Final Christmas of 2012

Our last Christmas celebration always takes place the weekend of or weekend before the New Year. We typically play games and stay up late laughing during this celebration with my Dad & Sisters... this year was a bit different for lots of reasons, but even without the games -- we enjoyed ourselves.

I always think my Dad's house has an amazing tree... and this year I learned that he is entirely responsible for it - the kids decorate one upstairs, and this one that is the most visible in their house is done completely by him.

James loves drinking from a straw... so he isn't picky and will steal a sip from anyone that will let him. This particular offense was just water from Starbucks -- so I didn't worry about it. Thankful to my niece, Brittany, for indulging him.

I believe that Tyler had just gotten caught playing in the dogs' water bowl... so he was getting his hands washed, but was having so much fun he wouldn't quit. Stinker! 

Everyone decided to let the boys do their Christmas separate from everyone else -- so we let them open gifts before bed, and then once they were asleep the rest of us opened. So these are a couple of pictures from their opening.

The boys both got one of these fuzzy heads, and loved them. They really are cute and are meant to be pillows they can use in the car -- mainly they were used by the adults as weapons. HAHAHA!

These were the biggest hit... pillow racers. We got an airplane and a firetruck - the boys LOVE them, and they also have them for girls. I love that they can run into the walls and there isn't any damage. Win/Win for all of us.

All the stockings lined up -- there are 15 of us -- so it does get obnoxious! We typically open them first... so this was a picture I got while they were waiting for us to come down from putting the boys to bed.

Still waiting... then the frenzy began. Paper and boxes everywhere! 

As a group we worked on a puzzle over the 4 days we were there, it was mainly my Dad... then John and I...and my sister jumped in at the last minute. HA! 

We got it finished the night before we left, so it was a successful mission. Last year we tried to do the same puzzle, but Tyler didn't cooperate on the sleeping so I wasn't able to work on it much at all. 

My sister, Cindy, taught me how to make our Grandmother's cookies over this break too -- so I'll be making them in all sorts of shapes for all sorts of holidays now! 

We ended the trip with more pillow racing, and testing out their new camo pajamas that my brother in law gave them. He is an avid hunter and always talks about getting the boys their first gun and teaching them to hunt. We shall see what the future holds... but I'm not eating it or having stuffed heads in my house!