We made our last road-trip of the year up to Wichita to spend Christmas with Keenan's family. Due to schedules, we ended up leaving Christmas morning which worked out well since the kids don't really understand all the timing of things. They opened stockings that evening and were able to enjoy those toys for a while before opening the rest of their gifts the next morning. Ari received an Iron Man motorcycle toy which has hardly left his side since opening - it even came to bed with him the first couple of nights! Keira's favorites are a toss-up between her grocery cash register and a Toy Story Woody doll.
Our favorite part was experiencing their reactions as each gift was opened. They are at such the perfect age for that! Keenan thought it'd be fun to pack up a box of rocks for Ari to open. Ari loves to collect rocks where ever we are. I've found too many to count in the dryer and there's quite a pile going outside the garage where we make him leave them when we remember. Keenan's plan was to have a video of Ari's excitement over the rocks to save for future use. "Remember when you were happy with just a box of rocks?" Ari did not disappoint! (see video below).
The adults opened presents once all the kids had opened theirs and were engrossed in play. Keenan and I received some lovely gifts as well. I now have a pressure cooker and crock pot cookbook to add to my list of "kitchen things to learn" along with the bread maker I received from my parents. Good thing I like to cook! :) Keenan's all stocked up on top-shelf gin, so be sure to ask for one of his signature martinis if you come to visit ;)
The rest of our visit was mainly spent watching the kids play and staying cozy by the fire. I was able to get out for an afternoon of mani's with the girls then a grown-up movie outing with Keenan, Kelsey and Brent. Yia Yia and Papa were gracious enough to keep all 4 kids for us. Thanks again!
After all that, we made the trip home stopping at Bass Pro Shop in Oklahoma City to let the kids get out and stretch a bit. Our stop ended up being 2 hours as we tried to wait out the fish feeding, but decided lunch was a better option. We hit some nasty traffic once back in the Mid-Cities and slowly made our way through a detour and rush-hour traffic in the rain. Needless to say, we were all very happy to be home after that!
Here are a few pic's from our adventures and a short video of the kids' gift-opening excitement. More pic's here and here.
We're spending the rest of 2010 at home catching up on various projects that include getting the nursery re-set as we count-down the arrival of baby #3! 2011 looks to be another exciting year for us! We wish you all a very happy new year! :)
