Christmas morning- because we have no little kids in our immediate family right now, we all just kind of take our time getting up. Tim and I happen to be the earliest risers so we had time to take a shower and get ready before everyone else was up and around. Not your typical Christmas morning in PJs but I'm sure in a few years when there are kiddos running around, we'll have many more of those days.
We woke up to a WHITE CHRISTMAS! Awesome! There was about 7 inches of snow at this point but it kept snowing throughout Christmas day (and actually through the weekend too). It was beautiful! Although I have heard from my parents and Kansas City friends that after about a week of snow and cold, they want it to go away. I don't blame them.
Another shot of all of the snow- gorgeous!
Definitely a winter wonderland this year.
For breakfast I had made our new tradition of a mushroom/spinach quiche and blueberry coffee cake. Both were AMAZING. I made them a couple of days prior so that we could enjoy them both till they were gone so we had them on both Christmas eve and Christmas day (since we were leaving early in the morning on the 26th).
A shot of each- the quiche I made a homemade crust out of the normal: flour, oil, water. It was amazing though- so flaky! I'm lucky my mom's pie crust making secrets have rubbed off on me. I then sauteed the mushrooms and spinach with a little onion, salt, and pepper. While that was going I mixed up the eggs (majority were egg whites) with some skim milk and then poured that over the vegetable mixture when it was done. Then I topped with some monterey jack cheese and baked. SO yummy. The blueberry coffee cake was pretty much your standard coffee cake...just mixed with blueberries and a flaky cinnamon/walnut topping. So delish. They went fast, too, which is great- means people liked them!
Of course before opening presents we had to take Christmas photos. Timmy and I in front of the tree.
My stud brother and I (by the way, I'm kind of foreshadowing but he got me the GREATEST book (again) this year... it was this yoga bible on a particular type of yoga (that I won't bore everyone with) but it is AMAZING. So excited. Last year he got me two of my favorite naturopathic doctors' books... which I still reference to this day. He is the best!
I look like I am about 2 feet tall between these sexy guys!
Dad, mom, me and Tim (and grandma in the left of the picture).
Dad, mom, me, and Jon. It would be funny to put a picture up from 20 years ago of all of us to compare. Too bad I don't have one accessible! Back then I was taller than my little bro!
All of the "kids" around grandma.
And Tim and I with our presents stacked high around us- we are pretty lucky! We got tons of great stuff...of course that isn't what Christmas is all about but we sure feel so thankful to get it all. 
That afternoon we had an awesome Christmas dinner. My mom made brisket and ham, and I made salmon for myself and Tim as we are not big cow/pig eaters. It was wonderful too! of course we had all of the other sides...vegetables, potatoes, pies, etc. Fabulous! That night we played more games and enjoyed the remainder of the holiday. My brother had to leave that night to head back to Springfield since he had to work early the next day and Tim and I tried to figure out how to get everything back on our flight to Seattle. It was TRICKY but somehow we did it. Glad that I had the insight to bring an empty suitcase (even though Tim thought I was crazy, guess it was smart!) After that we spent the night chatting with my parents and then left at the ass crack on the 26th (we were up at 5:30am which is 3:30am Seattle time). But BONUS! Our flight gave us upgraded first class seats for free. Yes! So napping on the flight was much easier. I always cry when I leave home so it is always hard to leave. I'm always fine when I'm back but I miss my friends and family and the place that I knew for 20+ years quite a bit. I love Washington of course and it is, by all accounts, "home" but nothing compares to that place that is so reminiscent of the years you spent there growing up. And nothing quite compares to the lifelong friends/family there who know you in ways that no one else can because they just don't have that history. It is always so nice to be back there for a while.
When we got back to Seattle (after stopping at whole foods) Tim and I spent literally FIVE HOURS cleaning the house. NOT KIDDING. It was incredibly lame. The cats were only by themselves for FOUR DAYS and I swear they went insane. They decided they were going to rebel. Let's just say we had to scour the ENTIRE HOUSE, give the cats baths, and give ourselves showers before we even thought about picking up Bella. We were not happy campers. Yuck. I have never had more gross kitties in all the cats I've had and I'm convinced it's because they are boy cats (all my others have been girls).
Aside from that, it was good to be home, to have the weekend to relax (for me) before heading back to work, and to have another wonderful and successful holiday memory. I've said it a million times and will probably say it a million more but we are truly blessed.
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