And now onto our Christmas Eve celebration with the Hoglund/Ledwein/Hillmann side of the family in Annandale at Gma Bonnie’s and Gpa Dean’s.
We got to Annandale around 2:30pm as we had heard there MIGHT be a chance that Santa would be arriving as early as 3pm that day. Immediately the boys HAD to show Gpa their new Harold and Diesel 10 presents that Santa gave them. When asked, they said they would definitely go sit on Santa’s lap (if he were to come there) and thank him for bringing them exactly what they wanted. BIG TALK (read further). They quickly warmed up and started hanging and playing with their cousins: Taylor, Sophia, Jack and Stella. Evie was really getting loved up … mostly by her female cousins and her Aunt Niecey (Denise). We just hung out for a while and took some family pictures which turned out really nice …. And then we heard the doorbell ring. All the kids went running to the door as Santa came strutting in. It was so cute to hear the gasps and looks of amazement on all the kids faces …. Even Evie. I even caught it in a picture where Evie is just in shock over seeing Santa come walking in. He was such a good Santa too – looked and acted the part – knew a lot of information about all the kids, got them singing Christmas songs and then moved onto the presents in his sack. One by one he called each of them up to sit on his lap (or next to him in my kids’ cases) to give them their presents. My kids….. not quite so smooth, but he got the job done. MacKay started crying and freaking out, so Taylor grabbed him and sat him on her lap next to Santa. After he got his present I quickly reminded him to thank Santa for his Diesel 10 and he VERY quietly said “Sank you for Diesel 10” without ever making eye contact with the man. Evie wasn't so sure about this weird looking fella either and again Taylor needed to step in to bring her up there to sit next to him. She wasn't so terrified sitting on her beloved Taylor’s lap, so we got a pretty decent picture of her with Santa. Now Oscar. ….. Oscar wasn't about to go ANYWHERE near the man other than to just remain sitting in the recliner he felt safe in. When his name got called he refused to go get his present and proceeded to bury his face in the arm of the recliner as if Santa wouldn't be able to see him there. Once Santa realized no one was going to get him out of that chair he decided he would make the effort and went behind the recliner to see if he could coax Oscar out. Eventually he (and we all) gave up and started singing some more Christmas songs …. While Oscar quickly opened his gift. The boys got remote control trains, and Evie got a tea set. After Santa left, Grandpa Dean thought it would be funny to tell the kids that we were going to eat first before opening any more presents ….. good ole Dean. After a bunch of moaning and groaning (and Dean giggling) he finally let them loose and the presents were passed out and ripped into by all. Again…. I would do a severe injustice to everyone if I even tried to list everything they got, so instead, I again will just mention a few of the highlights.
MacKay and Oscar’s interest was sparked when they found out they got both Buzz Lightyear (MacKay) and Woody (Oscar) action figures from the Ledwein family (Tim, Denise and Taylor). These presents were the ONLY presents that replaced Diesel 10 and Harold for a very short period (a couple hours). MacKay would NOT put down Buzz even long enough to eat dinner OR dessert. We had to balance and stand Buzz up at the table in front of him to get him to eat anything. They got some very cute dinosaur shirts and new sippy cups (which we need as we need to replace some of their old ones) from the Hillmann family (Joel, Kelly Jo, Sophia, Jack and Stella) as well. And they were pretty stoked when we showed them their new bedding (that they picked online) that Gma Bonnie and Gpa Dean got for them. They were equally as excited when they both got to open two more Thomas TrackMaster sets and wanted to set them up right then and there.
Evie seemed most excited about the Fisher Price Sing-A-Ma-Jig toy that she got. Chris took it out of the packaging right away for her and she was giggling at the noises it made (and how its mouth opened) every time she/we squeezed its tummy. Bummer though …… it happens every year …. It got mixed in with the Hillmann's things so it got left behind, so she’ll have to wait to play with that again. She too got a cute shirt and sippy cup from the Hillmann family …. And then a whole slew of fun girly things from both Gma Bonnie/Gpa Dean and the Ledwein family: Little People MiniVan, Princess Tent, Little Mommy doll stroller, clothes etc. Stella too, got a princess tent and wanted hers set up…. So Evie and Stella spent quite some time playing in Stella’s tent while we played some dice games and just relaxed. Evie also got a make-over as a present… sort of. All the other big girls got make-up (big) kits for Xmas and as soon as all the presents were opened, all the girls (with Evie in tow) went to the bathroom to doll themselves up.
