Christmas #2-The Clarksons

Christmas with the Clarksons started with a yummy tradition of eating Jackstack BBQ. This tradition started a number of years ago when it was decided that Eric's mom didn't need to cook for days on end for Thanksgiving AND Christmas. It's a great tradition that I'm sure will continue on for years to come.

After lunch, it was time for present opening. Uncle Blake, Cousin Sammie, Grandma & Grandpa Clarkson & us enjoyed opening gifts from each other & watching Sammie & Eli opening theirs. Eli was spoiled with a variety of toys & clothes including a guitar, bongo drum, tool sorting set, ATV, Barney doll, bath toys, & cell phone (toy one, of course). Here are some pictures of the gift opening extravaganza:

Then a few family pictures were taken in front of the tree & it seemed that Eli had to be a part of all of them. Eli was VERY lovey on Christmas Day & gave all of his family lots of hugs & kisses. It was too cute.

Eli enjoyed his time with Cousin Sammie on Christmas Day. He just seemed enthralled with her & loved playing with her:

After gift opening, Grandma Clarkson had worked hard at preparing a fun game called Pokerchino (spelled wrong, I'm sure). Essentially it is bingo with a deck of cards. Grandma made it extra special & put together a variety of prizes for the winners (& of course everyone won the same amount of prizes to make it fair). She had a clue of some sort that would give an idea of what type of gift card was inside an envelope. For example, a flashlight was a clue for a Lowe's gift card. It was a fun & unique twist to gift receiving on Christmas day! Thanks Grandma for all your hard work!!

In addition, Eli turned 16 months on Christmas Day.....1 year ago he was a tiny 4 months old!

After Christmas with the Clarksons, we packed & prepared for our trip to Iowa for Christmas #3 & #4!