Christmas Part 1

Christmas for my kids is generally a week (or two) long event. When we travel to Iowa, we get to see both sets of grandparents and sometimes the great-grandparents on both sides. It gets very busy but a lot of fun. We try to see as many people as possible. 

Our first Christmas stop was over to Grandma and Grandpa Weldon's. 

We tend to go a little overboad at Christmas.

All seven kids got to sit at their own table for lunch this year. They did a really good job of behaving and eating. I think this may be a good thing.

Here are the five big kids.

After lunch, it was time to open presents (and presents and presents and presents.....)

Another fun tradition at the Weldons is to play a family game with the Lindens and/or the CO Weldons for charity. The winner gets to give the pot to a charity of their choice. 

The games are always fun and provide a lot of laughs.

Merry Christmas from the Weldons!

Christmas Morning

Finally it was time for Christmas morning. The boys were beyond excited. We put out treats the night before. 

The boys wanted to give Santa part of the Rice Krispie Treat Train (although Daniel was very nervous he would eat the whole thing because he wanted to try some of the engine). They also wanted to give him OJ instead of milk. Josh wrote him a letter as well.

Here are the boys' stockings before they came down. 

They were very excited with what they got.

Then they got to open presents from Mom and Dad.

They all got tablets (Josh and Daniel Kindles, Patrick a V-tech toy). The big boys also got headphones, which Daniel opened first and exclaimed "Headphones. Really?" Oh to be a five year old.

Merry Christmas from the Weldons!

Josh/Mommy Date Night

Joe and I are trying to make one-on-one time with the kids a priority so every once in a while one of us takes one of them out for a fun evening. This time it was my turn with Josh. We had dinner at Chili's...

...and then went bowling at his request.

It is always fun to spend time alone with one of the boys. Hopefully we can keep this up.

Rice Krispie Christmas Train 2013

Last year Daniel and I made a Rice Krispie Treat train as an activity while Josh was at school. This year Josh wanted to help. So, I facilitated as the boys made a Rice Krispie Treat train. 

They actually did almost all of it themselves. 

They were both very serious while decorating and really got into it.

And they were proud of their designs. Daniel even decorated the wax paper. 

Cookie Decorating/Ornament Exchange Party

Every year (okay, the last two years) one of Daniel's friend's from preschool hosts a cookie decorating and ornament exchange party (well, by her mom anyway). It is such a fun party for the kids. They have a great basement where the kids can play and then they have a great set-up for decorating cookies. Each kid gets their own aluminum pan to decorate cookies with frosting and sprinklers. All without the mess. It stays in the pan. Genius!

The kids look forward to it every year. Then we end the party with an ornament exchange. Each kid brings one ornament (either purchased or made) and gets to take home an ornament brought by another kid. They always have a lot of fun.

Patrick especially liked the balloons. It was a great time. Thanks, Melissa!

Meeting Santa

Every year my MOPS group puts together a meet-in-greet with Santa at someone's house. This way we can meet Santa without waiting in line at the mall. Plus, we get to meet him in our Christmas pajamas. The boys loved it.

Well, most of the boys. Would you believe this is the first year we have had a "crying child meeting Santa" picture? It's super cute!

Getting Ready for Christmas

Christmas is a big deal around this house. Everyone gets into the spirit and helps decorate. We have a few trees and a lot of decorations. My favorite tree is our 12 foot tree we got when we first moved into this house. It looks really cool all lit up at night. If we ever move, Joe knows we have to find a place that will fit this tree. 

Even Patrick got to help decorate this one. He really likes climbing ladders.

Another tradition we have is taking the kids to the Hallmark store and letting them each pick out their own ornament. They get really into it and spend quite a bit of time searching for the perfect ornament. 

Daniel picked out the Griswold Family Roadster (since it was a car) and it played "Holiday Road" when you pushed a button (which Patrick would love to push. It was the first thing he did every morning).

Patrick picked out the groundhog from Caddyshack. I guess he really likes animals.

The boys got to help us decorate this tree. They each wanted to put up their own ornaments. 

Here is the finished tree.

And our stockings. So cute! 

I love the Christmas season.