We also played a couple games with the adults (while the kids played and watched movies in Gma and Gpa’s room) … the dice game (doubles) and the name game. Out of the dice game we ended up with a Bullet Juicer/Blender and a Corona bucket/glassware set. A good time was had by all… and when it was time to go (~9pm) Chris got the car packed with all the presents and I got the kiddos into their PJs, we said our Thank You’s and goodbyes and headed to Gma Chris’s in Coon Rapids for the night, as we were going to be celebrating Xmas Day with her. I was surprised that neither of the boys fell asleep on the ride home …. They clung to their Woody and Buzz Lightyear toys, but were concerned as to the whereabouts of their precious Harold and Diesel 10 – which we told them were packed and they could play with them the next day at Gma Chris’s. We got to Gma Chris’s and quickly unloaded the kids and their bed toys. Evie woke from her little nap but quickly went right back to bed when we laid her down for bed …. And the boys were adamant that they were going to sleep with their Buzz and Woody toys, so we didn't even bother fighting them and let them bring them to bed with them. Thus was the end of the Xmas Eve fun. But here starts the fun of viewing all the fun pictures of our Xmas Eve celebration in Annandale…. Enjoy.
We got to Annandale around 2:30pm as we had heard there MIGHT be a chance that Santa would be arriving as early as 3pm that day. Immediately the boys HAD to show Gpa their new Harold and Diesel 10 presents that Santa gave them. When asked, they said they would definitely go sit on Santa’s lap (if he were to come there) and thank him for bringing them exactly what they wanted. BIG TALK (read further). They quickly warmed up and started hanging and playing with their cousins: Taylor, Sophia, Jack and Stella. Evie was really getting loved up … mostly by her female cousins and her Aunt Niecey (Denise). We just hung out for a while and took some family pictures which turned out really nice …. And then we heard the doorbell ring. All the kids went running to the door as Santa came strutting in. It was so cute to hear the gasps and looks of amazement on all the kids faces …. Even Evie. I even caught it in a picture where Evie is just in shock over seeing Santa come walking in. He was such a good Santa too – looked and acted the part – knew a lot of information about all the kids, got them singing Christmas songs and then moved onto the presents in his sack. One by one he called each of them up to sit on his lap (or next to him in my kids’ cases) to give them their presents. My kids….. not quite so smooth, but he got the job done. MacKay started crying and freaking out, so Taylor grabbed him and sat him on her lap next to Santa. After he got his present I quickly reminded him to thank Santa for his Diesel 10 and he VERY quietly said “Sank you for Diesel 10” without ever making eye contact with the man. Evie wasn't so sure about this weird looking fella either and again Taylor needed to step in to bring her up there to sit next to him. She wasn't so terrified sitting on her beloved Taylor’s lap, so we got a pretty decent picture of her with Santa. Now Oscar. ….. Oscar wasn't about to go ANYWHERE near the man other than to just remain sitting in the recliner he felt safe in. When his name got called he refused to go get his present and proceeded to bury his face in the arm of the recliner as if Santa wouldn't be able to see him there. Once Santa realized no one was going to get him out of that chair he decided he would make the effort and went behind the recliner to see if he could coax Oscar out. Eventually he (and we all) gave up and started singing some more Christmas songs …. While Oscar quickly opened his gift. The boys got remote control trains, and Evie got a tea set. After Santa left, Grandpa Dean thought it would be funny to tell the kids that we were going to eat first before opening any more presents ….. good ole Dean. After a bunch of moaning and groaning (and Dean giggling) he finally let them loose and the presents were passed out and ripped into by all. Again…. I would do a severe injustice to everyone if I even tried to list everything they got, so instead, I again will just mention a few of the highlights.
MacKay and Oscar’s interest was sparked when they found out they got both Buzz Lightyear (MacKay) and Woody (Oscar) action figures from the Ledwein family (Tim, Denise and Taylor). These presents were the ONLY presents that replaced Diesel 10 and Harold for a very short period (a couple hours). MacKay would NOT put down Buzz even long enough to eat dinner OR dessert. We had to balance and stand Buzz up at the table in front of him to get him to eat anything. They got some very cute dinosaur shirts and new sippy cups (which we need as we need to replace some of their old ones) from the Hillmann family (Joel, Kelly Jo, Sophia, Jack and Stella) as well. And they were pretty stoked when we showed them their new bedding (that they picked online) that Gma Bonnie and Gpa Dean got for them. They were equally as excited when they both got to open two more Thomas TrackMaster sets and wanted to set them up right then and there.
