Today we went over to Nana's to celebrate Christmas a little bit early, since this is the weekend that Uncle David is up from New Hampshire to visit. David and Ron, Seth and Sara, Grandpa N., Millie, and all the cousins were in attendance.
Our girls really love to play with their cousins...that, combined with the prospect of getting presents, made Emily and Kate very excited about our visit.
Nana had a beautiful Christmas tree with a train running around the base!
It's so nice to get together with family and just hang out for the holidays. We really try not to travel too far from home during this crazy time of year.
With so many people eating brunch, Nana had to reconfigure her dining room to seat us all.
The food, as always, was delicious.
Of course the kids can't sit still for long. As soon as they finished eating they went right into wrestling mode with Sebastian. Just because you're wearing a pretty holiday dress doesn't mean you can't wrestle!
Then it was time for gifts. We did a "Secret Santa" exchange for the grownups, but the kids got presents from everyone.
Em and Kate opened their first gifts right away....
....crayons and paper! A perfect gift because it kept them occupied (and not demanding more! more! more!) while everyone else opened theirs. They are, after all, still pretty young and not so good at waiting patiently.
It seemed like everyone loved their gifts....
And there were lots of delicious cookies and other treats to try.
Emily and Kate eventually opened some more presents--including matching pink princess outfits from Nana and Grandpa N.!
We knew Kate would dig the princess theme, but we weren't so sure about Emily.
But they both really loved it! They insisted on wearing their princess outfits (complete with crowns and wands) for most of the rest of the party.
Then came the best gift of all (in Kate's opinion): Two little ponies with brushable manes and tails! Kate was beside herself with joy. She probably didn't even know such a thing existed before that moment.
It turns out that Aunt Sara is very familiar with "My Little Ponies". She may even still have one or two in her collection at home!
In no time at all she had braided the little hair on one pony....
....and that's all it took for a braiding party to break out. Notice Emily trying to braid Alana's hair in the photo below, while Sara works on the second pony.
Of course the real special part of the holiday season is not giving and receiving presents, but getting together with family and sharing the love.
Our kids are still too young to appreciate the fact that they are growing up so close to their grandparents, uncles, and cousins, but we know how special that is. We wish that every member of our extended family could live close to us!
She shoots, she scores! But as you can see, the audience has lost interest in Mom and they want to try it for themselves...
The girls played in their boots instead of skates because the recent snowfall had made the ice a little rough (and it's also much easier for them to slide instead of skate).
When they got tired of hockey we did some curling....
...and then we played with the chairs. First they wanted to be pushed around the ice in their chairs....
Finally (much to Mom's chagrin), they remembered some figure skating moves and started trying them out.
They even figured out the best place to take a break--on the snow benches by the garage.
