Dude, I’m exhausted. Christmas spans several days here and I’m ready to sleep for a week now. It started on the 24th with all the activities we did, plus the pajama presents, continued on the 25th, and only ended last night when we visited my parents.

Christmas morning dawned early, but I was tired not because of the hour, but rather because I’m still seven years old apparently – I kept waking up every hour to see if it was time to get up yet. LOSER. We got started by about 6:30 which isn’t too bad considering how excited Hayley was. She shocked me by falling asleep before 9 pm on the 24th so she was raring to go first thing in the morning. Breanna, on the other hand, is more of a sleep fan and was unimpressed to be woken up before she was ready, even in the face of an impressively huge present like this.

That is my favorite picture of the entire holiday because it cracks me up.

The gifts were all a huge hit. Santa brought each of the a little pop up indoor tent, something Hayley had asked for. Hayley got a Dora Backpack chair from Breanna, and Breanna got a Diego Rescue Pack chair from Hayley – I love them because at the end of the day they fold back up into little packs and can be tucked away!

Our gifts from us were what had me so excited. We got Hayley a digital camera (a Fisher Price camera that can take a beating from kids), which was a shock to her and she loved it, then took 180 pictures in one day. Don’t know where she gets THAT from, ahem. We also got her the V-Smile game system which plugs into the TV and has educational games (we got her a Little Mermaid game to go with it), and a stuffed Orca to replace the one she lost. Breanna got a train table, a stuffed monkey, a little penguin, and a Little People house. They also both got a Moon Sand kit from us to share.

Hayley got us gifts too, surprising us with things she took from her own room. She gave Breanna a notepad, George got a heart shaped jewel, and I got a bracelet. She even wrapped them herself, it was very cute.

Usually we go right over to George’s parents’ house but this year we decided to stay home for the morning. The kids got to play with some of their toys right away, I made French toast for breakfast, and Breanna got to take a nice long nap. By the time we got over there around 2, the kids had had a chance to recharge for more gifts. They got a lot of nice clothes (as did I, and George and I got a much needed bathroom makeover by getting a new shower curtain and a lot of nice towels, yay!) and some cool toys. Hayley got a Sea Monkey kit and an Easy Bake Oven, and I don’t know who was more excited (I always wanted those as a kid!). The girls also got a toaster (well, you know what I mean, a toaster for us to operate of course!) that puts Winnie the Pooh and Tigger on your toast. I’m thrilled because I hate our current toaster anyway!

They were both wiped out by the time supper was over (supper was delicious as always). They both started crying as soon as we got home, so we got them both into bed as soon as possible. Breanna was out in five minutes. Hayley lasted about 20 minutes longer, but fell asleep happily in her new tent beside her bed.

On the 26th, we took it easy for awhile, playing more and making sure Breanna got a nap. Then we headed out to see my parents for day three of Christmas. It had been awhile since I saw them so I was happy to be there. I got some more clothes but I got the things I really wanted, some new baking stuff – ceramic muffin tins, cookie sheets (the good, thick kind that won’t warp!), a bread loaf pan, and some cake pans. I was so tired of not having any nice baking stuff. The kids got some more good toys, some board games and blocks and dolls. My sister had sent some stuff up and the e-pets puppy she sent was a huge hit with Hayley. She’s been carrying her around everywhere since yesterday afternoon. And she got me an mp3 player, woot! I spent a chunk of today ripping some of my CDs and sticking them on my new toy.

We stayed for supper and my mom’s spaghetti sauce put even my good sauce to total shame, it was delicious. Also, my father shocked me by making a chocolate cheesecake which was really rich but very good.

Breanna fell asleep on the way home so she was confused when we got here but she managed to get back to sleep by about 9:30 and Hayley was out by then too (in her tent again). George went to visit a friend and I resumed reading my book.

All in all, it was a great Christmas. It was really busy and sometimes I wish it could be stretched out a bit more, like Hanukkah so that it’s not so overwhelming in one fell swoop, but we all had a ton of fun.

And now, I must sleep. But here’s the link to my Christmas 2007 set if you’d like to see more!

I hope your Christmas, if you celebrate, was very merry too!