Christmas Eve

Well here is the Christmas picture of our family that I swore I would get this year since last year we did not have a single one to commemorate the holiday season. As you can see from the picture we were all smiles about the fun traditions and excitement this time of year brings.

We went to Papa and Nana's house in time to celebrate Christmas Eve. The girls got to open a few gifts that had been put aside for them and also got busy frosting some cookies we brought with us to leave out for Santa. As you can see from the picture I have two very serious helpers. They were all business when it came to decorating for Santa.





Around dinner time Great PaPaw and GG showed up to celebrate Christmas with all of us too. The girls were very excited to see both of them. I think a little of it had to do with getting to open some more presents as well. Campbell could not wait until we were all done with dinner so she could get to all those presents under the tree. I have to say I was anxious to see their faces myself.













I think the top present for Kaylee that night was the Wii. You can tell from the picture that Campbell is not quite sure what to think about the box but she knew enough to know that Kaylee was very excited by it. I do not know who was more excited to get it hooked up and ready to play Daddy or Kaylee?












Campbell's favorite gift by far was the Diamond Castle horse that flies. She could not wait to get it out of the box. She even slept with it that night while listening for Santa.

Once the rest of the gift were unwrapped and Papa had gone to take GG home the girls went for our traditional ride to look at the lights around town. It was a brief ride this year because we had two very tired girls who just wanted to go back to the house to play with their toys for a little bit and go to bed. Of course, we had to put the reindeer food out on the lawn first. Who knew oatmeal and glitter could be so much fun to put all over the yard? When they returned inside Daddy read The Night Before Christmas and they quickly went to sleep.

Christmas Day 2008!

Well after all of the shopping, list making, and talking to Santa the big day was finally here. Not surprisingly Campbell was the first one up. The funny thing is that she walked by this sight at least ten times with her flying horse and never once asked to open a gift or even mentioned that Santa had come. I am guessing the horse was enough of a distraction that she never thought to look. We were all cracking up about that.




Once Kaylee got up we let them dig in their stockings while all the adults got their different cameras ready. You would have thought a movie star was in our midst:-) They were so excited to see all the things Santa had left for them. Santa evidently loves the dollar spot at Target as much as their Mommy.






Once the unwrapping of the presents started I was pleasantly surprised. They both really waited on each other to see what the other one got before going on to their next present. We were able to really witness the joy each of them expressed at the surprise of each gift.

This is Campbell bursting with excitement over the Alexa Barbie from the Diamond Castle movie. Since everything she asked for was from this movie she was thrilled. Santa along with some other helpers (aka Papa and Nana) were very good to her.






Kaylee on the other hand asked for a variety of things but the one thing main item on her list was the Kit American Girl doll and her friend Ruthie. Since seeing the movie way before Christmas these items had been tops on her list. She was thrilled!










A quick photo with Papa and Nana. Merry Christmas to all!!

Christmas Day Take Two!

Around lunch time on Christmas my Uncle Don, Aunt Trudy, and cousin Duncan showed up to celebrate with all of us too. Can you tell from the picture that the girls were excited? What you cannot see from the picture is after opening gifts from Santa and Nana and Papa, Campbell realized she did not get one of the three main things on her list. There was a little crying involved after that. Little did she know that the gift was coming later:-)



Once we had eaten a yummy lunch of chicken enchiladas and beef enchiladas along with several sides we were almost too full to move from the table. Of course the girls would not have let us get away with that. I did manage to get a quick photo of the girls with their Great Aunt Trudy before the festivities began again.






Here is a picture of the one thing Campbell really wanted...her Anika skaters as she called them. To the rest of us they are just roller skates:-) Great Papaw came through for her. I will always cherish the memory of her Great Uncle Don and Great Aunt Trudy helping her skate back and forth from the street to the driveway, the look of pure joy on her face, and her laughter ringing in our ears. What a wonderful gift!




Kaylee was excited to get some skates as well even though you cannot tell from the picture. She is full of determination while having Duncan help her.The laughter from her lips was also music to my ears whenever Duncan would help her roll down the slope in the driveway. There were a few times that I thought she was going to take both of them out. Those were the funniest for her and us too:-) I am so glad we all got to make such great memories together.











The men and Kaylee spent the rest of the day doing this...
































I think I know what the men in my life need for their next gift.





While the rest of the family played Wii my Mom, Aunt, and I went to see Marley and Me along with what seemed like all of Waco. I highly recommend the movie but take a box of tissue with you especially if you are a dog lover. We had such a wonderful time with our family and left very blessed. Thank you to all of you for making this year so memorable and magical for Kaylee and Campbell. We are so loved and we love each of you so much!

Merry Christmas 2008!

A Time for Friends

Today we had the special treat of getting to break bread with some sweet friends of ours; Cody, Niki, and Aniston. They were on their way to spend Christmas in a town nearby with their families and decided to make time for us. We are so glad that they did! The girls had so much fun playing with Aniston and the adults had fun catching up on our lives too. It felt as if time had stood still for a moment and we were back in Sachse and they had just come over for dinner like old times. Then our girls would walk in the room and the reality of just how much time has passed would hit us. I was there when Aniston was born and now she is almost 6 years old. Really has it been that long? It is nice to know that even though time keeps moving our friendship remains. Thanks for coming by Whites, we hope you will come again soon and we can enjoy more time together sharing memories and making new ones.

