Christmas Eve 2015

Todd & I both worked half days last Wednesday (December 23) so we could drive up to be with Todd's family that evening and on Christmas Eve.  His family has a big family party on Christmas Eve that we always try to go up for.  It just makes it a bit challenging because we drive home that evening to be at our house for Christmas morning.  Todd is off work from Christmas Eve until after New Year's every year due to factory shutdown at Honda (and so they let all the engineers at Honda R&D off too) but I only ever get Christmas day off.  This is our busiest time at work but luckily only one other person had requested off on Christmas Eve so I was also able to take a vacation day.  It made it a lot more relaxing this year going up a day early because some years I have to work a half day on Christmas Eve and then we make the 3 hour drive up just to be at the party for a few hours and then drive back home.  Anyways, we made it up in time for dinner on December 23 and hung out with the family at his parent's house that evening.  

On Christmas Eve morning, my sister-in-law's family came over so we could all exchange gifts and open presents together.  It was really fun this year to watch Lucy open her presents and play with her cousins.  She definitely has a blast with "Andrew Audrey" (she apparently thinks they're 1 person and never says "Andrew and Audrey") and almost a week later she is still talking about playing with them.

Lucy with all the presents from MaMa & PaPa

Cousins posing under the tree

The whole family

Opening their stockings first

Excited to open a big present!

Lucy & Audrey got matching chairs for their bitty babies

Everyone opening presents

Mr. Potato Head!

Lucy was excited to show off her new blue converse kicks

Snuggled up and playing with their babies

Later that afternoon, we got dressed up for Christmas Eve mass and then came back to Todd's parents' house for the Christmas Eve party.  There weren't quite as many people there this year (maybe around 25-30?) but it was nice to visit with everyone, a lot of them which we hadn't seen either since last Christmas Eve or Easter.  Once Santa came to see all the kids, we changed Lucy into her pjs and headed back home, arriving back in Columbus around 12:30 AM.

After mass

Lucy & her cousins again 

 All the kids at the Christmas Eve party  

PaPa and his granddaughters

Lucy sitting on Santa's lap with Andrew

Opening her present from Santa (although she was disappointed it wasn't the Jake the Pirate Legos she'd been asking for....she even went back and looked in Santa's sack for them, I told her Santa might bring them to our house on Christmas morning)

Sleeping on the drive home with Daniel Tiger