Christmas Afternoon/Evening

Greg's mom joined us for dinner in the afternoon. We had Peppered Ribeye, Cheddar and Broccoli Stuffed Potatoes, Caesar salad, Buttery Rolls, and Cappuccino Cheesecake around 2:00. After Carys got up from her nap around 6:00 p.m., we opened stockings. We've fallen into this tradition over the past several years, and it works well for us.

After the kids got up in the morning, Greg whispers in my ear in the kitchen, "Why are the stockings empty?" Yikes! I forgot to fill them. So, we hurriedly sat in the closet filling stockings. It didn't really matter at that point since we didn't open them until 6:00 p.m.!



The kids enjoyed the stuff in their stockings almost as much as their presents. They were small things, but we chose them individually for each of them instead of stuff for everyone.

Carys is looking at her little Tinkerbell projecting flashlight.



Chase smells her Tink body spray.


Gerren checks out his stuff.


When Greg and I were first married, we stopped at a roadside stand to get boiled peanuts... a common thing here in Florida. Now, I love peanuts, so I thought I'd love boiled peanuts as well. Let me tell you, if you are a Yankee like me, forget it! They are SOGGY! Blech! I thought it was so funny that I found a can of boiled peanuts in the grocery store this year and snapped them right up for Greg's stocking! :)

Before we had kids, Greg and I went to the movies every Christmas afternoon or evening. That was hard to do with a bunch of little kids, though. We revived the tradition this year as Carys is finally getting old enough. We went to see Disney's Bedtime Stories. It was fabulous! Greg said he can't remember when he has laughed so hard at a movie. The only one he could come up with was Steel Magnolias. Now how long ago was that? :)