Arkansas Holiday

Aaron and I wanted to make sure that we made all the rounds for Christmas this year, as it's our last official winter break. After Holiday Ball and a few days of blissful relaxation, we set off for Pencil Bluff, Arkansas, to celebrate with Aaron's Grandma Relic, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
It's always held the Sunday before Christmas, and we specifically designed our traveling plans to make sure we could attend for the first time since we've been married.

 We sat the kids down in the middle before their tradition of Dirty Santa. The girls were so excited! Rihanna got a stuffed Rudolf, which might have been her favorite present of all. She kept "Baby Deer" by her side at all times. 

 

Aaron's cousin Richie always "wraps" his present in creative materials so that the usual recipient, Brian, has his work cut out for him cracking it open. He promised to throw welding in the mix next year.

This seemed to be the theme this year. Uncle Aaron is the best pillow/teddy bear to fall asleep on!

This year we stayed at Aaron's brother's house and basically had a continuous sleepover with our nieces. It was the most fun we've had in Mount Ida - watching the "Zebra" movie several times, dancing around the living room, reading Pooh Bear and other stories before a (very) late bedtime, and great conversation with their parents, Brian and Tracy. The girls wore us out, but we wouldn't trade that time for the world. 

Bedtime story

Aaron was very happy to celebrate with all four of his siblings at his parents' home in Mount Ida this year. It was difficult to coordinate, but the big family gathering meant a lot to him. We had a wonderful dinner and time watching the girls open their presents...and ours.

Aaron Relic: Human Sedative

Opening presents is exhausting, especially when you open everyone elses!

The bows looked better on Rihanna than the presents

It was so hard to leave this precious girl!