Our Family Christmas

Today we decided to have a little early Christmas with the girls. Since we are not home on Christmas day and we want to open a few gifts under our tree each year we open our gifts to each other before we leave town. Kaylee and Campbell were so excited when we told them today would be the day. Being the great Dad that he is, Cary took the girls to the best donut place in town to get breakfast for all of us before the festivities began. After returning home Campbell decided that three donut holes were enough for her and she was ready to get the show on the road. However, she still had to wait on the rest of us.

We all had fun seeing what we had gotten from each other. The girls loved everything that they got especially the remote controlled puppies which are as close as they are getting to the real thing this year:-) When they each opened the sack with them in there Kaylee said, "Well I guess we kinda got a puppy." I thought that was too funny.





After Cary and I exchanged gifts to each other and from the girls Campbell was ready to open some more. Lucky for her there was one more present for each of them hiding somewhere. We had Campbell go in her room and there stood the one thing she had asked for the most. Of course after saying, "That is just what I wanted!" Followed by "Where are the rest of the Diamond Castle Princesses and the horse and carriage?" I told her we would have to wait on Santa and see what he had in mind. She seemed satisfied with my answer and quickly started playing. She was definitely all smiles.






Next up was Kaylee. We had her go in her room and there on her bed was a basketball. She was very excited! Cary proceeded to ask her where she was going to play basketball. She said, "Well you need a hoop, that is what I wanted." Cary then asked, "Hmmm where would you find a hoop?" Kaylee immediately exclaimed, "Outside!" then looked at us to see if there might be one somewhere. We told her to go look outside and see. As you can see from the picture she was not disappointed. The only sad part was that it was 20 degrees so she could only play for a few minutes. Hopefully one day soon the weather will cooperate so she can enjoy her new toy. She too was smiling from ear to ear.

I cannot wait for Christmas morning because they are both so animated this year and are really getting into the season. Their reaction definitely makes all the shopping worth it.

Christmas Lights Tour

One of our Christmas traditions is to go look at Christmas lights and we decided with not much time left before Christmas tonight would be the best night. So while Cary was doing some last minute Christmas shopping I got the girls cleaned up and in their pajamas so they could be comfortable while looking around town. I also knew there was a Santa at one of our stops and thought a picture with Santa in their pajamas would be cute. As you can see they were both very excited. I also fixed some hot chocolate in their thermal Christmas cups so that they would stay nice and warm. Once Cary arrived home we were off. We drove around our neighborhood first and saw a lot of "pretty lights" as Campbell kept calling them. They both kept telling each other to look out the other one's window so as not to miss a single decoration.

Next we were off to Christmas Lane which takes place at a State School here in town. They really go all out on the displays which different organizations and business in the community sponsor. The girls were beyond thrilled.





Kaylee and Cary liked the Santa on vacation the best.










Campbell and I loved the bride in front of the church. (I do not know how she will fit through the door being so much taller than the church.)






At the end of the road you can go inside a building they have all decorated with different animated scenes along with Santa. I could not believe that this is the year neither one of my girls were shy or put up any kind of struggle when it was time to sit on Santa's lap. Both of them even talked to him after the picture and gave him their list clearly and loud enough for him to hear. It was so wonderful! Now if I could only get them both to look at the camera. (I have no idea what Kaylee was looking at but out of the five pictures she is not looking at the camera once.)






I loved this picture!










Once we had seen everything Christmas Lane had to offer we went on to another neighborhood in town which never disappoints to look at their lights. After about 10 minutes of driving around that area this is what we saw in the back seat. It was before 9:00pm!





Followed about 15 minutes later by this...



I guess all the excitement of seeing Christmas lights and sitting with Santa just wore them out. When we got home they both crawled into their beds without a peep.

Yeah for the Christmas lights tradition!

Christmas Parties Galore!

Thursday was a very busy and exciting day around our house. Both girls had their school parties on the same day which made for one busy Mom trying to get to both of the parties which are about ten minutes away from each other which is not much, but when one party is from 10:30-11:30 and the other is from 11:30-12:30 it can be a little hectic. I am happy to say I made it to both and did not miss a thing:-)




Kaylee's Christmas Party was first on the list. When I entered her class they were all sitting in a circle passing a stuffed Santa bear around and when the music stopped that person got to pick a prize from the teacher out of the treasure chest and then start on cookie decorating and ornament making. I thought it was a very organized way of letting a few students at a time get started so as to not overwhelm the parents in charge of the party. Kaylee was so excited that I was there to watch her and meet some of her new friends she has made this year.


They also had a puzzle exchange and Kaylee was very pleased to get a penguin puzzle. After a quick good-bye to her teacher and a picture of all the students and their puzzles ( don't they look like a lively group?) we were off to Campbell's Christmas Party.






When we arrived at Campbell's school they were just getting back to the classroom after having some play time. The party table was all set up with Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets, chips, and fruit. A feast fit for some hungery three and four year olds. Campbell was very excited to have Kaylee and Mom there for her special day. For a few minutes she was a little clingy but once she saw the food it took priority.
This picture is Campbell eating with one of her best buddies "M".






Here is half of the class eating quietly.











Here Campbell is waiting patiently or at least trying while they have a puzzle exchange. She was pretty excited about her Cars puzzle...I think mainly because there were no Princess puzzles around.









Here is our attempt at a good picture of the three of us. I think they both turned out pretty good. (Thanks, Kristi) It was a very fun day for all of us and I am so thankful for these moments.