What a whirlwind Christmas was! Mike, Ruby and I got the chance to head to NW Iowa to celebrate Christmas with my family. Before heading out on Dec. 23 we held our own Christmas right after lunch. Ruby literally opened every gift, no matter who it was for, and we had so much fun watching her take it all in. I, also had a ton of fun, working with my new camera! Mike got me a pretty nice camera for Christmas so hopefully you notice some high quality pics. Not to be confused with high quality photographer skills :)
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| Ruby adding her new doggie ornament to the tree |
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| Super excited for new dress up shoes |
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| Daddy's personal gift opener |
Once at Grandpa and Grandma's house near Orange City we settled in for a few days of fun, food, food, food, and family! My family always gathers on Christmas eve night, so we had some time to fill during the day.
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| Nap time with dad...Ruby is all snuggled up next to him! |
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| Catching some heat from Mama & Papa's corn burner. She loved that thing. |
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| Sledding with the help of Uncle Ryan and Uncle Jon after they were done pheasant hunting. |
Finally, Christmas eve arrived and as the first picture shows, no one walked away empty handed with a tree as full as that. Christmas was held at my sister's house near Akron, IA (darn close to SD :). We had so much fun getting together with everyone! The last time we were together was for my youngest brother's wedding in October, so it was time. Here's a few favorite pics from the night.
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| My creeper bro, Tayvn, Ruby and Rylee |
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| Hugs for Papa as a thank you for all the great gifts! Aunt Karis hanging out in the back. |
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| Uncle Jon and cousin Teylor snuggling during gifts. |
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| Once again my creeper bro, and no he doesn't always rock that stache, and my mom. |
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| Who needs gifts? Just gift boxes! |
Once the Christmas tree had been depleted from all of it's gifts, and we had all gone several rounds for food and drink, it was time to bundle up again and head on back to Papa and Mama's house for a slumber party. Ruby, my mom, and I all nestled up in front of the corn burner and settled in for a slumber party with Ruby. Kinda forgot until the next morning, just how rough sleeping on the floor can be. Is that a sign that I am aging??? Please, no replies!
Christmas morning we all slept in after a late night partying and we found ourselves with a little one not feeling so well. Poor thing was sporting a temperature of 100.9 and wanted nothing more to do that cuddle on the couch with her sippy and blankies. Thankfully, Aunt Gina, who lives in Orange City, came to the rescue and brought over some medicine for us! Otherwise it may have been a long scavenger hunt finding some place open on Christmas day! Especially in Orange City :)
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| Look how sad those eyes are. |
To complete Christmas day, we got to hang out with my dad's family, the De Jong's, as they joined us for lunch at my parents house. We relaxed and vegged out for the rest of the day and once again tackled another slumber party with Ruby, who by now, was feeling a little better.
Wednesday morning us girls headed out to Sioux City for one quick Christmas blitz sale and stocked up on all of those things that we just had to have! And when they were all 50%-75% off it was practically a steal :) At least that's what we tell our husbands :)
So, we hope that your Christmas was spent with ones you love, remembering Christ's birth, or as Ruby says, "happy burday bebe Jesa!", and finding some time to sit back and relax.
