**I finally have some time to finish this post!! Our Christmas was fantastic! It was so nice to finally have an interruption-free, "normal" Christmas. As a step-family you learn to adapt to situations and make due with what you're given, but being able to have all the kids wake up together on Christmas day was so much better. Thank you to the family court system for making this happen. We were a bit nervous that a certain someone was going to bother us on Christmas morning but she didn't. We made sure to have all our phones in the other room so there wouldn't be any obnoxious calls to the kids about how much she missed them. The kids didn't even ask to call her in the morning. Truly, it was a Christmas miracle! Ok, onto the pictures!
a trip to the beautiful Mission Inn...we ate at Farmer Boys and walked around...the hubby said seeing all the lights puts him in the Christmas spirit...I totally agree!
sometimes it's hard getting a picture of Brandon making a normal face...typical boy
photo by Kaelyn...this must have been her 3rd or 4th attempt at getting a good picture...the rest were a little blurry
Kaelyn looks giant here
holy cow a normal smile!!
she made a new friend...Hayley was a little creeped out by the elves and people that are placed all over the grounds
this monkey needs to be caged
We had a lovely dinner at Gawa's house on Christmas Eve. Kaelyn didn't want to sit at the bar with Hayley since she said she doesn't get to join into the conversation up there. She is quite the talker you know. We had ham, rib-eye roast, broccoli with cheese sauce, mashed potatoes, uhh rolls and maybe something else that I can't remember right now. Either way, it was yummy. Brandon's response to having some broccoli put on his plate-"let's get this over with." What a comedian.
pile of Christmas Eve gifts...who started the tradition of opening a gift on Christmas Eve??
don't mind the wonky star at the top
Drew got a Dstroyr beanie to keep his ears warm after cutting off all his hair
and a crazy shirt Jon Chase designed for fun
Hay and her moon sand....think her dad was going to have a stroke when she took it to Gawa's and got it all over her coffee table...he was trying to clean it up on the sly when Gawa noticed and said she'd just vacuum it up later
KK and her bop it...fun game to play and watch...kinda like Simon Says
good gift in theory but not so good when darts are whizzing past your head
making mashed potatoes
the amazing pretzel boy...obviously he didn't get his height or weight from his mother
yummy food
Gawa fixing a hole in one of Hay's stuffed animals...Gawa's sewing container is like 75 years old...I swear she has the best memory...how does someone remember the exact day you bought something??
in this box is cash and popcorn...two of his favorites
necklace from Cathy
awkwardfamilyphotos.com perhaps?
take 2
Gawa gets the smile, sadly I don't
we decided to let them open gifts from Florida when we got home from Gawa's
he was saying "yes" like Napoleon Dynamite
she's really excited
her own oven mitt
making cookies for Santa...I cheaped out and got scoop and bake mix...thankfully I did otherwise Santa would have gotten Oreos
putting together our breakfast-french toast souffle
we're all ready for Santa to make his arrival! Sadly, I think all the kids know there isn't a Santa Claus. When I was shopping for stuff for the hubby's stocking she kept making faces at me like she knew he wasn't real. (I told her Santa doesn't fill the adult's stockings, it's up to the wife or the husband.) She said that we were making the kids sleep in her room so that they wouldn't see us putting out their gifts. She didn't seem like she was upset by it. My rule is this, if you don't believe, you don't receive.
Santa came!! The kids must have been good this year since he left gifts and not coal. (yeah right)
Drew grabbing his new Xbox...think that makes like 38 game consoles in the house now
someone's excited!
and someone isn't (we woke them up at 0615 when it was still dark outside) can you believe that they stay in bed and wait for us to wake them up?? At least they know not to disturb us at 0400. Think they know that mom and dad need their sleep or it makes for grouchy parents.
the living room was kinda dark,
and the flash was kinda bright!
Santa brought a cell phone!! Drew, of course, got all huffy about it since Santa didn't bring him one til he was 13. She carries it around with her like she's some important business person. It's funny.
the living room gets cold so we had a fire going, thanks to HSN
he was thrown off by the box I wrapped his game in
Brandon and KK both got cameras, rechargable batteries, memory cards and camera cases
more games!
new Angels hat...he got a red one too...perfect since he doesn't comb his hair
more Littlest Pet Shops stuff
from Brandon-$0.11 he found in the garage with a homemade card
dad got new hats too! he combs his hair though
a new eyelash curler!
wheeee my first Tiffany box!! with real Tiffany jewelry inside!!
his shiny new Nikes (he can't stand shiny tennis shoes) he blurted out that I bought the wrong ones....oops!
new Christmas lights!!
just kidding, it's Chargers tickets for next weekend! We talked about going to this game but never got tickets. Perfect Christmas gift! He thought it was going to be concert tickets.
tired, but happy
prepping the turkey...we removed the bag 'o insides this time! Didn't fry the turkey this year either. Some day.
using our new injector that Gawa gave us....it really make the turkey more flavorful
What a great Christmas! Lots of good food, family and fun. We basically had Thanksgiving all over again for Christmas. It was just us and the mothers for Christmas dinner. Drew, of course, overdosed on carbs. I'm trying to find a recipe for leftover turkey. Think I'll make turkey noodle casserole tonight for dinner. Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!
*A side vent. Kaelyn and Drew got cards in the mail from their dad. Now I know Christmas isn't about the gifts but seriously, can't their dad send them something?? $20, or even $5?? He sent them cards with blurry pictures of him and his family. Grrrrr! I guess I should be thankful that he still calls occasionally and that he bothers to put something in the mail for them but geez. It's been 3 years since he's seen them and he has no plans to see them in the near future. He also told Kaelyn he was going to get her a prepaid cell phone but decided not to. Why on earth would he tell her that?? I'll never understand...
*A side vent. Kaelyn and Drew got cards in the mail from their dad. Now I know Christmas isn't about the gifts but seriously, can't their dad send them something?? $20, or even $5?? He sent them cards with blurry pictures of him and his family. Grrrrr! I guess I should be thankful that he still calls occasionally and that he bothers to put something in the mail for them but geez. It's been 3 years since he's seen them and he has no plans to see them in the near future. He also told Kaelyn he was going to get her a prepaid cell phone but decided not to. Why on earth would he tell her that?? I'll never understand...
2 comments:
Where's a picture of the "star"?
Didn't take any of the star this year. Maybe they still have it lit so I can get one.
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