Christmas Eve

The morning started off with the usual contagious excitement that Christmas Eve brings.  Our Santa cookies were all baked and we were ready to decorate.  Ryan was getting off shift that morning and while we were waiting for him to come home and my Mom and sister to arrive, the girls started getting their reindeer food all ready.

The cookie decorators hard at work!

This was the first year Lex really got into it!  Even though I think she ate as many as she decorated. :)  It led to the 3rd year in a row of her not napping on Christmas Eve.  Too much excitement and too much sugar!!

Then all ready for church

After church we went over to Memaws for Christmas Eve dinner

The girls always have fun with the Hallmark toys that sing and make noise!

Good job Ryan!

The girls get to open one present on Christmas Eve

Then the excitement really kicks it up a notch as we go back to our house to put out the cookies for Santa, carrots for the reindeer, throw our reindeer food, and read Twas the Night Before Christmas.

The girls all ready just waiting for Memaw, Auntie, and Brandon!

Picking out the best for Santa!

Taking time out to read one more Christmas card!

Then out front to throw our reindeer food!

We couldn't forget my car, that is reindeer height ya know!

Then it was one final good by to this guy and off to bed.  I think we were all sad to see him go.  He adds so much fun to each day.  Until next year Charlie!

Our Family...

An original completed with love by our own talented artist Kaylee. :)

More Christmas activities!

I really will finish Christmas at some point!  I hope in the next few days. ;)  I have been slow to blog and slow to put Christmas away this year.  Normally by Jan 1st or 2nd everything is down.  On Wednesday I finally packed up everything but the tree, and just today we finally took the ornaments down and Ryan put the tree in the garage. :(  And you better believe that until today it was still glowing in the window every night!  Now the ornaments are still all over the dining room table but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

On this particular night we took the girls to the Desert Ridge Marriott to look at the big gingerbread house display and of course some photo ops.  And yes, they went out in their pj's!

Some of the Grinch characters were at the hotel walking around.  Lex would not go near them so Ryan joined in the picture because Kaylee did not want to go by herself.  Yea for Dads!

Throwing pennies in the fountain

Then over to Desert Ridge to look at the big Christmas tree.  The girls love when this comes out!

Taking laps around the tree

Then of course the book store which is always a favorite!

Here the girls are decorating big gingerbread cookies from Memaw.  The icing was kind of hard to work with but the girls still had fun!  I had to add some water to it because it was so thick and then I think it got too runny and dribbled all over. 

And on take 2 we finally made it to the train park to see the lights.  Take 1 was about a week before Christmas and the line was about 2 1/2 hours long so we decided to try another night.  We had some sad girls so we had to promise to come back, even though it was after Christmas.