They got in the Wednesday afternoon before Christmas, just in time for us all to load up and go to Cabellas. There's one located about 25 minutes from our house that we'd never been to, so we took the opportunity to finish out Christmas shopping and let the kids look at all the stuffed animals there. Ava even went hunting with Papa. Good times. After we arrived home and put the babies to bed, we had a wrap-a-thon to get ready for Christmas morning. Go team!
The next day was Christmas Eve, and we had a full day, starting with Jan's Creme Brulee French Toast. Wowsers. That thing is awesome. We also woke up to a lot of new snow on the ground, so the boys jumped into action with snow shovels and the new love of Steve's life: the snow blower. Something about the chore of clearing snow from the driveway with a loud, two-stage snow blower really appeals to males. Which is great, because then I don't have to do it.
So that day we also baked a couple of pies, decorated a ginger bread house (Thank you, Robyn!) and delivered cards and mulling spices to the neighbors. I love that smell!
We went to the Christmas Eve service at our church that afternoon, then came home and took a family pic with Robyn's camera while everyone looked presentable.
Next came a big christmas dinner, complete with china and stemware. The hunk of meat we roasted in the oven turned out ok despite a faulty meat thermometer. I'm glad we didn't ruin things on our first turn to host a holiday meal!
Owen is missing from these photos because he went to bed about 10 minutes into the meal. So it was quiet. More quiet than comfortable, actually, because if we got too loud he'd wake up and start crying.
After dinner, Ava opened one present (pajamas), had some pie (about a tablespoon amount!) and went to bed.
Well, Ava went to bed after she sprinkled the Reindeer Glitter on the front lawn, which consisted of oats and glitter, you know, to lure the reindeer to our house.
The grownups wanted to go to bed too, but we still had a lot of work to do. Dishes, eating more pie, hanging stockings, and setting out the presents. The men built the ginormous electric train that Papa Cooper brought for the kids, setting it up around the base of the tree. Very fun. Owen loved it the next morning. So did Uncle Cory.
Christmas day was so fun. For starters, I go to sleep in a little bit. yes, it's true. When I woke up, there were several grown ups downstairs with Owen, who was sitting next to the train, mesmerized. Uncle Cory was making sure he didn't go Godzilla on the tracks.
Once Ava woke up, things started moving along, starting with the stockings. The St. Louis Coopers brought up all the family stockings, and it was fun to see them all together on the fireplace. Here's Owen digging in.
After stockings, we had to take a break to eat Robyn's famous, homemade cinnamon rolls.
My Goodness. Those things are sick. In a good way.
Then comes the homemade icing on top, which I think consists of butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and more powdered sugar. Oh, baby. I will admit that two weeks later, I ate one of the leftover cinnamon rolls hiding in the back of the fridge. It was still good.
When the feasting ended, we dragged our sugar-coma selves back to the living room to finish gifts. Uncle Cory had to finish his up quickly because he had a flight out in the early afternoon, Boo. But the kids had fun opening the presents and it was nice to lay low all day. Here are some more pics from Christmas.
I love the dress-up phase!!
Papa Cooper got this flashing nose in his stocking and owen was fascinated, so Papa helped him wear it. 
Guy time on the sofa.
Snuggle time with Moots!
Steve's gift from me was a batch of homemade buckeyes. These are his all-time favorite treat, so I thought he would appreciate being married to a wife who knew how to make them. He was excited. : )
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