Christmas Eve

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there...

 We are ready for Christmas in every way possible!  

 The kids starting tracking Santa as soon as they were dressed for our Christmas Eve festivities.

And they waiting oh so impatiently for our guests to arrive.

But they did arrive and we had a fabulous evening full of lots of family, friends, and fun!!  The kids even got to open a couple gifts early.

After dinner and gifts, we headed outside with our neighbors to put out the reindeer food the kids made together.

The Faulkners even had a Christmas lantern for their family and one for ours.  We lit them, made a wish, and let them fly off into the sky.  It was so magical!

The dot in the middle of the picture is our lantern flying away.

And here is a video of the lantern release...

Once back inside, it was time for our final treat of hot chocolate and marshmallows by the tree.

The excitement was in FULL swing at this point.

Notice the bowl on Stetson's head.  Craziness has ensued.

The last task before bed was to put out cookies for Santa.

Great job, kiddos!  They always put out carrots for the reindeer as well.

One last check to see where Santa is.  Who needs a Santa tracker when Daddy has a HUGE spotlight to shine into the night sky?  Stetson thinks he spots him way off in the distance.

We were lucky enough to have Mama Bear, Aunt Mo and Marcy spend the night with us too!  The kids slept with Mama Bear in the media room and were treated to a reading of "The Night Before Christmas" before nodding off.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!