Our kids had so much fun. All the cousins got along great. McKenna was glued to Lizzy's side. Lizzy is 10-years-old so, just old enough to seem totally cool and still young enough to want to have a 7-year-old tagging along. It was a perfect combination.
Evan, at one point, around the dinner table with all the other kids announced, "I'm surrounded by girls!" He did really good though. He got some great "boy" stuff for Christmas and all his uncles enjoyed playing with him. He also became Scarlett's "prince" when he danced with her. She is two and spends her days twirling around the house in her dance dresses. At some point Evan picked her up and spun her around like a ballerina. She was his for the rest of the visit.
Alana was surprisingly well behaved. I don't think she ate anything but rolls for four days but she was nice to Scarlett and that's all I care about. Alana can be a bit of a bully. She is truly a youngest child and for some reason feels that she has to fight for everything she wants. She takes what she wants from other kids and is not afraid to hit, scratch and bite her way to victory. We are working with her and it is getting better but I didn't know how she would be at someone else's house with another girl her age. Turns out I didn't need to worry (but it's what I do). She got along great with Scarlett and all the other girls. The only altercation came on the last night when Scarlett wanted to play with Alana's new baby doll. I figure one fight in five days is pretty good. The babies were so cute together and I am very happy that Alana has another cousin her age.
The adults had a blast! It was a whirlwind of games, food and conversation, between taking care of kids, of course. Ryan stayed up really late every night playing and he even got to go sledding with his dad and some of the siblings. Stephanie had huge amounts of amazing food for everyone. There was always tons of leftovers and I commented that she probably bought food thinking that my children ate like normal kids. It's amazing that they grow because they hardly ever eat. Stephanie introduced us to crepes and homemade shrimp scampi. We had the most amazing turkey for Christmas dinner. This is making me hungry so I am going to move on.
Christmas morning was a whirl of squeals and paper. All the kids got exactly what they wanted for Christmas and everyone was happy. Santa brought Evan some new underwear and he got embarrassed. Santa will know better for next year. I guess he is growing up. McKenna beamed over all her Taylor Swift stuff. She is a bit obsessed right now. Alana just wanted to tear paper; she didn't care what was underneath.
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| Christmas eve at my Father-in-law's |
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| The Santa loot |
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| McKenna visiting her Grandma's grave |
We would invite you back in a heartbeat! You were wonderful guests and I'm glad you had a good time.
ReplyDeleteI am so impressed with the photos - you've sold me on getting the same kind of camera. I take so many pics in low light, and yours are beautifully focused.