Christmas Eve was pretty relaxed this year since I didn't really have any food preparations. I pulled out the graham crackers and treats and let the kids make some gingerbread houses. We had good intentions of doing this all year and as most things were done this holiday - late or not at all. It was a year of simplicity in order for me to survive without a heart attack. This anxiety is crazy!
These kids always make things more exciting. I love how creative they were in their building. Especially Ella - she had no help this year in the construction of her house. The frosting recipe was a hit too. I had to chisel the house off the plate after it had dried.
That night we changed things up a lot because our normal tradition of going to the Braithwaite's home for dinner and Christmas caroling was thrown off a bit. Carol decided to leave to Boise for the holiday this year to help us all try to better cope with the loss of David last Christmas Eve. So about 5pm we headed to grandma and grandpa Batemans for dinner and opening gifts from them.
Then we headed to Dustin's brother Brian's house for some caroling, white elephant and sibling gift exchange. They also showed a Mormon Message about the birth of Christ this year which was an excellent addition.
At about 10 we headed home to start our list of fun traditions - the kids got to wear their new PJs opened earlier in the day. Alissa fell asleep on the way home from Braithwaites so we just carried her straight to bed. Ella scattered "reindeer food" including orange peels all over the front drive way.
Dustin read the 2 awake girls "The Night Before Christmas". Ella laid one of each type of cookie we had laying around on a plate for Santa (which was about 8!) as well as a cup of milk.
Dustin and I started a new tradition last year by taping newspaper at the end of the hallway so the kids get to run through and break the wall of paper as they come into the living room. Not to mention it delays them from sneaking out into the living room during the night to peek at what Santa brought.
I am pretty sure Molly was the only one NOT disappointed when she saw what Santa had brought her. The two older girls just kinda walked around acting a bit confused for a few minutes. Makes my heart sad that my kids are so spoiled, but they did not get what they asked for. Ella wanted an Ipad and as many times as I tried to tell her that Elves cannot just make it and have it magically appear in every kid's hands that asked for it - she still had her hopes up. She got a new pink mountain bike and a nerf gun. Alissa wanted a giant Santa doll. Not just a teddy bear size, but her size or bigger Santa. Instead she got an Easy Bake oven, some princess Polly Pockets and a nerf gun. Molly was thrilled to see her Sophia microphone, movie and headphones. I guess it serves you well to not have any expectations.
Eventually they warmed up and had a good time.
After playing with toys, taking a nap and eating breakfast we headed to my parents house for more Christmas fun. We started off with our traditional breakfast casserole and the kids did the nativity.
They are getting so big!
Look how much they have grown in 4 years. Next year we will have at least 1 baby Jesus or Joseph to add to the mix. :)
All the girls in their matching PJs except Alissa who was thrilled to have her Hello Kitty ones she picked out while shopping with grandma.
Ella and Kailey in their matching hats and coats they picked out while shopping with grandma.
The next day was spent trying to find a place for all our new goodies and preparing for Dustin's brother Alan and family to come stay with us for a few days. Like a good daddy, Dustin found some time to make cookies with Alissa using her new Easy Bake Oven. She couldn't have been more happy about that. We also met at Leos with our good friends the Hughes who just moved back to Utah! We were happy to see them and excited to see them more often in the future.
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