Christmas Day

Christmas dawned clear and cold, with little girls excited about the stockings Santa had filled with little trinkets and Disney pins.

Violet was very excited, and Cora was pleased with her gifts, so she was excited, too.

Later in the day, our house full of people played football in the street with the neighbors.

We hosted the Christmas Day festivities: Melanie and Nick, Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty, and my parents all came over, leading to a bumper crop of gifts under the tree.

We opened some of our gifts before dinner; my girls both spoiled me with presents they'd bought with their own money. Cora chose a mango-scented candle, and Violet gave me a Disney Marie mug for my morning coffee.

Here's Cora opening the little Beanie Boo owl, while exclaiming, "Violet, this is YOURS!"

With the short winter's daylight, we wanted to get outside to open the girls' main gifts before it was too late to enjoy them.

Cora has been using her old roller skates all the time the last few days...

...but she won't need to anymore, since she just opened up her new roller blades! Meanwhile, Violet is getting a first look at her new bicycle!

Cora loved blading so much, she kept her helmet on during dinner. You never know when you might need to rush out and rollerblade.

Dinner was lovely, with lots of help from my wonderful family. Aunt Patty handled my turkey like the pro she is, "spatchcocking" it by cutting out the back bone and flattening the breast bone. This allowed it to cook in about an hour. She, Melanie and my mom all brought side dishes, as well.

Post-dinner relaxation, while we started getting out the rest of the gifts. You can see what we gave Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty on the coffee table - a beach "Christmas tree" with a sea star on top, perfect decor for their beachy life.

Stace will make a headboard for Melanie and Nick's gift, but that is more for Melanie. Here is the gift he knew he wanted to give his brother-in-law: a complete basic tool set.

Melanie and Nick, among other gifts, have vowed to take the girls to Disneyland as a present.

Stace loved his gift from me and the girls - proper slippers, with a hard sole so he can run outside if he needs to. He held off on slippers all these years, deeming them fit for old people. But this year we've had a cold December, and that tile floor of ours is cold!

(Note, see Cora's roller blades? A great footwear choice with a Christmas dress!)

The traditional Christmas group shot - luckily our couch stands in for a tripod, when needed. Thanks, again, Dad, for all these photos.