Christmas 2009...

Yes I am really sitting here blogging on New Year's Eve. For one thing we rarely do anything for New Years...especially now with little kids and I really just can't stay awake that late. But we are also recovering from being up ALL last night with the stomach flu, so we've been home all day and the kids are in bed and Lars is watching a basketball game. Gunnar actually got sick on Monday night and was throwing up most of that night, but then was fine the next morning, so we went ahead with our plans to go to Lava Hot Springs and stay Tuesday night (I'll do that post later)...somehow the rest of us didn't get sick till after we got home yesterday afternoon, but then it hit me, then Ashton really hard. Poor Ashton probably threw up 12-15 times!! Thank God Lars didn't have it yet and he really steps up when it comes to taking care of and cleaning up after sick kids. But then he got it at about 5:30 this morning. No fun!

Anyway this post was supposed to be about Christmas....

We had a great one this year. I love all the anticipation leading up to it, especially Christmas Eve. Since we didn't have any family coming till Christmas Day Lars decided to take Ashton out ice-fishing that morning for a few hours, so Gunnar and I hung out and ran a few errands then went over to Aurora's house to decorate Christmas cookies. Then we came home so that he could have a nap before it was time to get up and get ready for church at 5:00. I love that we always go to church on Christmas Eve, so that we can really focus on the real meaning of Christmas and the birth of Jesus, before we move on to all of the rest of it. We always used to go to Midnight Mass and I'm sure we will again some day when our kids are older, but for now we go to the children's mass. After that we went over to Nate and Brianne's house for dinner, then came home and baked our ginger snaps for Santa... ...and the boys got to open their new pajamas and these Christmas blankets I made for them. We watched a little bit of the movie they got and read their new Christmas book, then it was off to bed.

Christmas morning was so fun! Ashton's age is the best, and I actually think Gunnar kind of understood a little bit too this year.

He kept saying..."Santa come house?" And he's been talking about "baby Jesus" for weeks now.

We got our cinnamon rolls in the oven, then let the boys come downstairs and see what Santa had left for them. I loved it when Ashton said..."I got just what I wanted!!" They played with the stuff Santa left our for them for a little while, then we let them get into their stockings...(one of Gunnar's favorite gifts...he had them polished off within half an hour)Then it was time for breakfast... ...and we waited to do the rest till Grandma and Grandpa Harry arrived a little while later. Ashton kept asking "When are they EVER going to get here? " He wanted to open the rest of the presents so bad he could hardly stand it!

So when they got here, they grabbed a quick cinnamon roll and then it was time to tear into the rest of the presents...I love this picture of Gunnar and his cute new baby...

It was so fun to have them come down for the day and we were all so thankful that the weather cooperated this year after the nightmare it was last year for them to come down and back. (We wish you could have made it too Nana & Papa, but we'll see you soon :)

After we finally got through all the presents we went upstairs to get our dinner started. We did a ham this year with the rest of the stuff we usually do. And I actually made my first ever home-made apple pie! It even turned out pretty good.

While it was cooking Gunnar napped, Ashton and Lars put together some of Ashton's new lego set and my Mom, Harry and I watched (as we try to every year) Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas. To me Christmas wouldn't be the same without it :)
Then we ate our yummy dinner and took a few more pictures and it was time for Grandma and Grandpa to head home.

Ashton played his new Leapster for the better part of the day (and even let Gunnar help him :) It was such a fun day!