Christmas Eve

Every year, we say we are scaling back on Christmas gifts, and it never really happens.  I think we scaled it back a little bit this year, or maybe we just spread it out a little bit better.  :)  We were blessed to have Peter and Irma here with us this Christmas, so it was nice for them to be here to see the girls open up their presents in person and watch their excitement on Christmas morning.  It was great to be able to be in and sort of settled in our new house before Christmas Day too!

We ordered delicious tamales and Irma made some authentic rice for our Christmas Eve meal at my parents' house.  Afterwards, we opened some presents there and then came home and stuffed 10 stockings (not including the ones my parents had already stuffed and sent home with us) before getting a few hours of sleep.

Santa was great to the girls and got them an American Girl camper filled with all sorts of fun camping gear!  He also got them a few extra sets of clothes and accessories for their dolls.  Olivia got a real American Girl doll from us, which works out great since one of her gifts to her Grandma was lunch at the American Girl cafe!  I busted Santa at our house filling up some of the stockings.  He was just as jolly as you would suspect!  ;)

On Christmas morning, my parents came over so we could all open stockings together.  David has to earn some sort of prize for keeping the girls upstairs while we waited for them to get here.  We finished opening presents and then the girls spent the remainder of the day playing with the doll stuff, putting together Lego sets,  and singing on their karaoke machine!  

It was a fabulous Christmas!

Bass Pro Santa

This was our fifth year of going out to Bass Pro Shops for their Santa's Wonderland Christmas set up. We always love a free picture with Santa, all of their fun activities, and their fish and chips are delicious.  This year, we convinced Sheri and her girls to meet us out there.  To avoid the crowds, we went right after school and had Mom and Dad secure us a spot in line. :)  

The girls were great with Santa this year, but poor Reese did not want to sit on his lap.  They loved the carousel, but sadly because it was a week night, there were no crafts with the exception of coloring.  Still, the girls had fun and we got some cute pictures!

These are the scanned photos, and I don't think they scanned that well, but it is NYE and this is what you are getting! ;)

And, here are some pictures from year's past....

Already looking forward to next year!

Sydney's Preschool Christmas Performance

Sydney's Christmas performance for her preschool was a few days after we moved into the new house.  She was super excited to sing, and we couldn't wait to hear her sing, "Round your wergent" which she had been singing non-stop at home.  :)  She did great and got blessed with a visit from Santa afterwards.  Love my big girls.

 That Santa sure was cracking my girls up!

Elf on the Shelf Breakfast 2015

Even though we moved, our elves managed to find their way to our new house for a {much easier} Elf on a Shelf breakfast.  Because the girls had spent the night at my parents' house after the parade, I was able to set the breakfast up that morning, complete with some festive Dunkin Donuts wreath donuts!

Parade of Lights

As if moving day wasn't hectic enough, both of my girls {and my husband} were in the Chandler Parade of Lights that night!  Because Olivia is on the performance team, she was required to be lit up in over 200 lights and dance to a routine behind her dance studio's float.  The owner asked if Sydney and David would be interested in riding inside the float, and well, if you know my husband, that's a no brainer right there!

He and Sydney got dressed up quickly, but getting Olivia ready was another story.  I thought I was giving myself plenty of time, but in the end, I still felt very rushed!  We had to safety pin the lights and her battery packs to her clothes and make sure she would not get tangled up in them when she walked/danced. It was no easy task.  But, she looked totally sparkly, so all the hard work was worth it!

The girls {and David} did such a good job.  Mom, Dad, and I had a great spot to watch the parade go by, but once the girls passed us, I tried to run along the route to see them some more.  Towards the end of the parade route, I was able to get closer and see them more, so it was worth the congestion I had to fight my way through.