Finally some Christmas

While Rob's not here, I thought I'd FINALLY post our Christmas pictures.  We had a fantastic holiday season and love love LOVE that we get to spend it with family.  This year was the first year that Rob hasn't been playing a brown santa for UPS and we didn't miss it a bit {at least I didn't, Rob kind of missed people being really happy when he rang the doorbell}.  

As my computer lines my pictures up backwards, I'm starting for after Christmas and will work my way back.  {There's to many pictures to change them all around}.

Starting with New Year's Eve:

Rob and his brother Will took the kids out tubing on the 4-wheelers and we picked up my cousin's kids so that they could get some stuff done before her husband left the next day.  They kids had fun and so did Rob.

Will, Madalyn and Jayden

Jayden

Sydney, Chloe, and Madalyn

Gracie, Rob and Keaton 

The day before New Year's eve, I went to my Grandma's so she could help me make a little baby blanket.  We're not finding out the sex, so I found some cute monkey fabric that could go either way.  My Grandma is so awesome to help with these things!  Seriously I'm so grateful for her!

Now to Christmas, the last 2 years for Christmas Eve my brother has been on a mission and they call home on Christmas Eve, so we've been at my parents.  But this year, Tyson was home, so we were at the Riley's.  Rob's family has a tradition of doing a Christmas Eve hike to the canal by their house. {From what I've heard, Rob's dad saw a Hallmark commercial where a dad and a boy were hiking through the snow with old kerosine lanterns and that's all it took for him to want to do it :) Now it's a tradition}  This was my first time going.  It's about 2 miles to and from and we do it a lot on Sundays in the summer, but this was a first time in the snow for me. It actually was quite enjoyable until the last quarter when I really had to relieve my pregnancy bladder.  We just bundled up really well and went with tons of lanterns. It was a fun tradition that honestly I'd be glad to do again.

I got to ride a little of the way in the sled holding Korver

Rob and I {So I really don't want to buy a new winter coat, I'm hoping this one will hold out}

Keaton and Korver

We also had the opportunity to do a secret Santa and had a good time doing that.  She's going to kill me, but Tiff came and helped us run to deliver the gifts, this is her stretching. {Such a nerd!  Love ya Tiffers}

This year for the Petersen Christmas party almost everyone was home!  It as so fantastic!  We just missed my Uncle Ned and Aunt Gina and Tagg and Katie.  For the party Brooks and Amber were gone too, stinky work!  But other than that, we had all the cousins.  13 out of 16 isn't to bad right?

All the Petersen cousins

On the 19th we headed down to Redmond to visit Rob's grandma and had a good time there.  Helen loves to do a fish pond for all the grandkids so we can get prizes and such.  It was the first time I did this too.  We had a great time.

Helen opening our present to her.  We told her to wait until Christmas and she said she'd just wait until we all left and would open all the ones we left anyways so we might as well just stay and watch her open them. 

Gracie fishing

Rob and Gracie playing some foosball.

Fishing

Keaton and Syd and some of their prizes from the pond.  

There you have it, our Christmas in a nutshell.  Rob and I had 2 weeks off, so we ran quite a few errands and just enjoyed each other.  We helped work on a house Rob's family was fixing up, went to IKEA {LOVED IT} and bought a few things for the little tyke {stroller and crib}.  Hopefully everyone else had a good holiday.  We definitely did.