Merry Christmas!

 We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  We sure enjoyed our Christmas holiday!  We have started to try and create some of our own family traditions and it's really helped us slow down and think a little more about why we celebrate Christmas.  But it has also created some fun family memories!  Christmas Eve is now our day to do things as our own family.  We started going to a matinee and afterwards getting pizza for dinner.  We read the Christmas story in Luke and watch a few church videos about Christ.  And this year after the kids opened their one gift (which is always pajamas) they went to their rooms to find tickets to the "minivan" Express.  We all jumped into the car and headed to Quik Trip (our local awesome gas station with amazing hot chocolate) where the kids all got to go get their own hot chocolate in their pajamas.  After that we headed around town on our very own Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt while listening to Christmas music.  We had a blast!  It's definitely going to be a new part of our traditions!

After that we headed home where the kids have started another tradition since we've lived in this house.  They all sleep together upstairs and wait for us to come up and get them!  They were so excited for Christmas!

Avery's favorite gift was her new phone.

Austin's favorite gift was his basketball hoop!  It hangs on his closet door and he plays on this thing all the time!

And the little girls got a new craft station homemade by the Christmas elves themselves!

And it also included a wall of dry erase boards!  Let the creativity begin!

 After that we headed over to see our families.  We went over to Grandma and Grandpa John's house where the kids made trains out of candy.

 And then we headed over to Gum-Gum's house where Nana helped the kids create some donut hole snowmen!

 They also got to open up presents while there.  Gum-Gum got them all fake glasses.... they all loved them!  For some reason its the big thing here!  I keep telling them if they actually HAD to wear them they would hate them.  But I have to admit- they look so darn cute!

Christmas Card Pictures

 I love taking pictures.  One of my favorite things about the Christmas holiday is getting pictures from friends and family.  However, my family doesn't quite share that same love... so it's quite a chore getting some of them to cooperate (Randy).  The day I decided we would have the time to take pictures was actually quite cold.  We have a field at the end of our street so I loaded up the family and a ladder and set the timer.  Wa'la!!!  But when I got home I didn't like all the pics.  However... this one had to do because it included my dear sweet husband who I knew would not be up for going back out another day to retake.

 I mustered up the courage to get my kids back in their outfits... and to my surprised they didn't throw a big fit!  Score!!

 And double-score because the weather was warmer and the light was so much better!  I love the color of the tall yellow grass with the red in their clothes!

Look how happy they are!  I think I promised them a trip to Sonic Drive-in or something... but it worked!  Christmas cards are out! 

Ashton's Ornament Party

 Every year our Pre-K has an ornament party where one adult comes and goes around each of the Pre-K classrooms with their Pre-K student and makes an ornament.  Ashton decided I would be the lucky one!  With her being our last, I really tried to take in every moment.  She made some neat ornaments to hang up on our Christmas tree.

After we finished with the ornaments we went to the cafeteria where we decorated cookies to eat!  We had such a great time together!

Thunder vs. Lakers

Randy was given tickets from a vendor to go watch the OKC Thunder vs. LA Lakers.  This was my very first real Thunder game to go to, and I was super pumped that we were playing against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.  We took our friends Trey and Carey Auschwitz.  Of course with the Lakers in town the entire stadium was sold out. The seats we got were completely the last row, nose bleed!  I remember seeing people up on that row when I would be watching the game from home and saying that I would never buy tickets to sit up there.  But honestly, they weren't that bad!  Thunder fans are amazing and it was such a great atmosphere.  Best part- they beat the Lakers!!