Scenes from Christmas

Christmas 2011

We haven't opened all our presents yet, but Jack decided to open the first present--it wasn't addressed to him, but he didn't mind. Then, we let the girls and Jack open their surprise balls from Grandma. Now, we are waiting for Jack to get up from a nap so we can continue with Christmas.

Pictures with Santa

We took Jack and the girls for a visit with Santa on Wednesday. Everyone was sure that Jack would cry, but he surprised us all by taking it all in stride. I think his Aunt Kami was a little upset that he cried the first time she held him, but the big guy in the red velvet suit didn't warrant a cry. Here are some pictures:


Overnight, it snowed almost 6 inches, so the girls were very excited to go play in the snow. Jack, on the other hand, didn't like it one bit. And unfortunately, it didn't end well since Jason has a broken ankle now. More on that later, but here are a couple pictures to get started. I have to get other people's cameras to get the rest:

The Stockings are Hung...

The Stockings are Hung by the Chimney with Care...and quite a few more of them than most years! We are finally starting to get ready for Christmas and Mike's sister and her family are here to help Celebrate. The girls helped put out the decorations and we made Christmas cookies yesterday, so it finally feels like the holidays. I still haven't wrapped any presents, so that's next on the agenda for Christmas preparation.

The unpacking continues...we still have quite a bit of work undone, but we're making slow progress in between the fun holiday activities. Jason has been a great help painting the bedroom, so we should be able to unpack in there soon too.

On Monday when I picked up the Mandell family, we took a side trip to the American Girls store in Denver for Katelyn and Alyssa. Their dolls were able to get their ears pierced and their hair done at the doll salon, which was very exciting. Then, we went next door and had lunch with the dolls as well. They even had high chairs so the dolls could sit at the table too.

The only thing potentially more exciting than this was the fact that it started snowing! Not enough to cover the ground, but our Southern California girls were very excited to catch snowflakes on their tongues. They also had to go out and run in the snow and play as soon as we arrived home even though it was 2 week old crusty snow. We are hoping for some fresh snow tomorrow so they can go sledding! And, we are also planning to take them iceskating at a real outdoor rink this week too.

More pictures to come as the week progresses...

Thanksgiving Trip

We had a good time in Washington for Thanksgiving. Jack and I got to meet Great Grandma Ellie, Aunt Susan and Uncle Marty, and lots of cousins! Then, we went to see Lesa and Colin and some more cousins!

Cousin Sam with his Mickey Mouse.


Cousin Claira was great with Jack and spent the evening entertaining him.

Everyone was tired after such a big dinner.
Jack liked Claira's toys.
Cousin Audrey playing with her blocks.
Cousin Ari liked to take Jack's toys and run off.

Nikki and Alan played cribbage after dinner.
Jack didn't want to take a nap, but his Aunt Susan finally got him down.
Jack liked his Great-Grandma's stuffed Snoopy.
Jack with his Great Grandma Ellie and Papa Jefe.

Sam is quite the busy body these days. He moves constantly, and he can get across the floor very quickly, as you will see in the video clips. Jack wasn't sure what to make of this baby who kept crawling up to him and grabbing at him or trying to take his pacifier.