~ Christmas ~

~ Christmas Morning ~

It was about 7:15 am that the kids were up and ready to see if Santa made it to our house.  These few minutes between getting up and the waiting time for everybody, namely dad, to pull out of bed and get in the front room, is pure torture for the kids!  I remember as a kid, these few minutes waiting for my mom and dad to get ready seemed to take forever.  And I know that these four feel the exact same way.  This year we had all four kids sleep on the floor in Ally and Tyra's room, this way when it was time for them to get up, none of them had to walk past the front room to get Jeremy and I up.  I, like normal, was awake a little after six.  I love Christmas morning, so I lay there just patiently watching the clock and await for one of the kids to come ask, "Did Santa come?" So patiently they await and soon that magical moment arrives and they are able to step foot into the front room.  I just love these pictures and how it shows that pure wow factor that every kids wants Christmas morning. 

And as you can see, Santa did make it to our house this year and from the looks of it, the kids must have been very nice!  Christmas morning was so great this year!  The kids decided to take turns opening presents one by one this year, this way we could see what everybody received from Santa.  Tyra played with her stroller for about 2 seconds, and then she spent the remaining time wanting to sit on Allyson's bike.  Which of course Ally had complete stress over, but soon we decided that would be the only way we could get through it all was if Tyra stayed entertained.  Occasionally, McKenna would entice her over to her section of gifts and get her opening one, but before we knew it, she would be back on Ally's bike again.

It was fun to see each of their reactions to some of the gifts that they each received.  Trey was excited and astounded that he actually got the Playmobil farm set, plus the truck and trailer set that he had been asking for, plus the surprise of an ihome and headphones.  McKenna was excited about her pink/black headphones, her new ihome, plus the 3 watches she received from Santa and that they finally received a mirror to hang in her bedroom.  Allyson was excited over everything, but I think her funnest present was that she did actually get the Ariel doll that she wanted and as a bonus, the doll fits perfectly in the car seat that is attached to her bike.  Tyra, well she was more or less just glad to be there.  She enjoyed the presents that everyone received and wasn't too picky whether or not it was hers, she just wanted to play with it all!  

Santa did a great job again this year, finding yet the right thing for each of these for kiddos!  They were happy and excited for it all.  

 After the gifts that Santa Clause delivered to our house were open, the kids were ready to get going on the presents under the tree. By now, Grandpa Rod. Grandma JoAnn, Great Grandma Loraine, Rick, Kallie, and Dillon showed up to see what the kids received.  The kids had a lot of fun showing them their gifts and were excited to open more gifts with them here at the house.  We had our presents to for them, so they were able to do some opening too!  Not sure how it happened, but Dillon and Rick ended up in a wrestling match in the midst of all this commotion, but it ended with Dillon as the winner.   By now, from the looks of it, one would have thought that Santa's sleigh had been dumped right in our front room!  But no complaints here, I love every minute of it!

~ Christmas Breakfast ~

After all our presents are open, it has always been tradition to go to Grandpa and Grandma's house for breakfast.  This year they served up some yummy waffles with whip cream and strawberries, along with scrambled eggs and sausage.  Everything tasted so good that we just could not get enough!  Everyone must have worked up a good appetite in all their hard work of opening gifts.

This year was nice because after breakfast, we had time to hang out at home before we needed to be in Salina for the Okerlund party.  In years past, we usually have met earlier in the day and so there hasn't always been time for the kids to play with their stuff before we head to Salina.  But this year, where we were not meeting until 4:00 pm, this gave the kids some playing time with their stuff.  McKenna and Trey went right to work putting their Playmobil and Lego stuff right together.  Ally, Tyra, and I went to work putting together the Fisher Price Castle that Tyra got from Santa.  And when those two weren't playing with the castle, Ally was taking her bike for spin around the front room and Tyra was pushing around her new baby.

 

 

~ Okerlund Family Party ~

One tradition that the kids have come to love and look forward to is seeing their cousins at Grandpa and Grandma's house at the Okerlund Family Christmas Party.  This usually is several hours of laughter, fun, and chaos!  This year, we missed not having Tyler, Ashley and their family with us.  They decided that it would be easier on them and the kids if Santa delivered at their home in Springville rather than at a Grandma's house and then have to worry about getting everything back to their house.  Even though the party wasn't the same without Tyler and family, we still enjoyed a very nice and fun Okerlund Christmas Party!