Christmas Break

Paige had two weeks off for Christmas break and the first week we didn't do much, mostly Christmas prep. Then Friday was Christmas Eve and we got to pick up my parents from the airport and they stayed the rest of the break with us. It was great to be with them and the girls loved every minute and didn't want them to leave when the time came.

Christmas Eve we spent at Nona and Pop's house for traditional Christmas Eve dinner. It was cute that as soon as we got there Nate and Paige went to the Christmas tree to see who all the presents were for. Paige reminds me of myself so much at Christmas- so much excitement, loves everything about it, always looking at the presents and feeling them and putting them in piles. 

We started the evening with the traditional lightly of the Santa candle. We had one and Nona had one so each of the girls got to light one. Nona's burnt really fast and was gone by the evening and we had to burn ours on Christmas to get to the end of it.

Anna and Scott's family arrived and it was sandwich time. First was everyone signing the board.

Then the Dads and kids had fun making the sandwich. It is always fun to see their choices.

Then carrying the sandwich around the house before digging in.

It was a delicious sandwich like always and we had plenty of sides to go with it. Then it was present time. It is always fun to see the young kids lined up to help hand out presents and I love seeing everyone open presents and the excitement in their eyes and their reactions to gifts.

Then we went home with two very excited girls ready to open up their pjs and get everything ready for Santa's big arrival.

Christmas was so sweet. One of my favorite parts of the day was Baylor running into our room in the morning and yelling, "Santa came!" The girls were so excited and the adults were not moving fast enough. Santa spoiled us this year and the girls got so many fun things. Paige loved her fuzzy slippers and got so many craft things. Baylor loved her new Frozen high heels and constantly wear them. Paige gave us some of the sweetest and most thoughtful gifts and even helped Baylor makes some things to give to us. It was fun to have my parents there and they loved being part of the magic of Christmas with young children. We haven't been with my parents for Christmas since Paige was little so it was great for them to be a part of our day.

Crafting away in the Christmas chaos.

Traditional Christmas gift pictures- We have two of the cutest girls ever!

The girls kept busy for the rest of the day playing with their gifts. Paige got this rock discovery kit and the pounding was heard for the next couple of days. I made a turkey and a big Christmas dinner and the girls got to have both their grandparents over. What a special occasion for us all!

The white Christmas came a day late and so Sunday the world was covered in white and Church ended up being cancelled. It was a lazy day, watching the Seahawks, and spending some time at Nona and Pop's house.

One lucky girl to have both her grandpa's helping her with puzzles.

Monday after lunch, we went sledding. The funny thing is Baylor has been all talk about snow and so excited to go out in it. We got to the park and Baylor wanted nothing to do with sledding. No matter who tried to convince her or different ways to be in the sled she simply refused. We met over at the park with Pops, Aaron and a couple of his kids, and Mike and a couple of his kids. Paige and Carly had so much fun going down over and over. They would race and then ended up going down together. The last run ended up with some injuries and tears but it was still a fun outing.

My stubborn little girl and I hung out at the bottom of the hill watching everyone go down over and over. The only time she sat in a sled was to sit with me for a little bit to give her legs a rest.

We ended up going over to Nona and Pop's house for dinner. The girls had fun with cousins and we ended the night with some ginger beer taste testing.

There was still a lot of snow on the roads so most of the time we stayed home but there was a small break in the weather on Tuesday so we went bowling. 

Paige loved it and Baylor lasted a couple of rounds and then was done. Paige was fine having her sister give up so that she got to go twice per round. It was kind of cold in the bowling alley and Baylor doesn't like being cold and it was loud. So most of time, Baylor was on my lap with my coat wrapped around her with her plugging her ears. It was a fun outing and the best was seeing Paige improve over time and seeing her excitement when she got a spare.

We ended up getting more snow and so the next few days kind of blurred together. We spent most of the time at home. I really wanted to get out and do more but with the snow and cold it just didn't happen. We played lots of games and watched a couple of movies. Grandma played probably every game we own with Paige and the girls loved having her read them a story every night. Poppy did a lot of puzzles with Baylor.

One afternoon we got out to play in the snow and built some snowmen and threw snowballs. 

Baylor loves throwing snowballs at people. She thinks it is so fun and had the best smiles and laughs while chasing people around. Both girls had fun throwing snowballs at each other and at their parents. It was a fun afternoon and was good to be outside for awhile even if we were all bundled up.

New Year's Eve we went to Winco to get some food for the next day and some candy to do some gingerbread houses. We took the candy over to Nona and Pop's house and the girls did them there with Eliza and we got to see Christy and Lylia for their birthdays. We went home late and we got Baylor to bed and then we watched a movie to pass the time. Paige was determined to stay up until midnight and we made it and it was fun to see and hear all the fireworks outside. It is crazy that another year has passed! Time truly goes by way too fast.

 New Year's Day we spent eating lots of food and watching some football. It was a day spent playing more games and being inside. Then Sunday we had church and watched some of the Seahawks game before having to take Grandma and Poppy back to the airport. There were some tears from Paige. She always has a hard time leaving them. She loves all the time spent with them and the distance is hard and it is hard that we are torn between two places. We enjoyed our visit with them and it was so amazing to have them here for Christmas!