Grandpa's 71st Birthday

We kept with our annual tradition of bowling at Sweetheart Lanes in Loveland to celebrate Grandpa's birthday.  We all had a lot of fun, and though none of us are any good at the sport, it was a good time and we enjoyed spending the day together.  After bowling we headed to Nordy's for lunch and sang Happy Birthday to Grandpa.

The handsome second place winner.

The Birthday Boy and Grandma

Daddy was a little upset that I beat him- by quite a bit this year!  Not to brag or anything, but for the first time in my life, I started out the first four frames with two strikes and two spares.  (Of course, it all went downhill from there!) Sorry Mike!

Go Grandpa Go!

Nice one, Jessie! 

The whole bowling gang.

Christmas with the Amundsons

Due to everyone's busy schedules, we decided to celebrate the holidays with the Amundsons the day after Christmas, when we could all relax and enjoy each other's company. Jessie didn't cooperate much for pictures, but the girls sat nice with Joan, Arlen and Kathy.  Kathy made a nice dessert table for us with fancy cheeses and crackers, chips and dip, guacamole, cookies, you name it.  It was so nice to just sit and visit and catch up with everyone.

Jessie loved her gift from Kathy- a Barbie sketch portfolio!

Hayden got a picture of the Swedish hockey player, Peter Forsberg with a nice note from Kathy telling her who her beloved Foppa was named after.  After seven years, Foppa I is showing so much wear and tear (from being loved and cherished over the years), that Kathy went to great lengths to get Foppa II for Hayden, to hopefully last her through the preteen and teen years!  What a special and sentimental gift, thanks Kathy!

Rian got some awesome kitchen supplies from Kathy that included mixing bowls, muffin pans, cooking utensils and a wonderful cookbook for kids.  Rian loved seeing MoDo's new trick- reading commands and then following them!

Merry Christmas Darlings!!

See what I mean, they were really konked out!!! You can barely see two little dark heads peeking out of the blankets if you look close.

The cookies the girls made and carefully chose for Santa.

I guess Elfie had some good behavior reports to give to Santa, as Santa came indeed! 

Waiting for the green light to charge down the stairs.

Rian was very happy Santa gave her the pink kitchen she asked for.

Ding!  Meal's up!!!

Jessie wanted glasses so she wasn't the only girl in the house without them!

Homemade lip balm making kit from Aunt Jody.

Mom's favorite- Dansko socks!

Rian was enlisted as helper this year and passed out all the gifts.

Bathtub set.

Our Generation Camping set.

A walking, talking, barking puppy Jessie has had her eye on forever!

Sweet girls thanking each other for their gifts.

Sewing kit from Aunt Jody.

Not sure, but obviously something hilarious going on here.

Hayden made me this festive jingle bell pillow in Girl Scouts.

Sew a Kitty from Aunt Jody!

Jessie's gift from Santa- Kanani the Hawaiian American Girl.

Oh so happy.

Kanani had to try out her lounging chair right away.

The girls each got a really nice musical snow globe from Joan and Arlen.

Daddy got some new screwdrivers.

Music box from Willey and Diane.

GG sent cupcake hats for Rian and Jessie.

This year each girl was given a small allowance to buy a gift for each of their sisters.  They were all so sweet and thoughtful in picking things out for each other and really appreciated what they were given. Rian picked out this nice hair salon set for Jess.

Hayden was happy with her compass from World War I.

Daddy loved his new video camera and is excited to start recording his crazy family.

Hayden picked out this pretty black lace top for Rian and Rian gave Hayden an Our Generation sewing machine/kit for her AG dolls.  Hayden also handknitted little scarves for each of her sisters.

Hayden had asked for a Kindle Fire this year, along with a zillion computer programs for astronomy, typing, and Spanish to name a few.  After looking into it, Santa decided it was only a small step up from the Kindle Fire to her big ticket item this year- an Ipad.

It was very funny because Santa hid Hayden's Ipad in the movie cabinet.  She tried not to look or act disappointed once she had opened all her smaller gifts and didn't get a Kindle, but you could tell she was a little sad.  Mike asked her to put something away in the cabinet and when she opened the drawer, there was her gift from Santa.  You should have seen and heard the hoopla she made when she opened the package.  Had us smiling all day. 

We spent the rest of the day lounging in our pj's, eating pancakes, going for a walk around the neighborhood, and watching Christmas movies.  Merry Christmas to all!!!!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve day we enjoyed some nice family time at home before meeting Grandma and Grandpa at church for the 5 pm service.  It put us all in the Christmas spirit to hear about the true meaning of Christmas and listen to the choir sing Christmas carols.  Our favorite part of  the service is always the end where everyone lights candles and sings "Silent Night".  After church, we ran home to grab the food and presents, and then headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's for the evening.

The highlight of having Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa's house is always the giant train set Granpa puts up every year.  This year it looked better than ever and all three girls really appreciated all his effort.

After a nice dinner of rotisserie chicken, baked sweet potatoes, steamed vegetables and a giant fruit salad, the girls put their new jammies on and we bagan opening presents.

 Every year Grandpa gives everyone stockings with all sorts of goodies in them.  This year the goodies included: new toothbrushes and toothpaste for everyone, lotto scratch off tickets, gummy lifesaver books, pencils, cute animal luggage tags, pocket calendars, etc.  Thanks, Grandpa!

Jessie loved her new Hello Kitty T-shirt and her "real" Hello Kitty camera that came with it. 

 Rian got a boom box for her ipod and was very excited to try it out right away!

 Hayden got her own phone personalized with her name (hey, did someone forget to ask mom if she was ready for her to have her own phone??????)

Smile!  I'm gonna take your picture!

                        Rian got matching American Girl pj's for her and Julie.

Kanani's recliner (ever hopeful Santa will bring Kanani tomorrow!)

Grandpa got a Tree Stand that lights up to add to his train village.

Grandma got a wolf picture to go with her collection.

After a quick dessert that entailed way too much sugar, it was very late and we headed home to prepare for Santa's arrival.  On the way home Jessie asked, "Um, can I sleep with SOMEBODY tonight?  I'm scared of Santa!"  So, all three girls bunked in one room and everyone fell fast asleep.