Christmas Eve and Morning.....much mirth and merriment

The most magical night of the year. And we got to spend it with the entire family. I understand that neither I nor the kids, in a few years, will remember the presents they received, but will definitely remember they had a great time at Grandpa and Grandma's house....and so I don't mean to record the exact gifts everyone received, but their smiles are definitely worth the documentation.

Christmas Eve has always been an open presents of PJs night.
What could possibly be so fascinating about Grandpa's pajamas??

Oh, I guess he told Mrs Claus that he didn't want any more pjs, so she wrapped the ones he wore the night before ;)

Weird, Steph got some PJs that didn't fit, but she was kind and let Abby wear them. Purple is a good color for her though.

Trent wouldn't mind if this was a foretelling of things to come. Kyleigh is mostly concerned with making sure blankie and she are not separated...even for a little ride.

The thoughts going through his mind might have been along the lines of "THIS IS THE COOLEST THING ON PLANET EARTH!"

"WHAT?! No cash or cards in the purse? What a rip."  (no, she doesn't equate purses with money yet. Hers are all filled with every imaginable small trinket from cars, to batman helmet to princess crowns).

I think we have another Cinderella lover in the family. (Court, you have company)

After checking out the princesses, and finding a whole garb of princess-like clothes her size, she immediately and all by herself stripped off the pjs and decked herself out in the new fairy tale-like duds complete with heels, purse and crown. She is set to find her Prince Charming and it's only 8 in the morning.

Older kids enjoying a gift Scott got for Court and Jared. He, like always, did well.

Jackpot. Lottery pick. Score.

Uncle Scott was making the rounds with scissors to help out anyone with stubborn plastic pieces to expedite playtime fun. Thoughtful guy.

Grandpa was recently called to be Bishop in the ward so all the kids got together and contributed to the Bishop and Bishop's wife survivor kit.

And Grandpa's man cave/bike room was seriously lacking an adequate Bike Gear clock, so we happily remedied the situation. (Much thanks to a friendly neighbor who helped us strong arm the pedal off that was still attached so we could install the clock piece).

All ready for a cruise.

Please?? Can I take it for a spin right now?

Food prep.  Muy importante.

After a couple hours and everyone pitching in here and there, we ended up with THIS:

green salad, best homemade rolls, twice baked potatoes, pretzel jello salad and Chateaubriand!!

Uh oh, someone forgot their greens......(it's the one who likes to drink Coke)

This is out of order, as we do the Night Before Christmas book and Luke 2 on Christmas Eve, but I like best the anticipation of what comes the following morning and remembering the First Christmas and a very young and very pregnant woman who was about to become a Mother for the first time to an incredibly special child...for whom the rest of the human population will ultimately be grateful on bended knee.

Thanks for everything, Grandma and Grandpa.