We went to Grandma and Grandpa Rippon's house for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. As is also tradition, the kids spent much of the evening lighting, watching, and re-lighting the Santa smoker. I'm not sure why this is so endlessly fascinating, but it was! (Notice the ring of smoke above the kids.)
We all slept in until nearly 9 on Christmas morning. After showering, cleaning rooms, making beds and getting hair done the kids were allowed to come downstairs. They opened stockings together then we had breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa. It has become tradition for us to host breakfast on Christmas morning.
After breakfast, we let the kids open their presents. Julia had so much fun giving her little creations. Jourdan was so excited about his gifts for Julia. Although we don't go overboard with gifts and toys, I think the kids were both happy with what they got.
Jourdan knew what he got with one tear of the wrapping. Both sets of Grandparents got him Lego Star Wars sets. He ended up with a total of 5 sets; he was extremely excited!
Julia was thrilled with her Littlest Pet Shop collection from Grandma and Grandpa Hale. It only took her an hour to get all of those pets out of the packaging. Each pet and each accessory was tied with clear elastic bands into the molded plastic. I guess the manufacturer was worried that something might escape!
Jourdan loves books. Julia spent her summer participating in summer reading programs to earn free books. Instead of collecting the books for herself, she got books that she thought her brother would like. She was so excited to give him 4 new books. This particular title "The Last Olympian" was exciting for them both. Jourdan has been reading the entire Percy Jackson series aloud with Julia.
Julia wanted a skateboard more than anything this year. Grandma and Grandpa Rippon reluctantly made her dreams come true. They also got her knee and elbow pads that match her helmet. Julia couldn't be happier with her new pink and purple skateboard.
And.....just in case you missed this last Christmas......this is how Jourdan puts his Lego sets together. Every time, he sorts all the pieces and places them in groups in a circle around him. Then he sits in the center, spinning around to retrieve all the pieces he needs. It's quite fascinating to watch him "work" on his creations.
Lastly, our other tradition at Christmas (and birthdays) is to take a photo of all the gifts together. This is mostly for my benefit, so I can remember what they got each year. Again, not that they get all that much. Mostly the kids get all their yearly clothes for Christmas. Jourdan was very excited about his new suit. Although his favorite gift was his pitch fork which he is holding in his hand. I have been asked NOT to include pictures of underwear......I can't imagine why?!?
2 comments:
I'm okay with that. I've seen a lot of underwear in my time. ha ha ha What a fun day for everybody. I love all the Lego sets Jourdan got! And I bet Julia is in heaven with the hugest Littlest Pet Shop. :) You'll have to take some video of her on a skateboard once she gets going. The Last Olympian is really good, too!! Also, I think it's great Jourdan was excited about getting a new suit. You're lucky he wants to look NICE instead of "casual" (no belt, no tie) like the 13-yr.-olds I know.
So much fun! I didn't peg Julia for a skateboard riding type of girl, but...somehow, it fits. I'm sure Jourdan has already enjoyed his books. We could use some of his lego organization and assembly here...lots of power miner lego sets to build. Looks like fun was had by all. What did YOU get?
Post a Comment