Christmas Eve in Ankeny

After spending the night at Chad and Shay's and really getting the chance to catch up with them before we went to bed--that is in b/t taking turns going upstairs making sure Karys and Nathan were staying in bed and working on getting to sleep! (we heard them moving up there and figure they didn't get to bed til after 10!)--we woke the next day to a freshly fallen snow that was continuing to come down! We loaded up the mini vans and formed our caravan with the Pella VL's and took off for Ankeny. Chad commented that it really felt like we were going, "Over the hills and though the woods to Grandma's house we go!"

We got things underway with the kiddos checking out the goodies inside their stockings...Jammies for all and some fun plans were revealed for a future family VACATION next Thanksgiving....so EXCITING!We then headed downstairs to take time for the kiddos to open their gifts...this was interesting just b/c Gracie was running a fever and we were trying to control the pattern that the kiddos opened their gifts in. Everything went really well with a few breaks of course ;) our kiddos are beyond blessed and it is fun to watch the faces of the family members when they open the gifts from them.
Before we got started, Grandpa and Grandma grabbed a picture with the older kiddosThen all of the kiddos piled on Nathan's new sled that Seth redid for him for a picture all together! Addy's first gift she opened was a new baby...of course she wanted it out of the box right away!She was SOOO excited and carried it around before she would even look at another gift to openSee...I told you it was exciting to watch the face of family members ;)Karys LOVED the fairy wings that she got from Heather and Seth...she also loved the guitar that we gave to Aaron Paul ;)And sticking with the theme of "swooping"...Karys soon had Addyson's baby off to her area of the room and was playing with it...on no, this is not good ;)Gracie showing off her new Toy Story 3 Leapster gameThis was ADORABLE--Addyson wrapped up her baby in wrapping paper as if it were a blanket and carried her around and rocked her! So precious!I don't know who was more excited to open this, uncle Rob or Nathan...Rob had text Chad in advanced to get approval for buying Nathan a Marshmallow shooter; I didn't think it was a good idea but to my pleasure/surprise Chad was for it! Nathan really wanted a gun for Christmas--this would be a GREAT compromise ;)The Comfort's with Nathan and his fast as lightening sled!After the kiddos opened their gifts we headed up for a wonderful dinner of turkey/ham and all the fixings ;) This was one end of the table...And this was the other--couldn't fit every one in one shot!Addy loving her food--typical Addyson too, always a finger in the mouth while eating. Nathan gives a smile as he takes a break from his breadGracie, full cheeks and eating like a Rock-Star!and a Fairly princess who also ate very well ;)After dinner it was back downstairs for the adults turn to open gifts...Grandma got us going :)Brent and Doreen--Doreen opened a willow tree nativity and Brent a KleenKanteen Heather with her new Cricut cartridge and Seth with the WinterOutdoor Games for the Wii.Chad and Shay pose for a couple picAnd Rob and I as well ;)After all of the presents were finished, we looked out and it was gently snowing again, so we sent the big kids out to play in the snow!Weird to let them go out on their own, but with strict instructions to stay away from the street, they had a blast climbing through the drifts and up and down the small mounds of snow in the yard.My first attempt to get them to pose for a picture for me :)
Finally a good one--so nice to see the cousins get to do things like this together despite the miles! We had a GREAT day with the Stroud/VL/Comfort/VanWyk families!!! After last year our goal was to slow things down and really focus on spending time together...this is so hard in the season that our family is in, but I really thought it was successful in so many areas. I had good conversations, was able to sit and just be with ppl and then enjoyed the chaos all in one day!

Christmas in Pella

On the Thursday night before Christmas we celebrated Christmas with Rob's Dad, Ron and step-Mom, Kris. Chad and Shay so GRACIOUSLY hosted for us and Heather and Seth joined from Des Moines. It was so fun to hang out at the Pella VL's house and we even spent the night there with them. It did not take long after we got there for the kiddos to get their play on and jump right into exploring and hunting for lions, tigers and bears, oh my!We got them to gather on the couch while they were discussing what supplies they needed and were packing their backpack to head out for the hunt...Also didn't take long for the silly faces to show themselves! It is so fun to watch them get older and just really see them interact and play with each other!Addy found a chair and a cell phone...I decided she thought it had GPS capabilities and she was monitoring the animals and reporting back their locations to the older kiddos ;)We don't get to spend much time as adults with all of the kiddos running around, but it was nice to congregate in the kitchen with the aromas of the soup cooking on the stove filling the room...mmmmm. There were so many good options! Lasagna, green pepper chowder, and a lovely chicken tortilla!!! It was so hard to choose :) We then all headed down stairs to get ready for presents. Once the kiddos were settled, a surprise guest came walking down the stairs!!!Gracie and Karys turned to check it out...love the faces they have here!Fun to watch everyone's reaction as "Santa" came into the room. I was wondering what the girls reaction to this would be b/c we don't necessarily 'teach' so to say or put an emphasis on Santa at our house. Gracie came home from school this year and quickly informed me that there was no Santa. "How do you know?" I asked...I don't know, Mom...everyone at school just knows." Well ok, I guess that was that. But she and Karys both did get excited about Santa being in the room--as you can see in the background of the above picture--Addyson was not so sure. There was fear and there was tears every time Santa looked or moved her way...oh my...Santa did have gifts for all!Both girls were definitely excited about this!Santa really did an ok job of keeping his cover, but Nathan was just too smart for his own good. When he was giving Santa the full look-over he paused when he saw his boots. You could just see Nathan thinking this all through in his head--wait a second, Santa doesn't wear cowboy boots! "Your not Santa!!! You're Papa Ron!" Shay and were slightly surprised to see "Santa" pull off his disguise and reveal his identity...but there were laughs by all and the general thought of it was fun for everyone to experience.Present time then quickly followed...Maggie even managed to get in the mix--Go figure :)Seth got a vice (I think that is what it is anyway) from Ron for Christmas...at this point Rob was trying to convince Nathan to put his nose in the vice...Again, Nathan was too smart and quickly realized what Uncle Rob was suggesting...."No way! Not my nose!" Wish I would have been closer to really get the facial expressions in this picture ;)Gotta love the little man!Grandpa and Grandma with the little kiddos--this was the best picture we could get ;)Addy hanging out on the steps just being a ham! She is such a little entertainer ;)Karys attempting to pick up Aaron Paul...She quickly decided it may be more effective to have him push her on the chair instead, and he was eager and willing to do this. Grandpa Ron hanging out by Addy, seeing who she is chatting with on her computer :)

All in all we had a GREAT evening! Great food, interesting conversation, and laughs for all!