Christmas 2011

Christmas 2011 was a good one.  One major reason was....we did NOT have to travel!  Yahoo!  Braden's parents, Grams and Peep, made the drive up here from Louisiana with a car full of presents.  Unfortunately just before they got here, I came down with a really bad cold that lasted throughout their entire visit.  Boo.  We still managed some fun (some of it sans Mary).  Braden, Peep, Ethan, and Blythe hit up an NC State basketball game on the first night, we headed to Marbles kids museum on Friday, and Braden took his parents and Blythe and Ethan to Pullen Park and to show off his new office on Saturday.  We also made it to church on Saturday night (of which I have no pictures...I barely functioned to get to church, let alone take pics). 

Sunday was Christmas morning, and Santa actually made it to our house the night before.  Although the Indy Santa promised Ethan a bike AND drums and Blythe a purple guitar AND an American Girl doll, he did not deliver on that promise.  Ethan did get that blue bike and some Thomas trains and Blythe got that purple guitar and a microphone. Brynn scored a shopping cart and some dishes.  Here's a video of the kids checking out the living room to see if Santa came. First here's a pic of what the living room looked like after Santa came. 

Ha!  No mention of the presents Santa brought (at first)???

After a nice lunch, Grams and Peep drove off with a whole lot more room in their trunk.   And we chilled and played with new toys the rest of the day. 

The next day we headed to Durham to celebrate Christmas with the Mittendorf's.  There were some pretty exciting gifts given.  Ethan got a new train table, which he was super stoked about.  Blythe got a boombox and a cool NC State backpack on wheels. Brynn loved the Bogie look-alike she got.  Braden got a firepit (which we'll be trying out tomorrow) and I got a family membership to Marbles (yay for lots more trips to Marbles!).