At times I can exaggerate but TRULY this was one of the best Christmases I have experienced. We spent a lot of time together as a family, visited loved ones, had some lazy days, played, laughed, ate lots of holiday treats, and in general just enjoyed ourselves and each other.
To start on Christmas Eve we headed down to Yukon to have Christmas with the Kouba Clan.
Annie and Denver enjoyed playing around with their cousins to pass the time before opening gifts.
(I remember a time when that cell phone she is holding in the photo below would not have been considered a toy...)
Before the paper began to fly:
As is common I didn't get many action shots. It's hard to participate in the excitement if you are behind the camera. Fortunately there are thoughtful family members who get shots of everyone and are willing to share :)
Annie had been excited about Christmas since Thanksgiving so by the time we got to gifts it was just almost more than she could handle and when it came opening she wasted no time.
Denver really had no clue what was going on but noticed lots of happy people around him having a good time - so sign him up.
It was, as always, a fun evening of creating memories with family.
That evening after we got home and everyone was nestled all snug in their beds Santa came and left all sorts of good cheer.
Around 7 on Christmas morning Annie came in to our bedroom and reported, "Santa came! He came! And he fulled my stocking all up! It's so full stuff is coming out! You've gotta come see! I woke up in the night but stayed in my room because I didn't want him to not leave our stuff but he came! He came!"
Denver was still asleep so Philip, Annie, and I got up and let her check out her loot.
She was a perfect age this year. Her excitement and enthusiasm for everything she received was just darling.
As you can see it was a Frozen kind of Christmas as the majority of items on her list were Frozen related.
After she'd opened her gifts, and had her breakfast of cinnamon rolls the curiosity of what Denver had received was more than she could bear so she went in to check and see if he was awake and suspiciously a few seconds after she entered the room he was.
Poor little guy was so tired from the late night before it was difficult to wrap his head around what exactly was going on. (For future reference I have a cute video of him on my YouTube channel but by the time the kids take an interest in this blog and the memories YouTube may be obsolete...)
He figured it out though
This was a unique Christmas for us because we generally spend Christmas Day with the Goodman group but due to holiday travels we did Christmas with them a couple days later so we had the whole day to spend at home by ourselves. That was a gift in itself and we had the BEST time.
The kids checked out all their toys
And we all spent the majority of our day in our pjs. We snacked, watched Christmas movies, napped, drank Dr. Pepper, cheered the Thunder on. We also played, tried on, read through, and put to good use our new stuff.
One fun present Philip was gifted was a balloon kit (by his thoughtful wife - HAHA!) to teach him how to make balloon animals, much to the kidlets delight, which brought a lot of fun and entertainment to the day.
That evening we had steak which in our beef heavy household is not a novelty item but it was available and after all, it's what's for dinner.
Late that night we took down the tree but put up some twinkly lights and left up some sparkly snowflakes because we wanted to continue to enjoy the warm glow that Christmas brings with it.
Simply stated it was a perfect day spent with the people who are my world.
Two days later we hosted Christmas at our house with the Goodman's and the fun commenced again.
Denver was use to the drill by now and got right to work when the gifts were handed out.
Nana was busy this year and made her three girls beautiful quilts and the littles minky blankets to wrap up in because the gift of coziness gives year round.
And of course no Christmas would be complete without someone receiving an elegant princess dress.
Denver ended up starting his first herd and now has the basic equipment he needs to haul them around.
The kids enjoyed playing together
while the testosterone heavy population enjoyed couch-time
and the ladies planned an upcoming trip together.
Without a doubt this is a Christmas I will look back on with nothing but fondness. I cannot think of a better way to be reminded of Christ's birth and a more enjoyable way to celebrate that remembrance than to spend time with family and friends. It was a season of sweet time with dear ones and lovely experiences.
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