A post for our siblings and cousins and grandparents. Lots was happening in the midwest this Christmas. Here are some of our pictures from Kathryn's camera to share with you! We had a gathering of Kara & Chris, Kathryn & Tom, and Krystle & Nathan:
The nativity cast, with our awesome narrator, Grandpa.
It is only Christmas Eve if there is a nativity play with the cousins in costume! (Look at the pitiful little lamb with one antler...) The angel is missing from this pic, and Jared (Roman Soldier) and Corbin (Shepherd) changed roles to Wise Men...
Laura demanded a chance to play the "wittle" violin that hangs on the wall, so Mom helped her out with a 5-minute lesson. That was just perfect. I have a picture of Mom doing this with Jared at the same age, so it's a fun shot.
The frozen lake was a big hit. Jared found an awesome ice weapon...boy heaven.
Kayden had fun with the chunks of ice and snow and was so cute posing for me as we walked around.
Our favorite cousins from the midwest! Claire!
Darryn!
Sweet Elise (the hug factory!)
and tiny Audrey - the ideal sleepy and cuddly baby. Tom enjoyed his time holding her. How did we miss getting a picture of Krystle and Nathan? They provided so many fun cousins for the kids to play with, it'd be a shame not to have any pictures!
Laura on the stairs giving lots of goofy faces for the camera. It's amazing how many times the kids ran up and down the stairs in a day - maybe 300+?
Watching "Brave" all together in the post-Christmas glow.
One of Jared's favorite parts of the trip was discovering real icicles!
Tom is really good at holding babies! A natural. Good thing he'll get lots of practice before the real deal happens again.
Jared and Kayden with the rest of us in the background out at the lake. Throwing rocks and ice chunks onto the surface made awesome sound effects. The favorite was the "plook" as they broke through or "chia-ch-ch-ch-ch-chew" as they shattered on the surface.
Another gratuitous baby shot. See, he loves holding babies!
Christmas morning: Peeking through the railing at all the Christmas loot below.
Laura pulling a "happy" face with Jared's malevolence in the background (he is very proud of it and has put it together all by himself today!)
Kara and Chris (gotcha!)
Grandpa and Grandma with Laura.
Laura running amok off the back path.
Corbin out at the frozen lake with large rocks posed on the frozen surface.
Finally, a peaceful moment for Grandpa!
