merry christmas ... a month late

Another late, late, late post about Christmas!  It seems that each year when I get home from our trip, I want to blog about Christmas right away ... then we have family visit us in January, and I just don't get around to it.  In fact, I don't do any blogging for several weeks in January.  Now, I sit at the end of the this month, and I realize that I haven't blogged at all since well before Christmas!  Whoops!  Well, better late than never.  Here's our Christmas blog ... and hopefully, this will be followed by several (or at least one) blog about what we've been up to since the holidays!  Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!  Love, the Heinrichs

We have had a long extended Christmas season.  We opened up our family gifts at home in Tampa, FL on Friday, December 21st.  On Thursday night, we got the kids ready for Santa to come.  We placed cookies and gummy worms on a plate for Santa, and of course, we had a glass of Mt. Dew ready to wash it all down.  Colton was very excited to get it all ready for Santa.  At bedtime, he was still requesting "DJ, Wingo, Boost, and Snot Rod" from Santa.

On Friday morning, we got Colton up by singing "Joy to the World", and Khloe was woken up by "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".  We opened up the stockings first, and of course, Colton's was filled with cars from the Disney movie CARS.  He was so excited that it was hard for him to concentrate on the other gifts!  Khloe got some 'Hello Kitty' items in her stocking, as well as, one car from CARS for her to play with.  Now, Colton can never technically take that one away from her ... since it's "hers".  The kids had tons of great gifts from loving Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Grandparents.  They are truly blessed, and we are, as well.  We had a lot of fun seeing Colton get so excited about each new gift that he opened.

Merry Christmas!

This centerpiece I got at Billy's work Christmas party.  It was fresh roses, fresh garland, and lit up!  Very pretty!

Making a gingerbread house with my little Bud.

Finished!

Going to visit Santa with our friends, Mason and Landon.  In the Ice Palace!

Waiting for Santa!

She has no idea what's about to happen.

And now that we know she is NOT a fan ...

Santa, Round #2, at MOMs Club ... He was still asking Santa for "DJ, Boost, Wingo, and Snotrod!

She was still begging to get away!

MOMs Club Christmas party!

She still got a gift from him ... even though she seems to dislike him very much!

I had just missed the moment, but she had just given him a high 5!  Baby steps ... (literally)

Love all of my Christmas cards ... this was halfway through ... I added many more before they finally came down.  I love getting Christmas cards!

A gift basket I made this year ... it was a lot of fun to make!

My baby girl on fake Christmas Eve.

Colton showing me his Mater ornament. 

A little Christmas time with the Adams.  Lots of open mouth smiling ... maybe they were all saying, "Cheese!"???

He loves his Cranky the Crane!  Thank you, Adams!

The tree ... I miss it!

Back home ... leaving cookies and Mt. Dew for Santa!

Ready for Santa to come!

Fake Christmas Morning!  The kids head to check out the stockings ... that have been stuffed!

Colton finds an innovative way to check things out! 

Use a present as a step-stool.

Ready to open stockings!

Having a tea party, already!  Thanks, Grandma Bourland!

Colton opens his Mack Truck!  He was super excited!

This here is "classic Koki" ... these next few pictures sum her up completely.

She must climb on everything.

And she always has to show her belly!  I swear she is not a starving kid from Africa.

She loves her new Hello Kitty necklace!

He was thrilled to get this Mack Truck from Grandpa and Grandma Reynolds!

Koki's new KC Wolf from Grandpa and Grandma Reynolds!

The aftermath .... yikes!

Colton really made my heart melt all day long ... as he told me over and over again, "Mommy, I just want to thank you for all of my gifts.  I love them all so much!  They are so great!  I am so happy with them."  Billy said that he told him that a few times, as well.  It makes me smile to see how happy and thankful he was this year.

Later that day, between playing with all of the new toys, finishing up packing, and cleaning the house, we watched a few Christmas movies--Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman.  Those are both great movies for the holidays, and Colton loves them so much!  What a fun tradition!  I know Koki will enjoy them next year.  This year, she watched a little bit, but mostly, she just played with her new toys.

On Friday evening, we had Thai food, as we didn't have much left at the house.  We had been eating down the groceries and trying to get rid of the fridge food before we left on vacation the next day.

