Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful, quiet Christmas. The Lueken and Runyan grandparents traveled from Indiana to spend the holiday with us. Here are some fun shots from our holiday weekend:

Here is Chris making cookies on Christmas Eve. He was pretty insistent that Santa needed fresh cookies to be left out that night... He made two different types of cookies, and they were both delicious.

Rachael woke up Christmas morning with a slight cold. She was pretty tired that afternoon after all of the excitement of presents and what not. She fell asleep sitting-up on the couch with Chief on her lap.

The Master Chef! My mom (Sandy) is quite a whiz in the kitchen. She made a feast for our Christmas dinner. We had prime rib with horseradish whipped cream, green beans with red peppers, Yukon gold mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, a spinach salad, and pumpkin and raspberry pie for dessert. It was amazing.

This was our beautiful dinning room table for the feast. (Thanks to the Moms for the linens and the napkin rings.)

American Girl Doll Christmas! The grandmothers got together for this one...Morgan and Rachael decided that they wanted American Girl Dolls this year. Rachael asked for 'Felicity', while Morgan requested 'Elizabeth'. That is all they really wanted, so it was fun to see how excited they were when they opened them up. Chris's mom (Pam) made the girls nightgowns, with matching gowns for their dolls. They girls were in heaven. Don't they look like little ladies all ready for bed?...
Okay, spunky little ladies. Lately, for every cute picture that we take, Rachael insists that we take a silly one as well. She must get that from the Runyan side...

Yes, the dog sleeps with people. Spoiled, yes. However, I do not know who enjoys it more, the dog or the girls. They take turns with him each night, and it was Rachael's turn Christmas night. Usually, he sleeps down under the covers. This evening he chose to share her pillow...

Pittsburgh

Chris had an interview this weekend in Pittsburgh for a spot in their Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery program. Since we have friends there, and it is only a 5 hour drive, the girls and I decided to accompany him. It was great to see the Robisons again. Aliess took great care of us and showed us all around Pittsburgh. We had a wonderful time.

Here we are in front of a Stegosaurus at the Carnegie Museum. We only scratched the surface of the museum that day, but were really impressed with what we saw.

The kids in front of some T-Rexes. From left to right: Kurt, Elizabeth, Rachael, Morgan, Lexi and Reid. (They're all getting so big!)

While we were in Pittsburgh, we attended the Robison's ward Christmas party. For the service portion of the party, we assembled hygiene kits. The girls had a nice time. (Rachael especially got into the project.) Morgan and Rachael are pictured here with Elizabeth and Lexi. During the party, the kids also had a visit from Santa.

For Christmas, I would like...an American Girl Doll!

Hmmmmm, what do I want?

This was just a fun pic of Morgan and Lexi. The girls had a great time together.