Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!!! I pray your Christmas has been as joyful and fun as ours has been. Grammy and Papa have been here for almost two weeks and we have loved every minute of their visit. We're sad to see them go, but so thankful they were able to come. The first day they got here was my dad's birthday. I made his favorite cake...pumpkin carrot. Yum yum. Katelyn of course had to help him blow out his candles.

Then he needed help opening his presents and Katelyn needed some practice to gear up for Christmas. She was very helpful indeed.

Katelyn sang in church the weekend before Christmas. She did great on the first song and then got mad that I wouldn't let her hold the microphone for the second song so she sat right down and wouldn't sing. Such the diva!

We all went to Southern Lights out at the horse park with our friends and Katelyn got to visit with Santa.

It was freezing but we all had fun doing something Christmassy together.

Katelyn of course loved it all. Especially the candy cane she got from Santa's elves.

We had our family Christmas dinner on Christmas eve. I made winter squash soup, pork loin stuffed with artichoke mushroom stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans,
and a mandarin/cranberry relish. Yummy! For dessert I made my grandma's apple pie and we had ice cream with it of course.

And here everyone is happily eating the pie!

We opened some of our presents on Christmas eve. Katelyn was really into it this year and we had so much fun with her. Look how long her hair has gotten!!

She got pop beads from Uncle Mike and Aunt Mimi and she loves them. Really she keeps sorting and carrying them around. Maybe some day she'll actually use them for their intended purpose.

I got Katelyn a "Mommy and Me Cookbook". I can't wait to do some more cooking with her! She helped me make grandma's apple pie. She now understands that the secret to a good pie is a great crust. Important that she understands that early. :)

Katelyn loves Michael. They are pretty cute together. Two little engineers. This picture makes my heart VERY happy. Who knew what this year would bring!

Here is the best picture ever...dad shoveling the driveway on Christmas morning. It was a white Christmas and we'll hear about him leaving 80 degree Arizona for two weeks of cold and snow and how he had to shovel it for the rest of our lives. Sigh.

Katelyn was super excited on Christmas morning and when we were all done opening presents she looked under the tree and asked, "Where did all the presents go?"

Nail polish in the stocking...yes we all have glittery finger nails now.

Grammy and papa read Katelyn stories tonight for the last time this visit. We had so much fun together. We ate great food and laughed a lot. We really enjoyed our time together and now I wish we could just jump ahead to warm weather and time at the lake!!!