Looking Back at Christmas Eve

We had a very nice, slow-paced, relaxing Christmas break.  It was just what we all needed!  The kids had several weeks off from school and Tod was off of work.  We were able to get lots of things done around the house- including getting the downstairs room painted and girls moved down there in preparation for making another baby room upstairs!  We really, really enjoyed just being together and not having anything that had to be done!
Some pictures and memories from Christmas Eve:

We decided this year to adopt one of the favorite Anderson Christmas Eve traditions.  During my teenage years, we would go to Salt Lake City and enjoy lunch at Crown Burger...no Crown Burger here in Iowa, so we had to settle for Burger King.  It is a rare treat to have everyone go out to lunch and it was very fun!

Next up, the kids spent some time in the snow.

And then we got ready to go to our friends' house for our annual Christmas Eve gathering.  I love this tradition.  Our friends invite many families to their home who didn't go "home" for Christmas.  We eat and talk and play games...and even though we are not technically related, it feels like a big happy family gathering and makes missing our extended families a little less painful.  Before we head to the gathering, we always take a picture in front of the Christmas tree using the self-timer.

When we finally made it home again after our fun-filled evening, we had to open some new pajamas.

And this year we had decided to do the sibling gift exchange on Christmas Eve so that it didn't get lost in the shuffle.  I loved it!  It is so wonderful to see the kids get SO excited for what they are GIVING.  They could not wait to see what their special someone had picked out for them!  And I had so much fun taking each of them shopping to pick gifts.
Jordan gave Cole a Cardinals hat and Nerf gun:

Then Ashton gave Regan a Princess Baby Doll and Friends Legos:

And Regan gave Jordan a mosaic kit and school supplies for playing school:

And finally, Cole gave Ashton a stuffed puppy and art supplies.  He had told her numerous times what he had gotten for her, but she was still a good sport and acted surprised!

Everyone went to bed happy and SO excited for the next morning!  I'll try to get some Christmas pictures posted next.