Merry Christmas Morning!

So at 6:52am I hear the kids door open, (they all slept upstairs in Mily's room again this year) then I hear Mily and Josh arguing over the fact that her clock says that it's 7am but mom and dad's clock still said it was in the 6 o'clock hour. Emily was trying to convince Josh not to wake us (smart girl) --too late! Haha, I still don't know how long they were awake...I had double checked to make sure the alarm wasn't set...but we all know that we don't really need an alarm clock on Christmas morning! After everyone was up and presentable we got ready to go down and see what magic awaits us on Christmas morning!

Honestly this is the one thing Josh HATES about Christmas...having to stand in line --in the back of the line--and wait to go see what Santa brought! Every year he asks if it can be oldest to youngest this time! Hahaha...Uhmm, NO! Stocking inspections! I had the brilliant idea of making sure all four kids were next to each other so it would be easier to take pictures etc. Yeah, not the best idea, oh well! Now I know. (Hey that's mine...isn't it? -- I don't have room to sit down...all of HIS stuff is there! -- Oh, the joyful sounds of Christmas! Really it wasn't too bad.)Dude...you found that at the bottom of a sock!!!Playing with the stocking stuffers! I love how Santa re-arranged the presents to make it look like there are more! The kids didn't even noticed that there weren't nearly as many presents UNDER the tree anymore! Haha...smart man!Did you see what awesomeness we found on our Christmas tree? Santa must have found out that we were saving for Disneyland! There are 5 of us in this family of 6 who has never been to Disneyland...we've made it a goal to go in the year 2011! We've been saving up our nickels and dimes trying to make it happen, we haven't made our goal yet but we're going to work hard to get there! Of course Santa wouldn't dare forget the Disney Princesses, he knows to look out for everyone in the family!What to my wondering eyes should appear but Princess Potato head and Mr Spud too! Also please note what Josh and Emily are wearing... Yes, Santa got the kids their very own snuggie! Maybe, just maybe, they will stop stealing mom's leopard print one. Some how I doubt it, but I won't feel bad stealing it back and telling them to get their own! Rusty's snuggie is the best...purple, with flowers on it! But Dora...hello! Best. Gift. Ever!(btw -Wes got a Car's snuggie. That reminds me, I still need to get a picture of them with them all on! Mental note.)

After Santa presents were all opened we let the kids have free reign on the presents...as long as they were opening their own presents! The other stipulation is that they had to come show me what they got (so I could take a picture). Some of my favorite gifts this year:

Mily's music box. It had a ring box with a REAL ring!Josh FINALLY got some Webkins! Not hand-me-downs...ones that he can actually go on the computer and play with.Rusty got his own little piano, the keys light up and help him play songs and there is lots of buttons! He loves it!This next one is honestly my favorite picture of the day! Wesley got several new dress-up clothes (well they all did actually, After Halloween 75% off, can't beat that!) He asked me to take a picture of him in his awesome new outfit and after he smiled and I took the picture he says, "No wait, I meant to do it like this!"Then he explains that people in jail are sad! ☺ Respect!

This is the first year that we didn't make them all open presents one by one, (well, really all four of them at once, but they would have to wait until everyone was ready to open the next present). We spent the morning letting the kids go at their own pace. They would open a present and then decided they wanted it opened all they way (out of the packaging) so they could play with it. It was up to them when they wanted to open more presents! I think it worked out well. They would come show me their presents then either play with it or put it in their pile and open the next one! Rusty was the only one we had to prod along to open his presents he was quite content with what he was already given and happy to just play with those! So it took a while for him to get through his presents, Josh was long gone, off playing with his toys when Rusty finally finished! After a while we called them all back and let them open their one last present...the "big one" in the window seal that was all decorated extra pretty. (big one= the biggest one, not necessarily because it was the best present! I know I'm cool like that!)

With the presents all opened we cleaned up a little, mostly just the wrapping paper and junk, ate a little candy for breakfast and then headed over to grandma's house!

Grandma's house is always fun but even more so at Christmas time! I can only imagine what the noise level reaches on this particular day...what a trooper! She had the kids all sit in a big circle around her and she handed out the presents!Our kids made out like bandits! Spoiled little grand kids...that's what that is! I thought about posting other pictures from the afternoon, but I decided not to...your welcome Lee! Hehehe--Tiff, I'll send it to your email!

We always end our present giving with a yummy brunch, each year it gets bigger and bigger! And no, that was not a fat joke! The rest of the afternoon we just chilled out and played around. Rusty was obsessed with this cute Santa decoration that he found...and who best to encourage him to play with it again and again and again, but Aunt Jennie! I think she may be going for "favorite Aunt!" Better watch out Verlene!This is the one and only picture I have of me this Christmas! When I turned the camera around and caught this Gem with Cody and I! Cody just had his wisdom teeth taken out 2 days before this shot...yeah I was swollen like a chipmunk for two weeks after mine came out, but whatever!Anyone want a chance to guess where in the world Cody will go on mission? Oh I feel a blog coming on!!! **Cody...do I get dibs or what?**

Okay, I got to be honest, yes, this is the only picture of me on Christmas day, (so it is when you're the one holding the camera!) but there is a video. Shawn took a video of me opening my new....Ipod Nano! Yeah, I finally have my own, I can stop feeling guilty for using Josh's all the time and having the batteries mostly gone by the time he gets home from school!

It was great just having a relaxing afternoon with family. We headed back home and unloaded our loot from the car. Usually at the end of Christmas day, when night starts to settle in, you've get a little of the Christmas blues. The day is over, the anticipation is gone and there is a huge mess to clean! Well not this year, when we got home the kids were so EXCITED to find more presents under the tree! This time they were labeled for the whole family! We got several new board games to try out on New Years Eve and....

A popcorn popper....like Aunt Michelle and Uncle Richard has! The coolest thing EVER...it's like magic. Haha, who knew! Although I just realized after I looked at the picture again, no one looks like they even care about the new present...well they did, I mean do! It's awesome! Even Rusty can pull it out of the cupboard and get it ready, scary!

So there you have it, Christmas 2010...success! A good time was had by all!

See you around in 2011...Happy NEW year!