Grammy and Grampy arrived shortly after the creatures in the house began stirring this morning. The kids were excited and anxious to open their stockings that were stuffed full (...of junk they don't need and will soon break or lose their parts, Bah Humbug).

Next we turn to another tradition: Christmas breakfast with Mom's Eggs Benedict. We all chowed down on my favorite meal of the year, the one full of fat and cholesterol that makes me even more resolved to begin the New Year fresh. Since Grammy brings this recipe each year, I thought I should have a copy for myself. And, since I have no other filing system, I shall share it with all of you. Enjoy!

Christmas Benedict, Blender Style
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons lemon juice
pinch of paprika
dash of salt
1/2 cup of butter

Put the egg yolks in a blender with lemon juice, salt and paprika. Melt butter in microwave until boiling. Turn the juice on the blender, then slowly add butter. Voila, hollandaise. Put on top of an English muffin, 1 slice of Canadian Bacon, and a poached egg. Yum, yum!

After breakfast we slowly opened presents. We were all surprised by how much Mason was into the spirit. He quickly picked up on the fact that his presents were green and his sister's were red, then pulled all the green ones out and dug in. The picture below shows what he was thinking: "You can make me stop opening a present to take a picture, but you can't make me smile for it. On with the gifts!"

Kenzie dressed herself in some of her new clothes. She was decked out with a denim skirt with pink lace trim, a pink sequined shirt, pink and brown patterned tights, and, of course, her metallic pink cowboy boots. Oh, and the one pony-tail in the back with four (no less, no more) bobby-pins. (I receive careful instructions on where to put the pony-tail.) Meanwhile, Mason caught his limit with his new favorite toy from Sarah and Kyle.

We then went to cousin Sandy's, another Christmas routine. Cindy went to see her folks as they are leaving for Las Vegas for a couple of months. Finally, we landed at Grammy & Grampy's where the kids dug into leftovers, wrestled with each other, did yoga with Grammy, and flew Grampy's indoor (very cool) helicopter. I thought they would be worn out for the ride home. But, no. Mason's mouth didn't stop moving the entire ride. We just tuned him out after a while, but he jabbered and yacked the entire 40 minutes.

Alas, it's 10:00. I hope all of you, our friends and family who read this, have had a Merry Christmas. Here is our holiday card. (Please let me know if you follow our blog and didn't receive a card. Did I mention my poor filing skills?)