Sabbath morning, we didn't have to leave the house very early.  Our flight wasn't until 12:50 p.m., so we left with plenty of time at 9:15 a.m.  It's good that we left so early, because the parking lot where I booked our space for the week had some issues!  Nearly a month prior to our trip, I booked a deal through Living Social for $60 worth of parking for $30.  I booked our 11 days of Christmas trip, and all seemed well.  On Sabbath morning, I got a call from the parking place that asked me to park in the N. Dale Mabry lot instead of their main lot ... as it was all full.  I had made a reservation, but I thought--this is Christmas, so oh, well ... no big deal.  When we got to the N. Dale Mabry lot, they were all booked up, as well.  Three other cars were there waiting for a spot and desperately needing to get to the airport to make their flights!  By this time, it's 10:00 a.m.  We still had plenty of time, but I was getting worried ... their main lot is gated and video camera secure.  This lot was a patch of grass land in a bad area of town behind a hotel that didn't want us to be there.  A lot of people were angry and yelling ... I asked the supervisor who showed up, "Why would you take reservations, if you were all booked up before Thanksgiving?" (As he had told us they were.)  I said, "You're taking reservations, but you're not keeping them."  We were stuck in an episode of Seinfeld!  The parking attendant squished us all in the middle of an isle (don't ask me how our car will look when we get back)!  Finally, the parking attendant drove one of the patrons cars to the airport with them and two others inside to get them there to catch their flights.  The supervisor stayed and waited with us until the airport shuttle arrived.  By this time, it's 11:00 a.m.  We finally made it to the airport, and luckily, because we were flying Sun Country (and it doesn't make very many connections), we got right up to the ticket counter with no line.  And because we have babies to take through TSA, we got right through the fast-forward line with no waiting through security.  On to the gate by 11:40 a.m. (including a stop at Burger King in the airport)!  We could finally relax at the gate and wait for boarding.

The flight went fine ... we were sitting around several babies and each had their angry moment, including Koki.  She was so tired by the time our flight took off, but she doesn't sleep well in my arms. She wants to lay down ... alone.  I held her and finally, after a little bit of a fight, she fell asleep in my arms for about 45 minutes.  Other than that, it was an uneventful flight.  We landed in MN by 3:50 p.m., and we were off to Grandma & Grandpa Heinrich's house.

Finally in Minnesota ... and there's SNOW!!!!

Saturday night, we had a bunch of great food with all of the family in town over to the house.  There were Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Great-Aunts, Great-Uncles, Moms, Dads, Kids, Grandparents, a Great-Grandparent, and even a dog.  It was a full house!  The food was excellent ... and the homemade ice cream to follow was delicious!

Sunday morning, we had our Second Christmas morning!  This time, Grandma & Grandpa Heinrich got to watch all of their kids and grandkids open up their gifts around the fire in their living room.  It was great fun watching everyone open the gifts we all had brought for each other, and it was nice to see the kids opening up their gifts with excitement and joy.  What a fun time to share together!

Khloe had me up early ... as we all were sleeping in the same room together ... and the time change, etc.  Anyway, I am the only one up ... well, me and Koki.  What a beautiful start to the morning!

Koki finds a kitty!

Sunrise

Toasty fire!

Heinrich Christmas morning

Aunt Cherrie and Uncle Josh gave Cole a cool new tool set!

Koki playing with her new phone.

I love these jammies!  They are so cute together!

Hanging out in a box with Cousin Elle!

Cole giving me Christmas smiles!  He is just the absolute cutest!

One last gift for Colton ... what did Santa wait until LAST to give him?!?

Crackers?  No.

Why, it's Snotrod!

And Wingo!

And Boost!

And DJ!

This is the HAPPIEST boy with the four cars he had been asking Santa for since last August!

After gifts, we went sledding.  The kids were really cold outside!  The snow was so much fun, but the wind was blowing pretty hard that day.  Koki couldn't stay out as long as I would have liked, because of the wind.  Colton sledded down a few more times than her, but soon, we had to come inside.  It was just too chilly!

Out in the snow with Koki.

Uncle Alan pulls Elle and Koki on the sled.

Fun times!

Elle going down the hill with her Daddy.

Koki sleds down with Aunt Brenda!

Sunday afternoon, we made strudels, and it was a delicious supper to enjoy together!  The strudels were most excellent, and Colton downed quite a few.  That night, Cherrie, Josh, Billy, Alan, and I went to see "The Hobbit".  It was a good start to several movies that will come out.  It was fun to be out at a movie, as we don't get to do that very often!  Thanks, Mom and Dad H!

Monday was Mom's birthday ... and Christmas Eve.  We had a fun day hanging out with each other, chatting, going sledding, playing games, and ending with a soup supper with extended family.  The food was excellent, as usual.  The soups were so tasty!  I loved the potato/leek soup, and of course, the mushroom soup was tasty, as well.  The fruit soup, always makes a great addition, too!  We had cake for Mom's birthday to finish off the meal.

So, I am across the room, and I hear ... Smack, Smack, Smack ... Chomp, Chomp.  I come over to find Koki devouring a package of chocolates!  One in each hand ... one in her mouth, and she was looking for a few more.

Koki was baking with Grandma H!

Just making some pies.

She kind of licks the utensils.  Don't eat anything she makes!

Covered in flour!

On Christmas day, we went over to Great-Grandma Ellstrom's house.  Everyone came over for lunch!  The food was plentiful and amazing!  It was nice seeing lots of Aunts and Uncles and Cousins on the Ellstrom side.  Colton and Khloe had such a nice time playing with Leif and Kelsey (Mom's youngest brother's kids).  They are both so sweet and great with kids!  Kelsey even played hide-and-go-seek with Colton; he LOVED that!  Khloe wasn't so sure about Leif at first.  I think it was his glasses!  She kept avoiding him ... didn't even want to walk past him.  Soon, he won her over by slowly getting her to play ball with him.  She finally decided it was okay to give him a 'high five'!

My kiddies ... are so cute!

