Christmas Traditions

One Christmas tradition we have started is that on Christmas Eve the kids get to open 1 present.  It is always new Christmas pajamas.  Mostly I do it because I want them wearing cute pajamas for the pictures on Christmas morning.  Otherwise they would be wearing their normally mismatched, hand-me-down assortment of pajamas they usually wear.  As they get older they will know what they are getting but they currently all get really excited about opening a present early and they love new pajamas.

Using Bristol as a pillow as they patiently wait for gifts.

One box...three pairs of pajamas.

Team work to open the gift.

They even match this year!

We started a new Christmas tradition this year.  We let the kids use their coins that they earn for good behavior to buy Christmas presents for their siblings out of the prize box.  Usually it takes 20 coins to get something for yourself, but if you are gifting to someone it is 10 coins.  I collected their money and Brad took them downstairs one at a time and he helped them pick out a present for each of their siblings and then helped them wrap it.  They were so very excited about the presents they picked out for each other!  On Christmas morning the first gifts they wanted to open (after stockings) were the gifts they got each other.  It was so nice to see them excited about giving each other something.   It melted my heart!  At some point we may have to use real money and go to the store, but until then I will just make sure the prize box is stocked around Christmas time.
 

Vincent's gifts to Joel and Cecilia.

Cecilia's gifts to "the brothers".

Joel's gifts to Cecilia and Vincent.

Golf Cart

While we were in Arizona Brad helped Grandma and Papa find a golf cart to buy.  They were really excited about it.  The funny thing is that a couple days after we left Papa's kids had a golf cart delivered to them as a Christmas gift.  What are the chances?!  They were able to sell one of the golf carts with no problem.

I love this picture of them on the golf cart!

Enjoying their new ride!

Hiking with the kids

We promised the kids that we would take them hiking in the mountains.  Right outside my grandparents' subdivision there are what people from Illinois would consider mountains.  If you are from Arizona or somewhere else that has actual mountains you probably call them really large hills, either way we took Joel and Vincent hiking on those mountains.  Aunt Mindi, Jill, Joe, Kasi, Kennidy, Mom, Dave, Brad, the boys and I all went.  Jill was more nervous about the boys climbing than we were.  It wasn’t an easy climb, but both kids seemed to have fun.  Joel was like a little mountain goat climbing right along with Brad.  Vincent did a great job too, he did a little more socializing along the way.

Dave checking out our options for climbing over.

Joe and Brad climbing over the wall.

Walking to the mountain.

Vincent and a cactus.

Vincent was ready to climb and did not want to wait for us.

Brandon, Kasi, Joel, Kennidy, Vincent and Brad before the hike.

Kennidy and Dave.

Jill looking nervous and helping Vincent.

Dave, Kennidy, Kasi, Brandon, Aunt Mindi, Vincent, Jill, Joe, Grandma Dawn, Joel and Brad.

Vincent and Mommy.  I had to stop him to get a picture.

To get out of the subdivision we had two choices.  We could walk a mile or so to the entrance and then back about a mile to the mountain or we could scale the subdivision wall.  Two people took the golf cart all the way around the proper way and drove to the base of the mountain.  The rest of us scaled the wall.  On the way back some of us piled on the golf cart and drove around thru the subdivision entrance.  The rest of them either scaled the wall or walked thru the large drainage tube back into the subdivision.

I don't know what I was doing.  But check out Jill staying very close to Vincent.

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Vincent and mommy!

Brad and his little mountain goat Joel.

Vincent taking in the view.

Joe and Jill.

Sister in laws!

Daddy and Joel at the top.

Mom and Jill.

Aunt Kennidy and Joel.

Aunt Kennidy, Joel and Aunt Kasi.

Joel and a rock....all the way at the top!

Brandon!

Vincent hanging out with Aunt Jill and Uncle Joel.

Grandma Dawn and Joel.

Kasi, Joe, Jill, Vincent, Me, Joel, Brad, Grandma Dawn, Kennidy.

Vincent, Daddy, Joel and Mommy.

Closer up family picture.

Grandma and Papa's subdivision.

Papa Razzi and Grandma Dawn....great picture if only his eyes were open.

Brandon and Kasi.

Jill and Joe.  They look so cute!

Looking around with Papa Razzi.

Looking thru the binoculars with Papa Razzi.

About to start hiking down.

Kennidy and Brandon.  They had to hike back up later because Kennidy dropped her sweatshirt at the top.

Jill and Mom on the way down.

Joel thought it was funny to sit on a cactus and said it didn't hut.  Probably because of his diaper.

It started with Brad jokingly holding him about the cactus, but Joel thought it was funnier to actually sit on it.

Brad tried to stop him from sitting, but Joel was laughing so hard and having fun.

But when they were all done there were actual pieces of the cactus stuck in his pants.

On the way down Joel and Brad were goofing around and Joel “sat” on a cactus.  It was a really fun hike and it is hard to believe that both the boys are old enough to do something like that without being carried along.  They had a lot of fun!  Aunt Kennidy even found a bone for them to play with, we were able to convince them it wasn't allowed on the airplane.  After the hike they remembered that we told them they could climb something they had been calling the cinnamon roll.  It was a metal structure that had stairs that you could hike to the top of and they were not going to be happy unless we went.  So we loaded up and took the short drive to it.

Joel and the bone.

Vincent excited about the bone they found.

Goof balls.

Aunt Kennidy and Vincent.

Joel was a tiny bit nervous.

Joel balancing on a wall...with daddy's help.

After the hike we ended our stay in Arizona with a family dinner before we headed to the airport.  It was a great time in Arizona!  We had a lot of laughs and made a lot of memories!

View from the cinnamon roll.

Grandma Dawn and a tired Joel.