Christmas in Washington

This year we spent Christmas in Washington in our brand new house.  Our first Christmas just our little family of six.  It was simple, relaxed and casual.  Just like us.

Christmas Eve I made a huge ham and potatoes dinner, and we had lots of sparkling apple cider to the kiddos delight.  That evening they each got to open one present (jammies). They were super excited about their new jammies, which cracked Dave and I up.  It probably helps that this is the first year I've let them open one present early, but their surprise and excitement made it worth the wait.

Christmas morning was filled with opening presents, playing with presents, feasting on cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate, and then enjoying a wonderful Christmas dinner of turkey and all the fix-ins. and yes, we were eating ham and turkey for the next week.

Gingerbread Houses

Last week the kiddos made gingerbread houses.  Instead of one large gingerbread house, like we usually do, I opted for each kiddo to create their own little gingerbread masterpiece.

I love the determination in each of their faces as they were decorating.  Daniel quickly finished his before I could snap any pics of him, but it was a fun activity enjoyed by all.

O' Christmas Tree

This year we drove to North Bend, and found a cute family tree farm, where we searched for the perfect tree, and then cut it down, and hauled it away by ourselves.  We were so excited for the adventure, as up till now most of our Christmas tree picking came from the parking lot of a certain hardware store (orange or blue).

We first warmed ourselves by the fire, grabbed a saw, and set off to find the perfect tree.  We found a few that came close, but we hadn't quite found the "one".  After warming ourselves again by the fire, and sipping on some hot cider, we went off in a different direction.  This time we found a few too many that we liked, but finally found the one for us.

Daddy sawed it down, and the kiddos yelled "timber" as it fell to the ground.  What an amazing fun family experience to start the season!!