My Girls: Twice The Fun: christmas fun

We really enjoyed the Christmas season this year. My parents came down to our house and spent Christmas Eve & Christmas Day with us. On Christmas Eve morning, we went to downtown Macy's for the "Day in the Life of an Elf" display. The display shows a typical day in the life of an elf, which involves sleeping, eating, going to school, doing laundry, visiting the singing tree forest, watching the reindeer, baking and collecting mail. Olivia & Violet loved it this year, and it was nice to see that parts of the display were different than the year before even though the theme was the same. The girls were thrilled to see Santa at the end. They walked right up to him, sat in his lap, and talked to him for quite awhile. Santa talked so quiet that I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Olivia asked for a princess computer and Violet asked for a Cinderella carriage.

We went to church on Christmas Eve afternoon, and then ate a nice meal at home. The girls were of course eager to open presents, but they had to wait until we cleaned up all the dishes. They did a great job taking turns opening presents. Their favorite gifts were their large princess activity pads, roller skates, doctor kit and tea set.

They also left milk and cookies for Santa. They were so excited the next morning when they woke up and found their stockings! Santa also ate most of the cookies (he must have been full), drank his milk, and left a mess of ashes by the fireplace. They must have been good girls because they both got what they asked for! That night, we drove around and looked at Christmas lights in the neighborhood. I remember doing that when I was young so it was fun to see that tradition continue.

Visiting Santa at Macy's

Santa came!!

Violet and her Cinderella carriage

Olivia and her princess computer

We celebrated with the Thronson family on New Years weekend. The tradition that Olivia & Violet remembered the most from the year before was jumping on Granny's mattress. They brought it up as soon as we were on the way to their house! We had our Christmas celebration on Friday, December 30th. Olivia & Violet had a blast with their cousins. They sat at their own kids table, sang a few Christmas songs before opening presents, and of course mattress jumped. Maya did a great job reading the Christmas story this year. We also managed to get a decent picture of all the cousins. Usually this is a challenge, but I can tell they are all getting older and therefore more cooperative!!!

We all stayed overnight and spent all day Saturday at the farm. The weather was just beautiful. The guys cleared off the slough and the kids went sledding and skating. It was Olivia and Violet's first time on ice skates. They only kept them on for a short time, but they were able to "skate" around with help. They really enjoyed it! Jamie built a "jump" for the kids to sled off of. They all thought it was a blast. The weather was so nice that we were outside for a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the afternoon. We had a fun, relaxing day!

Olivia & Violet

Cousins: Olivia (4), Violet (4), William (2), Owen (2), Alex (6), Evan (4), Emma (6), Noelle (4 months), Maya (8)

Cousins singing Christmas songs

Favorite tradition: jumping on Granny's mattress

Violet ice skating for the first time

Olivia ice skating for the first time

Sledding off Daddy's jump

We celebrated with Suchy's this past weekend. Jamie's Dad was in the hospital unexpectedly so we had to push back our family celebration a week later than planned, but it all worked out. We had a big, delicious meal at noon on Saturday. Afterward, we took our time opening presents. The kids went first, so to occupy them while the adults were opening gifts, we gave them a big box full of packing peanuts. Olivia, Violet and Claire had a blast throwing them up in the air; however, they made quite a mess!! In the evening, we played cards. We taught Nicholas and Chelsey how to play whist. It was so much fun!

The next morning, Santa had visited Grandpa & Grandma's house and filled their stocking. The girls couldn't believe he knew where they were!!

Olivia & Violet really enjoyed the Christmas season this year. They loved driving around looking at lights, opening presents, and singing Christmas songs. They also participated in a church program and said that we celebrate Christmas because it is Jesus's birthday. It was really fun to see them enjoy their time with family!!