Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve at Grandma Vikki's:

Sorry, Caleb, you're just a little bit bigger than you were last year! 

 Our annual "Chinese Christmas" with all the cousins--there were 35 of us this year!

And this isn't even all of us...

Sisters!  Jingle-bell Jillian and Kandy Kane Kylie!

and more sisters! Christmas themed names are so tricky...ummm...

Christmas Cookie Kaylin, Apple Cider Alexis, and Christmas Tree T. 

OK, that's enough!

Brad, Mom & Dad, Dylan, Dax and Collin Hansen, and Jonathan

James, Haley, Roya, Amanda, Aliyah, Andrew, Brad & Dad

Christmas Morning at home:

Yay!  Christmas is finally here!

I told them I wanted a picture of them in front of the tree and this is what I got...

Jillian had a very One-D Christmas!  I found some One Direction wrapping paper at the grocery store and wrapped all her presents in it.  I forgot to take a picture of them, though!  Here she is opening a One Direction calendar.

Ben got the whole set of Ender's Games books.

 Kylie sporting her new Adidas slides.

Brad bought an Atari for the family.  It was so much fun to show the kids all the video games that were popular when we were kids!

We had a fairly low-key Christmas gift wise.  One of my favorite gifts was getting to talk to Nathan.  He is slowly adjusting to life in Mexico and fortunately has a very kind, patient, native-Mexican companion.  He says understanding people is challenging and he's trying very hard to stay positive.  He's only been there one week, so he knows it will continue to improve. 

My parents, Corey and her family, and Brad's mom came over for Christmas dinner. Brad cooked a delicious New York strip roast, a change-up from our traditional prime rib.  After dinner, we opened gifts and played Telestrations, the new game that Grandma Susan and Grandpa Tom gave to Ben.  A great evening:  delicious food, great company, and lots of laughs!

Cookie Exchange

Fun times at the Van Aken house!

Getting ready for the cookie exchange:

the cookies are all decorated,

the table is set,

the guests arrive,

and socialize,

Let the eating begin!

It's perfect!

 

We had to cut the very top off the tree, but Ben quickly put it to good use! 

 

Other than that, it was a perfect fit, and we think it's one of our best ever!

 

Another Tradition...Christmas Tree Hunting

Our annual Saturday-After-Thanksgiving-Christmas-Tree-Hunting-Party!

No snow this year, so we were able to get to the very top!

We parked where there was more room, then piled into trucks to go up further.

 

Looking down over the valley...it was forecast to rain, but we had a gorgeous day!

Climbing in the dirt can be just as fun as playing in the snow!

Ben and Andre out hunting.

Look at those happy faces!  They just found our first tree!  We always get two, one for us and one for Grandma Vikki.

obligatory "put the camera on a tree trunk and run to get in the picture" shot.

Cutting off the bottom so we don't have to haul as much up the huge hill.

While Brad and Ben hauled the first tree up, Kylie and I searched for, and found the second, which we had to haul up.  It was much bigger than our first tree...thank goodness Kylie is so strong!

It's a good one! Can't wait to get it home and see if it fits in the living room!

We had a large group this year.  Hansens, Olivers, Ramirezes, Hooyers, Van Akens, Kollodges, and Tatros!

Ninja tree hunters?

Kylie's friend Kate's family is always up there on the same day.

Aren't we lovely?

Ready to haul them home!

Christmas Day

By Christmas, our tree had been up for over a month and was getting pretty droopy.  But the Christmas Spirit was still the same!  The kids woke up about 7:00 to open their stockings  and didn't wake up Brad and I until 8:00. (It gets later every year!)

We said we were going to have a "small" Christmas this year, but it seemed like there were just as many, if not more, presents!

Nate made Ben a cool wooden sword. 

Kylie's favorite gift was a North Face raincoat.  It was the only thing she really wanted this year.

We gave our Cake Boss some cake decorating tools. Oh yeah!

As a gag-gift (kind of...), I gave Brad a portable camping toilet. 

Nate got lots of things he needs for school, including these warm boots.

Ben's big gift was an X-Box, since Nate is taking his to college.

No pictures of me, sorry!  Brad gave me a new blender, since I love to make smoothies.  The one we had, we'd gotten for our wedding almost 20 years ago and it wasn't exactly blending anymore.  After opening presents, we had a delicious breakfast of German pancakes and then everyone relaxed or played with their new toys.

Later in the day, we went over to my mom's for Christmas dinner with my sisters and their families.  I forgot to take a group picture, but we were all there!