Christmas Extravaganza!

Without that extra week between Thanksgiving and the beginning of December, last month seemed to go at warp speed! Before we knew it, Christmas Eve was staring us right in the face. My mom flew out a few days before the rest of the crew, which was wonderful to get to spend some one-on-one time with Grandma Joanie. But let's face it, the kids were super excited for Uncle Taylor, Grandpa Tom Tom, and Auntie Whitney to fly in and join the fun.

Grandpa and Taylor flew in late Monday night (the 23rd), so bright and early Christmas Eve morning--right after a pretty stellar dance party, we headed out to show Taylor around town. We checked out Pinehurst Village where the US Open will take place this summer, as well as Southern Pines Reservoir.

Even though it was bright and sunny it was very chilly! Grandpa ditched us for the links, so the rest of us met Jon--who'd had to work a half day, at Chick fil A for lunch. 

We let the kiddos burn off some steam in the play place, as well as shared a delicious peppermint chocolate milkshake, before finally heading back home where the kids bounced off the walls with all of their pent up Christmas Eve excitement! 

Finally dusk fell and the Christmas Eve magic began! We decided to celebrate my family's tradition of "Christmas Around the World" and picked food from Great Britain to feature. 

My mom splurged and roasted some amazing prime rib, then served it with mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, apple and walnut salad with Stilton cheese, Christmas ribbon jello salad, and salted caramel bread pudding for dessert. Yum!

 Happy Christmas Eve, ol' English style!

Next we acted out our own little Nativity and sang Christmas carols to help celebrate the true meaning of the season. Lucy played Mary and Jon was Joseph.

Zach-O (and his broom/staff) was the shepherd, while Leah (who did NOT cooperate) was supposed to be a little lamb.

We made Taylor be one of the Wisemen who came bearing gifts. He wasn't too thrilled about participating either.

After we wrote down our "Gifts to Jesus," Grandpa headed up to Raleigh to pick up Whitney from the airport. We kept teasing the kids that we hoped her airplane wouldn't crash with Santa's sleigh up in the air--and when questioned, they admitted they'd rather have Whitney than Santa, so that's gotta be true love! Right before bed we opened up one present-- which is always new pajamas.

After a quick secret Santa delivery into the backwoods of Carolina with a Christmas box of groceries for a family in our ward, we hurried home so the kids put out the cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer. Which Leah promptly got into and ate a few of. Naughty baby!

Finally, off to bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads! They look pretty excited to me!

Lucy's loot-- an art table for her many, many art creations and crafts (I found the desk for free in the garbage pile, cleaned it up, repainted it, bought a new knob, and it turned out super cute!), tons of craft kits and new markers and colored pencils, a razor scooter, and lots of fun stocking stuffers.

Little Leah's pile-- a V-tech tent with lots of music and buttons to push, a singing rocking horse, a new baby photo album, and a Baby Einstein toy.

Zach's stash-- a T-Rex Hot Wheels track, the Bat Cave, Star Wars toys, a Nerf gun, and a Superman toy to go with Batman. I'm not sure if the kids or the parents found it harder to go to bed on Christmas Eve night!

Ta-da!! Let the chaos begin! The kids woke up around 7:15 a.m. and made their way downstairs to see all of their goodies. We didn't have one sad or disappointed child--they were all thrilled with everything, and with Christmas on a budget, I'd call that a success.

At first Leah was totally freaked out about sitting on her rocking horse. She'd scream bloody murder as soon as you put her on it. But now she absolutely loves it-- she climbs on, pushes the button, rocks away and says, "Wheee!" It's super cute.

And my personal favorite part of the day: Christmas Breakfast. I love getting to sit down and enjoy a nice big breakfast while basking in the glow of the best day of the year. My family's tradition is to have ableskeevers (little ball pancakes with applesauce inside), scrambled eggs, sausage, and hot chocolate. 

Jon and Taylor in the newly founded "Ghost Rider Pajama Club," thanks to the awesome skull pjs Tom Tom purchased for the boys on Black Friday. Sweet!

And Whitney and I in our twinner pajamas. It was so fun having everyone join us for a North Carolina Christmas. My parents and Taylor left right after breakfast to drive up to Richmond to spend the evening with Devin and Sarah and their girls. Whitney and our family spent the rest of the day lounging around in our pajamas, watching movies, playing with new toys, and eating all of our Christmas treats. That night we packed up so we could join the growing crowd in Richmond for a weekend of Trasher fun!