SUCCESS!!! 
According to our kids this was the best Christmas they have ever had!

It was so nice to hear them say that because this Christmas had a pretty small budget and I stuck to it!   Just goes to show(to me anyway) that with careful planning, shopping, and effort, wishes can come true even on a small budget.  Seeing how happy they were and still are with Christmas was the best Christmas present for me. 

For the last couple of months Cam has told me that he wants his very own can of Cashews for Christmas.  He was quite pleased when he unwrapped them!  He also loved the Star Wars Lego sets and the remote control car and the "how to make paper airplanes" book.   I won't mention that later in the evening he flooded a bathroom and half the basement when he forgot he was filling up the sink to grow his "growing thing."  It was a good excuse to use the new Shop Vac that Mark got for Christmas!

Hayden was just excited because everyone else was excited!  He also thinks he is pretty big when he stands on his stool and gets to play with the new Air Hockey table that GMa & GPa Heap gave the kids.  When he's not playing Air Hockey he is cooking us up some food with his new microwave and pushing around his shopping cart.  He sure is fun to have around on Holidays!

Colby was a little disappointed that he didn't get the 6 NFL Jersey's he asked for until he opened his TEXAS Longhorns T-shirt and the Diary of A Wimpy Kid Do It Yourself book!  It's three days later and I can't convince him to take the shirt off so I can wash it!  And I don't think I have seen the book out of his hands except to build his new Star Wars Lego sets. 

Marks parents and sisters and new Bro-in-law wanted to be at our house to watch the kids open their presents so as soon as the boys woke up, which wasn't until 7am, we called them and they headed over.  Waiting that 10 minutes for them to get here was like waiting and eternity for the kids!  It was fun to have them here though.  It's not really like Christmas without kids around is it?

Later that day we got to talk to Marks youngest sister Hilary who is on a mission at Palmyra, New York.  We also had our friends, the Hamans over to watch a movie and let the kids play. 

Overall this Christmas was really great.  We spent Christmas Eve with Mark's family and his mom and Emily over did themselves with a huge Christmas Dinner.  The kids got to open a few presents that were Gorgeously wrapped by Kristy and Jordan, and GPa told some stories from the scriptures.  When we came home we opened our Christmas PJ's and read a few stories.  By 9:30pm the kids were asleep and by 10:30 Mark and I were all done with preparations for the morning.  I'm pretty sure 10:30 is a record for us for the earliest time being done on Christmas Eve! 

Now we get to look forward to a FUN New Years Eve with more good food and fun!