Christmas Again

Today we celebrated Christmas with my family. Max and Rudy started out playing, then fighting, then ended the day planning a sleepover- for tomorrow!

First order of business was to eat. Then we gathered the kids for pictures. We learned last year, that we are much more success at getting pictures taken if it's done BEFORE gifts.

All the kids and Grandpa. See the craziness progress....

Then the usual group shot- not bad for a first try!

Checking out the presents.

Paige and Renee.

The kids, especially the three bigger ones, did a great job with opening gifts. They waited their turns, helped give gifts to the 'babies', and seemed to enjoy every minute of it.

Charlie pouring some of his milk into Lucy's new cup.

Paige enjoying a wagon ride.

Paige and Bill.

I snapped this picture about a second too late, but Rudy is right on the other side of Max and they are hugging good-bye. A nice ending to what was a tumultuous hour or so.

Various good-byes-

Paige giving Max a head butt as a good-bye.

Bill swinging Lucy down.

A nice family shot. These turned out slightly blurred and I don't know why - guess we need to play with the new camera some more!

Merry Christmas and Happy new Year.

The Day After Christmas Hike

After spending Christmas and Christmas Eve primarily at home, we decided we needed to get some fresh air the day after Christmas. It was a little cool, but not as bad as we expected. We think we headed to Harrisville Lake - a part of Wharton State Forest- but there weren't any signs indicating exactly where we were. We saw a number of cars parked by a trail and decided to stop there.

Rudy started the walk saying, "I hate nature." Sometimes he just likes to be ornery. When he asked me why i like nature, and I told him because it is peaceful, he started making a lot of noise. I told him nature was still peaceful, just not him!

And then the "expert explorer", as he dubbed himself, kicked in and he was all over the place.

He found ways into small underbrush....

... and convinced Paul to come in with him.

The sense of adventure from the Indiana Jones Wii game came into play, too. He was Indiana Jones and had tasks to complete as we went through the woods.

We found a lean-to built against this tree.

And some areas that may have been animal homes across the water.

A tree you can climb and sit in is always fun.

This tree looked like a ready-made tent.

I'm not sure if he is trying to climb it or do yoga!

This is Indiana Jones running and somersaulting through his adventures.

A panoramic view of the lake- a neat setting on our new camera.

I Love God for Making Santa! The Video!

Rudy's reaction to the Indiana Jones Wii game from Santa.

I Love God for Making Santa!

Rudy and Moonlight preparing for Christmas.

Moonlight enjoying the view from under the tree.

After church Christmas Eve, we waited for Paul's family to come over. Rudy found some post it notes and decided to stick one on his nose. I think he said he was being Rudolph.

Neil introduced Rudy to Angry Birds (yes, we have deprived ourselves and our child from knowing exactly what it is).

Rudy passed out his gifts first. Grandmom liked her napkin holder.

Grandpa got a little village house.

Rudy was very excited to see Grandmom got him a Mario shirt...

... and even more excited to discover that it came with a Wii mario game.

The adults do a pollyanna type gift exchange (everyone has a different name for it). Sean thought if he sat away from everyone, no one would steal his alcohol (he was wrong).

Rudy and his grandparents.

Christmas morning, waiting to see the presents.

Organizing all the presents into a pile while he waited for us to look at our stockings.

My favorite gift - notebooks for Paul and Rudy to write and draw in since they are always creating stories together.

Lou even got a gift - a bone he carried around as he tried to eat.

Rudy learning to play his Wii games.

An uneasy truce between Moonlight and Lou. Moonlight seemed to think Lou's pillow was there for his own enjoyment.

Moonlight enjoyed watching Rudy play Lego Indiana Jones. This gift, from Santa, is the one that inspired Rudy to exclaim, "I love God for Making Santa!" Video will be posted soon.

Rudy also got several lego sets, here he is playing with many of them together.

Paul's favorite gift was a drawing pad and pencils. He spent the day trying it out.

Again, Moonlight and Lou sharing the pillow. Lou doing his best to ignore the fact that there is a cat near him.

Rudy with his mohawk hat.

As has been our tradition for the last few years. On Christmas night we went out to dinner at a local Chinese restaurant. This year it was packed! My dad and Paul's mom went with us. It was a nice relaxing end to a fun few days.