Christmas Day

Santa surely found us! :) 

For some reason, I can't get the video to load of McKenna seeing the tree for the first time.  Let's just say she was pretty excited!

McKenna got lots of "princess stuff" and has since been in heaven!

The dress-ups were a huge hit.  Here's Aurora (missing the top).

Holding other princesses

Cinderella

Snow White

This awesome Castle Bakery tent (i.e. Princess Central) from Gma and Gpa Thompson was also a favorite!

She quickly filled it with EVERYthing she could think of. 

Cute Benny with a move and crawl ball

Santa also brought a PLAY KITCHEN!  First, we had her open some dishes to go with it to see if she could kind of guess what was under the blanket.  

It was not quite the jumping and screaming reaction we were hoping for, but she really does play with it all the time!  

Ben loves the kitchen too!

 After church and naps Christmas day, we threw together a little Christmas Dinner.  We were lucky enough to have my sister join us too.  

Then we visited the Condies (my mom's parents)

The day after Christmas, Dan went ice fishing up at Mantua.

Dan likes to think that he was there mostly for the "experience"...especially since no one in their group caught anything. He still had fun.

The day after Christmas we also went to a Nelson family Progressive dinner.

After a delicious meal, we made gingerbread houses.

McKenna had a blast eating spoonfuls of frosting- gross.  :)

Ben kept busy playing with Grandma's nativity.

We then enjoyed some singing and talents from some family members.

Adam sang a beautiful hymn only found in the Swedish hymnal.  

I attempted to sing with Dan's mom and sister Marjorie (Courtney playing).  I'm not very good at sight-singing.  But I sure liked standing between them and hearing their perfectly blended voices/harmonies. :)

Most of all, we are so grateful for the birth of our Savior and the opportunity we had to reflect on His life and sacrifice. This season takes on a whole new meaning when you strive to teach your kids about the "true meaning" of Christmas. Of course, actually going to church in the middle of Christmas Day sure helps.

Merry Christmas!!