A Very Christmas and a Happy New Year

We are back in NC after a great ten days in Ohio. It was a shorter trip this year since the kids went to school until the Wednesday before Christmas, but we packed in plenty of memory making.

One of the things I am most grateful for is a sister who takes pictures because you know how many I took since we were in Asheville: zero. I'm the worst. I think I just get so caught up in enjoying and soaking it all in I just forget. I only half regret that.

We started our travels in Napoleon, and this year we all donned matching sock monkey pajamas:

 Somehow Daddy and Nana avoided the pajama pictures.

We spent the time leading up to Christmas baking cookies:

 And playing in the snow:

 And doing a puzzle:

 We had big plans for other outings, but in the end, we all just wanted to stay cozy. It was just too nice to be together and enjoy the little things.

We switched up Christmas Eve this year and went Mediterranean. We had lamb, lentils, and a Greek salad for dinner, but the appetizers stole the show:

 My sister's red pepper feta dip is incredible. My taste buddies are still dancing.

My crazy kids agreed to take a few Christmas Eve pictures, but they might have been a little wound. The dab anyone?

 There are my smiling, slightly more normal kiddos:

 Uncle Jeff delayed the picture taking by two minutes, and in that time the kids and Aunt Shannon became the chipmunks:

 Thankfully, Uncle Jeff saved us all:

 Nana and her kids:

 Issa was the queen of bows this year:

 And Evan thoroughly enjoyed the whole S'mores on Christmas Eve concept:

 We all did! There is just something cozy about the whole idea:

 With full bellies, the treats were prepared for Santa and his crew. If you can't quite read Evan's note, it says, "Dear Santa, Be careful of the hearth. Love, Evan." (Nana still has a bruise on her shin from that hearth.)

 Both kids said they heard the sleigh bells, and we all woke up bright and early Christmas morning. I love this picture of Issa and Daddy:

 Two cute kids:

 Santa filled the stockings:

 And Issa claimed the bows:

 Santa brought Evan two huge Nerf guns and plenty of darts:

 He brought Issa Lea, the American Girl Doll of the Year:

 We spent the rest of Christmas morning at the Slights with the whole crew:

 One of the highlights was the blankets Becca made for each of the littles. Issa loves her ballerinas:

 Evan loves his Darth Vader:

 But Brad is absolutely giddy about his science beakers:

 Becca made blankets many years ago for everyone, and Brad loved them so much she made him one then. When the new ones appeared, Brad started raving about his old one, and he went nuts when she went and pulled a new one out for him, too. It was one of the highlights of Christmas.

I was able to snag my annual Christmas Day family photo:

I sure do love this crew.

The day after Christmas, we were able to snag a visit with Papa Rich, Hildegard, Denny, Diana, and Laura. It's been ages since we have seen all of them, and it was such a nice morning.

From there, we headed to Papa Don's house. We spent the afternoon there just being. The following day was our Christmas celebration there. We spent the day crafting and relaxing. Grandma Nancy taught Issa how to make pot holders, and one of the highlights of my Christmas was watching Papa Don and Evan watch a submarine war movie. Brad and I made a big Christmas dinner, and we went to see the famous lights in the park. It was just blissful.

The next morning we headed to Grandma Pat and Grandpa Kevin's. The kids were thrilled to have so much time with their cousins there. I'm still not sure what was so hysterical about the Legos in the basement, and I'm pretty positive I don't really want to know, but I sure did love listening to all that laughter. The next day we ditched any plans during the day in favor of building gingerbread houses and just enjoying some time together. We finished just in time to go celebrate Grandma's birthday and then hang out with the cousins a little more. It's still so strange to see Issa as the big cousin with Hadley, but it sure does warm my heart.

We made our way back here on Friday, and we spent Saturday and Sunday settling back in. We did our annual New Year's purge, which included a full trash bin and four big boxes to Goodwill. We rearranged some furniture and even packed up the Christmas decorations. We still managed to try out Daddy's new deep dish pan and Issa's new popcorn popper for New Year's Eve.

Today, we treated ourselves to a lunch out and a trip to see Sing, which was a super cute movie. It was the perfect way to end the break before we head back to reality tomorrow.

It certainly feels like 2017 is going to be a great year...