This year rocked! It was by far my favorite Christmas season of all! Last year was a little harsh (since Bryan and I spent Christmas in the ER) so we had nowhere to go but up. But this year not only went up but far and beyond anything I could have imagined.
We started off with our annual Jones Christmas celebration on the third Sunday of December. Every year we dress in our matching clothes, take a picture by the fireplace and then head up north to celebrate with our Jones immediate family.
Last year we were a little "off" and the only thing matching were our pajamas.
The year before that we did much better going with a plaid and stripy theme...
I love how much these two love each other...
All the cousins, with the exception of Max, gathered for a picture before we started opening gifts from Nooksack Santa....
And we did a few comparison pictures of the newest bunch of babies...
Then it was off to the garage to find out what Nooksack Santa had bought them. Grace and Vince and Max and Sy got the same John Deere Tractors that we bought Jack for his 2nd birthday. Santa brought Emily a shiny new hot pink bike and a train for Jack. Jake got a computer reading system and Charlie got some balls. I think Nooksack Santa was incredibly generous and REALLY outdid himself this year with presents....
Emily helped Jack along with his gift...
Emily took off riding her bike in circles around the garage as if she had been practicing for months...
Back inside the kids sat down for some Christmas singing, praying and dinner...
Then we were off to the family room to open cousin gifts...
Emily got a Strawberry Shortcake set from one of the Lautenbach boys and was a little fussy with Daddy for not letting her open it up right away...
Zhu Zhu pets from Grandma and Grandpa Jones...
Jack got a car track rug from the Lautenbach boys....
Then we snuggled into our jammies and visited for the rest of the evening...
Daddy read some Christmas books to all of the kiddoes...
And Grandpa Jones had some one-on-one time with Jack and a Thomas book...
It was such a magical night. By 8:00 all the kids were snuggled in Grandma and Grandpa's bed watching the Polar Express with Grandma Jones. Gradually each kiddo made their way out of the room with the exception of Emily. She pulled back the covers and put herself to sleep. Peaceful. Content. With a full heart.
On Wednesday we headed up to the Bellingham Joneses to visit with Auntie Tammy, Uncle Mark and the girls. Emily and Jack are IN LOVE with Cousin Alison and Stephanie. They played and played and played...
They had some gifts for the kiddoes to open...
Choo-choos for Jack and a gigantic holder for them. Jack was in heaven...
The Baby Whisperers (a.k.a The Bellingham Joneses) have quite the way with Charlie....
Emily finally woke up and opened her present...
...and then took out some of her toys she had brought...
Steph put Charlie to sleep...I have NO idea how she did this since he NEVER sleeps for us...
Grandma and Grandpa Jones stopped by with Grace and brought some freshly made lefse. Grandma fixed Jack an extra sugary piece for him to enjoy...
Just before it was time to head home Emily finally got the hat on Alison's kitty....
It was a super fun way to spend some time on break. There is nothing better than being with family.
No comments:
Post a Comment