Happy Holidays

We had a very happy holiday season this year. We were so lucky to get to have my mom and dad come and stay for Christmas. We had a blast. They came a few days before Christmas and we got to take mom on her first "train ride" (the light rail). It was so much fun - albeit very crowded that week. The kids love riding the train so getting to go with Grandma and Grandpa was a real treat. We went down town to visit one of the largest book stores in the United States -Powells Books. It was AWESOME! While not the prettiest book store, it is so worth visiting. I have never seen so many books in one place at one time. They sell new and used so the prices vary from super cheap to super expensive (they have a collectors room - pricey :). We all enjoyed it although I will admit I was afraid I was going to lose one of my kids. I could not keep track of them to save my life. Thank goodness for grandparents :).

This was the tree they put up in Pioneer Square down town. It was HUGE! It was taller than many of the buildings. It was so pretty when it was lit up.

My camera is has issues with inside pictures, but here was our table setting for Christmas Eve. It has been a tradition in our family (for as long as I can remember) to hang a small present from the chandelier during dinner to open as soon as dinner is over. I loved it growing up and it is something our kids love as well. The girls actually hung them for me this year.

David got these fun little crackers form target. You pop them open by pulling them apart and there is a fun little gift inside. It is a British tradition and I hope we do it every year. It was a great little addition to our celebration.

I know the lighting is horrid and my camera doesn't take the best indoor pictures, but our little feast was delicious. We have started doing our big meal on Christmas Eve and our soup on Christmas day, and we are really liking it that way. It just helps fill up Christmas Eve, and then gives us great food to eat all day on Christmas. It is a win - win situation in my book :).

David decided to dye the eggs green for a more festive look. They looked so crazy, but they had the same great taste they always have.

Jello has become a new family tradition in our house. We don't celebrate a single holiday without jello anymore. It is by far Jacob's favorite dish :).

Hurray! Time to open Chandelier gifts.

I never got an after picture of mom and dad's gift either. It was the movie "It's a Wonderful Life." I couldn't believe they didn't have that one yet (on DVD). Who doesn't love that movie.
"Merry Christmas Bedford Falls!"

The kids got Pokemon tins with tons of Pokemon cards. They all spent the night trading cards. It was great and gave them something to do.

Katie isn't into Pokemon so she got a Dora puzzle (in case you can't see it since my camera puts a glare on anything with a smooth surface).
I know hair ties are nothing to get that excited over, but I have been wanting these for a long time and just kept forgetting to buy them. I was so proud of David for getting the right ones. Way to go babe!

We all enjoyed his gift. I have never seen mini Toblerones. They were perfect. I think mini things are the best!

David made the best sugar cookies on Christmas Eve. He took the time to totally decorate each one of the 4 cookies. The 5th one on the far right was done by Katie. These five cookies were put out for Santa and the carrots were for the reindeer. In the morning we realized Santa wasn't very hungry this year because there was only a small bite taken out of one of the cookies, and the reindeer forgot to take the carrots with them. They must have been really busy. Maybe Santa just couldn't handle devouring such perfect cookies and thought that David deserved to eat them himself. I don't know. Either way, we enjoyed them ;).

Once again, the glare! Our 3 older kids have been riding the same bikes for the last 4 years. Santa decided it was time to get them some bikes that fit their heights. It was a very fun Christmas morning. They actually got to ride them that day because it wasn't raining. But it was very cold so they didn't stay out very long.

Nana and Papa always send something super fun for the family. This year it was actually called a family fun box. It had tons of great movies and games and treats. It was definitely a family favorite. Thank you so much! What a fun idea! How well you know us :). (I had more pictures of the family fun box, but somehow I deleted them off my blog and as it is 11:30 I realized I am to tired to figure out how to get them back on. Just know that it was an AWESOME gift :)

Jacob got a Konzu Pet (however you spell it) battle station from Santa. It was fun to watch those little guys battle away.

Katie has had her eye on this dress up from Target (and Santa's workshop:) for months.

She looked like a real little princess.

Emma loves the Percy Jackson series and so does David so this was really killing 2 birds with one stone :).

We got Joelle this fun little microscope not even knowing if was something she would really want. It turned out to be a favorite. They keep talking about what they think things will look like under the microscope. They played "little scientists" for about 3 days straight. Taking notes and everything. Thank you Costco for such fun, learning, inexpensive gift ideas.

David gets me a can of mixed nuts every year. I love them!

Not to mention he also gets me the cutest clothes. He is such a great gift giver (just like his mom:).

Julie told me about this game "Last Word". She says they had a blast playing it with Tim, Katy, John and Tiffany. I got it for David because we love trying new games. We hope to try it out soon with Wendy's family.

Somehow I missed getting a picture of Ben by himself. He was quite happy with his bike and his Harry Potter legos (Hagrids Hut - which I believe the girls had the most fun building.) I also didn't get a picture of the super cute blankets my parents brought for the kids. We were in desperate need of more blankets up here with all this chilly weather (especially since our heater broke they day before new years eve and we haven't been able to get it fixed yet... thank goodness for blankets!!!!). Thank you to everyone for all your wonderful gifts. We love you all and hope that everyone had a very happy Christmas and hope for a happy New Year!