I went over the river & through the woods to my mother & father's house I did go - all in about 7 hours time. When I walked through the door, I was greeted with hugs by two very cute little 3 year olds & it warmed my heart. Oh how I have missed those little punkins!
Once I got settled in, I let my niece open her birthday present which I have had since her birthday on Nov 27th. It was a "princess set" which included a dress, tiara, gloves, jewelry, a purse & glass slippers & she didn't hesitate in trying it on:
So cute! She wore that outfit the rest of the night! Score one for Aunt Heather! The rest of the evening was spent visiting & catching up with family & playing with the little ones. We all turned in early as everyone had been traveling all day & as I laid down for the night, I said a little "thank you" prayer that everyone had made it there safely.
So cute! She wore that outfit the rest of the night! Score one for Aunt Heather! The rest of the evening was spent visiting & catching up with family & playing with the little ones. We all turned in early as everyone had been traveling all day & as I laid down for the night, I said a little "thank you" prayer that everyone had made it there safely. Friday was Christmas Eve & proved to be a very busy day for all of us. We began our morning by spending some time all curled up on the couch watching cartoons with the kids:
After lunch, we all got bundled up & headed outside for some sledding, cross-country skiing & LOTS of fun:
Joslyn & Tanner all bundled up (above)
<-My sister Jen, husband Ben & Tanner
Heather & Tanner ->
My niece Kyra & Joslyn (below)
After our afternoon outside festivities, we warmed up inside & got ready to make our way down to Parkston, SD for Christmas Eve with my dad's side of the family. I talked about this yearly tradition here & the same tradition occurred yet again & was enjoyed by all. After dinner & the gift opening, we managed to get a rare photo with my grandparents, most of their grandchildren & great-grandchildren - 3 generations: 
<-My nephew Lane
My sister Jen, me & nephews Tanner & Cael ->
And our Christmas Eve wouldn't be complete without the homemade vanilla ice cream w/strawberries! I just love tradition....
Once we got back to my parents house, the kids put a plate of cookies together for Santa & even included a carrot for the reindeer to snack on. Then it was time for the little ones to go to bed & for Santa to make his appearance. We got all the presents under the tree, left some cookie crumbs behind on the plate for Santa & took a couple bites out of the carrot :) Then we too were off to bed anxiously awaiting the kids reactions to Santa's visit in the morning.Christmas morning was spent sleeping in until 7am - much to our surprise & the kids were very excited by all the presents under the tree. They had so much fun opening all their gifts from Santa & the big kids even had a few presents under the tree.
After the gift opening, mom cooked everyone a fabulous breakfast & we spent the rest of the day hanging out, playing with the kids & all their new toys & just enjoying time with the family.
Later that evening, my grandparents, uncle & a family friend all came over & mom fixed a yummy dinner of turkey, BBQ'd pork ribs & all the sides. Eating a great dinner & visiting with family was a wonderful ending to a most fabulous day.
Sadly, on Sunday morning I said my goodbyes to the family & made my way back home to Kansas. Upon starting the SUV, this is what my temperature gauge said:
And it felt every bit of 3 degrees! It was a lovely visit with the family but I was looking forward to getting back home to the hubby & the furry kids. Hard to believe Christmas has come & went already - definitely a whirlwind of a weekend & I loved every minute of it!Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas weekend with your families as well!
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