Christmas time can be so great but then again it can be challenging. It is definitely just as stressful for close-knit families as it is for families who put up with each other because of the Holidays. There is so much expected for the Holidays and plenty of things I didn't plan or think about before.
We spent Christmas Eve with my parents and family, minus Annie's family. We had a delicious steak dinner with some excellent homemade wassail. We played a few games dealing with Christmas and then as he has been doing my whole life, Santa made a quick drop early at the house. Next had to prepare for the 50+ people trying to fit in my parents' house the next day. That meant making food and setting up tables and chairs. Then it was off to bed.
Somewhere in the middle of the night, Ellie throw up. Since I am a fairly light sleeper, I heard her and woke Jake up to help (which he wasn't a huge fan of). I picked her up and carried her upstairs to wash her off. Jake grabbed all the blankets in Ellie's bed and brought them up. After new pj's and a quick bath, it was back to bed.
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| Santa brought Ellie a pillow pet which she likes to lay on. |
We then took some time to open presents. Ellie didn't seem too excited about the presents at first but I think its because she really didn't understand what was going on, until we started to open them.
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| Ellie picking and choosing presents to unwrap. |
We opened more gifts once Annie, Brian and their kids came over.
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| She did eventually open this present. She did quite well at opening gifts. |
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| Chef Ellie here to make your food. |
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| All the married daughter got aprons and the granddaughter received aprons that matched their mom's. |
Once that was all done, it was time to pack all our stuff and move up to the Watterson residence. This became quite a trick as my mom's family started to file in and fill up the house. We ate a bit but took off quickly to spend the rest of the day and our stay in Utah up "at da Wanship."
The 4 Runner was packed to the top. I wasn't sure how we were going to bring everything home to Denver as we had left a bit at my parents while we stayed with Jake's parents. (Spoiler alert; Jake is amazing at packing cars and everything made it home.)
Once we arrived at Watterson's, we unloaded a few things but then opened more presents. I didn't know where the camera was packed at this time, so I am still waiting for pictures from Marc and Cassie. Jake's family was a little more low key. Siblings coming and going to other family functions but there was good food and lots of love. We had a great time that day just eating and talking. Ellie and Becca played and pretended to share toys (they kept fighting over each others strollers and babies).
It was stressful trying to work everything out and move, but even with the stress I still love spending time with family, especially at the holidays.
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