Christmas 2015 is in the books! It was a really wonderful holiday. We spent time with family and enjoyed our first Christmas in our new home. There was lots of wonderment with 3 kids at such fun ages enjoying such a magical time of year.
We began by meeting up just prior to Christmas with the Reder family at Big Sky Cabin in Nashville, IN. This has become a tradition over the past few years and the cabin is always buzzing (there are 16 people staying there, afterall!). We take turns making big meals and we spend our time watching movies, playing board games, decorating cookies, working on giant jigsaw puzzles, and going for outings around the area. Typically, on the second night of our stay, we exchange gifts and enjoy a "Christmas" dinner. Here are some photos of our time there.
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| Big Sky Cabin, Nashville IN |
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Catching up around the table, post-dinner card games
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There's always a few rounds of triply, Grandpa's favorite
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| Time for the hot tub! |
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| Christmas gift exchange |
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| Tyler got a new Christmas book; fun for Mommy to read to him |
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| Tyler and Grandma play Connect 4 |
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| Tyler and Grandpa play a train board game |
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Cookie decorating
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| Guys' game... |
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| Erik got a Darth Vader waffler maker for Christmas, so we had to try it! |
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| Football on a mild day |
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| Cousin fun! |
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| We caught a showing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (awesome) |
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| Our family of five |
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| The whole Reder crew |
Next up was to head back home to prepare for Christmas morning...
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| Letters to Santa |
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| Christmas Eve fondue party! |
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| Gavin played the role of a shepherd during the Christmas Eve Gospel |
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| It was a little late for Tyler! |
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| Milk and cookies (and carrots) |
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| Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse... |
And morning arrives...
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| Santa brought the giraffe we all wished for! |
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| A merry Christmas morning (still dark outside)! |
After playing for a bit, we piled in the car and headed to Clarendon Hills for a fun Christmas with the Browns! We take walks to the park, play outside in the yard, play trains, play hide-and-seek - lots of play! We are so grateful to be able to spend this special time with family.
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| Park time with the cousins |
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| Special train time with Grandpa |
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| Such a fun Christmas tradition |
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| Delicious Christmas dinner - Swedish meatballs, of course! |
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| Grammy and her grandsons (minus sweet Charlie who was sleeping) |
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| Yum! These Christmas treats are all special family recipes. |
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| We spent a fun day at Brookfield Zoo |
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| All the cousins! |
We had a really fun holiday and are so grateful for family. Merry Christmas!
