As we said before Nana Jeanne and Papa Steve came on the 23rd to celebrate Christmas with us and then stay through when they would start their rental down in Goodyear (just outside of Phoenix). We were so glad they came! It's hard not seeing them all the time like we did in Minnesota but we more than made up for it by keeping our schedule jam-packed while they were here. On Christmas Eve we attended mass and after we got home we tried for a few pics. Diva wasn't having it. She didn't know how cute she looked in her cousin's old Christmas dress!
Still memories!
As good as it gets.
We can understand why the kids weren't into pics though...they were hungry for our annual fondue!! Yum!!
After that we set out cookies for Santa!
Trevor had Nana write out what he wanted to say....
...then he signed the names!
And when not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse, Santa must have visited!
Trevor woke up at 7:40am and was so excited!! Luckily Santa left a few presents unwrapped so he could play until his sister woke up.
Or read names to start sorting into piles :)
Trevor's stash :)
The Imaginext Battle Rover he had been waiting patiently for. He knew he was getting it for Christmas from Mommy and Daddy because he was with Daddy when he bought it on Black Friday! LOL!
Ashley was excited to see two plasma cars because that meant she got her own!
Together they opened gift after gift.
What did Toby think of all of this? He just sat on the couch and waited patiently for his stocking of gifts from Santa!
And she got her baby (doll, but she was happy!)
A choo choo like at Nana and Papa Steve's!
She unwraps like her Mama...delicately and with purpose :)
A big boy Razor scooter for our big boy!
And a LeapPad...now his ipad can disappear since YouTube seems to be his app of choice instead of something educational.
Such wonderful memories of the two of them taking turns opening gifts!
A basketball!
Princess helmet for our little princess because she got her own pink scooter!
Oh, and about her unwrapping style...she has to make sure every single piece of paper is off before she takes in what the gift really is. As in she doesn't even notice the picture on the box until each and every tiny piece of wrapping paper is off!
One of Trevor's favorite things he received from Santa was a build your own airplane. He builds it and takes it apart over and over and over!
After everyone unwrapped all of their gifts we turned our attention to making our noon meal...turkey breast, ham and all the fixings!
It was a Kelly tradition back in Lakefield where Sara's parents were high school sweethearts that the son-in-laws would do the dishes after holiday meals. One year Brian made the guys Official Dishwasher sweatbands and low and behold he saved some and broke them out for after our meal!
That evening after the kids were in bed we played our nightly Five Crowns. Actually we played most nights they were here!!
Sara seems to no longer have a lucky winning streak going. She lost most nights. So unusual :(
One night when they were here after Christmas we went to the train park. The line to ride the big train was ridiculously long so we rode the carousel instead.
Ashley did not want to ride on a horse but boy did she get a kick out of going round and around sitting on the bench. You can almost hear her laughter through the pic!
So although the big train didn't work out, we got to experience something new that we didn't even know existed at the train park. We went on the mini-train and loved it!! Trevor was waiting for the horn to blow, hence covering his ears.
Family pic. Funny that Trevor's new dinosaur from the neighbor had to come along!
Another day we went to the Princess hotel to see the lights. Mommy wanted to get a pic of Ashley in her first monogrammed outfit but funny girl wouldn't smile.
Maybe a smirk...
But definitely not looking!
That's okay because boy did she have a lot of smiles at the Princess. Big girl even wanted to ride on a horse on the carousel this time!
She wants to be like big brother!
Then we hopped on a train to see all the lights!
Cool tree!
Mwah!
One day we Facetimed with Jeff, Dawn and the girls to open each other's gifts. It's 'almost' like being there. Not really, but it's the best we got.
One of the gifts they gave Trevor was a volcano kit. It was a huge hit!!
He loved learning how to make the volcano and having the dinosaurs play in it.
And then he did it over and over and over. Smiling away each and every time!
Lots of other things not captured by camera too...walks, trips to the park, cooking together, and lots of cuddles between Papa Steve and Toby. Spoiled doggie!! So glad you guys came for Christmas and beyond. We love every minute we get to spend together! Cheers for 3 more months of being able to see you!!
