snapshots from Christmas

The good thing about Christmas being on a Tuesday is it seems to spread the holiday out over several days, maybe even a week!

Our family doesn't live too far away, but DC traffic on 95 really puts a damper on visits.  Unless it's 2am when you're on the road, there will be others out there with you.

As soon as we get there, the kids like to crash in front of the TV, mesmerized.



Some are more squirmy than others.



I was really trying to capture the movie they were watching...the Wizard of Oz.



Us adults were amazed that anyone ever liked that movie, especially kids, with those scary monkeys, witches, and ridiculous acting.  We couldn't even watch the whole thing.



I love twenty-something cousins that wild up my boys.  They have a fear/love relationship with them.



Yay!  Joaquin snapped one of me! and the belly.



We opened pjs a few days before Christmas Eve since we were spending the night.  Isabela is all about the peace sign these days.



And Diego got two sets of angry birds pjs.  He said, "The box says I have to wear both of them," so he put the red ones on top of the black ones...until he got too hot.



Aunt Leah Ann always thinks up fun things for them to do...she had saved all the bubble wrap from shipping boxes and let them jump around on it pop, pop, popping it!



Add in a huge lego box for the boys and that will occupy them for awhile.



And now I finally get the baking cookie tradition of Christmas.  If you do it from scratch, it really takes all morning.  Isabela loves to be in the kitchen and encouraged everyone to help out.



Leah Ann had the world's smallest cookie cutters.  I bet they're from when we used to eat the right sized cookies.



It's hard to ice with only one hand.



But they were delicious!!  Every time I passed the kitchen I had to pop one or two in my mouth.



Not sure why she was so amazed at that candle...except that candles are wonderful.



Look who found something to play with.



A dangling paddle ball is perfect for a cat.



My boys are meant for outside.  Forty mile per hour gusts of bitter wind had kept them in the night before, but the next day was beautiful.

Which one should I choose?  They're both so awesome!



Diego and his sticks...this is the mother of all sticks.




I still think Joaquin would be great at ice hockey.  And check out that red hoodie...a very thoughtful gift from their TaeKwonDo teacher.




Watch out! Score!!!!



Cat on a hot tin roof.  That's Puff.  You can see how she got her name.



It really is a lot of work for others when we come to visit.  Diego got ahold of some styrofoam packaging and ripped it to bits in a room when no one was looking.  Oops!

But those are the Christmas stories you remember for years to come.