We had a couple of nice days, it rained the majority of the time, so we took advantage of the nice weather and took a couple of trips to the park, Grandma took the kids to the carousel, Mike and Hunter did a few projects around the house, and Mike got in a couple of golf days.
There's a nice park down the hill from us that the city rehauled a couple of years ago. It's perfect for both big and little kids.
Hunter and Aria swinging.
Chase on the twirly seat. He almost biffed it after getting off. Lucky for him Mom was nearby.
Michela and Aria coming down the slide.
Grandma walked Laina around in the stroller while I hung out with the kiddos.
Laina's favorite toy at Grandma's house was one of those contraptions where you push the beads around on a wire structure.
She loved playing with this every day. Once I found her with her leg stuck in the thing and she was trying to roll over. I must admit I laughed pretty hard before pulling her out.
Christmas Eve we got in our new jammies and hung up our stockings with care.
Thankfully I was able to finish Laina's stocking before we left. I love how it turned out and they all look so cute together.
Christmas morning at about 3:30 am I heard some little mice whispering out in the hallway. I jumped out of bed and told them to go back to sleep. They were pretty mad at me, but come on, 3:30!!! At about 6:45 I heard them up again and scurrying down the hall. They emptied their stockings and found some fun stuff to occupy their time until breakfast. We also let them open their gifts they made for each other. Michela made freezer paper stencil t-shirts, Hunter made bookmarks, and Chase covered drawing paper pads with scrapbook paper and stickers. For Aria's gifts to them I made each of them what they had made for their siblings.
We ate breakfast with the family and my brother Steve and his wife Shannon came over as well. We had fun opening presents and watching the kids burst with excitement as they tore into the wrapping paper. 
Michela announced it was the best Christmas ever and we all couldn't help smiling at Laina as she ripped the paper off of her very first Christmas presents. Mike and I usually pretty much pick out our own presents, but he surprised me by having my mothers ring reset to include another stone for Laina. Later that day my brother Kurt and his family arrived. The kids love playing with their California cousins. Michela and Whitney spent a lot of their time playing with their DS games.
Steve and Laina. Laina was the most popular, of course. How can anyone resist that cute little face!
On Monday my brother Kurt and his wife Shelley went over to the city with some friends and we got to look after two of their daughters. We had fun at the park, watched movies, and made gingerbread houses. I made some super duper frosting that hardens to a rock. The kids had a lot of fun decorating their graham cracker houses with all kinds of yummy candy. Here are the finished products.
What a fun and relaxing time we had at Grandma's house. We enjoyed hanging out on the rainy days and making the most of the sunny ones. We had fun doing things with Grandma, the cousins, and aunts and uncles. The kids had a lot of fun playing with their Uncle Cuckoo. It was especially sweet to see my brother Craig holding Laina and letting her play with his beard. Sometimes it might feel like a hassle to get all packed up and drive to California, but in the end we always have the best of times and have a hard time saying goodbye.
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