To Gran-Granny's house we go

After a big Saturday morning breakfast and some naps, we packed up the car and headed out again, this time east to Roseville where my Granny lives (Gran-Granny to the boys). Every Christmas Eve my parents, sister and I always met my aunt and uncle and two cousins out there to eat a yummy meal, open presents, and have some fun. Over the years, the family has grown, but the traditions are the same. Here's a look at Christmas Even at Gran-Granny's house:

I'm not sure how this plan got into action, but Kathy had requested Dad and Derek play some Christmas music to start the night off right, and so they did. Kathy held the hymnal, they played, and we all listened.

Not sure what these faces mean...

It was fun, and they sounded pretty good. Maybe next year Kathy can play the piano and bump it up to a trio. :)

This boy loves his aunt Bubba. He's drawn to her every time we get together. If I can't find him, I always know where to look.

Kennick greeted everyone when they came in the door. "Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Christmas!"

Silly-ness

It's seriously impossible to get a perfect picture of these four. Three three year-olds and a 21 month-old ... it's a very much real-to-life picture.

B is the youngest, so he got to go first! Gran-Granny helped him open his present.

Cool! He seriously weed-eated all night long. It was hysterical! (and since then, our entire house has been trimmed, too)

Kennick got another ZuZhu pet. I'm not sure how I feel about these things. Baylen doesn't either. When it took off running and bouncing, I got the all-overs and B came running to my lap!

Neat-o! Kenle got some magnetic paper dress-up dolls. Why didn't they have these when I was little?!

And Cash got a cool car transporter! All the kids ended up playing with this present, too.

B also got a toolbox and drill, which was a big hit!

My dad made Kenle a doll- baby bed just exactly like the one that Kathy had when she was little. He did a great job on it.

The boys also got a huge box of hunting and fishing figurines and animals. Uncle J.P. helped explain each part, and I think he played a bit with them, too. (Just a note: we had a hard time getting started with letter J is for Jesus last week because when I taught Cash his letters when he was real little, I told him that J was for J.P. So he put up a fight when I told him that J was going to be for Jesus....)

B helped Gran-Granny open her presents, too. I think she loved the helping hand.

She received a gift card tree from mom and Kathy. It had lots of gift cards hanging from it from all her favorite places.

Here's Kathy showing off her new red reading glasses and animal crackers! (The adults usually get silly gifts, not pricey serious ones.)

The kiddos also got cool microphones in their stockings. They sang Jesus Loves Me and Away in a Manger to us while we were cleaning up.

Here's Gran-Granny and the great-grandbabies. I really wanted to get a picture of her and the grandkids with the great-grandbabies, but didn't think about it until we had left. Oh, well, maybe next time.

What a sweet time with family! It was a fun, full-of-laughs way to spend another Christmas Eve.

There were smiles all around.

And my little guy finally started warming up to my cousin, Jeremiah, which made him and me very happy. I so love my family, and am so thankful that we all still get together.