Christmas 2012

We celebrated Christmas on December 17th this year, due to our trip to Denver for the holidays (another post to follow).  I thought it would bother me more than it did to celebrate early, but it was nice to have all the "present" stuff over and done with before our trip to Denver.  Also, with Christmas being on a Sunday, it was nice to just focus on the real meaning of Christmas instead of presents and gifts.

 The look on the kids' faces says it all...."hurry up and let us go downstairs, please!"  The rule at our house is that everyone must shower, get dressed, and make their beds before the festivities can begin.  (All mom's ought to see the wisdom in this - if they don't do it first that morning, it will never happen that day!)

 Julia got a couple of new Littlest Pet Shop animals.  She's more of a collector than someone who "plays" with them regularly.

 Perhaps her favorite gift was the one Dad picked out...her new purple Leatherman "Juice" tool. 

 More Littlest Pet Shop stuff...this one is a doll.  That's all the toys she got, everything else was clothes.  (I've said it before, I'll say it again, Christmas presents at our house aren't usually all that exciting.)

 This is Julia's final "haul" for the year.  She was very excited to pack all of her new clothes for our family trip to Denver.

 Julia got Dad two rolls of toilet paper for Christmas.  She then commented that she wasn't sure "if toilet paper is a step up or down from the coal he usually gets."  She's such a funny kid!

 I think this picture speaks for itself:

 And this one....  He's not sleeping....he's giving his new Millenium Falcon a hug.

 This is Jourdan's "haul" for 2011:

 And THIS is how Jourdan spent the rest of the day.  He has always built his Lego sets by spreading out all the pieces in an array like this and then sitting in the middle and spinning around to find the exact piece when he needs it.  Weird, but endlessly fun to watch!

The following Tuesday, we packed up and flew to Denver for Christmas and the big party!