Christmas Celebrations

Christmas has been over for almost a week now but Todd & I just finished our last holiday celebration yesterday.  Our Christmas celebrations started on Christmas Eve when Todd went up to Leetonia for his family's get together and I worked and then went over to my parents' house to see my brother and his girlfriend who had just flown in from San Francisco.

 

After work on Christmas Eve, I made this Chocolate Peppermint Cake for dessert on Christmas

I was already asleep when Todd got home from Leetonia that evening but we got up together on Christmas morning to get ready for church and to spend the day with my family.

All dressed up after church

Todd & I with Jeff & Kate

My parents, brother, and me

After church and breakfast at my parents' house, Todd & I went back home to open our stockings for each other and to change clothes.  We only live 2-3 miles away so we were back to my parents' house within 30 minutes.

 

Our stockings...they were too heavy to actually hang up with the presents in them

We had set a $22.50 limit (Todd said $20, I said $25 so we compromised) because we just bought a car a few weeks ago.  I thought I did a good job of finding some stuff on sale so Todd could have more presents.

 

Todd got me a "Jenny" straw, DVD, and lululemon hand towel

I was pretty excited about my straw

I got Todd a blu-ray, thermal shirt, underwear, Swedish fish, and Toblerone

Once we got back to my parents' house, we opened presents there

We got a new TV for our bedroom!

We hung out with my family the rest of the day and finished with a delicious dinner and dessert.  We didn't stay too late into the evening because I had to work the next morning.

The next Christmas celebration was a few nights later when I hosted our annual Sexy 7 gift exchange with my high school girlfriends.  If I did my math correctly, this was our 15th gift exchange!  Kinda crazy to think that we've been doing this for half of our lives already.

Sitting around the kitchen table eating and gossiping 

The presents for the gift exchange

Gina wearing thousands of dollars of our wedding bling

My best girlfriends from high school

 

Megan had me in the gift exchange and made me this awesome yoga mat bag and also got me a lululemon towel

Our last Christmas celebration was yesterday in Leetonia with Todd's family.  Since I had to work on Christmas Eve and and wasn't able to make it up, we decided to go up yesterday to exchange gifts and hang out.

Stockings and gifts on the fireplace

The family: Todd & I, his mom & dad, sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew

Andrew loved his big wheel that we got him...it even sparks when you use the hand brake

We were really spoiled and got a lot of great things for our new house including a Rodrick name picture

It was a really great week of hanging out with family & friends but I'll have to be honest, I'm a little ready for the craziness of work and the holidays to settle down and so we can get back to our everyday life.