Christmas Day

Our Christmas Day began at about 7:00 am, with Jillian being the first up and ready to go. Bridget and Tor were still exhausted from the late Christmas Eve night, so it took some doing to rouse them up. Once they realized that Santa had come, they woke up and wanted to see what was under the tree. Bridget finally received her Ginger (Our Generation) doll, Tor got a huge V-Tech Smart Wheels track, and Jillian got an iPod Shuffle, in addition to many other things.

We then took off for the Stephenson-Paul Christmas morning at Grandma Cindy's house with Jason, Dany, Mckenna and Lindsey. Everyone feasted on breakfast and coffee, then got down to the business of opening many more presents. It was still afternoon when it finished, so we got Tor down for a short nap at home while the girls played.

Our last stop was at Auntie Greta's with cousins Adam and Meagan, Papa Ken, Jesse, Paula, Parker and Jace for a huge Christmas dinner. The kids wore themselves out running around and playing while the adults relaxed.

Christmas Eve

 Bridget got a bling "B" for her new room.  She loves bling.

 Tor was so happy to get a Star Wars basketball and a jersey from the Kansas Jayhawks, courtesy of Cale and Ty.

 The cousins all have a lot of fun together.

 Tor and Bridget were the first ones to happily welcome Santa.  Tor has no fear and Bridget beams with Santa.

 Jillian got on Santa's lap since Rielee did.  She didn't know what she wanted when Santa asked.

But she was so happy to get the dancing Snoopy that she had on her list.

Elf Movie

Cousins Tierney, Cale, Ty and Brock came over for the annual showing of the Elf movie. We only watched little bits here and there, though, since Tor provided most of the entertainment when he brought out his lightsabers to battle his cousins, and also shooting baskets with the hoop in the family room. Tor also showed off his mad swordplay skills on the Wii when he knocked all of his cousins off the platform. The older kids did manage to grab some bites of pizza and then reminisce about their days of lightsaber battles and football/baseball competitions.

Cousin's Present Opening Night

Since cousins Andy and Karlie would not be here on Christmas Eve or Day, all of the kids got together at cousins Meagan and Adam's house last night to open their presents. It was decided to make it a civilized affair, so the kids took turns opening one present at a time. Waiting was almost more than they could stand, but they made it through with some very nice gifts. This was followed by a family dinner of ham, potatoes, green beans and rolls. Then, cousin Meagan took all of the kids (minus Tor) for a sleepover at her house, which was nearly as exciting as the presents.

This night was actually the culmination of several days worth of busy kid activities. On Sunday night, the kids came to our house for Bruno's pizza and some general run-around. Monday was a full slate of frosting Santa cookies, and ending with Teriyaki dinner. Tuesday included gingerbread train-building with Bev and gingerbread people-making with Auntie Greta before the presents.

Santa Train

 Sunday it was off to the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad to ride the steam train.  Since we were at the end of the line when they loaded, we ended up in the train car with open windows and no heat.  It was cold but everyone was dressed pretty warm and you could see everything real well.  I liked the open car better than the one with tiny windows.

 Tor got very excited when the train blew the whistle before taking off.  He loved to look out the window to see everything.

The train went into a tunnel and then stopped to see Santa.  Santa was surprised how easily Tor jumped onto his lap as many of the little ones before Tor cried.  As you can see Bridget was all over the visit with Santa, but Jillian, being 7 now, wasn't as enthusiastic.  After visiting with Santa they were thrilled to get a toy.  The girls picked out stuffed animals and Tor wanted a truck.  We all enjoyed drinks and lots of Christmas cookies.

Nutcracker Ballet

Jillian and Bridget made their annual trip to see the Nutcracker Ballet in Portland with Mommy and Daddy. Tor wasn't quite ready, so he stayed with Tierney. The girls continued to enjoy the show, talking about their favorite parts and favorite characters. Jillian was focused on watching the entire time, and Bridget did good watching for the first half, getting tired and wiggly only for the last half.

Artists

 Out of the blue Tor decided he wanted to paint today.  Bridget was downstairs playing Barbies at the time.  He didn't do too bad considering it was watercolors.  He takes instruction pretty well and didn't even get paint all over.  His first picture was his favorite color, blue, then he branched out into a couple of other colors.

 Normally Tor has the hoop positioned at the top of the door but who knows why today he wanted it down low, probably so he could dunk it numerous times.  Also he's a little under the weather so maybe he decided he didn't have to energy to shoot so far.

Bridget loves these adult coloring pages I print out from the Internet.  She colors them very meticulously.

Gingerbread House

 Jillian and Bridget just getting started decorating the gingerbread house.  I was pleasantly surprised how much each of them could do on their own this year.  Jillian even started making icicles without me showing her how.  She put all their initials on the roof.  Bridget was very meticulous and she wanted everything to have a pattern to it.

This is the very colorful result of their hard work.  Tor was napping but he wanted to eat it when he woke up.

Tree Trimmer and Treats

 Tor might have watched Daddy trim their tree when it was brought in, as Tor wasted no time in getting his saw out to trim our tree.  He worked for a long time but thanks for plastic tools, our tree kept most of its limbs.

Aunt Dianne brought a bunch of extra sprinkles she had, so last night they all dipped their cones in sprinkles before eating them.  They thought that was a great special treat.

Mission (NOT) Impossible

 Day 3 of Potty Training:  Tor was very reluctant to do this but has started to buy into it some more every day.  He is enjoying the undivided attention and he has played with every Play-Doh set, about twenty, but this crazy people set is one of his favorites.  Notice the people each have a basketball too.

Finally a little outside time for Tor.  He used the stick for pretend fishing but then it turned into a saber to attack the plants.  He was happy to be outside to shoot some baskets too.

Decked-out Tree

The kids all helped Mommy with decorating the tree. They were very much into it, and only a couple ornaments were broken this year. The girls have had lots of practice up to now, so they worked pretty quick. Tor was pretty meticulous, making sure his ornaments were put on just right. Following tradition, Jillian put the star on top of the tree with Daddy's help ... but we'll probably be alternating this job in the future, since Bridget really, really wants to do it, too.

Longview Parade

It was wet and a bit cold, but the Longview Christmas Parade was pretty good, so the kids stayed entertained. Jillian, Bridget and Tor joined Adam and a couple of Bev's kid relatives in scooping up all the candy that was thrown. Like the photo shows, Tor was waving at nearly everyone that went by.

Tree Farm

 Sometimes this is what happens when I say picture.  Jillian loves to tease.

 Jillian saw this tree and said it was perfect for Grannie and Papa so Daddy cut it down, with lots of help from the little ones.

The family finally found the perfect tree on the tree farm as far away as you could walk.  I walked back with the three and Jillian was our guide so we wouldn't get lost, but at times I wasn't sure.  Daddy got the pick up so they wouldn't have to haul the trees so far.  Jillian, Bridget, and Tor were happy to get their candy canes at the end.

Little Dribbler

 When Tor found this Seahawk hat he ran out to show me and said now he was just like Brock, as Brock wears his all the time.

 Papa was playing Play-Doh with Tor while I was cooking dinner.  Brock wanted Papa to make his family in Play-Doh and Papa not being very artistic just rolled out a little and called it a person.  Tor didn't know what to think and then when Papa made Mocha and Sophie, he started cracking up as they were just little blobs.

Tor had to show Brock his dribbling skills with his basketball.  He now can keep it going and switch from hand to hand.  Brock was pretty impressed.  When you ask Tor what he wants for Christmas, the answer is always basketball.