Can you tell they love to play in the boxes?
We had a nice Christmas today even if I woke up at 4am to the sound of Tristan and Aiden whispering "look at this". I made them go back to bed until six. I couldn't go back to sleep and neither could Aiden and the others were stirring so I woke everyone up so we could get the show over with.
Everyone was very happy with what they got. Aiden acted a little too excited trying to compensate for some gifts he was caught peeking at before Christmas.
I declared 14 too old for toys and really Lidia doesn't like them anymore but she doesn't want to admit it. She still likes looking at cute things so she did get a few little plush animals from her brothers. Santa brought her a curling wand and the complete 9 season set of Little House on the Prairie DVDs along with a toy covered wagon. So she did get a toy technically. They just don't make good wholesome shows like that anymore. She also got some nice western boots, a purse, a black fur jacket, some books, lots of nail polish and a nail art book, a shirt, toe socks, lip gloss, cosmetics organizer etc.
Aiden couldn't wait for Christmas and of course he wanted legos and wii games. He got one star wars lego ship set and several lego hero factory guys to build as well as lego clone wars wii game, zelda skyward sword wii game, batman brave and the bold wii game, season 3 star wars clone wars dvds, a couple of books, a mario hat and car etc.
Santa brought Tristan the lego egyptian pyramid and a double bladed nerf sword. He also got spy gear night vision binoculars, a razor scooter that sparks when you step on the break, some lego hero factory guys, some books, a playmobil alaska set etc.
Avery was the most excited about Santa and said he couldn't wake up this morning until I said Santa came, then he woke up quickly and was happy about every little thing. He loves the candy cane tubes full of chocolate kisses and pulled it out of his stocking first thing and said it was what he always wanted. He ate almost all of his candy from his stocking today. He loves chocolate. Santa brought him a playmobil carry along police station and police car and ambulance. He also got two lego knights sets which he so very proudly built all by himself because he "followed the instructions". It was so cute how proud he was of himself, like a coming of age kind of achievement that he could do this all by himself if he just followed every step of the instructions carefully. He stopped every few minutes to show me his progress and tell me how he could do it by following instructions. He also got a razor scooter which he thinks he can't ride but I'll have to work on that. They are really great when you want to go on a nice walk with the kids but their legs may tire out too quickly. They can go faster but not too fast and they are small and easy to take anywhere. So now all the kids have one. Avery also got an abacus, a chalk board for his room, a cowboy book, a stormtrooper blaster which he loves etc.
As a family gift we got the kids a giant bear that looks just like G&G's bear Gus. So I guess he is Gus Jr. We also got them the new wii game Skylander and about twenty something of the action figures that go with it (they were buy one get one free on black friday). They played it for a few minutes before bed, looks fun. And we got them a 40 lb heavy bag and two pairs of boxing gloves. Cory hung the bag in the playroom downstairs. All of the kids said that now Tristan has something to hit when he gets mad so he can stop throwing things and hitting us. Well to be honest that was part of the conversation that drove us to buy it but also Aiden is going to take some tae kwon do and I want my kids to physically go through the motions of defending themselves so that if they ever really have to they won't just shrink back in fear. It's good for confidence to know you can defend yourself. I like punching it too but I have to watch it or I might crash it through the wall since it's only 40 lbs. We didn't get a heavier one because then the kids wouldn't have much luck punching it.
Cory got a bike trainer, well we will both use it hopefully. He also got a couple of shirts and sweaters and cologne. He got me an apple magic mouse, a jim shore nativity statue and a decorative glass container to put like cottonballs in the bathroom in or something. I also bought myself a suit, a pair of shoes, a sweater, a shirt and awesome skirt, and a purse before Christmas.
Me and Mel went together and got Micah a nice set of pots and pans for Christmas. This is the kind of stuff you need when you are about to marry. He and Lisa are engaged and are planning to marry in April. We are super happy about it. Cory's parents sent the kids white dress shirts and my dad sent several childrens' books with a cd of him reading the stories to them. Heather sent them money which they were so excited about and I had the "joy" of taking them shopping. lol The boys bought legos and Lidia bought some cute pjs and matching slippers.
Cory changed the outside lights to red and green on Friday, better late than never. Who knows how long they will be there before we change them again. After all these gifts were given the kids spent the day playing, mostly with legos and Lidia watched Little House. We had church at 11 and it was kind of hard to switch gears to get ready and then hard for the boys to sit reverently for sacrament after such excitement and eating so much candy. We didn't take anything with us so Avery was whining the whole time to draw or go get a drink or take off his sweater or take off his shoes. He always complains at church that his feet are hot, on fire he says.
We got lots of gifts this year but the next three will probably be pretty simple since we will be overseas and maybe travelling for gifts instead of buying things.
It was nice to video chat with our families today. This is the time of the year that you start to feel homesick. Cory is off tomorrow. We don't have any grand plans, just enjoying eachother and relaxing. I do have some restaurant gift cards from my brother and my friend so Cory will have to take me out for some good food.
I am very thankful for my savior and I love listening to all the songs rejoicing his birth. Sometimes I get teary eyed when I listen and it's embarrassing if you are in public. I am glad that we have the gospel and can share this important knowlege with our children. I imagine how happy people were back then that the savior had come and think how happy we will be when he comes again.
Oh yeah, I got pork femurs for Duke and Millie and they were soo excited!
I bought Cory some pollyannas from Cavenaughs and thought of his dad in Nauvoo with no pollyannas so me and the kids made a package for G&G real quick and threw in some pollyannas, paradise cafe cookies, pictures the kids drew, scented hand sanitizers and jewelry from Hong Kong that we kept forgetting to mail.
