Merry Christmas to all

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas! It was super relaxing! We woke to Reece stirring in his bed at about 5:30. I ran upstairs so he wouldn't come down and see all of the presents. He was still pretty sleepy so I layed with him for a bit and then he fell back asleep. I crept back down to my bed and woke at 7:30 to the sound of a lil one playing under the tree. I kicked Mo and said I think Reece is up. We peaked in on him and he was playing with the Chutes & Ladders game I had set up under the tree. We ran back into the bedroom to grab the video camera and sneak up on him.

We said, "Reece what are you doing up?" He was afraid he was in trouble. I then said, "What is all this?" "PRESENTS," he shouted. We asked him who brought all of this and he shouted SAAANNNTTTAAAA! He was so cute. He wanted to open more presents but we told him we needed to go get Raine first. When we walked into her room, she was up playing with her baby doll. It was the perfect way to wake for Christmas.

The morning was awesome! It took us an hour and a half to open presents, and we didn't have all that much. Reece loved opening the toy trains, games and books. Raine pushed her cabbage patch baby around in her pink umbrella stroller. Mo liked his shirt and tie from the kids but liked his tie rack even more. Who knew my mountain man would enjoy getting all dressed up for work each morning. I was busy with the video camera and regular camera. We would set up for some great camera moments only to realize we were working with a 3 year old and 1 year who wouldn't conform to our ways. I don't know where my children get their stubbornness from?

When we were all finished I started making breakfast. Reece & Mo played Lincoln Logs. They built our future log cabin on the table, way far out of Raine's reach! She was not happy and wanted to help. I stuck her in her chair to eat and she was happy as can be. She went off for her first nap of the day and we enjoyed our eggs, sausage and hash browns! It was delicious. Mo and Reece watched Jungle Book while I cleaned up and downloaded our Christmas pictures. It was such a slow paced morning.

The afternoon seemed to fly by. I showered, made crescent rolls and got the family ready for Christmas dinner at the Castillo's home. We were a little late since my kids love their beds and napped a good long while. I felt pretty bad showing up late for dinner with the salad and rolls, but everyone seemed to be fine with it. The Castillo's had a delicious spread: chicken, lamb, rice, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing and the best pumpkin cheesecake. We also had a birthday cake for Jesus. We lit 5 candles for each of the kids and sang Happy Birthday. It was so fun. The evening was so relaxing. I love hanging out with our west coast family/friends. They are the best.

We drove home, put the kiddos to bed and hit the sack ourselves. I was pooped. All in all, it was a fantastic day; extremely memorable! I hope you all had just as nice a Christmas as we did.