We started with all the decorating right after Thanksgiving. Billy was still here, so he helped put lights up on the house. We all got together to decorate the tree before he left.
I had done a lot of shopping during the year, so much of my "shopping" was going through what I already had. I bought a few missing things online and made one stop at the mall to finish up. Oh, and of course, I had to go to the Dollar Store to find stocking stuffers. Other than groceries, that was about all there was to the shopping - nice and easy this year. Bill did pick up a couple of items, so that was also a help.
That left a little time for some fun things, so Lisa and I did a craft project. We made the nutcracker soldiers from clay pots that everyone has made over the last few years. It took us several days, since Ashby was so involved - one day for shopping, one for painting the base coat, two or three for the handpainting. And they turned out really cute! Now to figure out how to store them........
Billy drove down from Iowa a couple of days before Christmas. That was his third trip down in less than two months, but we were still so excited for him to come.
Christmas Eve is always with the extended family. This year we went to Julie's house. There was a nice group this year with all three of Bill's sisters, plus tons of nieces and nephews and all of their children. Ashby is the baby of the group and she had a ball. The traditional dinner is homemade tacos, which everyone loves. We often do a talent show, but this year it was very short. We then did a gag gift game which has also become a tradition. We finished up with opening the real gifts from the name draw. It was a lot of fun. We then went over to Lisa's for a little while, since Ashby was getting extremely tired. She was still so wound up, though, that it took a while for her to actually go to bed.
Leroy is the taco cook. He makes them using the recipe his mother taught him.
Lisa and Judy singing for the talent show. That's me making the mistakes on the piano!
Nice gag gift, Nancy. Do you really support cheerleaders?
Some of the family enjoying being together.
Christmas Day, Lisa and David and Ashby came over late morning and we opened gifts. The rest of the day was just fun and relaxing. For dinner we grilled a London broil, veggie-kabobs, and shrimp. Mighty tasty!
Ashby wasn't much into the gift thing yet, but she loved all the activity. She was excited about every gift that was opened. She especially loved all the attention she got, both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I think she figures Christmas is all about her! She is definitely the most entertaining part of any day.
Even the bows are fun for Ashby. She loves that hat and wears it all the time!
Uncle Billy got her her first laptop and she loved it! Everytime he got his own out, she came running, so he figured she was ready for her own.
The Little People Farm from Grandma Vanett was really neat.
She loved her new baby doll from Grandma and Grandpa Cantrell.
1 comment:
What a fun Christmas you had. It's always best with little ones! When they are so happy with boxes and bows, you wonder why you bothered to shop for a present!!
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