Happy 2014 and a Christmas Recap

Happy New Year, guys! Today feels like the start of a new book and I can’t wait to begin the first chapter. I have so many exciting things planned for this year–races, trips, events. The arrival of my first nephew (OK, so maybe I didn’t plan that one, but I will be planning a trip out to see him, so that counts, right?)

Since we hit the slopes right after Christmas, I haven’t had time to recap our holiday. (My house hasn’t had time to recover from the holiday either, but that’s another story!) What better way to start out 2014 than with a post about our Christmas?

Christmas morning started later than usual–the girls slept until around 7:30. We have this tradition where all the grandparents (and great-grandparents) come over to watch as the girls see what Santa brought. The grandparents on my side have to make their rounds (Mal goes first, then Ali), so we were the last stop. The girls and I spent about 30 minutes after they woke up doing the morning routine of brushing teeth and hair, and then talked about what they thought Santa had brought. The grandparents arrived around 8:00 and the girls were able to come out and see their surprises.

The wrapped presents in the middle were from Messy, the elf. He left a letter saying goodbye and that he can’t wait to see us all next year.

The ONE thing Kyndall asked for was the full version of Minecraft. She had the free version on her iPod, but apparently, the full version has so much more to offer. She thought Santa would get her old ipod and put the full version on it. She tried hard to hide it, but I could tell she was a little disappointed when she didn’t see her old ipod out there. The disappointment didn’t last long when she spotted the ipad mini though–she opened it right up and looked through the apps. When she spotted the Minecraft full version, she broke out into a huge smile. (Santa could’ve saved a lot of money this year and purchased just that app for K and a Frozen dress for L!)

We spent the entire morning playing with the girls toys. All the grandparents and Aunt Mal even got in on the action with the Nerf guns and the scooters! It was so wonderful.

Then, Christmas night, we went to Gra-Gra’s. My mom has started the tradition of us playing games on Christmas night and we get SO into it. This year, Justin and I DOMINATED over Mal and Trey. The first game was called Holiday Kiss. We had to hold the golf ball between our mouths and run around the house and back.

Justin and I actually won this game, but there is no photo evidence of that 🙂

There was a game where we had to suck a cotton ball onto the end of a straw, and run the loop in my moms house. And another one where we had to toss Hershey Kisses into a stocking. And yet another one where my mom put out a stack of wrapped presents, and we had to open them up. Some contained gift cards, some contained coal. <–This game resulted in a few injuries, and a few gift cards being hidden in gross places!

We had to shake ping pong balls out of a tissue box taped to our back, which resulted in lots of flips and jumps in the living room. It’s a wonder my mother’s furniture survived intact.

It was a night packed with fun and laughter, and I’m so glad my mom started this tradition! After loading up our gifts, we headed home to pack for our trip. Which, by the way, was a Christmas present from my mom and dad. All in all, I think this was our best Christmas ever.

PS: Stay tuned for details of our snow skiing adventure! 🙂

Happy 2014 and a Christmas Recap

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