Wanna nut?

I couldn't bury these pictures in with all the chaos of the kids' Christmas spoils.

My Grandpa Jewkes made these really beautiful nut holders for Christmas. Although I did hear he had an apprentice this year... and lucky for me, I happen to know him very well. I love all the handmade gifts my Grandpa has made for me.

It's funny that I took this picture because my Aunt Denise had been taking pictures of Grandpa's hands earlier in the day. She laughed when she saw me snap this. I guess we both had the same thought.

Thanks Grandpa. Now if I could just remember what all these nuts are called.

***Update. At my Grandpa's funeral, my Aunt Denise told a story about the very first thing my Grandpa made as a 14 year old boy in woodshop. A bowl. He gave it to my Grandma Great (his mother) who, several years ago, gave that bowl to my Aunt Denise. When my Grandpa was trying to figure out what to give everyone for Christmas this year, he decided he was too tired and was just going to give us money. But my Aunt and my Dad suggested he make bowls. Just like he had when he was 14. My Dad said he didn't think he would be able to do it. But he got a call from him one day and said he needed his help getting something out of his car. When my Dad got to his house, he saw my Grandpa had bought a new lathe to spin the bowls with. My Dad said he had a big grin on his face and told him he was going to make everyone a nut bowl. But my Grandpa was too sick and tired to finish them. He worked for a couple of minutes and then had to rest for 10 or 15 minutes because he couldn't breathe and his hands hurt too much. He asked my Dad to help him finish them. And as my Dad recounted at the funeral, just like when he was teaching him how to build things as a little boy - handing him the right tools - my Grandpa told my Dad what to do (I think men call that "supervising") while my Dad finished the bowls. They finished the last one on Christmas Eve together. I can picture them working together, the roles reversed, in my Grandpa's workshop. And it brings tears to my eyes.

  

Christmas spoils

I think I'll just let the pictures do the talking. And warning. There are a lot of pictures.

Pearl's loot: American Girl doll (the real one... Santa came through this year), American Girl dog, hopscotch rug, Aggie gear, Brave movie and Tag book, and girl Legos

Fern's loot: motorcycle, train set, car rug, Aggie gear and set of balls, sleeping bag, and Legos

The dog's loot: treats she has already eaten and a few toys she has already broken

Shared loot

My favorite part of Christmas morning? The traditional breakfast casserole, orange rolls, fruit, and OJ.  And getting breakfast/brunch guests throughout the day to help us eat it.

After Christmas morning at our house, we went over to our neighbor's. It's like Santa all over again with David and Vickie! A big riding dump truck and Letter Factory for Cole and another American Girl doll with a whole closet of accessories for Pearl. Oh and 30 lbs. of premium bones for Blu. Spoiled!

And then when you think we can't possibly squeeze anymore fun, family, and presents in, we headed over to my Aunt Julie and Uncle Bob's house for snacks and visiting with my Dad's side of the family. The kids had a blast playing Uncle Bob's drum set... which I am fearful will become the next Santa wish list item for years to come.

The only bad part about staying home for Christmas is the never ending cleanup. I'm not sure where to start....

Dear Santa

Growing up we always spent Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and pretty much the entire week until New Years at my Grandma's house. I can only remember one year being home with just my parents and siblings and I think I was 17. 

So it's a little weird for me still to have Christmas at home. And even weirder that I wanted to come home Christmas Eve and open presents with just us. We got home earlier than I thought we would so we popped some popcorn, watched the "It's Christmas Charlie Brown" movie, read a few Christmas books, and wrote Santa a note with a plate of goodies. 

Pearl was so, so, so excited about Santa coming. She made sure Santa new we'd left him a snack of cookies, hot chocolate, and cashews. The Santa key too... 'cause we don't have a chimney for him to come down. And counted out nine carrots one for each of Santa's reindeer. She also left two notes with her's and Cole's wishes on them. Just in case he'd forgotten.  

I wish you could push pause on this age when everything is magical. 

Day two of presents

Day two of presents was spent at Jeff's parents' house.

Or as I like to think of it, a smorgasbord of snacky foods. Yum. I love snacky foods.

Surprise. More Aggie gear. I had to special order this visor because they don't carry visors at the stores. Now Jeff can finally go to the games in style with the new logo.  Gonna have to order a white one now too.

Even Blu got a Christmas present... she is the favorite now.

Funny side story. The first time I met Jeff's parents I thought they looked just like the perfect Santa and Mrs. Claus. And they are just about as sweet as they are too.

While we were in Logan, it decided to give us a preview of what a "white Christmas" should be! 

And so it begins

And so it begins...

Three days of presents (and three blog posts to commemorate said presents).

First up. My parents' house. 

Can we please open presents now? The kids were dying!

My Grandpa and Grandma Allen were able to stay and watch the chaos, wrapping paper frenzy. They said it has been years since they've been able to watch little kids open presents at Christmas time and they loved it. My Grandpa is so sweet to my Grandma. She has had some major mental health issues the past few years and he has sweetly and gently taken care of her without complaining. Mental health isn't fair... my Grandma isn't my Grandma anymore. I miss being able to talk to her, hear her laugh (and tell an occasional dirty joke). It's like she is lost inside of herself somewhere. I miss her.

It was fun to see Pearl make my Grandma smile, even for a brief minute. She made both her "greats" a book. This one was about a snowflake and a butterfly.

The only picture of me and my Fern. Blurry but I love that little smile. 

Aggie gear. Who would have thought.

I gave my brother this snazzy sweater. Can you guess which one is from me? I thought it looked like something he'd wear when I saw it in the store. Apparently I should have gotten Jesse some new pants though. 

We - and by we, I mean 99% Jeff - made my parents and sister these super cool sunburst mirrors, from This Old House, out of door shims. It took a few weeks to get them all glued, sanded, re-glued, re-sanded, and stained but in the end I think they looked awesome. I'm hoping Jeff has it in him to make me one now. 

But the highlight of the evening came when Jesse opened this present from his wife. No. Your eyes aren't deceiving you. Those are "fornicating reindeer" as my parents' hilarious and amazingly talented neighbor, Maren, named her hand-knitted Christmas caps.

And you know what happens when something funny is said in our family. We can't stop saying it or talking about it. Even if it's a tad irreverent for a Sunday evening two days before Christmas.