Before and After, A Christmas Story

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It was an exhausting day. And all this by 11am (our kids graciously slept in until 6:00am Christmas morning, which we are particularly thankful for because we waited up until well after 2:00am to see if we could catch Santa and help him set up any toys he might be leaving for them. As you can see, Santa's gifts were pretty involved this year, and the kids were happy they were ready to play with when they saw them at long last.).

The rest of the day was wonderful, too. We had a turkey lunch around noon. The whole family napped after lunch until around 3:00pm, and we headed over to Jason's parents' house after that, where the kids were showered with more gifts, and the family was treated to news of double happiness. Jason's sister Tiffany became engaged Christmas morning, and his other sister Jessica and her husband Jon announced they will become first-time parents in July. What a joyous afternoon an evening. We celebrated over a prime rib roast meal, games of Rock Band together, and the Money Game, a tradition Jason's mom created about three years ago, where everyone walks away a winner. Literally. The kids fell asleep on the way home, and we fell into bed, snuggled up, and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of all the food we'd eaten and laughter we'd shared. It was a very merry Christmas.

Casey upon seeing his train set from Santa.

Marcie trying out her new kitchen set from Santa. She made herself "chocolate milk."

The day after Christmas, geared up to go scooter riding with scooters from Grandma and Grandpa S.