A Very Williamson Christmas (Part 3 of 3)

I forgot to mention in my previous post. Not only did we wake up to house full of gifts, but also, a yard full of SNOW! This is the first time I have ever had a white Christmas and it was beautiful. (I did not take a single picture though).

Christmas day, our plan was to head to Hot Springs to have Christmas with my parents and all my Dad's side of the family. I was SO worried when I heard the forecast that we were not going to be able to make it.

About 11, Travis took a short drive and said we could go. I packed everyone so FAST! We loaded the car with three kids, 4 suitcases, 2 diaper bags, a computer bag and tons of gifts and headed to Hot Springs. My dad called me before Alma and told me we better go through Little Rock. It was quite possibly the LONGEST trip of our lives, but we made it!

(BTW, I was a BAD photographer at my parents)

We had steak, twice baked potatoes, stuffed mushrooms and grilled asparagus when we got there. My mom also made some more of her AMAZING cheescake. (Thank-you, Bea Bea, for passing that tradition on!)

We had a blast hanging out and opening gifts with Honey, Daddy Brooks, Uncle Jon and Aunt Nicole. We all got everything we wanted PLUS some! It's always fun to hang out with my parents, because between my Dad and Jon, we are cracking up the whole time.

Saturday morning, Travis and I got to sleep in! My parents are AWESOME and got up with the kids. Although, we only slept until about 8:30, it was still great!

We ate breakfast and lounged around. Finally, we showered and headed over to my grandparents house. Miss Maude made the girls the most adorable Christmas dresses. I don't have a picture from that day, because Hannah was running a fever and before we left, Emma fell and knocked her tooth loose! (Don't worry, I already have a plan to get a faux pic taken this week).

We had so much fun at my grandparents house. All my aunts, uncles and cousins were there. Everyone in the family is so quick witted and funny. We all just laugh and laugh. We played a game called Origins (if you haven't played it, you should...its kinda like Balderdash). My grandpa, then, broke out the guitar and we sang Christmas carols. Finally we ended with a round of the "Twelve Days of Christmas". Everyone gets a part and it's always VERY entertaining.

My mom cooked some delicious Chicken Cacciatore and we all chowed down. (notice a theme here? Almost everything in our family is surrounded with food).

We used to draw names and exchange gifts at my grandparents house. However, as we all get older, it ended up that we got gift cards for everyone and that was just like trading money. So, we decided for the past few years to do a Chinese gift exchanged. My family is very competitve and agressive, so this can get a little heated at times! :) It is always SO MUCH FUN!

All in all, we had such a wonderful Christmas and are so blessed to be able to spend so much time with all of our family. Each year, as we start getting married, moving for new job opportunities and having our own children/traditions, it gets harder and harder. But, I hope that we can continue to do Christmas just like this with both Travis's side and my side.

I hope everyone had as wonderful of a Christmas as we did! :)