Oh What a Christmas!

By Edda Phillips - January 15, 2012

This year we had Christmas at the Torrie's. Now there's something you need to understand about any vacation at the Torrie's - it's busy and fun! My mom had an itinerary printed out a week in advance with all activities and meals planned for each day we would all be there. And it was a blast. So here's the rev up before the actual Christmas began:

Before I dive in to the schedule, you HAVE To see this adorable little children's playhouse my parents built under the stairs.

And now on to Christmas:

The first day we went to the Bass Pro Shop to see Santa. Aiden was SO excited to see him. I love that he has finally reached the age where he understands what's going on and feels the Christmas magic, so to say. I think Sam is still a bit detached, but he's getting there. :) Grandma Jeanie played with the boys while we waited in line and they loved every minute of it.

After we saw Santa we saw the rest of the store just for kicks and giggles. We had a target practice competition where Mark whooped all of us, and then we admired the many stuffed wild animals around the store. Notice that Aiden is wearing a rain coat and brought a fishing pole with him - that morning I had told him what we were going to do and I think all he heard was FISH!! So the first chance he got at an indoor pond with fish in it, he wanted to try his luck at fishing. On our way out the store, Grandma Jeanie bought the boys some binoculars, which they though was super cool and kept us safe as we crossed the parking lot back to the car.

Another day we went bowling with all the grandkiddies. We had several mishaps of the bowling ball stopping midway through the lane and a few slip-and-falls if the kids crossed the black line. Other than that, though, they had fun and I know Aiden and Sam loved having another opportunity to throw a big heavy ball at something that crashes on PURPOSE.

Another day we took the kids to an indoor play center called Bounce You. It had a bunch of blow-up slides and jumpee pits and whatnot. Aiden, Sam, and Kimber even got their faces painted. Talk about fun!

As per tradition, we went to Rhema, which is a Baptist college in Tulsa, to go see all their spectacular Christmas lights. We were pretty pooped and almost didn't go but Sam kept us in-line with his excited statements of "Kurs-mus...lights!" throughout the day. He was entranced the entire time and just couldn't open his eyes wide enough to let in everything he saw.

I took everybody's pictures with their birthdays and anniversaries for my mom's wall. I loved how the kids posed for their pictures - including Mark and Brian. :) We never had a chance to get an official family picture taken, so this collage will have to do.

This is all I have on the pre-Christmas events - and I didn't even include the hot dog roast in the backyard or the gingerbread houses or movie night or game night at Bri and Jen's or... you get the idea. :) There was never a dull moment.

So now we start on Christmas Eve with Christmas PJ's. Aren't they so cute?? I am really digging this matching clothes thang, even though I know they will eventually hate me for it. But hey, I'll do as much as I can before that day comes!

Here we are bright and early on Christmas morning. Sam had a rough night (turns out he had a double ear infection) and woke us up every couple hours or so. We were all pretty exhausted and maybe a tad grumpy, but that soon changed.

I love this picture. For starters, this is Aiden's new bike which he could care less for at the time. And of course, what little boy can go through life without ever having a cape??