The Most Wonderful Day of the Year is Finally Here!

Christmas Eve day we spent hanging out around our house. 

Makayla made some cookies for Kitty the Elf. She let us taste one of them, and they were delicious. Makayla is such a great cook! She also bought Kitty a mug that he can take back to the North Pole with him to remember her throughout the year. She bought all the gifts for Kitty with her own money. She is so thoughtful!

We let the kids open their presents from us. They are never that excited about it because they know it is clothes. 

Check out those muscles on our Cader. He's been working out. 

They may complain that they only get clothes from us on Christmas Eve, but how cute are our kids in their coordinating outfits?

We got a decent family picture on Christmas Eve!

We stopped by to wish Doug and Gayle a Merry Christmas, since they wouldn't be able to join us for our Christmas Eve party. Stupid Corona. 

We were all worried we wouldn't be able to get together for our annual Christmas Eve party because of Corona. Its so challenging because some of us feel ok getting together like normal, but some of us don't. Luckily Karly was able to get the gym at her school, so we were able to be socially distanced and still have our fun traditions. 

Tracy and Jeremy won the contest for ugliest sweater. 

Dinner was pizza at tables that were spread apart by family. 

We were able to have the $5 game, but instead of passing the presents, we all moved around the circle. 

Then it was time for the talent show. Kenzee sang

Caden did tricks and told jokes. 

Makayla did tricks and Brynnli did her dance, but I guess I didn't get pictures of that?

Then we opened presents. Brynnli got the Trolls doll that she wanted from Ryan

Caden got Walkie Talkies. 

And Makayla got an Amazon Gift Card. 

Cute cousins! 

We even did our dancing in the street...err parking lot this year. 

Then it was time to go home and try to get some sleep. The kids set out cookies and milk for Santa, oats for the reindeer, and presents for Kitty. 

Then it was time to say goodbye to Kitty. This always makes me so sad to see how sad our kids are. Makayla seems to take it harder than the others. 

When we woke up the next morning we hoped Santa had come. I made the kids take their traditional picture on the stairs. I love how something so simple has become such a cute tradition. 

Guess what? Santa came!! And goodness did the kids get spoiled!

Brynnli got an American Girl doll, Caden got a basketball hoop, and Makayla got a new mountain bike. 

Makayla also got new wireless headphones, lots of Harry Potter stuff, and games. 

Caden got the Super Mario Legos and the Avengers Lego sets that he asked for. Plus some games and roller blades. 

Brynnli got accessories for her doll, play doh, and roller blades. 

The kids also gave each other gifts. I took the kids one at a time to get gifts for each other at the Dollar Store. It was so fun to see them look for things for their siblings. This may be one of my new favorite traditions. 

I take this picture every year. A messy basement equals a fun Christmas morning. 

Can you believe we haven't had any snow this December? The only good thing about no snow is that Makayla was able to test out her new bike. 

Then we were off for our Christmas day adventures. I don't wear red lipstick that often, but when I do, it's on Christmas day. 

We had a party at my parent's house. I am so glad my dad is feeling better after having Covid. 

The kids got spoiled with more gifts from Grandma and Grandpa.

It was a different Christmas day at my parents' house. We got to see Darren and Candice and Cole and Hannah, but missed everybody else. 

After that we headed over to Bill and Bonnie's house. We were in the garage, but we were just glad we could be together. 

Since we had to do things differently this year we wanted this Christmas to be memorable. We decided to have a special family dinner on Christmas night. We decided to do Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches, and oh my, were they good! Tyler made it all and at 8:00 at night we ate. We sat around the table and laughed and talked about what a fun day we had. It was different, but it was so much fun. 

This Christmas is definitely one to remember, not just because of Covid 19. We had to change a lot of our plans and some traditions were cancelled. But we also made new traditions and memories. We spent the day with the ones we loved and had the best time together as a family. Christmas is always special, but I love being with our cute little family of 5.