The Week After

Daddy always tries to take the week after Christmas from work, and this year we crammed as many fun things as we could into the week. 

We bought a pass to Thanksgiving point back in September, so we took the kids to The Museum of Natural Curiosity. We've been there a couple of times already, and the kids still had so much fun discovering new things. 

We also took them to the Museum of Ancient History. This was our first time there and the kids loved it. We got to see a lot of dinosaur bones, have story time, and make a craft.

 I can't help but laugh every time I see these pictures!

Then on Wednesday we headed up to Hanna Land. We had so much fun going sledding behind the Polaris and 4-wheeler, sledding down the hill, playing games, watching movies, and eating. 

 On New Year's Eve we started the countdown early because the little kids were ready for bed. We streamed the King Julian New Years Eve Countdown at 8:00.

 Then we went outside and screamed Happy New Year to... well no one. I guess maybe there were some animals we probably scared away.

 By Saturday we were packed up and ready to go. You know it's been a good weekend when you look back and the kids are like this...

A little note to end our blog for the year... 

2015 was a great year. We didn't have anything too significant happen either good or bad, and that's the way I like it. I really enjoyed a year where we just "coasted" by. We had some great birthday celebrations, new adventures, and our same traditions. I feel so blessed to have such a great husband and three adorable, healthy, smart, and active kids. I am grateful to have a nice house to create memories in, a husband who works so hard for us so that I can stay home with the cuties, and a healthy body and mind. I'm grateful the kids are learning and growing so much. They are excelling in school and church, and they truly love to learn about everything. I'm especially grateful for such a good husband. We work together and make a pretty good team! And lastly, I'm grateful for this blog. I love looking back at all the books and reminiscing. 2015 was a great year, and I'm looking forward to a lot of fun and hard work in 2016! 

Presents, Presents, and More Presents!

We all must have been really good this year because we were SPOILED with presents for Christmas! 

We started off by celebrating with the Evans family the Sunday before Christmas. We had dinner at Tracy's and then opened presents. 

All of the kids got spoiled with a lot of toys and clothes from Terry and Craig. The kids opened at least 5 gifts each, and we still went home with two garbage bags full of more presents to open on Christmas morning.

Christmas Eve was a very busy day for us. We started out with a quick visit with Tyler's family. We were only able to be there for a few hours, but we were glad we could see the Collard/Taylor/Kiniry/Chavez group! Then we came back home and got ready because we were having my family over to our house to celebrate. We had our traditional pizza dinner, and then moved right on to presents.  It was fun because we got most of the cousins together, minus Cole (who was working), and Brooke and Cicely (who live in Nashville).

The kids were spoiled with toys and money from Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Bob. Brynnli got a Barbie puppy

Caden got skates and a Cars toy

And Makayla got a dress and a purse, wallet, and pillow that she could color.

Thanks to my mom and dad who always do way too much for us!

We don't always get to see Ryan's boys, so it was extra special to have them all here with us this year.

We got the girls matching outfits for Christmas Eve. Aren't they adorable! I know they won't always want to wear matching clothes, so I will take advantage of it while I can.

And we can't forget that handsome little dude! He is Seriously Handsome... just look at his shirt!

After my family party we set out some cookies for Santa and then the kids went to bed.

Then it was finally Christmas morning. Brynnli was up first, and then Makayla got up a short while after. We finally had to wake up Caden so we could go downstairs and open presents.

I made the kids pose in their traditional picture on the stairs before they could run to see their gifts from Santa.

The kids were extra good this year and got so many toys and clothes. 

Makayla's pile:

Caden's pile:

Brynnli's pile:

Makayla got Elsa Legos, just like she asked for. She also got play doh, Doc McStuffins Operation game, a new backpack, and an outfit.

She was so excited about her Legos she wrote a letter to Santa to tell him thank you. 

Caden got a train, which Brynnli enjoyed playing with more. He also got a tool set, a Jake the Pirate toy (which he asked for), a soccer ball, and an outfit.

And Brynnli got a baby, a baby crib and stroller, clothes, and shoes.

Here's some pictures of them opening and playing with all their gifts.

I think the only way to sum up Christmas morning is that it was truly magical. I've heard people say that before, but I never really understood it. The kids were so excited and just believed in the magic of it all. It was so fun to see them open all their gifts and get so excited. As a kid I thought Christmas was the best thing ever, then I had kids. It is so much more fun now.

I think I say this every year, but you know you had a good Christmas when your basement looks like this after...

After we opened presents we headed off to Craig and Terry's to celebrate with the Evans side of the family.
These were the only pictures I took that day... oops!

This is Great Grandpa Bill and Great Grandma Bonnie giving a "Gig-em" thumbs up sign for Aunt Jo (She coaches softball at Texas A&M).

The kids were pretty tired, and they both ended up snuggling up with me. I loved every second of it!

They even fell asleep for a good hour!

Apparently it was take ugly selfie picture day. These two are the biggest lurps in the family!

To end our Christmas night we decided that going to four parties in 24 hours was not enough, so we ended up going over to Tammy and Bruce's house for another party! That's right, we went to five parties in all. Let's just say we were completely exhausted by the end. You know you've partied enough when your kids tell you they want to go to bed!

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year. We did a lot of fun activities together as a family, and enjoyed every minute of our time together.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!