Tis the Season

This weekend was a busy one for us with lots of holiday cheer. On Saturday morning my grandparents stopped by to give us a little gift and get pictures with their great-grandkids. A great idea and I'm so glad I have this picture for my kids to have.

I didn't want to be left out though so I made them take a picture with me too. =) Oh how I love them. They really are two very special people and I'm so grateful to have them in my life. Grandpa will be turning 80 next year!

Later that afternoon we were supposed to go to the kid's Christmas party that Mark's work throws but we opted out to stay home and spend time with Sean while he was here. I think Mark really just wanted to stay home and play the super nintendo. =) I think we all had more fun staying home!

That night we had a Christmas party at our house. Every year the Anderson sisters have a Christmas party and I have to admit - it's my favorite party of the holiday season. Simply for the fact that there's usually lots of silliness and giggling. This year was no exception. Cousins draw names and exchange gifts, us sisters rotate through each other each year, and the adults all bring a gag gift from the dollar store. That's where the real fun comes in! One of the highlights of this year though was a surprise that Sarah and I (mostly Sarah!) worked on for our other sisters. We had the idea a long time ago that it would be fun to make a DVD of pictures of us growing up - so we did. After dinner we all watched it and there were lots of tears and laughs. It was great and I've watched it several times since! The present exchange was fun and here are some of my faves:

Harper girl turned one the day before Weston so both she and Wes also had a whole slew of birthday presents they got to open. Isn't she adorable?! Just love this girl.

Amy and her magnifying glass.

Lynn got these super sweet "terry cloth slippers" that felt more like padded cardboard.

Sarah got this crayon piggy bank. Only problem being that there was a giant hole in the bottom of the crayon!

Miss sporting her blue suede hat. It's not fair that she looks adorable in it though!

Becky's was my favorite this year - a pirate costume. Eye patch and all. That's comedy.

I don't know how he does it but Mark has a knack for finding the most annoying presents (we just put them all in a pile and grab randomly). Last year it was silly string which he didn't waste a second to use. This year: a fog horn. I'm rolling my eyes just thinking about it. He kept using it throughout the night. Never mind the crying babies. That's why we love him though. He's not afraid to be obnoxious!

There were some other great ones and we all certainly had a fun night together. Even though this time of year can be busy we love all the fun that it brings and enjoy giving gifts to others and not caring so much for what we get in return. We've gotten all of our Christmas shopping done and I wrapped the very last present just last week so now we can just sit back and enjoy all the fun that comes with waiting for Christmas to come!