"Clyde, did Santa eat his cookies?" "Not so well. . . "

(Disclaimer: No worries, it's totally okay to post about Christmas almost two weeks into 2011. I promise. Even three weeks in, if you haven't done yours yet. It's all good.)

So, Santa thought it would be cute to leave a bite of the Milano cookie behind, as well as a bit of milk. Clyde was deeply unsettled by this. (And yes, Santa got store-bought cookies. We got home from Elko at 5pm on Christmas Eve, okay? ANND I had some inside info that Santa loves him some Mint Milanos . . . ) Also, Clyde wrote Santa a letter earlier in the month that we managed never to actually mail/drop off anywhere, so we stuck it out with the cookies as well. It (adorably) reads: 'Dear Santa, I want Star Wars Clone Wars action figures Clyde i am a good boy'. I love that 'i am a good boy' is such an afterthought :).

Luckily Clyde was all right once he realized he could polish off that last cookie :).

And what do you know, Santa came through with just the right action figures, hooray!

All out of the box and ready to play with . . . for hours.

Will's favorite stocking stuffer came not from his own stocking, but from Unky Quinn's: a little plastic harmonica!

Will took to it very quickly, and once Quinn opened his 'real' harmonica from Grandma Pam, they two embarked upon a series of duets. Super hilarious to watch Will imitate how Quinn was playing it!

Will did like his Star Wars yo-yo a great deal as well. I wasn't sure if Will would get into the present-unwrapping thing or not, but he definitely proved to be a fan!

My mom made Chuck his very own fleece blanket (in Boise State colors, of course) so now he doesn't have to try to use Clyde's or Will's which leave his feet sticking out. . .

Chuck took Clyde to the dollar store earlier in December and gave him money for each member of the family and helped him pick out special gifts, which Clyde then loved helping everyone open.

Ooh, pretty fake nails and stickers for Grandma Pam - can't wait to see the special occasion where she busts those out!!

Part of our present for Quinner was shampoo and conditioner to keep his hair nice and soft at college. The funny kid thinks Pantene is a suuuper luxurious brand :). Clyde was just bummed out there wasn't actual soda to drink . . .

This picture makes me laugh so hard - my super sweet laptop from my in-laws with its 17.5 inch screen compared to Quinner's netbook that he bought for school (it's true, though, that if I were schlepping all over BYU campus I'd take the netbook!).

Grandma Pam and Cody got Clyde some Star Wars legos, which served as the afternoon activity.

Christmas late afternoon we met some of my dad's extended family for dinner, which was really nice. Here my Grandpa Pat is regaling his grandchildren with his hilarious stories :).

Then we came home for more fun - like Will experimenting with Playdoh! My little sensory-issue kiddo liked it as long as he could handle it verrry gingerly.

Later my boys all hit the Internet to check out what other action figures/lego sets are out there to eventually add to the new collection. Pretty sure we're cementing our reputation as 'that Star Wars family' more and more every day, much to Heidi's chagrin!

After the little boys were in bed, my mom and brothers and I played a fun new game that my uncle David sent to my mom - Dixit (you really only have to watch the first 3-4 minutes of that video to understand the game). We had all sorts of good laughs (and not just at Quinn's face!), especially when we decided that the 'Storyteller' could only use a song lyric or title.

I made a couple cell phone videos to send to Sam during the game so that he wouldn't feel too left out. I'm a caring sister like that :).

The Sunday before Christmas I opted to wear a (subtly) blue and orange outfit in preparation for the Las Vegas bowl, so the Sunday after Christmas I went with the classic red and green (and white - including the beautiful necklace that my mom made me for Christmas!)

That night my daddi-o came over for a gift exchange. One of the gifts the four of us kids got him was a set of framed pictures of us for his new house to ensure that our smiling faces were quick to adorn the walls :).

And no Christmas would be complete without making Quinn hold up his new clothes for the rest of us to admire! Hahaha, I love you little buddy!

All in all, we had a really nice Christmas (both in Elko and Nampa!) and we're thankful for our wonderful families and how fun it is to spend time together.