Christmas Morning!

On Christmas morning we always tell the kids they can't wake us up until 7am. Unfortunately this Christmas morning I was up at 6am with an intestinal bug. :( 

The traditional picture on the stairs. Michael thinks it's bad that I make the kids wait in order to take a picture. I just think of it as prolonging the anticipation! :) 

This years Santa gifts were the kids last real "Santa" gifts. These came out of Santa Al's stash that he had. Of course we will still do Santa gifts, but these were special because they were from Santa Al. 

Ella had been wanting a bracelet kit for a while so it was perfect Santa gift! 

The kids' needs this year were new pillows. There old pillows were so flat and gross from all their drooling! 

Ella drew Owen's name this year and she got him the dart gun that he was wanting. 

Owen got Jack walkie talkies and a Pokemon ball. 

For Ella's want this year she got a Journey Doll. Her name is Chavonne and she's so cute with her red leather jacket and leopard print shoes. 

To go with her doll she got a vet set and a doggie. 

Zeke's want this year was the biggest out of all the presents. 

He got this T-Rex / volcano Imaginext set. I got this on a great deal. It was normally $100, but it was 50% off at Kohls on Black Friday. 

For Owen's wear I got him 2 funny shirts. He loves his Tacocat shirt! 

Also his gaming shirt is fun too! 

Jackson's want was this Pokemon trainer kit and a couple more Pokemon balls.

Zeke got Ella this Barbie head thing that you can do her hair and nails. I had actually found this at Wal-Mart while I was shopping with Ella and Jack. 

There was a whole end cap with all of these on them. I ended up grabbing 4 and I took the picture for proof. I figured they would be great birthday gifts for Ella's friends. Of course when I got up to the checkout they rang up at $29.99. No way! I hit the call button since I was at self checkout. The guy that came over said they couldn't sell them to me at that price. I asked to speak to a manager. She came over and said that they would sell me one of them at that price. I'm sure I could have argued it, but I didn't want to get anyone fired or make a scene so I just bought the one. Then when I went shopping with Zeke and Owen I asked Zeke if he wanted that to be Ella's present and he thought that was a good idea...especially since he only has to pay half and I pay the rest. A $2 Christmas present is pretty good. He did end up getting her another gift....Elena microphone that sings! 

I bought all the kids 'something to read' through Usborne books. Jack's is the Illustrated Adventure Stories. He has spent many days sitting in the living room reading this book. It was definitely a hit! I also got him a set of books that the title character's name is Jack. 

I got Ella 2 books that are duel readers....the top part of the page is easier text that she reads and then the bottom text is harder so the parents read that. It's a great way for her to read without feeling that the weight is all on her shoulders. Of course we are still working towards getting her to be able to read that easier text. 

For Owen I got him a set called the Impossible Quest and then this awesome World Wars book. 

Zeke got a couple Dinosaur books...one is a sticker book and one is a BIG book with fold out pages. 

For Owen's want we got him Call of Duty: Black Ops 1, 2 & 3 for the Xbox. I was a little worried about the games since they have profanity and of course blood, but then I read a review that you can turn the blood, gore and profanity off and I felt better about it. In all honesty he doesn't really play his Xbox games nearly as often as he plays computer games. He's just like his Daddy! 

Jack got Zeke these cool Cars skates that you strap to your shoes. Zeke tried them once and I think they freaked him out so he hasn't tried them again. 

For Jack's wear I got him some funny shirts too! He loves his Dab Cat shirt! 

Also the Flash is Jack's favorite character so that was a no brainer when I saw that shirt. 

I love this shirt for Zeke. Later in the day it totally came true. Michael and I had been getting ready and the kids got into almost all their gifts. Opened them up and scatter things around. I was not happy about that especially since we were heading to Ga-Ga & Pa's later in the day. We usually let them open and play with a couple, but not every single one. 

This shirt cracks me up! 

For Ella's wear I got her a cute outfit that has a matching dolly outfit for Chovonne. Of course Ella did not like the way the leggings felt and later there were tears when we had her wear them to Ga-Ga & Pa's. I also got her boots that are similar to boots that I have. 

Even though I wasn't feeling well I tried not to let the kids know. I got a calendar from Ella she made at school. The kids got me my favorite road trip food...Oberta Cocktail Pepperoni. Michael got me a 6 pack of my favorite chapstick and then he also got a Groupon to get a mani/pedi. About a week before Christmas he also let me buy a Groupon to get my van detailed at Jim's Detail shop. 

Michael got 2 boxes of his favorite cereal...Corn Pops from the kids. 

I got him two henley shirts and then I also bought him this windshield cover for his car so he doesn't have to scrap his windows. 

When it came to our family gifts this year we got 4 games. We bought the 5-6 player expansion for Catan, Seafarers extension for Catan, Ticket to Ride: Trails to Rails and then 5 Crowns. 

When it came to stockings which we honestly always forget about until we are about to leave for Ga-Ga & Pa's I got each of the kids a movie....Ella got Wonder Woman, Owen got Dr. Strange, Jack got Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 and Zeke got Spiderman Homecoming. I also got each of them a few other odds and end.