Party Hearty!!

Abbie and her two BFF's, Reagan and Brooke

Ruby finally getting her chance to get up on the risers, she was clawing to get up there throughout the entire program...I waited with her in the hall until the kids finished.

Bracken and Abbie both insisted on me making them necklaces out of holiday ribbon and tree ornaments.

pretzels dipped in carmel, the first step of many

the finished product with multiple layers of chocolate and carmel

Teacher gifts of our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and ingredients

Abbie and her class of Ms.Q's Kangaroos

Tate decorating his gingerbread house...it was also pajama day...I don't get it either

caught

Bracken and his best friend Eric being weird as always

oops, no filter on this package of sprinkles

pin the nose on the snowman

Our little elves choose a tree

Faux Christmas

Abbie was Mary at the church Christmas dinner

Ruby thought she should be Mary and tried several times to climb onto the stage

Grandpa Lee bought plane tickets for the whole family to fly back to Virginia on Christmas eve so we would all be together on Christmas day (despite me having stated a million times my desire to NOT travel during the holidays) but my kids still don't follow the dates on a calendar so they didn't know it wasn't really Christmas. We celebrated everything two days early so we could be ready for our early flight on Dec.24th. In hindsight maybe we should have explained to them about the dates, etc. because as they boarded the plane people kept asking them if they were excited for Christmas. My kids looked at the people like they were idiots because Santa had come the day before.

making cookies for Santa...with whole wheat flour because Santa is too fat according to Bracken

Christmas eve story telling

the goods left by Santa

Christmas morning

hmmm, where is that fifth child?

Look how tired and rundown Ruby looks driving her baby around. I bet that's how I look driving my busy crew around town.

I guess Santa knew my kids LOVE to dress up and they do it every single day

a hybrid of the red ranger and Sharpay from High School Musical

...I know that Jessie gave me a zillion pictures of actual Christmas pictures of when we were actually in Virginia but I guess I haven't found those yet.

Synchronized Smiling

Why is it so difficult to just smile? Well, not to just smile but to sit still, look at the camera, not blink, not cry, not be grumpy, not pinch your siblings to get them in trouble...I could go on forever. Do the children not realize that if they could just pose happily for a few seconds it would all be over. Is synchronized smiling really that difficult????

Bracken is SOOOOOO done...and my baby looks like a skinny monkey, I know

IT'S OVER GRANDPA!!! They are not making me take any more pictures!!!!

WHY must you do this to me????

(actually this is how I felt also)

In the end none of these shots were good enough to carry the Christmas card on their own so as most of you know we opted for the lame 17 picture montage. Better luck next year!