Exactly one month late- Merry Christmas! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!
As usual, we had a really busy Christmas because both of our families are in town and we bounce back and forth between houses for 48 hours. Of course, we had lots of fun leading up to the actual eve and day. It was even more fun than last year because the boys were older and we could do more festive activities with them that they understood and got to enjoy. First and foremost, they are obsessed with the movie, Polar Express. They have been watching it approximately once a day for the last month and a half! I now use it as a bargaining tool or to get them to sit still while I hurry up and go take a shower. If I hear the lyrics to "When Christmas Comes to Town" one more time..grrrr.... Yes, I do hear the bell!!
The boys made a gingerbread house for Matt all by themselves.
Isn't it a beauty?
They attempted to take a picture for Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas card. Blankie, sippy cup and sucker allowed in the pic and he's still not happy! Why do my kids never smile in group pics?! But, I laugh every time I look at this.
Santa's elves came to Grandma and Grandpa's house to see if Ben and Sam were being good.
Their Elf on the Shelf, Chippy, also flew in on his own leaf to check things out while they were away from home.
The fun started at 10am on Christmas Eve. We all went to my Aunt Marlene and Uncle Randy's. Santa came to give the kids gifts and take pics. Here, Grandpa is the most excited to get his picture taken with Santa.
It was my niece, Amelia's first Christmas. There are much sweeter ones of my sister, her fiance, and the baby, but I like this one the best :)
The boys and Aunt Jamie. Ben cannot take a picture without arching his back and trying to escape. When I count my blessings, Aunt Jamie is definitely at the top of the list.
After we left Aunt M's and Uncle R's, we went to Christmas Eve mass with Matt's family and then back to his parents house to visit for awhile and open stockings. Then, we went to my Aunt Linda's and Uncle Dave's for our 3rd Christmas Eve. I don't think I've ever seen so much food or presents. The boys were so spoiled at all places!! Finally, we went home at about 9:30pm and put cookies and milk out for Santa.
On Christmas morning, the boys woke up to a train track Santa had set up around the tree with their trains running around it...and also some new ones. They absolutely loved it and would have been fine with just that.
Their favorite gift from Santa was a dum dum sucker. They didn't touch any of their presents until the sucker was gone. They can thank their friend, Kate, who said she wanted a lollipop for Christmas. It gave Santa some ideas!
Our "official" family 2011 Christmas pic.
After Christmas morning at our house we went to my parents for a yummy Breakfast and more gifts from Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Lauren. Then we went to Matt's sisters house to celebrate with Matt's side of the family. His sister made the most AMAZING beef tenderloin with Gorgonzola cream sauce. SO Good!!
Man, it was a busy two days but we consider ourselves very, very blessed to have all these people we love so much to spend it with.
A couple of days after Christmas I met Matt's mom and sister and the cousins at Crown Center. Ben and Sam had a wonderful time eating at Fritz's (for, like, the fourth time in a month!), watching the trains, and playing on the fun stuff outside.
Here are Jack and Sam in the spaceship
Katie and Sam getting all wind blown.
We loved having our tree on in the evenings when it was quiet, the house was picked up, and we could relax.
Of course we would never trade a torn apart play room for anything in the world. 
Especially, when these guys are the culprits.....
Merry Christmas and I hope you have a happy and healthy New Year!
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