Christmas Eve

In the afternoon on Christmas Eve, Uncle John & Aunt Gala, Poppa Jim, Grandma Shaw, Jimmy & Sara, Jake & Levi, and Chris, Carol & Alexis all came over to the house. We had all kinds of wonderful food, the girls opened more presents, and we had a fun time just being together. Aunt Gala & Uncle John got the girls the cutest bath towels with their names embroidered on them. Chris, Carol & Alexis got them Zoobles, which they were very excited about. Mackenzie got a Dairy Queen Blizzard kit & Madison got a Dora Bath Castle (one of her very favorite Christmas toys) from Uncle Jimmy & Aunt Sara. Grandma Shaw had me go shopping for the girls, so Madison got a "Big Sister/Little Sister" baby doll set & some baby accessories, and Mackenzie got an Operation game & a bead kit from her. We pretty much just spent the day relaxing & playing with new toys. One of the highlights of the day was the wedding re-enactment with Mackenzie's new Barbie & Ken wedding set. Uncle Clint even got in on the fun...for about 10 seconds!

It was great to be with our family on Christmas Eve. In the past, we have always done this on Christmas Day. Since Clint & Abigail spend Christmas Day with her family now, and since G-Ma was coming home with us late on Christmas Eve, this worked out perfectly this year. Everyone left around 6:30 or 7:00, and we cleaned up & loaded up our cars to head to Tulsa. Grandma Shaw ended up coming to Tulsa with us, and we were so glad to have her! One of the last things we did before leaving was dance to Pa's "Crazy Eyed Santa." He found Crazy Eyed Santa a few years ago and just loved watching the girls dance to it. I knew it would make me sad to have it out this year, but it made me smile too, thinking about how much fun he had with it. We finally left Newcastle around 9:00, and watched The Polar Express on the way home. It was the perfect way to end a great day! We were exhausted by the time we got home, but there was still much to do, to get ready for Christmas morning...
Uncle Clint & Abigail pretty much make the perfect "Barbie & Ken" couple! Mackenzie did point out that Uncle Clint doesn't have as much hair as Ken though...

Ken baled out on the wedding action real quick!Just before we left to head to Tulsa, G-Ma gave us all our stockings. Stockings have always been a very fun part of Christmas for us. Mackenzie got this braided pony tail holder & the second she saw it, she squealed and said, "I got a wig!!!" It was hilarious! My first thought was, "Oh, I've got to text my sweet friend, Kari! She will love this!" And, she was rockin' the pose too. This girl cracks me up!Reading with Grandma Shaw...love those toes!Mackenzie loves it when Alexis comes over!Madison loved that her baby had a potty chair. I think maybe this was motivation for her to start using the potty, because about a week later, she started to get the hang of it!Happy Christmas Eve!!!