The Christmas season started off with a trip to Bass Pro with our friends to see Santa! We got to go on Greyson's Birthday & since daddy was out of town, it was a nice little trip to spend time with his friends.
We got to meet Charlie- she's so cute & tiny. It makes me want to get the kids a dog someday =)
I love this Santa. He is so neat looking =)
These kids had a blast together.
Love spending time with my friend Emily too. =)
I was in charge of the Christmas Program this year. We did "The Not-so-Silent Night" pageant. The kids loved it & did a great job. Greyson got to have 2 parts playing a shepherd & a wiseman!
He loved being on stage & singing the songs. After the program, we grabbed a couple photos of these 2 little girls. Courtney found these 2 little matching skirts so we had Natalie & Rilynn wear them to the program. Rilynn was busy eating Chocolate.
A new thing the ladies in our church participated in was a cookie exchange! I didn't remember to take any pictures of the party but I made my grandma Good's gingerbread men & they were so cute.
The weekend before real Christmas, we celebrated ours together as a family on Saturday. It was the only morning we had daddy all to ourselves. Friday night, we got the house all ready...the little elves were busy.
We recycled Uncle Jac's old tool chest from when he was little & set it up with a bunch of new child sized power tools for Greyson's big gift.
Rilynn got her little kitchen decked out with pots, pans, utensils & food =) It is something I know she will have fun growing into as her imagination continues to change. Right now, she just loves pretending to eat the food & feed others...playing "house" will be down the road I'm sure!
We had to cover up the playroom with a sheet so they couldn't see their big surprises.
Opening stockings & pictures with Mom & dad... I love these precious moments!
They both LOVED the gifts & have had countless hours of playtime.
Showing off his super cool tool belt!
The one main thing I asked for was the new pots & pan set from Pioneer Women. I have loved using them & the color will go great in our new kitchen! (that we will be renovating this summer)
We topped the day off with Gingerbread village & Christmas ornament making!
So fun to experience Christmas with our own kids.
Christmas Sunday we dressed up for the occasion!
And the next day celebrated with our Crawford/Locklin family time at Maudine & Jimmy's new house. It was so nice that Gmama got to come & enjoy it with us =)
We headed to PA on Christmas Eve & got to Nana & Papa's house around 7pm. Nana had some Christmas Eve goodies to open...new jammies, hot chocolate mix with mugs, santa hats, stockings & books!
Greyson & Rilynn always get jammies with reindeer or moose on them! I think it's so fun to see what they come up with in the stores each year =) but there is always bound to be something with antlers!
The biggest hit in the house this year was the indoor snowballs! Since we didn't get to see much snow at the time, the snowball fights inside were the best!! Everyone got in on them & anyone that visited did too!
Christmas morning, the kids were anxious to get started! Papa read the Christmas story from the Bible first & reminded us all that the best Gift of all is Jesus!! Greyson has really caught on to the meaning this year & seems to really enjoy listening about the baby Jesus.
We had a lot of fun opening our gifts together. Mom always knows the best things to get us...the box next to her was my very own "cups for days" metal rack just like the ones Joanna Gaines uses on Fixer Upper. Can't wait to display lots of mason jars & decor with it.
She also got the guys "Man Crates" that they loved!! Matt got all things fishing & Brandon a hunting one. All they had to do was pry it open with a crowbar! haha
We had such a great time opening the gifts. Then mom & dad went all out on a big Christmas dinner! We had a few friends over to enjoy it with us... 2 kinds of petite filet (with dad's mushroom sauce), roast, & several sides made up the majority, but dad kept talking up his famous cream pies making sure everyone knew that he made them so save room for dessert...haha They were pretty good!
We got a family picture after church on Sunday. Just missing the other 3 members of our family in Idaho! This picture will have 3 more little additions to it very soon when all the babies get here =) We can't believe how much this family has grown in just 4 years!
The rest of the week we visited family, had a few shopping excursions (like to Ikea in Pittsburg) went bowling & got plenty of food!
Finally after several days, Greyson got to see a little bit of snow =) Nothing compared to what they have NOW but at least he saw some.
We spent New Years Eve celebrating with family in Cooperstown! We played games & had a blast...then went back to Nana & Papa's to watch the ball drop in NYC & sip some sparkling cider. Greyson stayed up for all the fun, but the 2 little girls couldn't quite make it with the rest of us =)
New Years day, we tried out dad's new gun. It was FREEZING & SO windy!! But I had to try it.
Then our good friends Janice & Bill came to eat the PA traditional sauerkraut & pork with mashed potatoes. It was so funny, because we had it for lunch, but they were having it for supper back at their place. It sure hits the spot! Then they introduced us to a new game of Wizards!! It was so much fun & we played for a few hours =)
All too soon, our visit was over & it was time to go back home. Thankfully we had good roads & made good time.
Our Christmas card this year made a lot of people laugh! If you know these 2, they are anything but silent. Greyson hasn't stopped talking since he was 10 months old & Rilynn is trying to catch up. =) they thought it was funny to make this card but Greyson was a little disappointed I couldn't tape him to the WALL like another Christmas card he saw online. I tried to explain photo shop to him but he wasn't having it. Next time I refer to Pinterest for card ideas, I won't let him look with me!
