Christmas Goodies

Awwww. Christmas.  It was good.  It was fast.  And it's over.  I am still in shock.  I cannot fathom that it is 2011 and Valentine's is just around the corner.  Seriously...we just celebrated Valentine's Day...didn't we?

Anyway, we loaded the whole of us... plus gifts... and actually fit everything for the trip home to be with family.  We then spent a glorious Christmas Eve at my in-laws, complete with a stellar meal and a rousing dramatic performance of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".  The kidlets and cousins were decked out with silly hairdos and taped-up nose tips to resemble the citizens from Whoville.  One daring uncle played the Grinch and even dressed the part.  It was fabulous....but.... I forgot my camera.  Blast it all.  So you will have to dig deep into your imagination and imagine its gloriousness.

Christmas morning was spent at my parents and Q was quite content to scavenge for any and all candy.  He would join us for a bit, open a few gifts and then be off to eat more of the sweet stuff.  I am sure he thought he had died and gone to heaven.

And I caught a real smile from my pops....hard to do...hard to do.

Miss B enjoyed cuddling with the only other girl grandchild on my side of the fam. She is super glad she's not alone anymore.  And get this.  They are both first and second cousins.  Their dads are first cousins and their moms are sisters.  Did you get that?  So they are related on both sides.  Think about it...

She is the sweetest, smiliest thing.

Mr. C was a hoot with his new hunting vest.  It is specifically made for bird hunting and is a replica of dear ol' Dad's...just on a smaller scale.  He loved it and wore it all.day.long.  We all tried to get him to take it off, but he said it was perfect for his Nerf darts.  And I'll have to admit, it was pretty handy.

Miss B was ecstatic with her skateboard and has been tearing it up ever since.  I can't believe how brave she is and all of the things she has worked on and learned.

Q scored this sweet train table from Santa.  I am glad Santa thought of it, because I have always wanted a train table and now my dreams are fulfilled.  Well, I guess that's not entirely true...I do have a few more wishes on my list.  

I also found some awesome, colorful sock monkeys and couldn't resist and got one for each child (and they were a stellar deal to begin with and then the cashier gave me a coupon... so they ended up being about four bucks each...yay....Christmas bliss).  I was so excited.  The kiddies got quite the kick out of them.  Q especially.  He thinks they're the greatest thing since sliced bread.

And I got thee most beautiful, Impressionist-type painting of Christ walking among sheep.  I absolutely love it and was blown away.  My hubby remembered me admiring it and quickly snatched it up for me, took a picture of it for me to unwrap and left it safely stored at home.  Now for the perfect spot to hang it...

It was so fun.  And I enjoyed it thoroughly.  No blogging or working for a week plus.  Just relaxing and visiting and enjoying.