Our Christmas morning began with Alaina coming into our bedroom saying that she had heard a noise.  She laid in bed with me for a little bit, then we woke up Anthony and Connor.  I took video of coming down the stairs, so no pics of that...

Santa brought Connor the toy that he wanted the most - a remote control helicopter!




One gift that we didn't expect Santa to bring was a treasure chest full of American Flyer trains that were previously broken and sitting in Grandpa's basement.  Santa left some bells from his sleigh, as well as a note telling the story of how we went down the chimney at Grandpa's house to retrieve the trains, then take them to the North Pole to fix them up!  Connor loves having a real train set and asks to always keep it up in his room.  Whenever I hear his engine chugging away, it brings back wonderful memories of hearing that same sound when I was a child.




Lains got lots of lip gloss, and her most desired gift - Stompeez slippers!







I managed to surprise Anthony (not an easy task!) with a Keurig coffee brewer, storage tray, a set of Star Wars mugs, and an assortment of K-cups.










Dr. Connor loves his stocked medical bag and lab coat and is quite disappointed that everyone is healthy and owies are rare.




Kelly hit the nail on the head with this super-soft Marie.  She's wanted a cat for a long time, and this is the closest she'll ever get!




You know the Jedi robe is a good gift when he has to run and get a "lightsaver".




The majority of Alaina's gifts were Lalaloopsies.




Connor picked up a ton of Star Wars action figures!




Thank heavens for technology!  Anthony's family was able to "be there" for most of our Christmas morning!




After all of the presents had been opened, we enjoyed some Christmas pull-aparts.




A beautiful "White Christmas"!




Christmas aftermath!




Alaina's haul:




Connor's:




Anthony's:




And mine:




I'd say we must have all been on the nice list!


We got dressed, then went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for part two!  These men revel in their grody eggnog!




Janet's gift-wrapping job was so pretty I almost didn't want to open it!




The kids were spoiled all over again!










We opened gifts in order of oldest grandchild to youngest, and Alton had about had it with waiting.




We find this pink bag chock-full-o-stuff EVERYWHERE.  Just tonight, it was stowed under the blankets in her bed.




Christmas!




The men all loved receiving their new shirts.  All except Grandpa.







And the ladies sported our stylish crowns/necklaces.




Once Grandma's famous treat-bags were given out, the kids went on a mission to eat it all as fast as possible.




Alaina's favorite item was her candy bracelet.




Connor loved the chapstick, of course.




Anthony enjoyed his cinnamon bears, treats that I would never buy him!




My Lifesaver book brought back great memories of receiving one every year as a kid.




We had a wonderful Christmas season!  We are so grateful to have so many wonderful people in our lives and to be as fortunate as we are.  On the way home that night, Alaina said, "This day was so wonderful", followed by Connor exclaiming, "This is the best day of my ENTIRE LIFE!"  Merry Christmas!