Christmas with Grandma & Grandpa

With 5 kids and 12 grandkids, it’s tricky for my parents to get us all together for Christmas.  This year, January 1st worked the best for our family…so we’ve already celebrated Christmas in 2012, ha! ;)

I was excited to have a little time to play games with my siblings when we first arrived. That doesn’t seem to happen too often anymore.

My mom & sisters had made LOTS of appetizers for before the meal.  I was stuffed before we even sat down for dinner! (I don’t know where my brain was, and I feel terrible about this, but I completely forgot to offer to bring food this year…DUH moment!)

We ate a yummy dinner of hot beef sandwiches, potato salad, jello, and lots of extras.  Afterwards, all the kiddos opened their presents by the basement Christmas tree.  I really tried to focus on the people this year, rather than being slave to the camera in my hand.  That means I missed out on a lot of pictures…that, and the fact that my camera doesn’t like the lighting in the basement.   Here’s what I caught on camera…

Jensyn’s singing Christmas kitty
She also received suede boots and a diaper cover, a 2T winter coat, a pink tutu skirt, and a few cute outfits/dresses.

Max got the Cars 2 DVD, which has already been watched repeatedly by my kiddos

 

Alex got the Cars 2 game for his new LeapPad.  I wish I’d caught a picture of his reaction when he realized what it was.  He was one EXCITED little boy!

They also got a new guitar, a floating Hot Wheels track for the bathtub, Do-A-Dot markers, Cars dominoes, a Hot Wheels police station, a Thomas lights & sounds signal, and few other toys. 

Here are some of the cousins opening their gifts…it was a very shoe-themed Christmas!  Kathryn got Uggs (which explains why she got very few other Christmas gifts at her family’s Christmas the week before!).  BoGyeong received some new shoes.  Jensyn got cute little suede boots from my parents.  Several adults got new shoes or slippers, too…including me. 

 

Derek got a dog bone.  A a gag gift.  That didn’t stop him from eating it right there!

  

We leave the kiddos downstairs to be noisy & messy, and then we head to the main floor for adult Christmas.  We exchange names, and each couple buys gifts for another guy & girl in the family.  I didn’t take many pictures this year; here are the only three I have…

Keith received hair spiking gel & a Spam beach ball from my brother.
Good laughs!  He also got a Steven Curtis Chapman CD and an Amazon gift card from my sister. (Keiths’ most request item this year was Amazon cards so he can save up for a big purchase.)

 

My mom had my name this year, and she got me a cinnamon sugar shaker, a Chris Tomlin CD, new picture frames for my living room, and beautiful boots!  (I do have to pay her back for the boots, as I had to choose between either the frames or the boots…and I couldn’t make the choice!)

Afterwards, we hung out for a while, and then we had dessert, got our kids in their pjs, and headed for home.  Max conked out immediately.  Jensyn screamed for 20 minutes.  Alex played the new guitar for 30 minutes before falling asleep WHILE playing the guitar.  How Max slept through all that racket is beyond me! :)

So, there you have it…Christmas 2011 is over.  The trees and decorations are down.  And Max is walking around the house saying, “Onwee fwee moh days ‘til Fwismiss!”  Sorry, kiddo, you’ve got to wait almost a full year!   I’m glad you enjoyed your Christmas enough to hope it will come again soon, sweet boy!