Merry Christmas! For our first Christmas back in the States in 5 years, we invited my entire family out to Las Vegas for the holiday. My sister, her husband, and my nephew arrived from Texas the day before my parents got in so we made the most of it and snapped a few pictures of the boys to give to Mamaw and Papaw for Christmas. We got a photo session, editing, printing, and framing done all in one afternoon; another perk of having a photographer for a sister. We took several different shots, but these are my favorites.
Had to do a John Deere picture for Papaw. :)
Matty took to my sister's husband, John, right away. Nothing like a happy baby to instill a big case of baby fever in everyone. ;)
My sister also brought out her dog, Chopper. Oskar was so happy to have a friend to play with--and take walks with--for a few days.
The next day my parents arrived, and they got to meet their new grand-baby for the first time. I pretty much didn't even get to touch my child for the rest of their trip. ;)
Jonathan arrived on the 23rd, and our entire family was finally together. Before we knew it, it was Christmas Eve.
My sister and her family decided to stay in a hotel since our house isn't very big, and my nephew Gabe was very concerned about Santa not knowing where he was. So, before he left Texas, he made some "reindeer food" in Cub Scouts, which he then sprinkled in front of our house so Santa wouldn't miss it.
And it must have worked: Santa came! He brought MJ a jumperoo, a few books, a couple 'Baby Einstein' DVDs, and two new toys.
MJ LOVED his presents, and he started to think this "Santa" guy might be pretty alright. . .
So much to explore on this thing!
Once Erin and her family arrived back at our place from the hotel, it was time to open presents from the rest of the family. This was Matty's pile. I think Mamaw and Papaw may have gotten a little carried away with this whole "1st Christmas" thing. ;)
Oh boy! Presents that make a lot of noise! Thanks, Mamaw and Papaw! ;)
His favorite toy? A little rubber Big Bird car from Great-Grandma Babb.
A toy camera from Aunt Erin. What else did you expect?
His first Cardinals hat from Daddy.
FINALLY finished opening his presents. Can everyone else open theirs now?
Oskar's present was destroyed in minutes. . .
Our Christmas tradition is to have our big meal on Christmas Eve and then just eat pizza on Christmas Day. While we were overseas, this usually meant just heating up a frozen pizza, but with my mom in town, that meant one of her famous home-made pizzas instead. The doggies kept a close eye on her just in case she needed any help.
Matty also got to watch his first Broncos game with Papaw. They may have lost, but Papaw was still happy to have his little Tebow by his side.
My Christmas gift to my sister and her husband was a night out in Vegas. We left the kiddos with the grandparents and headed down to the Strip. John had been to Vegas several times before, but this was my sister's first taste of Vegas so we started out slowly with a stroll down Las Vegas Boulevard.
We stopped at the Venetian and took a tour through Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum. I'd been to one in Amsterdam with my friend Karen, but this was everyone else's first time. At the entrance was a replica of the famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign and since the REAL sign was all the way at the other end of the boulevard we settled for this picture instead. (If you've never walked the Strip, it's waaaay longer than you think.)
We all had a blast taking pictures with various "celebrities." Jonathan was a little shy at first, but he started to warm up when he saw MJ. . .
. . . and when we got to the NASCAR room, he was like a kid in a candy store.
Absolutely ecstatic to pose with "The Intimidator"
As for me, I found my own cowboy, Mr. Tim McGraw.
"This cat could ball."
The highlight of the entire trip for my sister, who has a slight Johnny Depp obsession.
Wouldn't be Vegas without the Rat Pack. . .
. . . or Elvis.
The Hall of Presidents offered an opportunity to take a picture with either Obama or G. Dub. One guess which one we chose.
I already had a picture with G. Dub from Amsterdam, so I chose Honest Abe instead.
After the wax museum, we took a stroll around the Venetian. This is the view of the Mirage from the Venetian.
I've been to Venice, and this wasn't quite as awesome as the real place. . .but it WAS cleaner and everyone spoke English so I don't think it was that bad. ;)
And, of course, I had to introduce my sister to my favorite: the slots! She lost a dollar. But my husband turned $40 into $120 at the roulette table so it all worked out.
For dinner we ventured a few blocks off the Strip to the Hofbrauhaus: Vegas. Jonathan and I had visited the one in Munich and, after 3 years of living in Germany, it was still the ONLY German food (and beer) I ever liked. We had high hopes that this one would be the same.
It was. Authentic beer hall feel, live German band, delicious beer, and amazing sausage, kraut, and potatoes. We had a blast.
My sister's husband got talked into taking a shot of Apple Schnaps after dinner. . . which, according to the waitress, meant that she got to smack him on the behind three times with a paddle. And she was NOT playing around with her spanking.
We spent the rest of the evening strolling along the boulevard enjoying the lights before heading home to my parents and our sleeping children.
By now, all the family is gone, and Jonathan will be heading back to New Mexico soon so I'll be pulling "single parent" duty for a few more months. But this Christmas has to go down as one of the best in recent memories. Thank you all for making the trip out here and giving this exhausted mommy a much-needed break and mood-lifter.
As for everyone else, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too!
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