Fa La La La La

Amid some of the tough stuff going on, we still had a blessed and super-fun Christmas and especially reveled in celebrating our first Christmas with WanYing!  It sure feels great to have a photo of all six of us wearing the traditional Christmas tie dyes.

Since we celebrated Christmas day on the slopes, we opened presents on Christmas Eve.  Word to the wise - it's really easy to talk your kids into skiing on Christmas, even if it's a crappy snow year, if it means they get to open gifts a day earlier!

Here are my favorite pics from Christmas Eve:

The kids are allowed to wake up whenever they want and open their stockings.  So we woke up (at 7 - hallelujah!) to stocking-wrapping-strewn chaos and kids happily playing with their activity books.

WanYing's super-nutritious Christmas breakfast of a sprinkle donut and astronaut ice cream (from her stocking)

Setting up for our traditional Christmas reading from Luke and reenactment of the nativity story

As is traditional (in our family), it got violent.

The blue puppy was WanYing's addition to the creche.  WanYing wisely kept her distance from the melee and focused on the peaceful blue puppy and sheep in the flocks by night.

Time for gifts!  Girls + dolls + Christmas = pure magic

Sasha, WanYing, and Belle "help" Grammy open her gifts

I love this shot.  Sasha was actually just excited about her Disneyland Kinect game, but it looks like she's about to take WanYing out... and for some reason that amuses me.  Probably because (for once) that's not actually the case.

Seldom has a child been this excited about getting a case of toe warmers for Christmas.  But I defy him to say that he's cold next time we ski!

Buddy's favorite gift of the day - his very own can of Easy Cheese.  Yes, we are all repulsed (and a little fascinated) by this photo

I'm not sure who's more excited about Daddy's new camera, Daddy or Sasha!

A new camera for Daddy to take video on the slopes and paragliding!  It's a bold look, but I think he pulls it off well

I guess that if Ben can be excited about toe warmers, Sam can be excited about a chess timer, right?

New squeaky shoes!

Ben is very excited about tickets to go see Jamie and Adam in the Mythbusters Live tour in January!

But nothing can match his excitement for his new skis!  He tackled us all in gratitude.

Dinner time!

Buddy models a fine crown and the dried corn, a Pennsylvania Dutch dish and family tradition.

The gals model the crowns from their Christmas crackers

WanYing has some crown issues, but manages to maintain the cuteness

Time for Christmas Eve service!

And a special Merry First Christmas to the newest Morningstar!