The One With Tons of Christmas Photos...

Christmas is finally over.  I put up my tree much earlier this year.  Usually I wait until December but this year I got excited for the season and put up my tree before Thanksgiving.  Oddly enough it made Christmas feel less Christmasy.  I think I used up all my Christmas spirit in November.

This year we had over a week's worth of celebration.  The 22nd the girls & I made Christmas cookies to share with the family before heading out December 23rd for my parents house.

We had the traditional family meal of Danish Ebelskivers.  Christmas Eve is our big day there with my whole family & my maternal grandparents...eating, playing cards & opening mountains of presents!

Then Christmas morning our kids opened the presents from Russ & I.  (We don't 'do' Santa.)  It was a quiet day with just my parents, grandparents & us.

Sunday after church we celebrated with aunts, uncles, & cousins at my paternal grandparent's house.  That was an answer to prayer because we were afraid we were gonna have to cancel due to my grandpa's health but he was doing sooo much better Sunday that things went on as planned.  It was fun.  We had our annual white elephant ornament exchange.

Monday morning we got to eat breakfast with my best friend & her family before they headed back to Michigan.

Then in the afternoon we went to a party and hung out with Russ' cousin from Australia & his family in celebration of his daughter's 3rd birthday.  It was neat watching the kids & their Aussie cousins interact.
 

We came home Monday evening & brought our nephew with us.  Russ sister & the rest of her kids joined us Wednesday.  The plan was for his parents to come Friday and his aunts & uncle to join us for our New Year's Day dinner but we were hit with a blizzard and they were unable to come but the rest of us had an enjoyable week.

This afternoon they departed, and quiet settled over our house.  I took all the Christmas trappings down & put them away.  Christmas is over and 2011 has begun...

Happy New Year, everyone!