Christmas Is For Kids

Okay, so I'm still slightly behind, but I am determined to post Christmas pictures before the end of January! We had a wonderful Christmas season in 2008. Grandma got to visit with us for a couple of days and we had Chad home from the day before Christmas through January 1. We were able to visit with lots of friends and family and we were certainly reminded of how much we have to be grateful for. Here are some pictures from December:The Griswalds tain't got nothin' on the Carlsons! We love to visit the real Christmastown, USA every year. The girls love seeing Joe and Vicki and playing amongst the decorations. Reese loved the singing Christmas trees, but her very favorite ornament was the pink flamingo! It was freezing cold the night we went to visit and yet the girls still didn't want to go home! I don't know what it is about Christmas lights!
We had Aunt Mollie take our family picture one night at church to put in our Christmas letter (which most people got after New Years! Hey, it's early for Christmas '09!) Do you see those cute little munchkins? Don't you just want to reach into your computer and eat them up? They rock! We can't wait to meet Little Mama and fall in love with another one!
One of the best Christmas surprises we got this year was getting to have Grandma stay a weekend with us. We had so much fun with her. The girls were so happy to share their bed and their Princess sheets with her. Little Jesse of course flashed his charm and loved playing with Grandma. We have got to figure out an inexpensive way to get to California! We're saving up our hugs for Grandpa, too.
This image may be disturbing for some viewers. Chad thought it would be great fun to put on his mom's jeans while she was in the shower. This is case-in-point for my belief that just being able to fit something on your body does NOT mean that you should wear it! They were stretch jeans and I believe that Chad made enough room in them for two Pams! : ) Ain't he purty? Any more time in those and I think the button would have popped!
So you can see why Chad had more fun shopping for presents this year than any other year! He got to buy Match Box cars!

Jesse loves cars and was happy to play with all of them-- including the airplanes and helicopters! Can you just imagine the soundtrack?
The girls both got princess umbrellas and once they opened them, their other toys were quickly forgotten! I've decided that practicality is the way to go!
We thought we hit the jackpot with the umbrellas, but that was because they hadn't opened up the microphones yet! We had originally gotten these just for the girls, but the day after that shopping trip, Jesse was singing songs all day long and we knew that he would love one, too! They were a hit! And these aren't fancy-battery-powered-contraptions-- they are made so that they echo and were $3.99! We could have done Christmas for $12.00!

This is really why I titled this post "Christmas Is For Kids." I really don't know who has had more fun with those microphones-- the kids or Chad! : ) Childhood is a state of mind! Chad is awesome!