When we arrived back home from our family cruise we dove right into lots of Christmas festivities as well as a few celebrations of Ezra's 6th birthday.
This year I bought 24 fun little Christmas story books to read to the kids before bed. Each night they picked one out, opened it and then we read it together. Its a new tradition and definitely something we'll do each year.
One of our favorite Christmas traditions is decorating gingerbread houses. Gage was spending the night so he was able to join the fun. They did a great job decorating the house together.
We took all the kids to Main Event for bowling and rock climbing. They really loved it. The two boys on the wall are Ezra (in the gray) and Gage (in the red).
Every year we decorate Christmas cookies.
We did trees this year and I love how creative they turned out.
The artists with their artwork.
So many games were played on the floor with Nana.
Ezra's birthday is the 18th, so we had an early celebration with Luke's side of the family before we drove back to Dallas. All the siblings and their families came and we had lunch and played games all day. It was great.
We went to the ICE at the Gaylord. It was sooo cold but really cute.
When we arrived at my parent's house the kids went ahead and opened up their stockings and presents so they could play with them for a long time.
Near our house is a fantastic Land of Lights that we go to each year. It is really impressive.
My favorite parts are the tunnels that are literally covered in lights and are so bright.
Back at my parents house the kids were excited to open up presents.
Ezra's favorite gift was his giant remote control race car.
Madelyn was most excited for her pink electric scooter.
My best friend from high school lives 30 minutes from my parents so we were able to have lots of playdates with our kiddos.
One day we went to a petting zoo and the kids had a blast!
There were small animals they could hold and pet.
There were also large animals they could spoon feed.
My favorite place in the world is the lake at my parent's house when the sun is setting.. its so beautiful and peaceful.
While Madelyn and I snuggled, the boys were catching fish.
These two are too cute! This is my best friend's daughter. We are so thankful God gave us daughters the same age. We dreamed of that back in the day.
My mom got a hoverboard for Christmas and Ezra learned how to drive it by himself after a couple hours of practice. I was very impressed!
For Ezra's birthday we went into Dallas and took him to Legoland. They had rides, 4D movies, building stations and playgrounds. It was very cool.
After lunch we went bowling which is always a family favorite.
We ended the day at The Cheesecake Factory. This chocolate cake was very good!
I got this pj set for Ezra but the kids like to wear them as matching pjs. Its too cute!
When we went for another play date to my friends house after Ezra's birthday, she surprised us with a party that included decorations, cake and a slime set for the kids to create.
My parents babysat the kids several times in the evening while Luke and I went to the movies, or out for a late night coffee. Such a blessing!
We had a Christmas get together with my grown siblings and their kids too. Such sweet memories.
Our last few days in America were spent back in the Austin area with Luke's family.
Ezra was excited to get more play time with his cousin Gage. They were working on a science kit.
Christmas Eve means matching pjs.
Ezra requested pancakes for Christmas breakfast.
We went with Rudolph.
Once the rest of the family arrived, we opened presents.
Then we had a big Christmas meal.
We had so many people we required 2 tables.
Then in the afternoon there was a big family Pitch card game tournament.
Its such a treat to get the whole family together.
Our last day in America was spent at Gatti's arcade, bowling, then dinner with the whole family at Olive Garden.
It was such an incredible time with our friends and family this holiday season.
We are so thankful for all the memories.
