Merry Christmas

Plunging into the gifts...

Giving thanks...

Sleeping on the job

After visiting Santa, Nathan was inspired to stay on the "nice" list, so he created a leaf raking company called "The Friendly Raking Guy." I called the home phone from Jared's cell phone and hired him to rake the leaves in our front yard. He started the job with a zeal that only a 6 year old with a HUGE rake would have. After about 20 minutes, I looked outside and saw this...

Santa strikes again...

We thought we'd be smart by getting there before the doors opened, but apparently everyone had the same thought and we found ourselves in a scene from "The Christmas Story." Like Ralphie, Nathan couldn't wait to get to the front of the line. I had been coaching Rachel the entire morning and whispered bribes in her ear while we waited in line, "Mommy just wants a good picture, so if you don't cry, you'll get a treat," "Santa is so nice, just smile for the picture," etc. We had high hopes of no tears this year but alas, Santa struck again!

Matthew's first visit with Santa. He wasn't impressed.

Happier times while we waited 45 minutes in line.