Christmastime

 I took the kids to Ouray's rope-tow hill on Christmas Eve. It was a beautiful and sunny day and the snow was actually decent for this early on in the season. The kids had a great time:

Almost an exact match with boy and board. So cool.

When we got home, Ben had dinner almost ready - the traditional Christmas Eve Swedish meatballs. It's so delicious. Our kids usually aren't the biggest fans, but Jonas figured out how good they were this year and had about 3 servings. After dinner we watched The Christ Child and that was wonderful. The kids got their Christmas PJs (too bad Miles' didn't fit and he had to wear old ones . . . ha) and then opened their sibling gifts.

Their gifts to each other have greatly improved. The kids spend their own money and it's pretty great for them to get to experience the giving part of this season. Miles got some DVD sets from Jonas and Emmy (some Japanese anime that he loves), and Shrek socks from Lucy. Jonas got LED lights for their room from Emmy (they were for both the boys) and they are amazing. He also got a FOX shirt from Lucy, which he loves. Plus the 4 Shrek movies from Miles. Emmy got an Ava Mack (I think that's her name) CD from Miles, a stylus pen from Jonas, and some Body Spray from Lucy. Lucy got a squishy toy and Polly Pockets from Miles, more Polly Pockets from Jonas, and a Kaboodle from Emmy.

We ate our rice pudding and I got the almond in it this year - which meant I got to choose our Christmas day movie. Lucky me! We then played Scattergories. And then it was off to work for Ben and I - and off to the boys' room for the kids for a movie and sleep.

The lights were green at the moment. :)

What happens when I tell Miles to smile . . . Oh boy.

Christmas was a good day. I think they kids were all excited about what Santa brought and all the other gifts they received. The kids went to bed late (around midnight?) and so they didn't wake up for the day until 7. Well, I think Lucy woke up and then got everybody else up around 7:15. 

Santa brought the boys AirPods, Emmy a CD/radio bluetooth player, and Lucy a cute Lego Ski set. The boys pretty much had matching gifts, ha. 4-pack ski pass to Powderhorn, gift card to the climbing gym in Junction, some vintage metal car signs for their room, a puzzle to share, a lego set to share that hasn't come yet, shoes for Jonas and Carhartts for Miles, cash, etc. Emmy got a blanket, some make-up, a curling iron, gloves so her hands won't freeze while biking to school, cute shoes/boots, clothes, cash, etc. Lucy got another lego set from us, fancy Sunday shoes, a beanie and gloves, clothes, cash, etc. (I put this because my kids, particularly my girls, have loved reading my blogs and looking at past Christmases and seeing what they got, etc. I hardly took any pictures, so I had to list a lot. :)

Four pictures!? That's all I took. :(

The dogs anxiously and goodly awaiting the treats Santa brought them.

The girls wearing some of their new clothes (and boots) they received. Adorable.

Aunt-E made this beautiful apron for Emmy. She LOVES it.

Miles chilling in his Santa on a OneWheel shirt. Awesome.

The rest of the day was spent putting legos together (Jonas got a model that looks exactly like his Mini), Ben and I taking the dogs on a walk, me teaching the kids how to play Nertz, playing some Family Edition of Cards Against Humanity, zooming grandparents and Aunt-E and her family, etc. 

We are trying to find a tradition for our Christmas dinner. Nothing has quite stuck that we've done before. So we tried fondue this year. It was definitely tasty! It could be improved, but I wouldn't mind doing this every year. Of course we did have the traditional Christmas jello (that I hate, ha). The movie I picked out for us to watch was Knives Out. Jonas actually bought it for us and so that was nice and helped me pick which movie to watch. I really love that movie! I am not sure what the girls thought of it, but I think they liked it for the most part.

The girls slept down in the boys' room again and watch a couple of shows - I guess Lucy fell asleep pretty quickly. :) And that was our 2020 Christmastime.