Christmas 2013 (as told in pictures)

As this little blog as become a digital scrapbook of sorts, this post is going to contain a lot of pictures!  I love to go back and refresh my memory as I'm scrapbooking about all these wonderful pics.  :)

Santa

Along with all the other wonderful Christmas preparations we had fun with in December, visiting Santa at Bryan's office was one of them.  It was a quick visit, but that was all Jack needed to tell him that he wanted a "Y-Wing" Lego set for Christmas.  Maddy didn't say much to Santa although she jabbered a lot before and after!  Both kids got a candy peppermint stick and a stuffed puppy, so they were pretty excited!  Oh, and we got all the free pictures we wanted.  Mom and Dad were extremely happy about that!

Christmas Day at Home

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at home again this year.  It was so much fun to have our little family traditions.  We went to late afternoon church, drove around to see some Christmas lights, and then headed home to a wonderful smelling house of supper in the oven!  Ham balls, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and rolls were on the menu.  Yum!  Jack was feeling pretty crummy still from the virus he had the weekend before, so no family pictures in front of the Christmas tree.  (We made up for it later though).  

Christmas at Home in Pictures: 1 - Maddy's pretty dress.  Love this pic! / 2 - Jack scored a hooded sweatshirt.  His first fashion request! / 3 - A Minnie Mouse pet tour van that has been played with a lot since Christmas / 4 - Both kids had a little trouble opening only their own gifts! / 5 - Maddy helping me open some socks.  Yep, exciting! / 6 - Bryan also opening socks.  The kids helped pick them out and Jack chose some socks with tacos on them.  That definitely deserved a high-five! / 7 - Peeking in their stockings on Christmas morning / 8 - Tonka getting in on some Christmas morning present opening / 9 - Maddy's favorite gift: A $5 play camera. She has nearly run down the battery already!

Algona Christmas

1 - After a bit of a stressful morning packing and trying to get on the road, we headed out shortly after noon.  We hoped that Maddy would take a nap in the car.  Not happening! / 2 - Nana Linda and her "fat" owl. / 3 - Maddy got an awesome wooden doll house from Papa & Nana.  Bryan and Jack were helping her get it figured out (i.e. playing). / 4 - Nana holding up her gift from the Grandkids.  Each of them is holding a letter from the word "LOVE." I made it into a scrapbook page in a 12x12 frame.  I love how it turned out! / 5 - Nana made both kids very pretty quilts for Christmas! / 6 - Jack doing some morning after Christmas Lego building. / 7 & 8 - Maddy just being silly and cute in one of her Christmas outfits! / 9 - We made sure to fulfill an annual tradition by visiting the Algona Nativity.  It was built during WWII by German POWs in the POW camp located in Algona.  It has become one of my favorite Christmas traditions!

Humboldt Christmas

After a couple days in Algona, we traveled a bit south for Christmas with my side of the family.  My Mom made these super cute Christmas shirts for all the girls, so of course we had to snap some pictures of it!  

More stories from Humboldt: 1 - Cousins eating Christmas cookies / 2 - Jack being silly with his new TMNT shirt on. / 3 - Mom made Jack a new Cubs blanket for his bed.  Jack is all about fuzzy blankets, so he was psyched! / 4 - Mom (& Dad - he got cut off in the pic) opening their LOVE picture. / 5 - My side of the family's pic / 6 - Jack is done opening presents.  Time to snuggle in the new blanket! / 7 - Reading with Aunt Liz! / 8 - More reading with Grandma Renee! / 9 - Maddy helping Papa set the table for Christmas dinner!  These pics are priceless.

Jack got some pretty awesome Turtles masks from Uncle Matt & Aunt Liz.  Before the tags were off, Jack, Bryan, and Maddy had all tried one on.  I got the wonderful idea to take a family picture with each of us wearing a mask.  The pic on the left was as close as we got.  By the time the tags were off and everyone had one on, Maddy protested!  The bottom right pic is me pouting after not getting a picture!  :)

During our visit to Humboldt, we also got to be part of my niece's baptism at my parents' church.  The church had a very pretty tree, so since we didn't get a family pic at home, we managed to get one there!  Although there were a lot of pictures taken, it's always nice when you can get some photos of the cousins and grandparents together!

Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and is enjoying a great start to 2014!