Tuesday, December 30, 2014

A Merryman - Brown Family Christmas


Since D.J. and I got married, we have been fortunate enough to be able to celebrate Christmas with both of our families.  We wake up at our own house, open the presents that Santa brought us and then head over to my parents house.  This year seemed to start earlier than last year since I woke up every hour during the night.  Clearly I was afraid I was going to miss Christmas or something. 
Still a kid at heart y’all.
We must have all been really good this year, because Santa was on his A-game this year.  D.J. and I both received lots of great gifts from one another and our family. D.J. got new golf irons, a practice putting green, a new North Face jacket, floor mats for his car, new clothes, and a lot of other presents! I got some great new booties, clothes, Bath and Body lotion and body wash, a new Kate Spade wallet, and most notably, my new obsession, the Canon SL1 with a zoom lens! 
When we open presents at my parents house, Nana always comes over to watch as we open and it’s so much fun seeing what everyone gets.  It’s tradition though that we open presents from the siblings on Christmas Eve.  My Uncle David and Anne came over around 9 a.m. when we were still opening presents and watched as we finished up.  For breakfast we always have cinnamon rolls.  We don’t normally do a big breakfast or anything, just whatever you want! 
Our big family dinner is after church on Christmas Eve at my Aunt Patty’s house.  It’s always so great because everyone is together and my little cousins Liam and Caroline always guarantee us a hilarious prayer.  This year’s prayer went a little like this…
“Dear God, Thank you so much for elves.  They are great because when my brother is being mean, I can tell him and he can work something out with him.”
Gotta love having little cousins.  I swear they make everything so much more magical!

The fambam all dressed up for Christmas Eve Mass


 Clearly you can tell Amelia was thrilled to be taking this photo.


After we opened up the presents at my parents, we drove out to see the little kids at their house to see what Santa brought them.  We packed up the car before we left so then we were ready to hit the road to Fredericksburg when we were done.  
We got on the road to D.J.’s house around 3, grabbed some hibachi express, and were up at the Brown house for Christmas by 6 p.m! Christmas at the Brown’s was a little more hectic this year than last.  With a 3-½ year old, 18 month old, and 4 month old, we had to open presents around nap times, feedings, tantrums and more! I love being able to see the smiles and expressions on their little faces when they open the presents we got them though, such a great feeling!  We spent the rest of Christmas day enjoying the company of family and snuggling up on baby Bryce.
Friday after Christmas, D.J. and I went to town to try and snag a few deals.  I knew that I wanted to get a few things for the kitchen and a nice set of bath towels, so we hit up Kohl’s.  I managed to find some awesome towels half off, use a coupon, and use up some leftover wedding gift cards! We swung by Hobby Lobby to get next years wrapping paper and a few other Christmas items that were 66% off! D.J. got his haircut and then we drove back to the house so D.J. and Dennis could go golfing.  I spent the afternoon watching TV with Sandra and doing some online shopping! We topped the night of with dinner at the Clubhouse and we went to see Wild. 
Saturday was a big day at the Brown House.  For Christmas, all the kids went in on a family photo session and we decided to do it while we were all there for Christmas.  However, we were also hosting the annual Brown Christmas party at their house that day, so everyone was a little stressed.  Taking pictures with three kids, three dogs, and 8 grown adults can get a little crazy, but I think they are going to turn out great!
The party started around 2 and we had people over all afternoon till around 8pm! It is great to see D.J.’s dad’s side of the family.  We had delicious food, lots of laughs, some baby spit up, and scratched off some lottery tickets in honor of his grandma.


Sunday was spent lounging around, playing some family basketball, and watching the Redskins lose.  Typical. 
It was a great Christmas with all our loved ones! I hope you all had as fabulous as a time as The Brown’s did!

1 comment:

Thank you so much for leaving a comment on the blog! I cannot wait to read it and check out your blog! xx, cayte