Thursday, December 29, 2016

Christmas #1

This was a throwback Christmas year with the Edigers.  Back to 2011.  Check out this post.  We headed to Nate and Jen’s house on Friday for taco night and a sleepover.  While we got their late (because I forgot to pack half the things we needed for our super secret Christmas gift for the kids…), we had a great evening.  The kids didn’t get to bed til about 10pm, but they were no worse for the wear the next day.  I was woken up by Madison at 6:45, so we snuck downstairs and played quietly til others started joining us. 

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After a hearty breakfast – cinnamon rolls (thanks, Sophie!), coffee cake, egg casserole, and fruit – we transitioned to the living room for Christmas.  We took family pictures before officially starting the Christmas festivities.

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The boys took turns reading the Christmas story from the Bible.

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Then, we started with the gifts.  The cousins do a name exchange.  Madison got a fish tank this year, and money to buy a Betta fish.  She was pretty excited about it.  Ellie got a BIG coloring book and some gel pens to write on her black paper with. 

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Then, Grandma and Grandpa gave the grandkids their gifts.  Ellie was very happy with a horse for her doll.  Madison loved the bike basket and matching clothes to wear with her doll. 

Then, can the BIG surprise… in their stockings!  They pulled out swimsuits.  Many of the younger ones shouted things like, “This matches my stationery I got!” “This looks just like my suit.”  The older two or three picked up on the similarities to the last time this had happened.  Grandma explained that the suits meant we got to go to Splash Harbor to play and for a night in a hotel.  Then the kids got really excited… and really loud!!!

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We cleaned up, packed up, and cleared out by mid-afternoon.  The kids waited patiently for us to get checked in.

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The rest of the day was spent swimming,

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shooting hoops, playing volleyball, and throwing balls at each other,

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sliding,

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conquering the starfish,

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laughing and planning supper,

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hot tubs and spray pad. 

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We had a pizza party, showered, and hung in the rooms before another later night.  All worth it. 

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The next morning, we had breakfast before the kids headed to the pool one last time.  We had lunch at Wendy’s and went our separate ways.

We were thankful that we were able to travel on the roads during breaks in weather.  There was ice and freezing rain, but during our travel times, it had cleared up and the road crews had done a good job staying on top of it.  The men, who went out to load the cars, just had a job on their hands de-icing all the vehicles.  It was a great Christmas.

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