Have a Merry little Christmas

Ari was the first one up, he got up just before 7 and sat right in front of the tree staring at the gifts.  He would have eagerly started the unwrapping frenzy but we told him he had to wait for his sister to get up and it was almost 8 before she finally wandered downstairs!

It was funny to see the different approaches the two of them took in opening their gifts.  Ari just ripped through everything and then wanted to help everyone else open their stuff.  Meanwhile Aliya would unwrap something then spend a few minutes exclaiming over it, and showing everyone.

Santa came through and got them both what they'd asked for - a remote control car for Ari and a Barbie camping set and camping Barbie for Aliya.  Thanks Santa!

Twas the night before Christmas...

We put out treats for Santa and Aliya insisted we couldn't forget about the reindeer so they got a handful of carrots.  She also wrote Santa a little note thanking him for coming to visit.  It was actually pretty easy to get her and Ari to bed and then the elves went to work hauling all the gifts upstairs to put under the tree and in the stockings.  Then we sat around holding our breath and crossing our fingers that neither of them decided to get up again. 

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

We took the kids to the conservation land near Nancy's house to take some pictures.  It was a little disconcerting to see a warning sign that herd culling was allowed on the land and that we should beware of  hunters.  Great!  Not quite the photos we were hoping to get. LOL. 

But luckily we didn't encounter any hunters, or any wildlife for that matter either.  It's a nice area that leads right down to the river and through the woods (to Grandma's house? LOL)  Couldn't really get any good photos of the kids, they weren't too impressed that we were trying to get them to pose looking toward the sun, there was an awful lot of squinting and hands up to shade eyes going on.

And I reminded myself why I don't wear my old Ugg boots when I'm out walking around in the woods.  Those things are slippery, especially on fresh snow.  I slipped and hit the ground on my knee, yeah the one that's been bugging me lately.  It was bothering me a whole lot more after that.  I honestly felt like crying when I stood back up but I don't seem to have done any damage.  But boy, will I be black and blue from the knee down to my ankle!(action shot as I was hitting the ground LOL)

Ornaments galore

Been stitching like crazy on ornaments, mostly by Little House Needleworks, and I'm making good progress.  Not sure if I'll get around to actually sewing them into ornaments to hang on the tree before Christmas this year, but at least I'll have a cute little collection when I do get busy and sew them up. I think next year I'll set myself a goal of an ornament a month, fully completed.  Maybe if I get in the habit of completely finishing them throughout the year, it will be easier.