Christmas!

On Christmas Eve we woke up and made our traditional crepes.  One with bananas and Nutella and one with Gruyere cheese and ham.  Even with bedhead this one is such a cutie in the kitchen.

 I am still not sure why we only make these once a year:)

After a late breakfast we went on a scooter ride, played, relaxed and showered before church.   Normally our Christmas Eve's are a little rushed and busy, but we said no to a lot this year and just relaxed and focused on the day.

 I love going to church with so many friends.  Ellie loved seeing some of her besties from school on Christmas Eve.

 When we got home we made reindeer food and put it outside on the front lawn for the reindeer to snack on later!  Although I miss my kids being babies, it is fun now that they know and look forward to so many of these traditions we have made together.

 We watched the Santa tracker to see where he was and couldn't stop laughing when it said Bobo-Dioulasso....??? No clue, but Bobo thought it was hilarious.

We had a few more laughs, snuggles and read the night before Christmas before bed.  

 We woke up the next morning to Ellie yelling "Wake up parents, Santa came!!"

 This year Bobo wanted Legos, animal toys and the Paw Patrol Firetruck.  Ellie wanted a Barbie, American Girl stuff and a rainbow unicorn stuffed animal.  Well they must have been good this year because they got it all!

 

 They even got a note from Santa saying there was one more gift outside....a Bounce House!

 Best part of this was obviously the surprise factor, but at one point Bobo said "There is still snow on it from the North Pole!"

 We spent the rest of the morning opening gifts from each other.  The twins really love buying for others and watching others open what they have picked out for them.

 Bobo got Ryan a new remote control boat for the pond.  We were able to stop by a have brunch and exchange gifts with Ryan's family in town before coming home and making a special Christmas dinner together.

 This Christmas was so speical and magical. I know sometimes kids can get sugared up and stir crazy, but all the memories made and joyous squeals really do make it all worth it!  I am so sad to see it over, but glad we have an adventure to plan for and keep us busy!

Enjoying the Holidays

Continuing our Christmas adventures we went to see Santa!  They had a sleigh ride and lots of fun activities and food!

 The twins talked to him forever.  He was very sweet and patient with them while they nervously told him their Christmas wishes.

 This age is just the best!

 We went to see the live nativity at Billy Graham Library.

 Ellie and I went to a Teddy Bear tea with some friends.  This event was so easy and fun!  They had so much to do for the kids and bottomless coffee and mimosas for the moms!

We went on a few fun adventures with friends including lunch and climbing with Bobo's sweet friend Bennett.

 The elves had us doing all sorts of fun things too.  They brought all the stuff to decorate cookies and even made a few themselves for us.

 The kids love being in the kitchen and especially baking.

We were supposed to have friends over, but with all the nasty bugs going around they had to cancel.  We made the most of it and had a great family night!  We made Christmas guacamole, Chicken Poblano Soup and Peppermint brownies.

 Ryan and I have been trying to teach kids the value of serving others and joined our church one day in making over 600 sandwiches for the homeless.  They loved this and had lots of good questions regarding the cause.

 Overall I think we have had a great holiday season.  Really trying to do all the fun things, while also taking the time to slow down appreciate all that we have.