christmas eve day

A tradition has formed over the past few years to spend Christmas Eve at the Muhly's, do our gift exchange between families and with Grandpa, and have a nice meal together.  Richard started the day by having the kids help cut and decorate gingerbread men- they turned out very cute and very tasty.  The boys picked out two to leave for Santa that night, and I suspect Santa enjoyed them.

At Susie's house, we opened our gifts from my dad, revealing beautiful boots for Susie and I, a suitcase for Ben that he had been asking for, Lego's for Owen and some outdoor gear for Richard.  The Muhly's gift to our family was a big surprise- a trip dogsledding for this weekend when we go to Mt. Bachelor.  That will be a first for us and should be a very fun experience.

Susie cooked a turkey for dinner with other quite yummy gluten free accessories. The kids put on plays and sang for everyone and had a great time exploring their new toys.  Off we went to Christmas Eve service.  When we returned we prepped for Santa's pending visit and had the official reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas."  Two very excited boys fell asleep finally in Owen's room, while I beat Richard and Dad at Scrabble.  Barely.