Christmas evening

Later in the day on Christmas we had a delectable prime rib dinner that Mark cooked perfectly.  Then we took to the hills like genuine mountain families.

I guess I didn't realize it was so cold out... we didn't bring the girls very warm clothes.. particularly for the duration.  Xiana spent much of the time playing with Haylee in Tim's truck.  Kolton slept in our truck the entire time.

Which is really quite impressive when you consider all the guns being fired.  There were new guns, old guns, and lots of trigger fingers.

Tosh was trying out her new gift.

I'm not going to lie, I found it to be the slightest bit jarring to walk around with so very many people holding guns.  Yet, it was perfectly appropriate... and fun!  I didn't get a shot of it, but Brian bought his dad three explosives for Christmas.  Needless to say he shot all three.  And boy did they go boom.  I felt like we were in the special effects department of a movie.  They were loud, and big.

I know her face screams bored, but she was impressed too.

Everybody was milling around, yelling loudly at each other in order to talk over their ear plugs.

Xiana and her uncle Larry.  She pretty much makes him hold her whenever he's around.

These cute cousins!

Cheese!

Mom and almost all her kids!

Ali really got into the shooting... so did Larry.  They loved it!

As did I!

We closed the night with some dance competitions on the kinnect.

And going up and down the stairs about a million times.  Fun fun fun times!  Later that night Xiana would throw up and start the plague... but for this moment, all was well in the land of Christmas.

Picture

I'm very sad to say this is the only picture we got after church. I really wanted to get a picture of us in our church best on Christmas day. Unfortunately, the chair was very low, and someone wasn't very cooperative. sigh. Oh well, we will just pretend we were Christmas giants.

Christmas!

We tried really hard not to go crazy this year. Last year got a little out of hand. We did better, but there is such a temptation to spoil your kids rotten around the holidays. Plus, everybody else purchases gifts for them too. Sometimes I find it challenging to teach the spirit of Christmas when we fall into the trap of commercialism. Next year I hope to be better. I want to imprint a spirit of gratitude into my children. I know very well that the best way to do that is NOT to smother them with gifts. Still, we had a beautiful Christmas. Everybody had a wonderful time, and got spoiled and managed to eek out some gratitude so I would say it was a success.

This might not be the girls' favorite present, but it's mine!  4 foot tall paper dolls that you get to color the outfits.  So fun!

Ekco got a lot of cute clothes this year, partly because she needed them and partly because she's at that age.  She is kind of outgrowing toys.  I remember my tenth Christmas.  I got $100 to go on a shopping spree with.  I can vividly remember the outfits I bought with the money.  Like I said, it's the age.  Christmas isn't quite the same when you start outgrowing toys, but Ekco still made out like a bandit. 

It's become a tradition for me to make an annual calender.  Again, I'm not sure if it's better for me or the recipient.

Ekco also got the dolls, though she hasn't opened them yet so is unaware of their true value of fun, particularly for as aspiring fashion designer.

We had to wake up very early because Kylee had to be at her mom's at 7.  The kids anxiously awaited every one's arrival... okay, they might have been half asleep, but they were still anxious.

And they are present opening machines.  They know what they're doing!

Santa delivered getting Xiana her desired Dora and Ekco speakers for her ipod.

Kolton got a few v-techs, a bunch of balls, and some cookies.  His favorite things were: wrapping paper, pencils, and candy wrappers.

Santa also brought a whole bunch of bubble gum.  Grandma put her foot down and said that the gum couldn't be opened there.  We argued it was a perfect excuse to get new flooring.

Our little family... that's getting bigger all the time.  It was wonderful to wake up together on Christmas morning.

Looking at this picture I realized we didn't make it home with this ball...

The kids had a blast... I'm not sure how many bags of wrapping paper there were.

There was scarcely space to sit... let alone take pictures :)

Ekco also got a new journal to write in and to work on her story.  She has been writing a delightful story that we are going to have printed in a book when she's finished.  Merry Christmas!!  (bleated)

Gingerbread houses

Okay fine, they're actually Graham cracker houses, but there are adorable nevertheless. There was no shortage of candy and treats over the break. The kids did an excellent job decorating their houses.

But the funny thing is that the adults who made houses took about 100 times longer to make their perfect houses than the kids. I daresay they enjoyed it more too!

Ekco was with her mom the day the kids made them, but grandma Andersen is ever so thoughtful and made sure there was frosting left over for Ekco to make her own beautiful creation.

Service

I have to admit, I feel like I completely and utterly dropped the ball this Christmas with acts of service. Xiana is old enough now to appreciate the value of giving, particularly at the holidays. Next year I am going to be much better. This year, the only baking I did was for my visiting teachees, I didn't make cards, and we didn't do very much in the way of angel trees and such. Fortunately, my sister-in-law and mother-in-law arranged to have the cousins visit the elderly. Debbie backed like a machine creating goodie baskets for each of the 13 residents. Dawnette got all of their names so that the kids could make cards more personal. I'm so grateful to them for organizing this so that we didn't escape the season without feeling like we made someone else's day a little brighter.

Debbie got reindeer horns for all the kids and they were more adorable than words can say.

Especially this little Rudolf.

The kids sang four songs and then Ali and Larry did two beautiful and fun duets.

The residents were touched.  I think every person we spoke with commented on how wonderful it was to have children there.  They spoke of missing their grandchildren, children, and loved ones.  The kids handed out the baskets with the accompanying cards they made.  The residents gave kisses, held hands, and smiled from ear to ear.

One nurse, despite being cynical at our arrival, was touched and cried before we left. 

The kids did a wonderful job and it was so special to see how they understood that they had been influential on the spirit's of the elderly. 

It's been a year!!

I don't know how it's possible, but I haven't been to Battle Mountain for a whole year! Not since last Christmas. We knew when Ekco moved to Fernley we wouldn't be traveling there as often, but a whole year is a long time! It hadn't been as long for Brian thankfully. Kolton traveled well, sleeping most of the way.  Brian's dad has a little doggie that barks and wags his tail.  Kolton was in love.  He kept picking that little puppy up and trying to grab his nose.

We stayed at Brian's brother's house this year because the WHOLE family (minus Jeff and Jen) came so there wasn't room for everybody at his folk's.  It was fun to get to know my sister-in-law better and let the cousins have a chance to hang out a little more.  The disadvantage was that everybody got sick... more on that later.

Kolton was a happy little monkey getting into things and eating his first dog food.

Xiana and Haylee were real monkeys trying their ability at flipping...

repeatedly!

With so much family there, the gifts piled up.  The stash just got bigger and bigger and bigger.  It was really fun to get the kids together and to share Christmas morning as a big family.  We got there a few days early because for Brian's mom's gift, the boys redid the floor in her bathroom.  I don't know how I got away without a picture, but it looked great!

Pre-Christmas

We went to Brian's good friend Al's house before leaving for Christmas and they spoiled us rotten. They got Xiana a backpack and a Barbie computer, which she loved!!! They got each of us thoughtful and kind gifts. We cherish them in our lives. They live quite close and act as pseudo grandparents to the kids. They brighten our lives, and they adore our children. They don't have little ones nearby so I dare say it is a symbiotic relationship.