CHRISTmas!

Well this Christmas was a great one...it's just so fun getting to experience this with Riley!

It wasn't too early of a morning...we heard the kids bustling around a little before 7 and I remember Jason nudging me and asking if I wanted to get up...uh no. Not 30 seconds later and Riley started crying so we got up. We had to move Riley in our room with all the company and let's just say she didn't sleep that well so we were tired...however all of the excitement got us out of bed and we were ready to see if Santa had come!

It looks like there were some letters left from Santa!

and he ate a fair share of the cookies!
Riley wanted to help hand out all of the presents!

But then she realized that opening up was much more fun!

CJ and Gaby had fun opening presents too and they sure got some good loot!

Riley had a few meltdowns in the midst of the Christmas morning festivities...she was tired and overwhelmed but she still had a blast and got lots of new toys and clothes...she's one loved little girl!

Here's our Christmas morning family picture...Jason had to run around with Riley and get her to laugh right before this picture...the things we do!

My dad got an A&M Snuggie...hahahaha!

We actually played a trick on him because he DESPISES snuggies and actually asked that we shoot him if we ever found him in one...I think he may retract that statement soon!

He looks pretty happy in that snuggie...don't you think?

After all the presents, some eating, and showering the girls headed to the kitchen in their new aprons that I made all of them!

Here's Miss Riley in her new apron...perfect to play with in her new kitchen! I will have one to match her but I was so busy making everyone else's that mine didn't get made yet!

While my mom got our Christmas meal going Aunti Ri, Gaby, Riley, and I worked on a gingerbread house! I had this expectation that it would be terribly messy and difficult but it wasn't so bad!

I love how Riley is looking into the bowl with such wonder...she knows icing when she sees it!

Of course she got the honor of licking the beaters from this terribly sweet icing!

My dad approved the structural soundness of our gingerbread house although it was difficult as Riley was trying to eat up the icing as I was putting it on the house to hold it together!

We finally got her a bowl of yogurt to eat / play with and I would add icing to it every so often or she would have eaten WAY too much sugar!

Here's the finished product!

After we enjoyed a delicious Christmas meal...fried turkey, mashed potatoes, squash casserole, salad, and rolls...we headed outside for a fun surprise!

My parents decided we would do Christmas Texas style complete with a pinata!

It was so much fun and everyone had fun taking a whack at it!

Riley was so cute and we laughed at the concept of constantly teaching her not to hit and then yelling at her to "hit it hard" when it came time for the pinata...talk about confusing a kid!

Once the big kid (a.k.a. Jason) took a few nice hits to the poor pinata it was time for the fun...candy, glow sticks, and lottery tickets came pouring out!

Riley didn't quite know what to do so we had to grab some loot for her as she was preoccupied with eating skittles from the grass!

Here's a pic of me and my girl...couldn't distract her away from the pinata loot! As if the pinata wasn't enough fun we then headed to the firepit for smores!

It was pretty chilly outside although it was a beautiful day so standing by the fire felt so good!

Nani especially loved the smores and I love this picture of her and Riley sharing a moment by eating their yummy smores!

Nani's face captures it all!

Riley hadn't quite had enough fun yet so she spent much of the evening luring anyone in sight to play this cool game where she demanded you go in the pantry and she would close the door and leave you in there in the dark...at one point we had 7 people in the pantry...she can be slightly bossy at times.

In our defense, the belly laugh and giggle that came from that little girl when she opened the door in awe was worth every minute...she's so much fun!

We hope you all had a great Christmas...we sure had one filled with lots of family, love, and laughter...a great way to reflect on the precious gift of Jesus...the reason we all celebrate!