Christmas Day 2013

 This is the sight we awoke to on Christmas morning:

 There were a lot of smiles!! Santa brought Cady the purple panda she asked for from Justice, a basketball and a Yamaha keyboard with a stand:

 Colton got another Lone Ranger lego set, a basketball and the airsoft assault rifle he asked for:

 Plus, Santa left them a basketball goal and the game of Life:

Our stuffed animal-lover was thrilled with this soft, giant panda:

Good stuff was found in the stockings:

We gave Colton a new football:

He also asked for a Seattle Seahawks jersey and was very excited that he got one.  He said he will always be a Dallas fan, but he is also a Seahawks fan, since he was born there:

Rainbow loom bracelet bands:

Colin gave me this KitchenAid Professional Stand Mixer, in the new copper color. Isn't it pretty?

 Grammy and Grampa came over later that morning and spent the day with us:

 They gave Cady a Crayola Air Brush machine and Cady used that thing all day long.  She made pictures and even decorated a t-shirt! That thing is very cool and works well.  I will have to take pictures of some of the things she has made:

 By the looks of this picture, it was an excellent Christmas! Crashed out in some of her new clothes, on her new blanket, with her new stuffed animals:

 The next day, Colin got the basketball goal set up and we all had fun playing:

 

 Grammy and Grampa also came back over for more Apples to Apples:

 What a blessed 2 days at home, enjoying time as a family and celebrating the greatest gift of all - Jesus Christ! We hope that you and your family had a wonderful Christmas, too!

Christmas Eve

 Christmas Eve - one of my favorite days of the year!  It is also full of traditions for our family, although I didn't do a very good job taking pictures! We started the day off with our annual Christmas Eve breakfast with Grammy and Grampa at Cracker Barrel.  That was fun and yummy, as usual.  Then, it was home to decorate our sugar cookies.  That is not a Christmas Eve tradition - we ran out of time to do them any earlier! Luckily, I had made, cut out and baked them all the day before.  It was a family effort, and we got them done!

 

 That evening, it was off to church for the Christmas Eve service.  A couple of pics by the tree:

 Cady and I bought our deer sweaters on Black Friday! :-)

After the service, it was back to our house where Grammy and Grampa joined us for homemade posole a la Colin, rolled tacos and tamales.  Yum!  Then it was time for the next tradition - the kids exchange their gifts with each other:

 They did good! Cady got Colton a Lone Ranger Lego set and he got her a blanket kit from Justice:

 Before bed, cookies were chosen and set out on the special plate (Colton made that camo cross special for Santa) and we got Santa's special glass out and filled it with Coca-Cola:

Then it was off to bed with a lot of excitement for Christmas morning!

Annual Head Family Photos

We always make time during our Head Family Christmas to take photos while we are all together. This year, with the snow on the ground, we thought it would be pretty to drive up the road to the Sapillo Campground and use the corrals that are there.  Here is our entire family together:

 We made everyone take their jackets off, so some look cold!

While I was getting the self-timer set and then running to my spot, I kind of stumbled and bumped into Colin and he made it, but I gave up.  Love the outtake thought because Colton decided to use the opportunity and be funny:

 Gramma Suzy and Papa Jimmy with their 4 grandkids:

 Gramma Mary with 4 of her great-grandkids (we missed you, Mackenzie!):

 The four cousins:

 Gramma Suzy and Papa Jimmy:

 Gramma Mary asked for a picture with my mom (her daughter-in-law), my sister-in-law, Tammi, and myself:

 More of Gramma Mary with the great-grandkids:

 Jeff's family (one without new puppy, Mayvis, and one with):

 And, last, but not least, our family:

 So grateful to have these pictures each year, especially when Gramma Mary is there to take them with us!

'Snow' What Fun!!

This is what we awoke to last Saturday morning at Gramma's and Papa's house:

 So beautiful, isn't it?

 The kids couldn't wait to get out in it and build a snow fort:

 They were interrupted by Papa Jimmy, Daddy, Uncle Jeff and neighbor Dave who were throwing snowballs at them from the other side of the house!  A fun and intense snowball fight ensued:

 

 

 Then, it was back to the fort. This time, Gramma lent them some plastic ice cream buckets and with Daddy's help, they made bricks:

 

 The next day, the entire family pitched in to make a giant snowman:

 

 They also built a little one that they said was "Olaf" from "Frozen":

 Here is Olaf chillin' in the snow fort: