Santa Day!

As part of our Christmas tradition (since Morgan was born) we go up to Phoenix a week or two early and celebrate with my side of the family. At the same time that we go up to celebrate Christmas my Dad and stepmom, JoAnne, host their Santa Day. Santa Day is a day that they have been putting on since my two nieces, Caity and Lindsey, were very little. They invite all their friends and family, especially the kids, to come over for crafts, an ornament exchange, and most importantly a visit with Santa! It is such a fun tradition, one that Morgan really looks forward to each year.

This year David had a basketball game the evening before we were supposed to celebrate, so we were up bright and early Saturday morning (4:45) to drive to Phoenix. We always start our morning together with a breakfast with the family. Thankfully we were only a few minutes late and breakfast was still warm and waiting. We enjoyed some time visiting with my sister Jen, her husband Mark, their girls Caity and Lindsey and with my step-brothers Derek, Nolan, and his son Tyler. After eating Morgan and the girls reminded us all that it was present time (Morgan definitely understands presents this Christmas, of course once she opens 1 she is done because she just wants to play with it).

Here is our niece Caity opening her present from us. I love that while she is going to be an official teenager in just 3 short months she still loves the kid stuff. She wanted duct tape and sculpting clay. She loves to do crafts and made us all ornaments for the tree. Morgan also picked out presents by herself for her cousins. She got Caity a puppy calendar.

Here is Lindsey Lu trying on the hat Morgan picked out for her. It didn't fit perfect, but the concept was perfect for Lindsey, sparkles and pink. Lindsey is a total girlie girl!

To match her sparkly new hat we bought Lindsey some new boots she had been wanting. They are all black sequence. Can't get much more girlie than that. I love it!

Then it was Morgan's turn. What else would my little girl have wanted than horses! She was spoiled as always and walked away that morning with 3 new horses! She named each one herself. This first horse she opened from her Auntie Jen, Uncle Mark, and the girls she named Sugar. Morgan LOVES to play with Sugar because she has all the tack, including reins and can walk, whinnie, and neigh. Morgan also got a Moxie girl doll to ride her new horse Sugar. The doll comes with a complete riding gear outfit including the helmet, which Morgan is all about safety and must always have a helmet so it was perfect.

Opening one of her other two horses. My dad and JoAnne found two great horses for Morgan. One is called a Morgan foal which Morgan thought was hilarious. She named him "Big Red" after the horse in Secretariat. She loves that movie. The second horse is a plush one which is perfect for sleeping with. He is a brownish, red tone and is short and stout. He reminded Morgan of the pony at TROT she rode once called "Sparky" so that is what she named him.

Morgan was happy to share her new horses with her cousin Tyler. She loves to try to get everyone involved with her horses. Of course I don't think Tyler has the same passion for horses that Morgan has.

After gifts and lots of playtime we prepared for Santa Day to begin. One of the things that the kids always do before Santa can arrive is a Christmas related craft. This year they made little snowmen.

Morgan's little snowman.

After the crafts were made it was time to head to the back yard to welcome Santa. Thankfully it was a beautiful day out. Morgan was very excited to help her Nanny sing Jingle Bells to get Santa to come. It is hilarious to hear her sing it. She adds some of her own words to the song, which makes it so great. It goes something like this:
"Jingle bells, Jingle bells, Jingle all the way. It all the fun is to ride in a deep blue sleigh, hey!"

Santa making his arrival!

Morgan waited patiently, but very anxiously, for Santa to call her name. Once he did she took off straight for him in her walker.

Morgan being bashful on Santa's lap. She was so happy to see him.

Morgan wasn't quite sure what to ask for, so she told Santa she wanted a reindeer.

Enjoying her treat from Santa.

All the kiddos who visited Santa that day.

After Santa's visit we wrapped up the day with our ornament exchange. David, Morgan, and I then took off for a few hours to meet up for dinner with David's family. His two cousins from out of state were flying in to visit his aunt and uncle who live in Prescott for an early Christmas. We thought it would be a great time to get the whole family together for a quick dinner since we hadn't seen them in two years. We had a great time visiting with them all, Morgan especially enjoyed getting to see Aunt Carol and Uncle Dave's new puppy Murphy again. After dinner we headed back to my Dad and JoAnne's for a sleep over. Morgan had been up since 6 when we pulled her out of bed and had had a very busy day, so David and I thought for sure that we would pass out during our 45 minute car ride home. NOPE. She was so funny on the way home. She thought of anything to talk about, most was just nonsense, to keep her eyes open. Once we finally got back to their house Morgan was so excited to see her Nanny, Pa, and cousin Caity who was sleeping over too that she caught a second wind. Finally around 9:30 we had to be the mean parents and tell Morgan that she absolutely had to go to bed. She was not happy with us at all, but she was a mess by that time and we knew she would be up bright and early the next morning.

Making pancakes with Nanny.

The next morning we woke up for a little more playtime with everyone before we had to drive back home to Tucson. It was so great getting to spend time with everyone. Morgan always enjoys herself when she is at her Nanny and Pa's house.