Christmas 2007

Wow... I can't believe how fast the week has gone by!! It has been such a fun and action packed week! Now, finally time to breathe! Christmas was great! Santa made a visit to our house! And there was lots of fun with family and friends and way too much food as usual! I have captured a few of the highlights as well as pictures of the house decorations. I love the cozy feel the decorations add to the house. I will miss them when they are gone in a couple of days.
We want to express our love for our family. We are so grateful for the opportunity we had to spend time with or talk on the phone with each of them this Christmas season. I am also glad that the mantle of cooking Christmas dinner has been passed to me. I love having everyone over and cooking for them! And Kevin & I enjoy having everyone to our home. We hope that Christmas was wonderful for all and wish each of you a very Happy New Year!

My cute little elves helped deliver all of the neighbor gifts this year!
Thanks guys!

The freezing temperatures didn't bother them a bit!

This is Tate hiding behind the Christmas tree one morning eating 3 candy canes!
Not an uncommon occurrence however!

While we're talking about the Tater man..... long story short... he was awake first one morning...... obviously thought the house needed more decorations..... got a hold of the new
36 roll Costco pkg.... and went to town!

My Mom and Dad are so much fun!
They always show up with a couple new games to try!
When they are around it is always a constant game tournament!

I think that Rachel is the most competitive of everyone!
She's a crazy girl!

More gaming!!

Check out Mitchell concentrating with his tongue!

Yeah, not sure what I was trying to do here...
But there you go...

I should have got some of this on video tape. Here's Rachel..."Um Gram... yeah... no go fish!"

Rachel dressed me and my mom up in dress ups one night.... complete with tutu's on our heads!
She was laughing so hard taking the pictures that they are all blurry... but you get the jest!

This is my Dad dealing the cards in his lucky bicycling hat!
Looking good Dad!

We had Christmas Eve dinner with just our little family.

Rachel was so proud that she helped set the table.
Yes, I cooked two big meals in a row... one on Christmas Eve... (turkey, stuffing, broccoli) the other for 20 people on Christmas Day...(ham, cheese potatoes, salad, rolls) I don't have any pictures of that dinner..WHAT was I thinking???? At any rate... the way I figure it...I've earned a couple of Cafe Rio nights in January!!
(p.s. all five sparkling cider goblets made it through the dinner in one piece! great job kids!)

This wild rice stuffing recipe comes from Kevins side of the family!
I made it myself this year and was so proud that I had Rachel take a picture of me!

After dinner we made sugar cookies for Santa. Stars, Christmas trees, and snowman shaped! Thanks Lani for the fun cookie kit!

Treats all ready for Santa and the reindeer!

The kids in their new Christmas jammies!

The kids on Christmas morning! 7:45.... not bad!
Look at the plate behind them... looks like Santa and the reindeer enjoyed the treats!

Tate has played NON stop with the train table that Santa brought!
I'm hoping it will keep him from getting into trouble for a while!

This is becoming a tradition... I can't take down the kids art display without documenting it!

Once again.... great job guys! I truly love your projects. They are my favorite!

Ok, I know I've gone crazy with all the pictures on this entry... but I just have to include some of the house decorations before I take them down.

Merry Christmas 2007