Christmas Parts 1 & 2--Surprise Party Too

The Haskell household is actually having 3 Christmases this year. Since there are several families within our family and not all of us can be together on Christmas Day, we choose to do it this way. I will post Part 3 tomorrow after we have that get together tonight.

Christmas Eve:
This is when we had our celebration with Pappaw, Mimi, and Uncle Josh. We got to have a yummy dinner (it was actually breakfast items, but we love that) and then it was on to presents. The kids got all kinds of cool stuff---books, CD's, musical bath toys, Moonsand, dinosaurs, baby dolls, etc. Momma and Daddy got some great items too! Remember in my previous post where I wrote about the silly gift exchange rule that John and I have? Well, we ended up buying things for each other (as usual). I got John an I-pod Nano, and I got a beautiful Fossil watch with diamonds all around the face of it, as well as an awesome hat, scarf, and gloves. Thanks to John and the kids for "surprising" me. :)
Christmas Day:
We got to have the main celebration at our house for the first time ever. It was so much fun! Grandpa & Grandma Haskell and Uncle Nate came over, and we had a present-opening frenzy. The big gift was a handmade wooden kitchen. The kids got pretend food, pots and pans, and accessories to go with it. They haven't stopped playing with it yet! Other gifts included books, awesome snow boots for all 3 kids, stuffed animals, power tools, clothing, a DVD, bean bag chairs, and more. Momma got a beautiful necklace too!
The gifts that were the most fun to open and see were the ones that were made by the kids. We made bowls using their handprints/footprints for both Mimi and Grandma Haskell from the Cherished Prints party I had a few weeks ago. Also, Caitlin made me a beautiful plate at school with her own picture drawn on it and a calendar for John with each month decorated appropriately with her drawings. Too cool!
For Christmas dinner, we went to John's Aunt Connie's house. Connie's son Clinton and daughter Christy and her 2 girls, Shalese and Ashlee, were there as well. We had a great time eating with them. The girls played with Caitlin all day so that was something special for her. All in all, it was a terrific Christmas!
The 3 C's on Christmas morningCookin' in the kitchenA sweet Momma/Baby momentAunt Connie and Celia
Christian, Caroline, and Cousin Ashlee
Me with John's cousin Christy

Now on to the surprise party....
Since John had recently graduated with his Bachelor's Degree, we all decided he needed a party to celebrate. My mom, Celia, and I have been planning and scheming behind his back for weeks. It was PERFECTLY executed. He had no clue, and we had a great time. He got some very cool gifts and ate yummy BBQ, but the most important part was the fellowship with family. Also, I was able to keep a secret from him!! :) That's never happened--I usually give something away. Ha! Thank you to all of the family that came and celebrated with us. Your support means the world to both of us!
John with his "totally surprised" face and a graduation hat my mom made him wear :)
My brother experiencing graduation hat envy
The awesome cake I so secretly ordered
John's dad, aunt, and brother--the guests
My uncles, brother, dad, Caroline, and grandma all watching as John read his "nuggest of wisdom" that my mom gave him
Caitlin-the ultimate party hostess