This year Christmas felt a little crazy. Which is weird because we stayed home on Christmas Eve while Marna, Terry, and Heather came to us, but for some reason we felt like we traveled a lot.
As I said, Christmas Eve was at our house and the girls were anxious all day long. They couldn't wait to open presents.
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| The living room |
We made a delicious ham, potatoes, corn casserole, and had some snack food.
The girls opened some presents and then of course their Christmas jammies:
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| "Say cheese sis!" |
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| Crazy kids! |
They made cookies with Grammy and got them ready for Santa.
We had the girls sleep in our room with us for a fun sleepover and they actually went to bed pretty easily which was shocking.
When morning finally came (6:45 am), Bria popped up and was ready to see what Santa brought. We had to wake up a groggy Reese but once she remembered it was Christmas she was ready to go.
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| Bria: a set of 5 babies Reese:Barbie RV camper |
Both girls were super excited about what Santa brought them and had fun going through their stockings.
Then they passed out presents to everyone.
We always take turns opening presents and the youngest goes first. I actually love this tradition because I enjoy seeing what other people get and their reactions. Reese is pretty nonchalant about things, even when she likes them. But Bria is like me, she gets very animated and excited with each gift.
The girls had a great Christmas and were very grateful for all their gifts. I generally stick to the 4 present rule:
Something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read.
It keeps things simple and I like that. I didn't get too caught up in the hustle and bustle this year. For some reason it became very obvious to me how crazy we all get during the Holidays. I don't want anyone to feel the need to run out and buy me a set of lotions or something random just to be able to hand me a gift. I truly would rather people spend time with their families and donate their time or money. That's not to say it's not fun to spoil your kids, it totally is and I enjoy it so much. But I don't want "things" to take priority, I love thoughtful gifts that have meaning. Alright, I'll step off my soap box now.
Reese's "want" was an Anna dress and I was thrilled with the quality, it's such a pretty dress:
Bria got Anna and Elsa Barbie dolls that were riding a little bike. Then they got books and clothes, Reese needed a helmet and Bria needed footie PJ's.
Of course, they did get a little spoiled by grandparents. We headed down to my Dad's around 11 am and they couldn't wait to open presents there.
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| Barbie set for Reese |
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| A Barbie carrying tote for Bria along with 5 gorgeous gowns for her Barbies! |
We ate and then Lance and Kayla and Ames stopped by! My siblings had already gone to my Dad's the previous day so it was just us Holcomb's on Christmas day.
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| I love this kiddos smile!!! |
The girls played with their new toys, I played with Ames, and we all had a great time. After we put the girls to bed we went to the Jensens to play dominos and see how their Christmas went. We had so much fun playing dominos that we bought our own set :)
The next morning we headed up to Salem to have Christmas with Brian's Dad. I think this is where we started to feel like we were traveling a lot! Our girls were good sports though and we were grateful.
Bria adores her cousins Becky (Brian's stepsisters daughter) and Josh so the girls stayed completely entertained and busy the whole time.
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| Becky and Bria |
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| Um, hello teenager?! |
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| Heather and her mini me |
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| The Holcomb grandkids (minus Gabriel who was there in spirit!) |
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| Grandpa David and Grandma Kathie with the kiddos |
After a fun and eventful evening we made the drive home, put the kids to bed, and sat our butts down in front of the tv to veg out.
It was a fun Christmas season and we were exhausted!
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