Christmas Eve Recap

On December 24th we woke up to a mighty chilly day. Kristin and I bundled up and braved the shopping mall to pick up a few last minute items and treat our hubbies to some Chick-fil-a biscuits! We also had to pick up my car that had been in the shop for a few days getting worked on. We picked up a few presents, got the car, and enjoyed our yummy meal. The boys decided to go see a movie (Avatar) and the girls took all the pups to the tennis courts to run out some energy! After a long walk, we came back home, rested a bit, and then got ready for church. We were heading over to Mt. Pisgah to meet my parents for the Christmas Eve Service.

The Nathan Girls decked out for church.

My family!

After church we drove back to my parents house and started preparing dinner. Linc and I took charge making our traditional meal of shrimp and pesto linguine while everyone else played cards. Really it was so we didn't have to dishes afterward, but it was lots of fun! We have been having this exact same meal for as long as I can remember and I look forward to it every Christmas. I misread the directions and accidentally put twice as much garlic in the sauce as was necessary, but hey, you can never have enough! It still turned out delicious and we all filled our bellies and then chowed down on some peppermint chocolate chip cupcakes. Yum!

Shrimp and Pesto Linguine (with extra garlic!)

Ready to enjoy our favorite meal!

One of our family traditions is to open family presents on Christmas Eve, so after dinner we gathered in the living room to exchange gifts. Alex works at J. Crew now and we were all spoiled with clothes and accessories from her store. We gave Ryan and Kristin some tennis gear to help them get into the game. Mom gave all the girls a Christmas Memories book like the one she has been writing in since Kris was born! I can't wait to go through it in a few years and look back at everything we have done. We also all got cozy Christmas jammies- another one of my favorite Nathan family traditions!

Kristin and Ryan bought Baby Hami his car seat!!

We can't wait to write in our book!

That night we drove back to our house only to realize that the power was out! We lit some candles and found a flashlight and Linc and I opened our presents by candle light! He gave me tickets to Cavalia (the Cirque de Soleil equestrian show) and a karaoke game called Lips for the XBox 360. He got DJ Hero, another video game, some clothes, and a tennis trophy shelf! It was a great night and we had so much fun celebrating with our families. Up next-- Christmas Day!