Christmas pic blow out

My download cord to my camera has been MIA, but thankfully Bobby found it tonight (in the trunk of his car!) so I can share Christmas pictures with you. I know you've been dying to see pictures. :)

Making cookies on Christmas Eve... We use the Nestle Tollhouse break apart ones. This year I asked the girls if they wanted to actually bake from scratch cookies, and they voted to still use the break apart ones.


Putting cookies and milk out for Santa. At our house, we put it down low for the picture, but then we actually leave it up on our mantel. Otherwise, the dogs would eat the cookies and drink the milk before Santa could.


Macy was VERY obsessed with where Santa was this year, and we followed him all night on the NORAD Santa tracker. She freaked out when, around 9:00, he was in Canada. "Mom! He's getting so close! I have to go to sleep!!" They hurried upstairs and went to sleep very quickly. She wasn't awake to see that after he was in Canada, he dipped back down to South America for a while before entering the United States.


We had the girls buy gifts for each other this year, to hopefully emphasize more the GIVING aspect. Macy picked out Hannah Montana makeup for Kaylin. She was very proud of herself.


Kaylin picked out a High School Musical book light for Macy. It's been used for everything BUT a book light so far.


Santa was very good to the girls, bringing lots of presents. Macy's favorite was a new digital camera of her very own.


Kaylin's favorite gift from Santa was a Hannah Montana doll.


Can't leave the dogs out! Every year we get them a bone shaped like a candy cane. Kobe ALWAYS picks hers up, throws it, then sits down and promptly destroys it in about 15 minutes.


Gabriel, on the other hand, immediately wants to go outside and bury it. Kobe found the secret hiding place an hour or so later, and we had to take it from her. It took Gabe about an hour to eat it.


After all that excitement, we headed to Bobby's sister's house in Springfield. We actually made it the entire way without stopping once. And we only watched one High School Musical movie.

Kaylin and her new baby cousin Peyton.


Macy and Peyton.


The girls and Great-Grandmother Velma.


Entire family picture. Cannot tell you how many tries this took, using the self-timer button on the camera, balanced precariously on the rim of Peyton's high chair.


We've had a restful couple days, and then my brother and his family arrive Tuesday. My niece, her fiancee and their dog will be staying with us. The entire family is going ice-skating; that should be interesting!!