Evie seemed most excited about the Fisher Price Sing-A-Ma-Jig toy that she got. Chris took it out of the packaging right away for her and she was giggling at the noises it made (and how its mouth opened) every time she/we squeezed its tummy. Bummer though …… it happens every year …. It got mixed in with the Hillmann's things so it got left behind, so she’ll have to wait to play with that again. She too got a cute shirt and sippy cup from the Hillmann family …. And then a whole slew of fun girly things from both Gma Bonnie/Gpa Dean and the Ledwein family: Little People MiniVan, Princess Tent, Little Mommy doll stroller, clothes etc. Stella too, got a princess tent and wanted hers set up…. So Evie and Stella spent quite some time playing in Stella’s tent while we played some dice games and just relaxed. Evie also got a make-over as a present… sort of. All the other big girls got make-up (big) kits for Xmas and as soon as all the presents were opened, all the girls (with Evie in tow) went to the bathroom to doll themselves up.
We also played a couple games with the adults (while the kids played and watched movies in Gma and Gpa’s room) … the dice game (doubles) and the name game. Out of the dice game we ended up with a Bullet Juicer/Blender and a Corona bucket/glassware set. A good time was had by all… and when it was time to go (~9pm) Chris got the car packed with all the presents and I got the kiddos into their PJs, we said our Thank You’s and goodbyes and headed to Gma Chris’s in Coon Rapids for the night, as we were going to be celebrating Xmas Day with her. I was surprised that neither of the boys fell asleep on the ride home …. They clung to their Woody and Buzz Lightyear toys, but were concerned as to the whereabouts of their precious Harold and Diesel 10 – which we told them were packed and they could play with them the next day at Gma Chris’s. We got to Gma Chris’s and quickly unloaded the kids and their bed toys. Evie woke from her little nap but quickly went right back to bed when we laid her down for bed …. And the boys were adamant that they were going to sleep with their Buzz and Woody toys, so we didn't even bother fighting them and let them bring them to bed with them. Thus was the end of the Xmas Eve fun. But here starts the fun of viewing all the fun pictures of our Xmas Eve celebration in Annandale…. Enjoy.
Upon arrival... Evie got LOTS of loving from her Aunties and (female) cousins.
Evie just being pretty in her dress we got from the MacKay's (my Uncle Denny and Aunt Sandy) for her birthday.
2010 Xmas Family Pictures:
The whole Hoglund/Ledwein/Hillmann Clan
Gma Bonnie and her children, Tim and Kelly Jo
Gma Bonnie and Gpa Dean and their pride and joy .....
Gma Bonnie and Gpa Dean with their handsome grandsons
Gma Bonnie and Gpa Dean with their stunning granddaughters
SANTA'S VISIT:
Evie in awe at Santa's arrival
The Hoglund kids with (or avoiding) Santa...
Taylor, Sophia, Jack and Stella graciously accepting their presents from Santa
Stella and Kelly Jo singing Xmas songs for Santa
Finally time to rip into some presents ..... MacKay & Oscar digging right in, and Evie playing with her Sing-A-Ma-Jig
All the ladies sprucing up in the bathroom with their make-up Xmas presents. Even Evie got a make-over with some light blush.
Oscar and Stella drawing/coloring at Stella's new coloring station .... and Evie having some more fun with Aunt Niecey (Denise) and cousin Taylor
MacKay and Oscar with their beloved Buzz and Woody (Note: check out how Oscar's picture with Woody makes it look like Woody has an abnormally LARGE right ear)
Lastly .... a fun game that Uncle Tim devised as some of the kids were getting bored/restless and needed some excitement .... his famous game of "throw the invisible ball into the paper bag." It was a HIT .... all the kids got into it and would grab the ball out of the bag and go running as far as they could down the hall to throw it into the bag. MacKay and Oscar LOVED this.
Stay tuned ....... coming soon: Xmas Day at Gma Chris's (where poor Evie was miserable with a recurring temperature all day/night long)
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