Countdown to 2011

Just when I'm finally getting used to writing 2010 on my checks....2011 sneaks up on me.  We have exciting New Year's Eve plans - putting the kids to bed and relaxing!  Seriously, at this point, it's my ideal night.  It's been a busy week - here's a little of what we've been up to:
On Christmas Eve, we completed our last Christmas project of the year, which was to make the melted snowman cookies that have been showing up everywhere in blogland.  I didn't have most of the cute decorating things I wanted, but with my only option being to head out to the grocery store for the billionth time, we went the "less is more"  (aka - grab whatever I can find in the pantry) route.  Jackson was super proud of them, so really that's what matters!

Later that evening we headed to church for the Christmas Eve service and then drove around to look at Christmas lights.  When we got back home, it was time for a new tradition - finding the pickle on the Christmas tree.  I have always thought this was such a cute idea (a pickle ornament is hidden and the first one to find it gets a special present) and this year a special friend gave me a pickle ornament!  We decided to hide it on Christmas Eve so it didn't get missed in the craziness of Christmas morning.  Jackson was very excited to find the pickle and wanted to pretend he was going to take a bite out of it for the picture...

His prize was the Yeti car from the Cars movie - to which he remarked, "If anyone else would have found the pickle, this present still would have been for me!"  Smartie pants.

Then the kids got to open their new Christmas jammies...

and then we sent them to bed!

Christmas morning was great, with J being thrilled over every new Star Wars toy and Carly loving on her new baby doll.  We spent most of the day at my in-laws, eating lots of good food and having fun with lots of family!  Unfortunately I forgot my camera :(

We had planned to leave for Western MD Monday, but when we woke up Sunday morning to get ready for church, we saw the weather predictions for a possible 6-10 inches of snow arriving later that day (as it turned out, we only got a dusting)!  Our plans quickly changed and we packed up and headed to Maryland to visit my family.  We spent several days there, exchanging gifts, playing in the snow...

and meeting up with extended family.  There were some bittersweet moments due to some life changes that happened in 2010 - my maternal grandmother moved to a different area, so we were only able to talk to her on the phone for Christmas this year (although we hope to go see her soon!), and my paternal grandmother moved into an Assisted Living.  It is becoming increasingly harder for her to get around, so this year for Christmas, we used the Nursing Home's Multipurpose Room for our family get-together.  We missed the coziness of being in a home, but it was great to see all the family who could be there, and every moment spent with my sweet Grandma is a treasure!
Since coming home, we've been finishing up some projects, playing with all our new toys, making some returns, checking out all the after-Christmas sales, and doing some freezer cooking.  The week has been jam-packed, so yes...now with the kids all snuggled in their beds, it is time to relax with my hubby to ring in the New Year!  Happy 2011!