Christmas Day

I woke up just before 8am and everyone in my house was still sleeping, so I thought I'd head downstairs and make sure everything was ready to go. I lit candles, turned on Christmas music, and put my monkey bread (that had been rising all night) in the oven.

Everyone was still asleep so I put on some make up. I thought I may as well get a jump on things since we'd need to head off for 11am church after opening presents. By the time I finished all that Jack woke up and Addie soon followed. We had both kids wait at the top of the stairs while Jeff and I got our video and picture cameras on and ready to capture the moments.

Then down they came...

Jack could recognize his name on all of his gifts and immediately began finding them and opening them. He would find Addie's for her too and give them to her. Sometimes he would get frustrated and how slowly she would open hers. She was more into opening and playing, than opening opening opening.

Jack got his blue car with the blue remote and the blue wheels. He was thrilled!

 Addie loved all the books she got.

She also loved her easel and mini kitchen.

Jeff and I decided to exchange just one $30 gift this year since our main present (a new flat screen for our bedroom) would be arriving in January. I was so puzzled as to what in the world mine could be.

A new camping chair!!! And no that is not scarcasm in my voice. I was genuinely thrilled! Here's the thing...someone gifted us two camping chairs at our wedding, which is great, but they don't have cup holders. So everytime we'd be camping or at a softball game I never had anywhere to place my drink. This always really annoyed me and I would tell Jeff how I wanted a new camping chair, but he insisted it was silly to buy something we already had. Practical? Yes. Frustrating? Yes! So finally after years of me complaining (it became more of a joke than anything) he got me this awesome chair. It not only has a cup holder, but the other side has a built in cooler to store ice and extra drinks and a place for magazines or books. I am SO excited to try this bad boy out this summer.

As for Jeff...

...I got him a sweater. Hooray! Okay, there was sarcasm that time. Not nearly as cool as his gift to me, but he really liked it none-the-less. And he looks great in it!

After all the presents were opened Jack discovered one more present for him hidden inside the kitchen.

His own mini 6 pack of root beer. This kid LOVES root beer and was seriously probably the most happy about this gift.

He immediately wanted to open one and start drinking. He insisted that Addie have one too. He's so nice to share. 

Then we switched rooms and checked out what Santa had put in our stockings.

Addie's favorite was this little notebook and a pen. This girl loves to carry around some sort of writing utensil and paper at all times. I love it!

A little wrestling with Dad before breakfast.

I LOVED seeing the excitement and awe on my kids faces all morning. Christmas really is better with children around.

Addie loves monkey bread, but who doesn't?

Then it was time to dress up and head off to church.

I really enjoyed having Christmas on Sunday. It was nice to spend an hour just focusing on the true meaning of Christmas. Poor Jeff spent most of the meeting in the hall with Addie who was hopped up on monkey bread, but I got to stay in the meeting and enjoy the spirit with Jack. 

After church we packed up the whole family and drove to Grand Junction where we spent the night in a hotel. We decided to get an early start to our drive to Utah and I always enjoy breaking up the drive into two days. We had a nice relaxing evening in the hotel room. It was a lovely finish to a wonderful Christmas Day!