Advent Adventures: Christmas Day

There is no "normalcy" to 

Christmas at this point 

with all of the moving we have done lately,

However...

ever since our oldest celebrated his

second Christmas...

we have told our entire family,

that we will be home

on Christmas morning.

Santa would be visiting 

our house.

I was not excited about

dragging Santa to and from

different houses

and dealing with that fun.

Many people do it...

and I am impressed.

Me,

nope.

We will wake up in our own beds,

unless something CRAZY happens.

Then when the kids get older,

we are TOTALLY

pulling a 

Christmas with the Kranks

and 

the hubs and I are jetting off to somewhere

fun!

Just like we did our first Christmas as a married couple.

This past year we did start what I hope is a new

tradition...

we went out to a decent restaurant 

after Christmas Eve Mass!

We have never done that before.

But the kids were great

and 

we really enjoyed ourselves

and

I didn't have to cook

and

it was one less thing I had to do that night!

WIN

WIN!

It was a nice treat!

Santa arrived

LATE!

And it is always mind blowing how long it takes

to get ready for Santa...

vs how long it takes them to 

tear through everything!!

 This year we went all out...

and gave our kids...

the world!!!

Seriously,

we didn't go all out.

We go a little more "out" 

than I think necessary,

times 4...

but thankfully

Christmas only happens once a year!

We had our traditional 

Christmas morning breakfast items:

Homemade Monkey Bread

I tried something different this year

and made it with cinnamon rolls

and it was not as much of a hit 

as the traditional kind.

We also have sausage pinwheels.

Things we can grab between present openings.

Rico got a Kindle

Jackson got a knife to help me cook

(this one was pitiful, so he uses a real one when he helps)

Then I bet you can't guess what this gift is...

Daddy spent a LOT of time wrapping it.

The littles got these 

Rody Horses

which have somehow been renamed:

Wonky Donkeys

Now the putting together begins!!

We headed an hour north to my folks.

And all my boys sat and played on their 

electronics while waiting for the food to cook...

 Meanwhile,

the three littlest birds,

were in the kitchen,

helping taste test the meat...

The post food nap

with Aunt Melanie.

Uncle Jack's 

post-bath double handful.

Then this one

was just too cute 

NOT to share.