited at all about opening gifts. She was "starving". We tried to get her to open a few presents, but she wasn't in to it. So we let her sit at the kitchen table and eat her breakfast while the rest of us started opening our gifts. What kid doesn't want to open gifts until after they eat? Oh yeah, Addy doesn't. ; )

After filling up her tummy she was back to her normal excited self. Santa left Addy a talking Woody doll....just what she wanted from Toy Story 3.

We had taken the girls shopping earlier in the week one at a time to pick out a present for both of their sisters. Presley knew even before we went that she wanted to get Addy something that had to do with horses. "Addy LOVES horses and will be so excited if I get her a horse."

And Presley was right! Addison loved her horses.

Presley has been asking for some "real jewelry" and was excited to see that she got a real necklace from Mommy and Daddy.

Reesey was excited with just about everything.

She was easy to please this year.

Santa didn't bring the Justin Bieber doll, but Mommy and Daddy came to the rescue. ; )

Santa also brought the girls the Pillow Pets that they had requested. They also got lots of clothes, games, and toys and were of course spoiled.

Our own Christmas Eve

We celebrated our own Christmas Eve on Christmas Eve-Eve. We like to be able to have our own family of 5 Christmas and not be rushed preparing to have both sides of our family at our house over the next few days. Because our girls are still young enough to believe what we say, they truly thought that Santa came to our house early.

We wrote letters to Santa. Presley wished that Santa had a very happy Christmas and asked him for a Pillow Pet (a unicorn),a LaLa Loopsy doll and a Justin Bieber barbie. (I know, I know....but he does have a catchy tune.)

Addy worked hard on her letter too. She wanted a LaLa Loopsy doll, a Pillow Pet (dolphin) along with anything Toy Story 3 (namely Jessie and Bullseye).

Reesey also worked on her letter to Santa. She wanted a LaLa Loopsy doll, a Pillow Pet (ladybug) and anything Strawberry Shortcake.

After writing their letters we sprinkled the reindeer food out on the front lawn.

And then we came in, warmed up and got a plate of fresh-baked cookies ready for Santa. The plate had lots more cookies on them, but after letting the girls hold the plate for pictures, the cookies kept disappearing. We also put a few carrots on the plate for the reindeer and Reese preferred the carrots.

We put the girls to bed and Santa got to work.

The girls must have been on the nice list this year.

Merry Christmas 2010

picture thanks to jennyhokephotography

Hoping you all had a wonderful Christmas! We sure did. I will re-live our Christmas as I do a re-cap over the next several days.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

couldn't wait

Addy came home from pre-school last week with her gift she had made for Chad and I and she couldn't wait to give it to us. I convinced her to wait until after Chad was home from basketball practice to give it to us.She was so excited for us to open this.

And of course we loved it. I know this last picture is a bit blurry, but she asked me if I would take a picture of her "model pose that Reaggie showed her." ; )

I love this girl!

catch-up

We've been busy these last few weeks. Presley has finished up her indoor soccer club. She had a lot of fun and learned a lot too, which is a plus.

We celebrated the end of her season with a pizza picnic lunch. All the brothers and sisters got to play while we waited for the pizza to come.

Reese and her buddy Trevor.

Addy and Shea were being silly.

And we've also been busy with the kids Christmas programs and practices. It was such a special night. Both Addison and Presley were able to be a part of the program.

Addy went first with her pre-school class.

Presley has been practicing every Thursday since October. The kids all did a great job, and it was an extra bonus that she was able to be in the program with her 3 cousins.

We had a little bit of the yucky sickies last week and are so thankful A.Hildy was able to stay home with Presley for us. Thankful everyone seems ok now. I think it was just a cold that brought on a low temp. School parties are all done and we are officially on Christmas break. Yahoo! Most of the shopping and wrapping is done, just need to finish up a couple of people and get some baking done before hosting both sides of the family. Can't believe how fast this season is going. I'm really hoping we can slow down a bit and enjoy this time together.

field trip - tree farm

Today Presley (and the rest of my kindergarten kids) took a trip to a tree farm. One of our science kits in kindergarten is "Trees". We learn about trees all year long - parts of a tree, different kinds of trees, how trees grow and change during the seasons, etc... So today we took our winter tree walk. It was beautiful out with all the snow covering the ground and trees. A bit cold, but beautiful! We all bundled up and were on our walk.

The owner of the farm took us all around his farm and talked to us about the different types of trees he grows and how he takes care of them. For every tree he sells, he plants at least 1 more tree. The kids got to help him plant this new tree.

Presley with some of her friends.

This is the best picture I got (out of 3) of Presley with her good friend, Jaden.

The horses didn't want to come up to close to the kids. The farmer said it was because the horses thought if they came close to the kids they would have to work (take the kids on a sleigh ride) and they were too busy for work.

The farmer showed the kids how they drill holes in the bottom of the trees so they stand up perfectly in the tree stands and how they are wrapped.

My class.

So glad I can go with Presley on all her field trips this year!! ; ) What a FUN day!