The kids woke up to their bedroom doors being covered with crepe paper and a note from our elf Jack. The note said "Good-bye and see you next year. Do not open, but call for your mom and dad".
The girls thought it was great....
but Seth didn't care for being "Locked Up" too much
and was quite happy when we gave him the okay to tear through. (on a side note, I can't wait for January, when I plan on repainting the inside of our house. Just check out those handprints! ugh.)
The kids came out into the living room to find a note from Santa Claus that took them on a scavenger hunt or as Elsie calls it a Mystery.
The notes took them to various places in the house, including the freezer,
the pantry,
and eventually outside to a half finished trampoline. Apparently, Santa got cold and tired and left the instructions for us parents to put it together. lol
Then it was time to open our stockings and gifts from each other. This year Kya and Seth bought each of us gifts and it was fun seeing the excitement on their faces as we opened them and to see how much thought they put into each gift. I loved that they pay attention to our likes.
Kya knows that Seth likes football, so she bought him a football. Seth knows how much his Daddy likes to play his guitar, so he bought him a bracelet with a guitar on it. Such thoughtfulness!
Elsie's class didn't participate in the school's holiday store, but she really wanted to give her mommy something special.......so.......
she had her Daddy wrap her up for me to open. I believe I got the best present ever......a little Elsie girl!!!
And that was the last picture taken of the day. No picture of them or us in our Christmas clothes. Bummer, but we have our memories. After we opened gifts, the kids played with them for a short bit and then it was time to get showered/dressed and head on down to my parents house to celebrate the day with 40 other members of my Dad's side of the family. Such fun to hang with all the cousins!
