Opening Presents

On Christmas Eve, CK and I headed into town to do a little stocking stuffer shopping and also to get a gift for his Great Grandma. We left both girls with Grandma and Aunt Cynthia and headed straight for Sunny's BBQ - our favorite meal in town! After, we visited Target along with just about every other person in town and did our shopping. It was actually a good success.

We returned to the Farm and prepared for the big gift opening event of the evening. Connie made a delicious chili that everyone loved and it was perfect on such a cold night. After dinner we each set out our presents around the fireplace and it was a bit overwhelming - there were SO many! Connie kept saying that they hadn't "gotten much" for the kids since they made a sandbox and bought a bounce house and slide for the kids! Needless to say, there were tons of gifts to go around! The kids had such fun opening their gifts and playing with their things before it was time again to open another gift. Olivia could care less about it all, although she really fell in love with her gifts once I opened them for her. She really loved the animal train music box that her Grandparents bought her. Sofia got a horse set from her Grandparents which was a huge hit for her, as well as hot chocolate mix from her Papa.

All the gifts were opened and toys were being played with when it was time to get the kiddos to bed so Santa could visit. Sofia, Chandler and Jillian each chose a cookie to leave for Santa and Grandma poured a glass of milk which was set next to the fireplace. Everything was ready for Santa's arrival!

Sofia double checks that her stocking is hung and ready.

Kiddos are all bathed, in their pjs and ready to open Christmas presents!

Just "a few" presents this year!

Sofia picks out a gingerbread man

Papa and his girls

My girls and me

Sofia and Olivia in their Santa hats

Another attempt at a group photo....

Sofia and her new suitcase from Grandpa and Grandma!

Olivia and her new backpack from Grandpa and Grandma (and Sofia's new skirt!)

Having fun with her new music train toy! She loves it!

Playing....

Sofia opens new books from her cousins

Fun!

Olivia and her new skirt!

Our little happy Santa's Helper!

All set for Santa's arrival...

Making Gingerbread Houses

This morning we made gingerbread houses and a gingerbread train! It was such fun - I can never get enough of the tradition of making gingerbread houses, and love how much fun Sofia has! Cynthia helped Chandler make the gingerbread train (it looked a lot more complex than the house!) while Sofia and Jillian worked on a gingerbread house (I supervised a bit). Everyone had a great time and the kids made a great train and house together. After they were done, they all headed out to play in the bounce house.

Chandler and Sofia hitting the sandbox minutes after waking up!

Cousins enjoying breakfast together

Olivia and one of her favorite things - a soccer ball

Wee!

Fun in the bounce house - Olivia enjoys being right in the middle of it all!

Having fun!

Sofia having a great time!

Jillian and Sofia start in on their gingerbread house

Everyone hard at work!

The decorating begins

The train takes shape!

The girls and their finished house

Our sweet girl

The decorating cousins!

What a fun morning!

Sofia's first Cub Flight!

After we returned from the train exhibit, we finally convinced Sofia to go up in the Piper Cub for her very first solo ride! CK has tried everything over the past several visits to get her to go up with him and I've offered to go up with her on my lap like when she was a little girl, but nothing has convinced her. Since she was air sick in the Blue Bird several months ago, she's been very reluctant to go flying in anything but the Baron. Finally, CK offered to take her up, fly around once and land without taking her any further, unless she wanted to go. She agreed to it, although seemed very hesitant to do anything but taxi along the ground.

They loaded up in the Cub and taxied to the end of the runway where they waited for quite a long time. I assumed CK was having to re-convince Sofia into it, but he later told me that he was just letting the Cub get warmed up. Soon they were heading down the runway and taking off, CK in the back and Sofia in the front waving to us with an unsure smile on her face. They flew low and it looked like they were coming back as he promised, but soon they were flying a little higher and a little further. CK flew Sofia around for maybe 15-20 minutes before landing. She was SO super excited when she jumped out of the Cub and the first words out of her mouth were, "Mommy, that was awesome! I want to go flying every day!" I know CK was overjoyed that Sofia had fun and I'm so proud that she tried it and enjoyed it, as we all knew she would!

I was able to go up with CK for a bit and we flew over to Orange Lake for awhile. It was really fun - one of my favorite things about visiting the farm. The Cub gives such a great, comfortable view and I always get lost in thought once we're up in the air. It's always so relaxing to me.

Olivia

Hanging out by the Baron

Walking toward the Cub. Love this picture!

Olivia out in the field

Sweet girl

Papa, Olivia and the Cub

Papa and his girls in the Cub

Sofia with a hesitant smile....

Getting ready to go

And they are off! Love that Sofia is waving to us!

And they are up!

Crop duster run....

and Sofia has a very happy smile on her face!

That was awesome!

Grandma and Grandpa's for Christmas

On Saturday morning we loaded up the Baron with just about everything we own and headed to Florida to Grandma and Grandpa's house. As usual, the gals settled in quickly and relaxed while we flew across the countryside, eventually napping just before we stopped in Mobile, Alabama for lunch. We met with CK's friend Jan for lunch as she was visiting her Mom from Washington DC. Jan was one of CK's first friends I met when we started dating and I've always thought she was one of the kindest, warmest ladies I've met. It was great to catch up and hear how she's doing and hope it won't be another few years before we see each other again.

We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's and Sofia couldn't be more excited to be there and see her Grandparents! We settled in while the girls played in the house and caught up with Grandma and Grandpa.

The next day, after Meeting, we headed into town for lunch and then went to see the train exhibit at the community college, which we did two years ago. I was surprised Sofia didn't remember our prior visit and she was completely enthralled all over again. It was fun walking around seeing the intricate set up and watching the trains and I love that Sofia is still into it all even though she may not play with her trains much at home. Olivia also loved it, although I think because it moved so quickly! She kept pointing and saying "See it?" and then would look at her Grandpa or whoever was holding her. It was really a lot of fun!

With Jan after a great lunch!

Watching trains

I love how interested she is in all of them

Watching the trains go by

"See it?"

With Grandma and Grandpa

The four of us

Olivia in her Christmas dress (but not a Christmas smile)

Having fun with Papa

Olivia exploring