Jingle All the Way to Christmas Day!!

We spent the first night of Christmas break building a sweet, yet sturdy gingerbread house!!

 

Peyton and I were the official candy tasters!!

  

We worked together and paid attention to every last detail!

 

TAH DAH!!  Isn't it awesome?! 

On Saturday night, we joined a golf cart parade around Nederland!  It was a little chilly, but we bundled up, sang Christmas carols, and enjoyed the lights of the golf carts around us and decorations on homes around our town!!

We loved seeing Christmas Bulldogs in yards all over Nederland!  Peyton jumped out to wish these bulldogs a Happy Holiday and made it back on the golf cart just in time to get going!!

It was a fun night!  We were surprised and excited to see traffic yield to us as we crossed streets and toured neighborhoods!  We were not an "official" parade, but the cars stopped to enjoy our lights and they waved as we passed!  There is nothing more wornderful than small town living and holiday spirit!!

On Sunday, we enjoyed a special visit with our Bell Family second cousins!  We spent the day playing outside (mostly on our new trampoline!), eating, talking, laughing, and playing some more!!  Here is a picture of the whole Bell Bunch... McKenna Cunningham, Ryan, Tyler Champagne, ME, Dylan, Peyton, Katy Champagne, Avery Cunningham, and Sam & Carson Champagne ...we had a great time!

After a good night's rest, we woke up bright-eyed and ready to celebrate the eve of Christmas Day!  We started with breakfast and gifts at Nana's!!

We tore into our first gift together... a stationary baseball hitting machine.  The perfect gift for these baseball-loving boys!!

We opened our gifts one at a time, from oldest to youngest, and we sure loved our new gear... Under Armour, Nike, Reebok, Easton, Addidas... we LOVE them, every one!!  Ryan opened a pair of running shoes, a pair of basketball shoes, and this long-sleeve Under Armour!

 

Dylan loved his Nike shirt, running shoes, and he was very excited to open the black and gold batting gloves that he had been asking for!!

I unwrapped running shoes, baseketball shoes, and an Addidas shirt.  I opened each gift with a smile, but I expecially loved my new  running shoes!!!  I had a very specific request when it came to running shoes, so I got to go with Nana to pick them, but only under the condition that I erase that shopping trip from my memory and be surprised on Christmas Eve.  I did just that... I was thrilled to see my cool new Nike shoes for the "first time"!! 

Peyton loves shoes more than the rest of us, so he was thrilled to see his new footwear!!  He also got a LeapPad learning tablet and he was super excited to learn and play!

After unwrapping gifts, trying on our new sports apparel, and cleaning up the "sea of wrapping paper," we headed home to shower and get dressed for Aunt Allie's birthday lunch!  On our way out, we noticed that Brett the Elf had brought a special gift for us to share on the night before Christmas, a book titled Santa is Coming to Texas .  We will surely read this together before bedtime tonight!!

We met Aunt Allie, Uncle Jerry, and Granna at Red Lobster to celebrate Aunt Allie's 25th Birthday!!  Her 25th year was great, but her 26th will bring a precious baby into our family.... we are so excited to meet that little one in June... we think that this will be her best year yet!!

xoxo  Birthday hugs and Birthday gifts  xoxo

Granna with her girls!!

Peyton couldn't resist giving Aunt Allie one more BIG HUG!!

After celebrating Aunt Allie, we celebrated Jesus at Christmas Eve Mass!

Christmas Eve pictures complete with a DOGPILE!
Merry Christmas from The Bell Boys!!

While waiting for our final celebration of the day to begin, we put on our comfortable clothes, and Momma took pictures of us with our "room trees"!  Ryan and Dylan's tree showed their Aggie Spirit, while Peyton and I loved our tree of black and gold... Go Bulldogs!!

We were all ready for our final Christmas Eve enjoyment, and then off to bed!!

A little pre-gift silliness; but no matter how silly, our family thinks that we are the greatest gifts!!

Our gifts from Granna, Aunt Allie, and Uncle Jerry were opened youngest to oldest!  Peyton was very excited to get started!!

Wreck-It Ralph hands... just perfect for our Peyton!!


I got my first Under Armour hoodie... I feel like such a big boy!!

 

A flat-bill LU hat for Dylan!!  He has been wanting a LU cap since baseball season...  now he is ready for the 2013 season...  Go Cards!!

 

Ryan opened a gift with a baseball note!  After reading a poem, he learned that he would enjoy a pitching lesson with one of his favorite baseball inspirations... Mr. Brian Sanches!!  He was all smiles!!

Next, Peyton opened a maroon and white Under Armour and I got a Russell Wilson Seahawks jersey... so cool!

Dylan got a guitar strap with his name embroidered on it and Ryan got a Houston Astros cap (with the old logo...that is now the new logo for the 2013 season!!  All fantastic gifts!!

Love and hugs for Granna!!

Love you Uncle Jerry and Aunt Allie!!

We ended the night with our newest family tradition.  This Christmas, we each drew the name of one of our brothers and went shopping with Daddy to find just the right gift for that brother.  It was a lot more fun than we thought it would be!!  We all looked and thought and carefully considered different options before choosing a gift!  Ryan was so happy about the indoor basketball goal that Peyton chose for him, and Peyton was very excited to open a talking Jake (and the Neverland Pirates) figurine!! I bought a Nerf gun for Dylan the he loved even more than I thought he would, and Dylan picked a Gold Power Ranger figurine for me that I had been wanting forever!!  It was a coincidence that we drew each others names that way, but everything happens for a reason... it was just perfect!! It worked out better than any of us imagined because we were truly just as happy to give a gift as we were to receive!

Peyton and I liked our Santa shirts, but wanted to change into Christmas pajamas before heading off to bed...

...and we couldn't forget the final details.  We sat down together to read our new book Santa is Coming to Texas  (the book that Peyton is standing on in the above photo... he just didn't want anyone else to get their hands on it while Mom was taking our picture!); we set out a piece of fudge and a cup of milk for Santa, and left carrots for the reindeer; we also sprinkled reindeer food on the lawn for the reindeer to enjoy while Santa is working in our house later tonight!  We quickly drifted off to dream with our hearts full of love and joy for this wonderful day that we had together and for the celebration of Christmas Day ahead!!