Christmas in Valpo

We've spent all of last week trying out our new Christmas presents. Included in her bundle of gifts were Lincoln Logs, the classic building game. To my surprise, Helaina is a huge fan and asks me to help her build "the town" a couple times a day.
This past weekend, we spent several days in Valpo to celebrate the holidays with my side of the family. My parents hosted Christmas on Saturday, also New Year's Eve day, which meant that by 10:00 pm CST Randy and I couldn't keep our eyes open any longer and we toasted a little earlier than most.

My cousin Jessie completed the final part of her move back to Indiana from the Florida Keys. As of Sunday, Jess is officially an Indiana resident after spending the last 10 years in the Sunshine State. Her and auntie Shelia were able to visit with the kids for awhile.

We had a few more gifts to wrap, but Helaina insisted that I give her, her own wrapping paper because she had gifts to wrap too.

My grandparents, Grandma and Grandpa Walter...the kids' Great-Grandparents. My dad's parents, Grandma and Grandpa McGinley, live right next door and it turned out that they didn't have any New Years plans, so they walked over and Randy and I thoroughly enjoyed a night with all four of our grandparents! Doesn't get much better than that!

The gift exchange

Playing with her cousin, Alexis. And yes, despite our best efforts, we still have a thumb sucker at the age of 2 1/2.

It was a lovely couple of days that were filled with quality family time and many fun-filled memories. Thank you to each of our family members that made this season such a special time for our family. Welcome 2012...