Traditions...

For our family,
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are simply loaded with tradition.
Every year, we go to my In-Laws house.
We celebrate Christmas and family and have a nice dinner.
By doing this...we have made the choice to stay home on Christmas Day..
which we REALLY love!

(Above, is what Makylie wore on Christmas Eve day.
I found the outfit at a local consignment and FELL.IN.LOVE
So perfect for Christmas...Valentines day...
any other day that I feel like having Maky look A-dorable!!! :)
I just wanted to showcase how cute she looked!)

Oh Christmas....
How I love thee!

So also, every year...after we get home from grandmas...there is a gift waiting for each of the kids. We started this...when Karman was 5 years old, and have continued it every year since.
The kids get so super excited...even though the gift inside is always the "same".
They get together...I snap some pictures....then they rip them open!

*It was fun, because to Makylie, who doesn't quite remember last year yet....it was so new...she just had no clue what was inside at all. She was GENUINELY jumping-up-and-down excited.*
That is what makes all of this so worth it!


Checking out each others loot...

Then we show what we got...

Sometimes they are Christmasy, sometimes they aren't. We have found as Karman has gotten older, that if we get her the Christmas thememd Pajamas, she will only wear them through December, where the little kids will wear their Santa jammies in July...because they don't care what anyone thinks.

Then they all go change into them.

The idea is that we don't get out of our jammies on Christmas day at all.

So they are nice, new, cute Pajamas for all of the pictures on Christmas Morning.

Of course....we have the Santa plate tradition. The kids leave out all of the homemade cookies.

They pick each individual cookie out themselves, and are meticulous about which one of these, or those are good enough for the big guy in Red.

We NEVER forget those reindeer either.

And either milk or cocoa for Santa.

I always read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas....

Then we hurry and get to bed, so that we can fall asleep as fast as possible.

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Nothing can top the giddy excitement of Christmas Eve.

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You know,
This season rolls along.

As much as I love it...I do get wrapped in the activity of it all...and I tend to have a lot to do everyday. Most of it revolves around the kids, obviously...from making cookies, to decorating the tree, to doing crafts...but there is just, overall, a lot to do.

As it begins to come to a close...I find I can breathe a little lighter...and just be.

Enjoy the sights, and sounds,

the laughter and the love.

The fact that my family is all together...

And that is just what I am doing today

Merry Christmas family and friends!

The Lights of the Season...

This year, we went with our best friends to Warm Beach in Stanwood.
It is a camp ground...filled with cabins...that schools and organizations can rent out for their retreats.

My friend Erin and I actually went there for retreats in Middle school...so that was kind of funny.

Anyway, at Christmas they deck it out with hundreds of thousands of lights.
It was a really cold night, but a wonderful distraction!

The kids were SO excited!
On the left is Sean...and the daddy is Mark...and on his shoulders, Mason.
Oh, and a GIANT snowman.
(I know, it was confusing as to which was the daddy, and which was the snowman....)
Seriously, as we all know, the camera CAN NOT do justice to pictures of lights. I played with the settings, and changed things and got some decent shots...but often there are also street lights to contend with and then depth of perception, with the camera picking up the lights...but then people are dark.

Anyway...
THE LIGHTS WERE GORGEOUS!
Little log cabin and the lights are flowers...The kids loved this set up. Especially Makylie.

Oh this picture just makes a mommy happy. :)

I love these little people.
Walking around a giant, busy campground....in the freezing cold, with super hyper kiddos...smelling kettle corn and freshly made mini doughnuts...WITH NO HOT COFFEE IN HAND....
Ummm, yeah,
I would only do that for you guys!
:)
Oh such a happy place to be!

This is my best Friend Erin.

We met in Middle School, and became best friends through high school.

Ummm yeah.

A LONG LONG LONG TIME!

And her husband Mark.

He and Kevin were best friends in High School.

We sort of lost touch after high school.

In the meantime though....

We both dated our, now husbands, for the same LONG LONG period of time...

We both got married in the same year, 4 months apart.

We both had our first kids the same year, 4 months apart.

We lived, at the time, only two blocks away from each other.

Basically, all without knowing it....any of it.

Tells me, we were never meant to lose touch... :)

So 5 years ago we reconnected, and it was LITERALLY like we had talked every single day since high school. Like that time, had never been lost.

We are neighbors again now,

Our boys are best friends

And we spend many weekends and holidays with our family's together.

We have fun...even if we are sitting around doing nothing.

That is the BEST kind of friend!

This is Bruce...

The Talking Spruce.

I would say he was the highlight of the evening.

There is some guy hiding behind a window...and he can see everyone. He asks you questions, and listens to all of the answers, and then plays off of them. He tells jokes and sings songs. The kids thought he was awesome! It was a VERY long line, so obviously, everyone thinks he is awesome!

Love this picture!

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In person, this tree was the most beautiful thing.

It was amazing. The lights reminded me of fireworks.

I could have laid on that grass and just stared up at these.

One of my favorite displays!

This one was neat to! It had three scenes that it would flash through. From sunny, to sunset (above) to moonlight with a dolphin jumping. (below)

Again...I know the camera doesn't do it justice...but it was really pretty.

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They have the Northwest's Mountain ranges all around the grounds.

Those were nice, but I really couldn't ever get a great picture of them. They were on the perimeter...so all of the path lights interfered.

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I actually really like the way this particular picture came out. The background almost looks like a drawing.

This scene was breath taking....I wish you could see how gorgeous it really was!

There was a HUGE micro train set up inside here. So intricate.

There were buttons on the outside to push...and it would make the train go, horns blow, and the headlights come on.

Tyler, really liked it.

Then out front was the picture op. :) We don't know who those other kids are...but they are sure smiling nice..... :)

It is one of those places...that takes the hectic holiday season, and puts a bow on it. You can't really help but feel happy and awestruck while you are there...and you walk away...feeling a little bit relaxed. Cold...needing Starbucks...but relaxed nonetheless.

Karman would have enjoyed it.

Thanks Gallant family, for joining us for a wonderful evening, and helping take our minds off of, life.

We had a really nice, freezing cold, time!!! :)

Singing like an angel...

Makylie's preschool class put on a Happy Birthday to Jesus concert.
They sang Christmas carols...all with hand motions and movements.
It was really cute!
She was quite nervous.

She is so shy already...but put her in front of a crowd....In her beautiful dress!
And she is...
Still just as cute!

This is her cute little class.
(back) Daniel, Taylor, Aizak---(middle) Dallin, Clara, Sawyer, Ana--(front) Ruby, Noah, Maky.
Natalie is absent.
And this is her teacher, Mrs. Forquer.

(Seriously....LOOOOOOK at that dress!)

Oh it was such a cute, energetic concert.

The kids had been working a very long time...and were so very proud of themselves.

I was surprised...because she did so much better this year then last year.

Last year she basically just stood there. She barely even sang.

This year she did the movements and dances...and sang the songs.

Maybe by next year, she will smile...just once :)

Makylie....you make me so happy.

I get you, in a way that no one else, ever will.

I swallow everything you do, straight into my heart...where it grows again and again, until it is ten-times it's original size.

You are a little me.

It's like looking in a mirror.

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Well,

If that mirror is a UBER-INDEPENDANT, random, sassy little thing!

:)

It's in the air...

It's coming...

Dont know about you...
but around here....
we are excited!!