The Eve of Christmas and all day before...

Long last, Christmas Eve drew near, and not one minute of the day was going to be wasted. No sir! First order of business after breakfast: sledding!

Ben loved being pulled behing the snowmobile... and this "seatbelt" type harness worked well too. In fact he even stayed in when the tube flipped upside down and Grandpa didn't know it for a little while... don't worry the plastic surgery was nearly flawless. Alex didn't want to bother with snow clothes... or boots. Not surprising given his mental state, but there are now legends of the Yeti in Timberlakes.

You'd think, "two little girls bundled to awkwardness on a tiny inflatable pad... surely they won't make it down the hill with both of them on that thing," and you'd be wrong, 5 times over. (Double sided duck tape IS twice as useful as the original!)

Kallie actually started sledding all by herself this year! It was a pretty big hill for a 3 year old.

Grandpa never loses a moment to spend with both his snowmobile and his grandchildren.

After we fed Andrew the flourescent green cookies he sprouted these... we don't trust those neighbors anymore.

The second event of the day: gingerbread cookies. Oh yes, we can catch the gingerbread man and he took a dunking in a tall glass of milk.

It was hard to tell if Kallie's gingerbread man was accumulating frosting as fast as he was disapearing...

Ben's gingerbread man is now the official logo for the American Association for the Colorblind.

Mom's racy gingerbread man is actually a member of Chipendales, as you might tell from his tie with no shirt... his pants didn't last long either.

Dad's was a gingerbread mummy... he didn't have to be fast because he carried a curse.

After gingerbread men..... gingerbread houses. You know it!

This is the first house Katie and I have laid the foundation for ourselves.

Even though it had a red door, Katie said she would never live in it.

After that we ate dinner, and then came the pinnacle event of the evening (besides 5 people trying to remember the words to "The Night Before Christmas" in tandem): The Nativity. This year Amy and Alex got to be Mary and Joseph.

The three little angels... if only.

Mary breaks it to Joseph that she's not just fat...

The baby arrived incredibly quickly. The Nativity was followed by new Christmas Jammies, which this year were hand made by Grandma!

All the girls in their new jammies.

All the boys in their new jammies.Andrew and Caden wondering why everybody is acting so silly.

The coolest family in attendance.

Grandma and Papa and all the damage they've created thus far...