Christmas at Grandpa & Grandma Davis'

After an extremely fun morning at our house it was off to Grandpa and Grandma Davis' house for dinner and some more spoiling.  The kids walked in to find Pillow Pets.  Andrew's and Ally's aren't your average, run of the mill Pillow Pets, these things are super-sized!

Vanessa got her own lady bug (typical, run of the mill size one) but after seeing Andrew's and Ally's, she wanted nothing to do with hers. 

Even I had to try out these soft, fluffy guys

yep, very comfy.  After a very yummy dinner it was time for more presents.

One of Andrew's favorites...money is always loved!

Jim's trying to convince Phin that his Buzz Lightyear shirt is actually for Jim.  I don't think Phin is buying it.

They were so excited that they each got Pet Shop dolls and pets.

Look at that mess.  Means it was a great Christmas right?  We all had a great time being together, enjoying each others' company and making great memories!  We had Christmas with the Marks' side of the family the next day but I forgot my camera and did not get any pictures, unfortunately.  I really need to get better at taking pictures when we are with the Marks' too.  We always have such a great time with them too.  I am so grateful for the fabulous family we have and that we get to live so close to them and spend so much time together with them!

Christmas

Thankfully Christmas day didn't start super early at our house.  Andrew came upstairs right around 7 a.m. so I turned on a movie in our room for him to watch while we waited for the girls to wake up.  We finally forced Jim out of bed at 8:20 and we were off to eat our traditional cinnamon rolls before going in to see all the 'joy' Santa brought this year.  The kids were extremely excited and kept trying to peek through the doors to see their gifts.  Soon it was time!

Vanessa was a little confused by all the stuff and didn't quite know what to do.

She wandered for a little bit

while Andrew and Ally dug right in.


Then Vanessa realized that some of this fabulous, new stuff was for her

And there was no stopping her once she found her stroller and new baby

Andrew and Ally were both very happy with their Santa gifts too

Andrew quickly piled all of his 'treasures'

Then it was time for the stockings and wrapped presents

Even Jim was happy with his stocking gifts (his present was running shoes which I was not about to pick out for him so he just got an IOU).

Of course Rocky and Dixie had to be included in all the festivities and mess.

Besides her stroller
 

I think Vanessa's favorite thing were the oranges in the stockings

It was a fabulous Christmas morning enjoyed by all!  The best part was all of us being together, celebrating the birth of our Savior.  I am so grateful for this time of year to celebrate the Savior with all the decorations, lights, music and Spirit we feel.  I really do wish I could make it last all year long

Christmas Eve

This year's Christmas Eve was even better than our regular, traditional Christmas Eve because Grandpa and Grandma Davis came over for dinner and to celebrate with us.  It was a very enjoyable dinner of beef brisket, mashed potatoes, rolls, salad, cooked carrots, sparkling spider (as Ally calls it) and peach cobbler and ice cream and great company.  After dinner was finished and all cleaned up it was time for the annual Christmas Eve pajamas.  Andrew and Ally were extremely excited and Vanessa, well, I think the pictures say it all.

Andrew and Ally really liked their pajamas

And Vanessa really liked her pajama bottoms.

It took a little while and some coaxing by Dad,

but we finally got her in her shirt and got a picture of the three of them together.

Okay, so it's not the greatest picture, but it was the best I could get with Vanessa.  We enjoyed watching some of The Christmas Story with the kids and Grandpa and Grandma and then it was off to bed for the kids.
 

Santa had it pretty easy this year, only one thing to put together.  Woohoo!!  After getting the presents wrapped and under the tree

it was off to bed for Dad and Mom too.  We missed a few of our traditions this year because we ran out of time but it still was a fabulous Christmas Eve.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

And snow it did!  We woke up to 20 inches of snow (here's Jim's proof).

He spent quite a few hours out snowblowing ours and many neighbors driveways and sidewalks

while the kids played and played and played.

Vanessa and I enjoyed the warmth of our house for a while and then she got tired of watching so I bundled her up and we headed outside.  She loved it!  She was trying to do everything all the 'big' kids were doing.