Merry Christmas from Colton and Khloe!

A Christmas tradition ... watching Ice Age Christmas together on Christmas morning ... thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Bourland!

Colton playing Lincoln Logs with Leif.

Leif and Kelsey were napping, so Colton ran to find a blanket.  He said, "I need to lay down under my blanket, too!"

The kids playing with their cousins, Leif and Kelsey!

On Wednesday, we did some more sledding and playing of games.  The days went by so quickly.

Koki sledding with Daddy!

Colton "pulling" Daddy on the sled.

Grandpa pulls Colton along!

Koki and me as snow shadows.

Colton and me as snow shadows.

Such a cool barn!  I will miss it when it's gone!

Gorgeous, sunny morning!

Even prettier!

Outside in the snow with my Bud.

I love this little boy!

Shoveling snow with Daddy.

He said, "It's like walking on pillows!"

The big barn from the side.

Such a gorgeous tree!

Snow

The big barn

I love this door on the big barn!

The barn with the silo.

Such a clear day!

Colton helped Daddy chop this wood ... so he was going to take it inside to the fire!

Playing Settler!

Playing dominoes!

A new favorite snack of mine ... wasabi almonds!

She gets into such shenanigans!

Thursday brought a day of snow ... before it began to come down, we were able to go feed the geese, ducks, and turkeys some corn and bread.  The kids enjoyed seeing all of the birds and giving them some food.  Several nights, the kids had fun playing on a random mattress that got moved into the basement.  The kids loved to jump off of it onto the floor.  Even Khloe got into it!  It was great fun to jump into one of our arms, too.  What a fun time in the basement!

Going to feed the ducks!

Feeding the geese and ducks with Grandpa and Grandma H!

They had such a great time!

Cole helped Grandma make this bread.  He was pretty proud of it!

Taking a flying leap off of the mattress!

She loves being tossed around and held upside down!

Getting tickles from Grandpa!

Super flying leap!

Loving on Daddy!

Jumping around.

LEAP!

Friday ... we spent the day getting ready for the Sabbath.  We cleared the sidewalks of the snowfall, and Colton got to ride the tractor with Grandpa.  We had a great week visiting with family.  We played a lot in the snow, and we enjoyed a lot of family time.  It really is a blessing to have family!

Such a gorgeous picture!

Panoramic view

Cole shoveling snow.

Koki wants to shovel snow ... but she is too little!

Snow blowing on the tractor with Grandpa H!

Building a fort with Daddy.

Walking to find a new fort spot!

Koki sledding with Grandma H!

Cole and Daddy found a new fort spot.  Cole is trying to fit inside!

Trying from the top.

Grandpa pulls him on the sled while Daddy digs!

Koki crawls inside.

Cole crawls inside!

Koki and Grandpa in front of the fort.

Two kids found some wrapping paper ... and dug it all out!

On Sabbath, we went to church.  On the way home, Colton got to "drive"/steer the van up to the house  while sitting on Grandpa's lap.  He thought it was pretty great!  It was very swerve-y!  Once we got home, we had a big lunch with all of the family in town.  It was super delicious!  

Driving home with Grandpa!

Wildly steering away!

That night, we went ice skating at a local park.  It was freezing out!  Colton loved it, though, and he had so much fun sliding and slipping around the ice.  We all borrowed skates from Billy's Uncle Wayne, and we got out there and skated around for about a half hour ... it was just SO cold!

Skating with Billy!

Billy takes Colton out for a skate!

It was FREEZING!

Colton and Cherrie defending the goal.

Billy comes skating in for a goal!

On Sunday, we got to go to Steph and Andy's house to visit with them and Tricia and her kids.  It was so great to see two of my most favorite ladies and their families!  I am so thankful that Mom and Dad H live in Hutchinson ... it allows me to see these girls once or twice a year and to be a part of their lives and they can be a part of mine.  We spent the entire day at Steph's house.  I didn't get back to Mom and Dad's until after 7:00 p.m.!  I had a lot of fun just talking and hanging out with them.

My kiddies!  Love them all!  Koki, Colton, Colbie, Brody, and AJ

Billy put all of these shells on Cole.

Monday morning, we got ready to go to Cherrie's house for New Year's Eve.  We spent the evening eating delicious food and playing several rounds of Hands and Feet Tournaments.  It was a lot of fun!  Debbie even had a "tasty" cup of 10+ year-old hot cocoa that Cherrie had been moving around the country since before 2002!  (Ew!)  What a fun night!

A night of Hands and Feet Tournament Style

Me losing at Up and Down the River ... Billy being silly.

My sad, sad score sheet ... I am the 113 ... you are aiming for closest to 0. 

Koki and Cole keep Grandpa from getting a nap in before the New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR ... ringing in 2013!

On Tuesday morning, we flew back home to Tampa.  We had a great flight, and got home by nap time!  The kids were ready for a rest, and so were we!

We really had a wonderful Christmas in Minnesota with Billy's family.  It was wonderful that there was snow.  The kids had so much fun playing in it, and I really enjoyed have the "feeling" of Christmas through the weather.  We got home to 80 degree Tampa!

Merry Christmas!