Christmas with the Souter Side

We celebrated Christmas with the Souter's/Schmidts last night! We had a wonderful dinner, with lots of yummy food. Some of our friends from our lifegroup came and joined us, which was so special to have such a nice blend of family and friends and to see how well everyone blended together. We feel so blessed to have such awesome family and friends, so it was perfect to celebrate Christmas all together.



So...the food. The food, the food, the food. It all turned out great, and went together really well! I did hickory smoked orange glazed Cornish hens, grilled zucchini, and Paula Deen's loaded mashed potatoes. Oh my...so yummy! The loaded mashed potatoes were my favorite, and a hit. One couple brought the best rolls from a bakery, another brought a yummy salad with home made dressing. My mom did some more veggies, my favorite raspberry jello salad, and the gravy. And Hannah hit one out of the park with her Triple Chocolate Peppermint Triffle...YUM! Talking after dinner...eating some more cookies everyone brought!

Buddies...Ben and Andrew

We let the boys open one of their presents early so we could all play Hungry Hippos together. Jakey liked it the best...of the kids. I would say that all the adults were more into it then the kids. We all remember it being such better quality when we were younger...my how times have changed! :)
My Nanny and I...I love my grandparents. They are so fit and healthy and always so much fun to be around. I'm glad I got to live by them in Arizona for a few years, that was special. I look forward to spending many more years with them!



Watching the Nativity Story together after dinner, dessert, and some games.

Ok, this is a funny picture, but here's the story. We were opening gifts, and I got Andrew 25 large buckets of balls for the driving range by our house. Apparently, my dad had just bought a card with 50 buckets on it. High roller, Dad. :) Anyways, so I made Andrew a little card that said, "Merry Christmas, 25 buckets of balls, love you, love, Me." Andrew read it, and said, "No, Tom, this is way to much! I can't take this from you!" My dad looked surprised and then I said it was from me. Then we all started laughing because of the "love, Me" that he though was from my dad. Guess you had to be there...

Here's a great picture of Nicole opening her stocking.


The boys opening their new knights...I might already regret buying those, they hurt! Their swords are sharp:)
Every year, we all sleep around the Christmas Tree together...this year was no different. One question is though...WHY??? Just kidding...kind of...but it is fun once the boys calm down and go to sleep:) Here's Andrew all ready to go in my Dad's pajamas!

Here's one more from the other day all together with three generations:)