Christmas 2014

Christmas 2014 was a great one. Bruce did have to work Christmas Eve which made things interesting, but we managed. He was able to get off a few hours early, so when I woke him before the crack of dawn to open presents, he had at least gotten a small nap Ü And after presents and breakfast, he slept some more while the wee ones and I watched a movie and built Lego sets. Once Bruce woke up, we enjoyed time together trying out all the new toys and ate our traditional English roast Christmas dinner. We kept things pretty simple and low key and it was absolutely perfect. 

I know I posted these Christmas Eve jammie pictures on actual Christmas Eve, but they are too cute to not share again. How blessed I am to be the mom (and aunt!) of these cute kiddos!

The tree before we let the kiddos loose on Christmas morning...  I spy some unwrapped Santa pressies! The girls were so so sweet. With the help of their dad, they had gotten me an American Girl doll for Christmas as they knew I always wanted one as a kid and never had one of my own. Other than seeing their Santa presents, they refused to open anything until I had been given my gift from them and Bruce's dad had opened his gift from them. Once that was out of the way, they were more than happy to dig into their own gifts, but it really warmed my heart to see that they were far more excited about giving than receiving.

Beebs' dream gift from Santa this year was a Kit Kittridge American Girl doll. And that is just what she got! They look alike, right down to the freckles on their noses.  

Sunshine asked for a light green and pink bike with a basket. And Santa delivered! Look how grown up she is on her big girl beach cruiser! 

Man Cub wanted cars and trains. He's pretty easy to please. That's what he got from Santa and pretty much everyone else! 

And Legos for everyone. We had so much fun putting them together while Bruce attempted to catch up on some sleep. 

Trifle is pretty much my favourite part of Christmas dinner, but Bruce isn't a fan. Luckily, my girls are! They helped me devour this whole thing in just a few days time. It was so yummy! 

Stocking Wars 2014... a much loved tradition that Bruce and I look forward to and plan carefully for each year. We don't buy and wrap Christmas gifts for each other. Instead, we take a budgeted amount of money to fill the other person's stocking. Then, each year a winner is declared based on creativity and best use of funds. Bruce use to always beat me, but 2012 and 2013 were my years! (2012 was a pirate themed stocking complete with custom matching pirate hats for Bruce and Man Cub. 2013 included a pant and shirt set straight from Africa. It was awesome!)

This year was the hardest year yet to declare a winner. I was very careful with my money and due to some great sale shopping as well as an amazing coupon, I was able to fill Bruce's stocking with lots of goodies, with the main item being a new pendant for his necklace to replace the pendant that he lost the last time we were at Disneyland. Lots of meaning in that pendant, so I was sure I was the winner. But my stocking contained all the best British candies and a beautiful picture of our new Phoenix temple, making it hard to declare a winner. Then, Bruce let it slip that he may have gone over budget. By almost double. So I ended up winning by default since I stuck to the rules. He's tired of losing, so I'll be interested to see what Stocking Wars 2015 brings.

Bruce got a super fun gift from the wee ones... an indoor snowball fight! The girls love to snowball fight with him but our trips to the snow are so few and far between. When we found these soft, light up snowballs on clearance at Walmart, we knew it would be the perfect gift for Dad. We bought just enough that everyone can participate in some pretty epic snowball battles. The whole family has had a lot of fun with Bruce's gift in the months since Christmas and I am sure we will continue to enjoy our snowball fights for a long time to come.

One final gift I have to mention... Bruce's Aunt Kathy gave each of my kiddos a homemade stained glass ornament for Christmas this year. Man Cub's is green, Beebs' is red and Sunshine's is blue. They are absolutely stunning. I just love them and I've decided I need to learn the art of stained glass... some day! These are by far some of my favourite ornaments on the tree.