Christmas 2012 with the Murphys

On December 20th we made our way north for our annual Christmas trip to visit the kids, grand kids and great grand kids!

We began our trip in Aldergrove with Cathi, Don and their family.  Nathan was home on leave from the Coast Guard, so the whole family was there.  It was great to spend time with all of them.

In addition to shopping (of course!) and wrapping, Don's family came on Sunday for a gathering and it was great to see Aunt Dorothy and Don's cousin Darlene again.  Also there were Don's cousin Steve and his daughter, Sharla.   The weather was great and we took a walk over to Krauses' Berry Farm.  They were all decorated for Christmas and we enjoyed their decorations and brought home lots of baked goodies!

On Christmas Eve we all went ice skating with their church group.  It's an annual event at Aldergrove Alliance Church and one that the whole family enjoys.  Don had to work, so he wasn't there, which was too bad.  Sean had gone over to his girlfriend, Baileys, for dinner and gift exchanging there.  But the rest of us headed for the ice!  Patience, Jordyn and Nick were most excited to skate and big brother Nathan was out on the ice with them for the entire time.  What a great thing to do on Christmas eve!  We brought home three very tired children who had a bath, hot chocolate and promptly went to bed!

Christmas morning was very exciting!  The kids slept till nearly 8:30 and then the unwrapping began!  Everyone was very happy with their Christmas gifts.  What a wonderful Christmas morning!

Sean and Bailey

 

At Krause's Berry Farm, the "Murphy" tree has pride of place!

 

Darlene, Don and Aunt Dorothy do some wine tasting at Krauses' winery

 

Cathi, Pat, Sean and Bailey

 

Lee, Pat, Sean and Cathi

 

Nick spending some quality time with Harley

 

Don

 

Getting ready to skate!  Nick has his helmet and skates on and he's ready to go.  Nathan is getting his skates on, too

 

Jordyn is ready to hit the ice!

 

And Patience gets a last minute adjustment of her helmet

 

Nick, ready to go!

 

Cathi and Dylan - part of the cheering section!

 

And there goes Nick!  He took his skating frame all over the rink.  Nathan is following behind him

 

Jordyn on the left and Nick and Nathan stop to pose for a picture

 

Patience was all over the rink!  She came in for a hot chocolate break and a picture with Mom

 

Nathan giving Jordyn a ride on the solid part of the frame - she loved that!

 

Christmas morning - looks like Santa has arrived!

 

On Christmas eve Cathi joined her boys for a rousing game!

 

And the gift-opening begins!  Santa brought the girls jewelery boxes and a scooter for Nick.

 

Dylan and Sean

Nathan got a real game jersey from his parents - he was a happy camper!

 

Daddy opening Jordyn's gift to him

 

#1 Dad!!

 

Number 19 - Nathan's favorite!

 

Bailey joined us for gift opening.  Sean got her a beautiful jewelery chest.

 

Patience loved her leg warmers!

 

And Nick got a monster truck from big brother Nathan!  That truck provided hours of fun!

Merry Christmas everyone!  We were so happy to be there and share it with you!

And now, Nathan will drive us down to Bellingham, WA, for our visit with Val and Dave and their family.  And as a bonus, Cathi and the kids are coming down too for Christmas dinner.  Sadly, Don had to work, but aside from him and Cody, we were all together!  Great fun!