Christmas Eve
We tried to keep Christmas Eve simple in traditions: Read the Nativity in Luke, open a present, set out milk & cookies, and wear special PJs to bed. After reading about Christ's birth, Maverick said:
Let's solve a Christmas story mystery! How did Mary put baby Jesus in the manger?
Lehi: She carried Him.
Maverick: What if she tripped over a rock?
Lehi: Joseph would catch her.
Maverick: What if he didn't?
Lehi: An angel would come
Maverick: What if the angel didn't catch them?
Lehi: I don't know. You tell me.
Maverick: I don't know! It's a mystery!
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| Cooperating SUPER well on Christmas Eve |
The boys were all hyper and excited, but willing to go to sleep so Santa could come. Tasha and I headed out around 10:30 to pick up mom and dad from the Austin airport (about 1.5 hours away). As we were headed there, Tasha realized she needed gas, but we figured we could fill up the closer we got. When she could hardly keep her eyes open (it happens when you are preggo and running on little to no sleep), we decided a gas station stop would be a good idea....but we had a hard time finding one. Eventually we came upon one, pulled up to the pumps, to see the pumps were closed. Another car had pulled up to the store about the same time, so we waited to see if the store itself was open. It was and Tasha needed snacks and some soda to stay awake. As she is grabbing anything in site that looks good (I am talking arms full, people), someone who worked there said the registers and pumps would be closed for about 10 minutes or so until the shift change happened. We settled in a couple of chairs, junk food all over the table in front of us, and waited. It was a good break for us, but we lost a lot of time and didn't want to be late picking up the parents. We continued on our journey, Waze directing our path, when we noticed a sign for the airport...about the time we passed it. But Waze had us continuing straight, so we did. ....airport boulevard runs a long distance in Austin, and Tasha punched that into Waze and we ended up in the middle of no where, clearly not at the airport. So I put it in and we discovered we went about 5 miles past the airport. Back around we headed and called mom and dad to let them know we were still about 10 minutes out. Dad told us what parking letter they were at and he said G.
Tasha clarified, "G as is Grandpa?"
Dad wittingly, "G as in garage and gee, I wish you were here."
Well played, Dad.
We chatted the whole way back home, Dad got some cookies at my house, and headed to Bobo's for Christmas morning.
Christmas Morning
Our Christmas morning was pretty quiet, especially with the grandparents being at Tasha's house. The boys were so excited to open/see their toys. We spent the majority of the morning helping Maverick ride his bike while Lincoln followed on his wiggle car. (We were out riding before Tasha's kids even woke up hahaha).
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| My gift for Lehi: a 3D wood cutout of Philly |
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| Maverick building legos |
We went over to Tasha's later to visit and eat dinner; Kristina and I were thrilled how excited Brooklynn was about her sewing machine that Tasha refused to get her. So we bought it instead! Maverick was very interested in how it worked.
Gingerbread & Pasta
The day after Christmas consisted mom, Tasha, and I running to the store to get 1/2 off gingerbread houses for my boys and a few odds & ends. Debbie has sent Tasha's kiddos houses to make, so we were trying to find one for Mav and Lincoln. After a failed attempt at the grocery store, I decided I would just go simple and buy frosting and graham crackers. Tasha insisted I get a kit and called into a store, which ended up setting them aside so I could buy them.
After gingerbread houses and playing, we headed home along with Grandpa McDonald. Lincoln took a nap while Dad, Maverick and myself made stock and noodles for a turkey soup for dinner. Lehi got me a pasta maker for Christmas so we decided to give it a go! Maverick loved turning the handle. Mom & Dad also put together Tayson's bike so it was ready for his birthday.
Bikes and Chocolate Milk
The next day we loaded up bikes, scooters, wiggle cars, and "4 wheelers" and set the kids go free in the church parking lot. It was like Christmas all over again. These cousins are pretty much siblings. They play and fight like siblings and also love each other like siblings. I got there a little before Tasha and Mom, so I jumped on the wiggle car with Linc. I think he approved.
Mom, Tasha, and I spent some time together shopping for nothing in particular, as we usually do.
Pork Chops & Bruised Ribs
The next day, we left the kids with a babysitter and headed to Perry's Steak House for their Friday pork chop special. Ironically, Tasha and I had it on separate occasions with our husbands and both of our husband said, "when your Dad comes in town, we need to take him here." So we did.Later that afternoon, Mom decided to play a stunt double and was riding on the back of Tayson's bike....and ended up tucking and rolling as she fell on the concrete. A few bruise ribs later, she spent the rest of the trip downing pain relievers and in a wrap.
Bowling with a Twist
For Tayson's birthday, we planned to go bowling to celebrate. We were going to meet at Tasha's house and then go from there. I knocked at the door only to find Kristina opening it! I was in shock and totally trying to process what the heck I was seeing.On Christmas, when face-timing with her, Andrew asked her, "what are you not here? You should just drive down." So she did. She loaded all 5 kids up and drove 14 hours just to spend time with us. It was awesome. I need to be more like her. We looked crazy, walking into the bowling alley (Kristina, Tasha, myself, and Andrew) with 10 kids, 12 years and under. I am sure to the unknowing eye, we might have appeared to be sister wives.
With Kristina always comes Nertz. And we are so happy for it. So. much. fun. It was pretty much assumed every night would be a Nertz party until the wee hours of the morning. And so it was. Mom even got a little sassy and drew a six finger man giving the middle finger....although the six fingers was not intentional.
Kristina's teasing seeped its way into Tasha's Christmas gift from her, too. Andrew had spent hours, on multiple days, arguing with their internet provider to come fix their internet, which was not working. Kristina made sure to share this encouraging message with him:
Six Flags
The gang all went to Six Flags, which was busy and had a lot of rides that were shut down, making the normal lines even longer. But the kids soaked up every minute and had a lot of fun. It was a cold day for Texans, Arizonians, and a grandmother who is always wearing a bathrobe, but we bundled up and enjoyed the time together. The very last ride of the day, Lincoln fell into a rock (while waiting for everyone to finish) and got a nice cut on his head, which residue you can admire for the rest of the photos posted.
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| After the log ride |
BBQ Bliss
We all loaded up and headed to the BBQ capital of Texas, the awesome Lockhart. Everyone seemed to enjoy their meal, especially Mia who devoured the brisket, even if she was a little shy about it ;)
Christmas Cookies, Sugar
Since Mia is the queen of Russian piping & the icing to go with it, she whipped up a batch of frosting while Kristina made some sugar cookies. All the kiddos (and adults) got a cookie to decorate. Talin had some issues with the frosting process, which made for a good laugh for everyone.
Lots of late nigh card games, packed houses, chaos coordinating, monstrous meals, and so much fun. The last night of card games, we decided to do a couple rounds of Nertz, because, it's Nertz. Dad joined in and then we played "Philadelphia" as Dad called it, "Garbage" as Kristina called it.
Among some of the memorable moments was Talin coming downstairs and announcing to everyone he told Parker to "stop being dramatic." A phrase I have heard out of Kristina, Tasha, and my own mouth.
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| Typical meal; we ate everything in adult and kid waves |
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