Christmas

 Only 2 weeks past and here are the Christmas pics - that's not too late, is it?  Cause I have some other old stuff coming up so let's hope not.  So Christmas.  We had a good one.  This will forever be known as the "Gator" Christmas because Ben has been asking for a Gator since oh, May or so when he first caught a ride on his cousin Josh's.  He started out by saving his money, but that's a lot of pennies, so someone convinced him to just ask Santa.  My bet's on Cole, but Floyd or Grandpa Clair could easily have been the culprit too.  We've heard a lot of talk about Gators the past few months, which led to a lot of clarification that this was a John Deere Gator we were hoping for and not just some silly alligator toy.  And good news!  Old St. Nick pulled through. 

Ta-dah!

 The fun part was that Cole and Annie have been almost as hopeful as Ben that Santa would bring a Gator, so everyone was thrilled when that was the first thing they saw.

 

 And there were plenty of other goodies to go around - starting with some overloaded stockings.

 Top on Annie's list was a new scooter to replace the one Santa brought last year that got stolen - yes, stolen, from our front yard.  The elves remembered what they made her and sent the very same one - along with a little note not to leave this one out.

 

Santa has it pretty easy with Cole - a large pile of books and he's all smiles.  Until the next day when he has finished them all and needs more.

 Annie got "Caroline," the new American Girl doll.  She looks just like Caroline, so it was a perfect fit.  She loves reading the books that come with them. 

Look away now, Grandma Rose.  You don't want to see this next part.  Santa left someone a BB gun.  And it wasn't Ben, much to his disappointment. And yes, we've told him "you'll shoot your eye out," at least once or twice.

 After the house was sufficiently destroyed, Ben headed out for a little ride on his Gator.  Good thing the weather cooperated a bit that day, cause now I think it will be March before we thaw out enough for another ride (not that Ben hasn't tried, but those aren't snow tires).

 

 And as a little bonus, Santa left the Gator box which is plenty big enough for three kids to fit in, and you know how kids love boxes.  Good times.

That afternoon, we went to Cache Valley to see cousins and grandparents.  Which meant, of course, more presents. 

 

Annie has been wanting a pogo stick for awhile, so she was thrilled with this gift from Grandma and Grandpa.  Especially since it was purple and lit up.  Cole got one too, and Ben is just naturally a little kangaroo, so we are bouncing crazy around here.

 The funnest part of the day was when Josh opened his present from Kaden.  He totally hates BYU, so confusion set in when he opened a lovely little BYU t-shirt.  He's got a good sense of humor, though, so he laughed along with the rest of us.

 

 The real fun came when he opened his real present - a basketball autographed by the entire Utah State team and coaches (even Danny Berger after the incident).  His reaction was classic - way to go, Uncle Jake.  Er, I mean Kaden.  Good present choice.  I think he likes it.

 

 Can it really have been less than two weeks ago?  Time goes so fast.  It will be summer before we know it.  At least, I try to convince myself of that when I walk outside these days.