The Christmas Wrap-up

We had an amazing Christmas full of family, fun and precious memories. My favorite part is always Christmas Eve, when the girls are so giddy with anticipation that they can't stand it. They were all in bed by 8:30 so "morning would come faster".

 They got the show on the road by reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" on their own.

 Everything is ready to go!

My Christmas card trees. This was a fun new addition this year, and we enjoyed adding the cards to them each day and "browsing" them every time we went upstairs. See those Christmas presents under the trees? They were for my family, and I remembered them about 30 miles outside of town on Christmas Day, resulting in a speedy return home and a later arrival to my parents' house for Christmas dinner than anticipated. Frustrating.

Our gift from Tatum, lovingly wrapped herself. I don't know why I'm "Jere" but Tye is "Dad". It was a handcrafted photo wreath ornament, exactly what you hope to get from your kindergartner for Christmas. Priceless.

 Gentry's big "ta-da" gift was an acoustic guitar.

Anybody know how to play one of these things? Tye can do a rousing rendition of "This Land is Your Land" but that's all we've got.

Tatum is in a Toy Story phase. She got Bullseye from us and Buzz from my parents to complete her collection of characters.

Yep, Ava got a phone. As a rule, I don't think 5th graders need their own cell phone, but there have been several times her after-school plans have changed at the last minute, and I need to be able to know exactly where she is, so it's really for me to be able to communicate with/stalk her. She was ecstatic because she knew chances were slim that she would get one. The girl can already text like a pro.

Look at their faces! This was when they unwrapped the ping pong paddles and put it together that the gift was really a ping pong table out in the garage. Tatum was a little slow on the uptake at this point, but she figured it out soon enough.

Walking into the garage to see their ping pong table set up. Tye was up LATE the night before putting it together with no small amount of frustration, but their reactions were totally worth it.

 The aftermath.

One of Gentry's gifts was a coupon to get her ears pierced. She didn't rest until she was at the mall the day after Christmas, sitting in that piercing chair.

 Done! She did great.

Christmas decorations are taken down and stored, my house looks barren but clean, and I'm about to do a big purge of the playroom. I'm working on some orders that were placed before Christmas for January delivery, but I won't open up for new orders for another week or so. Everyone have a safe New Year's Eve and a blessed 2012!