let the holidays begin!

last weekend we had our annual christmas celebration with my mom and siblings. the kids are at a really fun age, so it was fun to watch them in all the excitement. my mom made an awesome pot of jambalaya for dinner, it was her first time making so we were all pretty impressed with how yummy it was!

our attempt at getting a picture of mom with the grandkids :)

gwynny, so excited about christmas!
the night before "christmas" the kids got to open one present from grandma...it was pjs and a small toy. payton got buzz light year pjs with green wing arms, he also got the slinky dog from toy story. he played under the table with his new dog toy and allie for hours!
santa brought gwynn and payton bean bags..
evelyn wanted to share her peez candies from her stocking with dad...
evelyn and aunt sasa being silly in the kitchen...

miss e sporting her new back pack from gwynn and payton, it was a hit!

everybody wanted to open payton's airplane :)

being silly with her new tea set, which was also a favorite of hers. we have tea together every morning now!

yippee more toys...

i had to post this picture of the ornaments sarah made this year, each family got a bird and the deer one was for miss evie! sarah was super crafty this year, she made gwynn and payton the cutest pillows for their beds....i love when she gets crafty!

that evening we headed out to the zoo lights...i always look forward to the lights. miss evie is really into christmas lights this year, so it was fun to show them to her.

sisters...

mom (i mean santa) and i...

macdonald fam...

aunt lucy being silly with gwynn...

tenbusch clan...

the train was super cool, you can see the steam from it in the picture. the whole train covered in lights and then you can ride it around the zoo to look at all the other lights.

thanks mom for such a wonderful christmas, we all had a great time. we have three more to go, so holidays are really just beginning for us!!!

ps-our neighbors have been spoiling us this year with yummy holiday goodies, i think i just ate an entire bag of homemade carmel corn...whoops, it was just so yummy i couldn't stop! i hope your all are getting spoiled by your neighbors and friends too!