Christmas in NJ- Part 2

On Christmas Day, we went to church as a family and then my mom's side of the family came over. It was a bit more chaotic with a lot more people in the house that day, but the chaos is what makes it so fun! :) It was great to be able to see all of my aunts, uncles and cousins again, and they all loved seeing the girls- most were meeting them for the first time. Kaden loved playing with my youngest cousins, and I wish we lived closer so he could spend more time with his his 2nd cousins.

Brian was very excited about finally getting his new extension cord!

Kaden's reaction to Andy's new MI sweatshirt. I'm pretty sure he's saying, "GO BLUE!"

My cousins Kenny and Kelly holding the girls

Kaden playing his new drum. My cousin Sammie made crafts for their family at school for Christmas, and she decided she wanted to make this drum for Kaden instead of making something for her parents. Isn't that the sweetest thing? Kaden loved it, and I could tell that made Sammie very happy!

Makenna takes a nap on my cousin, Kim

My Grandpa opening one of his gifts. After all of his health problems this year, it was a blessing being able to celebrate Christmas with him and my Grandma!

Kenny entertaining the girls as they relaxed by the Christmas tree.

Maya, Kaden, and Makenna in their matching Christmas PJ's. It's tradition that we match in our PJ's on Christmas night. You might recall past years where Andy and I even coordinated. We'll stick to the kids matching in their PJ's from now on.

The rest of our time in NJ was spent hanging out with the family, shopping for some good deals (and NO tax on clothes in NJ!!), and eating lots of great food. It was so nice to be in NJ with my family for Christmas! We ended up staying an extra day due to a bad weather forecast for traveling, so we left on Wednesday, Dec. 28 at night. Our trip back was pretty much the same as the trip out to NJ. It took us almost 14 hours of travel time with 2 stops for feeding the girls. Kaden slept much better on the way home and the girls slept the entire time again! I drove a bit more on the way home, which I think was a nice break for Andy. We were exhausted when we arrived home, but we survived. We're still trying to get back to reality over here- putting new toys away, sorting through old ones, catching up on laundry, taking down the decorations. It will all get done eventually, I guess!

Oh, and we can't forget the shoe-shining lesson Andy gave everyone. We got a good laugh out of this one. My brother, Brian had an interview for an internship and his dress shoes were terribly worn. He decided he needed to fix them up, but no one knew how to do it. Since Andy shines his dress shoes on a regular basis, he was the designated teacher. My mom pulled out my Dad's shoe-shining kit and we got a laugh out of its age. All of the polish was cracked and the rag in the kit was starting to decompose- haha! Guess my dad doesn't wear dress shoes anymore?!? :) As you can see from the picture, everyone was very into their lesson, and the results were impressive, too. Way to go, Andy!

Before/After