A White Christmas

 Christmas Eve arrived bringing with it warm temperatures and almost empty slopes so first thing in the morning we hit the mountains and skied until we couldn't ski anymore.  It was such a lovely morning we didn't want it to end but we had cookies to decorate and stockings to open and stories to read before Santa arrived in the morning so we completed a final run and hit the showers - literally.

The first thing we did was hold our 2nd annual Ugly Sweater decorating contest - this year with Uncle Spike joining in.  Which made the competition a bit stiffer as he is known to make ugly cookies even when there is no contest going on.  We frosted and swirled and then added details...and then added some more frosting and even more details.  I'm not sure we ever figured out who won (they were all pretty ugly) but we sure had fun...

It would not be a family event without a bit of liquor...

At that point it was time for dinner and the turkey was nearing perfection -

 As was the table...

 Stuffed with stuffing (and turkey and cranberries and green beans...does it sound like Thanksgiving dinner?  It was actually as we all missed it this year), we opened our stockings.  Which held these pj's for the girls...

And then read our traditional story with Nana and Grampa...

And left our cookies for Santa and the reindeer...

Before heading up to bed with visions of American Girl dolls being left under the tree.

Christmas morning dawned bright and early for us here in the U.S.  The excitement surely plays a part but so does the crazy jet lag.  The girls were incredibly patient, as usual, as we made them wait for everyone to wake up and get coffee/mimosas/kringle and get settled before we allowed them to pass out presents.  But the moment everyone's tush touched a chair we couldn't hold them back any longer.  Our own personal Santa and Rudolph (with some help from B) quickly distributed the gifts and got right down to business...

The girls got to opened all of their gifts first and we just let them tear into them this year.  It takes a lot less time.  Their excitement was at an all time high and it was so much fun to watch their expressions as the discovered what was in each package...especially when it had an AG logo (American Girl for the uninitiated).  And when they got to the big AG gift from Santa they could hardly contain themselves...

Buford even gave out kisses as presents...

Two of their favorite things - a sloth and a gift card from Amazon.

We had some crazy faces and some happy faces...

And we had some shocked and happy girls when they got their new dolls!  It was the only thing they really wanted from Santa they said.

We lost the girls in play shortly after they opened their new dolls and we didn't really see much of them while the adults opened their presents.  But we could hear them - laughing and giggling and playing.  Best sound ever.

The Antics of Fidget the Elf

This is the 5th year we have had Fidget come visit us for the holidays!  The 5th!  Which adds up to 120 days that Fidget has spent in our home making us laugh, creating havoc and generally just making each morning a bit more fun.  It also means 120 different tricks and locations we have found her in...yikes.  But we love her like she is a part of the family and look forward to her arrival on December 1 each year.  I give you the 2016 addition of the Antics of Fidget the Elf...

Day 1 - She's back...

Day 2 - Giving new meaning to Banana Hammock

Day 3 - Got all caught up in the girls hair bows.

Day 4 - Made herself a Rice Krispies elf.

Day 5 - Oh, the Tooth Fairy stopped her from tattling.

Day 6 - Her annual St. Nicholas prank.  This year she stole their stockings and filled them with naughty bucks from Santa.

Day 7 - Choo Choo.  She brought them a train for the tree (or for her...)

Day 8 - Her first sick day in 5 years.

Day 9 - Feeling better and looking for gumballs.  The hard way.

Day 10 - I see you...and so do the pickles and the milk and the juice...

Day 11 - Training our dragon.

Day 12 - Trying to make it to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Day 13 - making snowflakes with my Q-Tips. And then she got stuck because Stinkerbell accidentally touched her foot.

Day 14 - An apology from Stinkerbell and some magic dust from Santa should make it all better.

Day 15 - Sack races.  After reviewing the photo finish it was elephant by a nose.

Day 16 - Guess who is driving us to school today...

Day 17 - Road trip fun.  Rocket and Fidget build snowmen in Nürnberg.

Day 18 - The threesome is up to it again.  This time with crazy stickers on their faces.

Day 19 - Boating with her friends.

Day 20 - She decorated our cabinets with my bows and tinsel...

 Day 21 - Racing us back to the US.  Reindeer are faster than airplanes.

Day 22 - Everyone needs to relax after that long flight.  Maybe the tequila shots weren't the best jet lag fighter.

Day 23 - Checking her Facebook page.

Day 24 - Ready to head back to the North Pole once again.

As always, we had so much fun with Fidget this year.  And as always we will miss her until next year.  Safe travels Fidget...