After my Dad, Kristi, and family left that afternoon, my Mom and Mark came over for dinner. They ended up having to bring 2 cars because they couldn't fit all the gifts in one car! We actually piled every present we could find into the living room so we could make this massive present pile. "Santa" shopped a little much this year...
While Grayson was out playing bean bags with the guys, Harper and Reese got to enjoy his racetrac. They were so cute - these two little girls racing cars. They didn't know how to actually work it, so they just manually raced the cars around. Haha!
The kids loved playing with Eric and Dane. They are such fun Uncles. They laugh at their jokes, wrestle with them, and think they are so cute. At one point, all the kids were on the coffee table catapulting themselves at Eric. They had a blast!
We eventually sat down and opened presents. This time, it was a bit more chaotic. The kids had already done it and were running around crazy. Plus, more people, more presents, more noise, more trash, etc. Harper was tired and hungry, so she eventually ate some lunch leftovers in the living room while she opened presents at 4:30pm. Grayson got tons of sports clothes and baseball stuff. Reese got lots of toys. Harper got a princess castle and some educational games. Cody got tons of tools. Brian got an exploding target. Kristen got clothes. Eric and Dane got cooler lawn chairs, a dorky Captain's hat, and a monster truck trailer hitch. It was funny watching everyone open gifts. One Brian opened was a 1st Christmas ornament from last year. His face is awesome - love capturing it on film. Eric and Dane bought Grayson a Chicago Cubs jersey and Kristen immediately said No. Haha! She wouldn't even let G wear it. I actually think Eric took it home instead! Then, Dane was passing out a random gift and kept calling out, "Hitch, Hitch." Kristen was so mad because she hadn't put a name on it but it was an actual hitch, so by the time the gift got to Eric, he didn't even need to open it to know what it was. Brian gave Harper some books he got from his school and she was so happy to see Curious George. Eric got a face trimming kit because my mom thought he needed one because he didn't bring his up from Austin. And I got the obligatory A&M Christmas decoration. All in all, it was a good Christmas and everyone got something good (or funny)!!!
I'm not sure what this was about. But this is Reese in tantrum mode. She goes from happy to mad pretty quick. She throws herself on the ground and screams and cries. And when no one really cares, she picks herself back up. Such a turkey!
Mark wanted a new set of golf clubs. He actually went to buy them about a week before Christmas and he and my mom got in a fight about it because she was secretly getting the clubs for him. She gave the clubs to the McCool's and they wrapped them and had them waiting for Mark on Christmas day. Then, when he unwrapped them, he was so excited. Until he opened them and saw that they were a right handed set (he's a lefty). He looked at my mom with this sad, depressed, disappointed look on his face and the whole room started laughing. She kept saying she had bought leftys and he was so sad. Eventually, Eric and Brian let him in on the joke that they were Brian's and his leftys were in a different box. It was so funny! And he was pissed and also excited to find out it was a joke.
One of Harper's last gifts were her new cowboy boots. They are real boots and they are SO cute! We got them a little big so she can wear them longer and she already loves them. She even got on the coffee table to show everyone how she can dance in them. Sweet Reese even wanted up too.
My Grandma Ruth and Ron showed up around dinnertime and we opened their gifts before dinner. Harper got a camera from her which is perfect because she is always trying to take pictures with our cameras. She tells people "Say Cheese", takes a picture of their middle region, and then says "Good one." Grayson got a remote control helicopter from her and all the boys got it going, flying around the kitchen. It was pretty cool until it dive bombed your head.
Picture time again. It happens alot when you have so many different sides of your family. Troy was the photographer this time and just kept snapping pictures. It's awesome to see us trying to get set up, done and trying to convince Kathryn we don't need more poses, and Mark modeling for the camera.
We ate a quick dinner, took a super fast bath, and hit the road for home. It had been a great two days, but we were exhausted and Harper was DONE.
Merry Christmas 2013! It was exceptional!
