Christmas at the Bells

We enjoyed a nice quiet Christmas here in Bakersfield. After moving in on Sunday we got to work putting things away and cleaned up the house just in time for Christmas. This was our first time doing Christmas on our own and I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. I think it definitely helped having our kids to enjoy Christmas with but they still were not sure what was going on.
Christmas was small this year. With moving and Eric not starting his job until mid January we could not afford anything big. We did get to take a shopping spree through my parent toy room since they were looking to get rid of some toys. That store was the best because all the toys were free. I found some good stuff in there.

Christmas Eve we were invited to a dinner party by a couple in our new ward. That was really nice especially since they didn't know us. We enjoyed a great dinner with some games and great company. Then we came home and put the kids to bed. One of our traditions for Christmas eve is new pj's. We never got around to buying new pj's so I pulled out a pair that we got a couple of years ago. I think it was important that we matched to make it feel like they were new again. I think it worked. Eric and I wrapped presents while Aaron kept trying to come out of his room. We managed to keep him away from the living room. Then we had some hot chocolate.

Here we are playing with the camera

Santa made the stop to our house. We were a little worried since we just moved. He managed to find us just fine.

Santa brought Aaron a rug with streets all over it and trucks to play with.

Kaylee got her first set of dolls and a book.

Santa heard that Eric was starting a new job soon so he brought Eric a new briefcase for work that can carry his laptop too.

No Picture: Angela got the new Super Mario Bros. game for the Wii and is loving it. (I am just about to beat the game)

The kids not only loved the toys but the wrapping paper too.

Kaylee got some fun toys from Grandma Coleby. She loves her stacking cups.

Aaron was about to open another present but got distracted by the cool trains he got from his cousins.

Grandma Coleby scored once again with these awsome tractors for Aaron.

These kids loved their toys. They played with them all day long.

We had a very Merry Christmas. I think one of the things that made it feel like Christmas around here was the tree. We were not planning on getting a Christmas tree but on Christmas eve we were at Lowe's and saw pre-lite artificial trees for 75% off. So we get the tree and I think that helped make our Christmas extra special this year.