Travel for the last hurrah

The Christmas celebrations came to and end today. I loved our time with my family but am also relieved that there are no more presents to open. I think the kids might even be a little burned out by now. We had a great time in Orion. This weekend was so much less chaotic than most trips back. We spent Christmas day at my parents' house with everyone. The next day we visit Aaron's house (see tomorrow's post) and everyone came over again for pizza. With the kids getting a little bit older, that means less watching and chasing by us. Thank goodness! Maybe next year I'll even be able to participate in games again?

As the Christmas season comes to end, I'd like to reflect on the year. We are so lucky to be surrounded by good health, love and laughter. The holiday season reflects all of this and for that I am grateful.

Santa visits

The kids woke up to find that Santa had visited our house! He left stockings filled to the brim and a tree filled with presents! We are so blessed to be able to spoil our kids and we love it! Seeing our kids excited as can be on Christmas morning is the best gift that we could ever receive. There may be a Santa after all.

I can't believe that Christmas Eve is already here. This past month has just flown by. It seems like yesterday we were putting up our tree and decorating the house.

Tonight we went to Jeff's sister's house to celebrate with the extended Sandberg family. The house was beautifully decorated and all of the kids were decked to the nines. It has come to my realization that the number of Sandberg girls severely surpasses the number of boys. You'll see by the pictures below.

Each year, Santa comes to visit. Last year, Aubrey sat on Santa's lap with no problems. Tyler on the other hand, cried...hard! We weren't sure what to expect but overall the kids did fairly well. Tyler was a little leery of the bearded man and his elf friend but by present 3 or 4, he was running up and grabbing his gift and running back. Aubrey was still fairly shy but agreed to see Santa if Grandma accompanied her. She, also warmed up and even gave Santa a hug before he left.

Let's see if Santa remembers and pays us a visit tomorrow!

smiling and serious....

crafting cousins

Sandberg girls cousins (12 with 3 missing) and boy cousins (4 with 1 missing)

Sandberg gathering

Let the Christmas celebrations begin!

First up is the gathering with the Sandberg immediate family. The evening is filled with family, pizza and lots of gifts to open! The kids are so overwhelmed and in heaven at the same time. Ironically, with all of the new toys that Tyler had to play with, he still went back to Grandma's old toys. Oh well....he can play with the new toys in months to come. The evening was fun and the kids are blessed to receive so many toys and clothes. Now, to find room for everything in our house. :)

near matching shirts

Natalie styling Aubrey's hair---proudly showing off the new 'do

Ho, ho, ho!

Christmas Day is here! We had a busy day planned and after a late night on Christmas Eve, we had to wake up both of the kids at 8am. Aubrey was excited to get downstairs to see all of the presents left behind by Santa. We weren't able to take any pictures during this time since we each had one of the kids. But, we did get a picture of the stockings. They were too heavy to hang so they are just "placed by the chimney with care" instead.

After opening gifts and playing for a bit, we packed up the car and drove to my parents' house for a few days. Christmas day is the day we celebrate with my extended family. It was nice to see Grandma and Grandpa Harkey. As they age, I know my visits with them will be few and far between so I try to appreciate the moments I have. I know Grandma was thrilled to be able to spend the day with all three of her kids as well.

It was day three of opening gifts and Aubrey was still excited! Luckily there were only a few to open as her steam runs out quickly. She got some furniture and family members to go with her new dollhouse from Santa so she was thrilled. Tyler has just as much fun with the boxes and paper. We expected as much though.

Saturday was day four (the last) of Christmas celebrations. My brother and sisters came over with their families to celebrate. Again, many more presents. Aubrey wanted to open presents right away but since she was to wait, she didn't want to open them anymore. So, Daddy and I did all of the opening for both kids. We know the day will come when they both tear through them so fast that we won't even know who they came from.

Aubrey's face before and after receiving her presents

Tyler helping with presents and wearing his new Sox hat

Once again, our trip back home was much too short. But, with the kids, it was all that we/they could handle. Tyler still doesn't sleep very well and it's even worse away from home. When he doesn't sleep well, neither do we.

We had a wonderful Christmas and cherish our time with our family. We know the kids will grow quickly so we want to appreciate every day when they are little. Only 363 more days for the kids to be good so they stay off of Santa's naughty list. :)

'twas the night before Christmas...

...and off to Aunt Diane's house we go! It is time to celebrate Christmas Eve with the Sandberg family. It is a large gathering with lots of kids. The oldest grandchild is 16 and Tyler is the youngest at 10 months. I would guess there are about 25 in between! Santa made a guest appearance, once again. This time, however, Tyler wasn't so excited to see him. As soon as he sat on Santa's lap, the tears came rolling out. Amazingly enough, they stopped once he was back in Mommy's arms. Poor little guy. Aubrey was much better than at the Zoo and sat on Santa's lap. She even conveyed her desire for a "Mickey clock" to him. It was nice to see all of the cousins that we only get to see one, maybe two times a year. It's hard to believe how quickly they all grow up. I'm sure we'll blink and our youngest will be old, too. Slow down time!! We left the party at 9pm and got home in time for the kids to get to bed before Santa paid a visit. Both were so exhausted and slept really well.

the kids in front our tree on Christmas Eve

excited, yet sleepy, while waiting for Santa

not happy to see the man in red

Caitlin and Natalie were both "good" this year

Aubrey could have sat there all night long

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!