Does Santa Live in North Dakota??

The title will become clear once you read through our whole blog, but until then - enjoy the pics from our Christmas in North Dakota!  Amy LOVES going home for Christmas as she gets to go to the church she attended as a kid.  It has changed a bit though.  They added on a new area where they do a contemporary service.  Much different than she remembers, but at least the kids are entertained.  They even get to go to the front to play instruments with the band during the last song!  The kids got very used to going to church during vacation (2 sundays + Christmas).  The following Sunday, Amy dropped the kids off in Sunday School and Kasey adimately declared he wanted to go to Church instead.  * That only lasted one Sunday and he was pleased to go back to Sunday School the following week - we go to a traditional service in Colorado.  Guess the services differ Greatly!

Boys behaving well before church starts

After church - it was time for some dress up pics of the kids.  You may notice some nicely decorated Palm trees next to a beautiful Christmas tree.  Did I mention we were having a Hawaiian Christmas!?!?  We also had to document the great taste Melissa and Amy both have in dresses!

Lets write People Magazine and see 'Who Wore it Best'!

Melissa and Brady Always put on quite the spread.  Complete with Tiger Meat.  Yes, it is RAW.  Amy was quite unsure about it, but it was definitely delicious!!!  Lots of different appetizers, yummy soup made by both the Woodards and the Mattsons and delicious desserts made by GG and Dianna.

 The kids had a surprise in store for them!  Santa made Each of them a Video message.  It was Super cool!  Kasey was a bit concerned that Santa wouldn't find him since we were in ND and Santa mentioned in the video that Kasey and Karsten were in CO.

Enamoured by Santa!

Cameo appearance from Barb!

Shortly after the videos ended - we heard a fun Jingle and a Big "Ho, Ho, Ho!"  Santa came to visit us and brought presents for the kids.  Santa started out apologizing for being late - he stopped in Colorado first to see the Cannode boys, but they weren't there!  Kasey and Karsten got some cool (Loud) tow trucks, Brody got a Mickey Mouse stuffed animal and Brooklyn got an American Girl doll! All the kids were Super jazzed!

Oh My Gosh, Karsten! Run!!! It is SANTA!!!

Someone looks Nervous on whether they made the Nice List

Santa just asked who behaved this year
(Notice Brady's hands are both down by his sides... hmmmm)

In case you were wondering what Pure Excitement looks like...

I Love my new Truck, Thank you!

Thanks Santa!

Were you good this year, Papa?

GG Definitely was on the Nice List!

Another Mattson tradition: Gma and Gpa give the grandkids PJs on Christmas Eve.  Have you ever tried to get four excited kids to pose in their new jammies?  Yes, this is the Best pic I could get-Ha.

Brooklyn's Doll

Melissa's Doll when she was Brooklyn's age

After all the excitement died down from our visitors ~ it was time to party ~Hawaiian Style!

Whoa - What a Party... It was time to get to bed and wait patiently for Santa to bring us our stockings.

Look you enjoyed some cookies!

Santa Brought the Village People!

No flashing, Karsten

Guess Karsten wanted to try out a few different looks

You will have to wait for more Christmas Day festivities in another blog update, but until then - I will leave you with a cute story.  Kasey was pretty bummed when we were putting away the Christmas decos back home.  Finally, he took a deep breath and looked at me and said "Mommy, Did Santa go back to North Dakota until Next Christmas?" ... Big smile on Amy's face, "Well, he lives in the North Pole, Honey, but... Close enough... Close Enough."

Bed Time Rituals

Bed time at the Cannode house consists of a book, a prayer, reading Kasey's adoption poem and some quck hugs and kisses before getting tucked in.  Boy, was the pattern different in ND!  We had some horseback riding several nights, wrestling at times and of course still some hugs between cousins.  We even had a special bath night in the BIG tub with JETS!  The kids really loved it!  For fear we would never get them in a 'normal bath' again... we kept saying what a special treat it was to be in grandma and grandpa's tub.

Bath Time!  I love the Tiara, Beard and Mustache

G'Night, Karsten

Grandma and Grandpa gave their bed up for a bit so the kids could watch Caillou and Diego (two of their current favorite cartoon shows) before bed and of course; don't forget Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the iPad (Brody's favorite).

Can't you just see the Extreme Joy in Brody as they watch Mickey?!

Wow - Guess not everyone got comfy beds while they visited.  Kasey kept complaining about a kink in his neck, but he loved his pack and play.  Kidding! He did enjoy pretending to sleep in the toy pack and play though.  He had no doubts about kicking the toy doll out of the crib so he could snuggle in before bed time.

Kasey's second Third Birthday!

My kids have really lucked out ... they have been able to celebrate not one, but TWO birthdays each year.  One in Co and the other with our Fargo family as their birthdays normally coincide around the same time as our trips.  The theme is carefully picked out by Auntie Melissa and Grandma Sandy.  This year, it was Spiderman!  Kasey actually has never seen spiderman cartoons, but he has caught a glimpse of the grown up Spiderman movie and loves to show you how he can throw a spider web; Just like Spiderman!

Grandma and Grandpa hosted the event and cooked a lovely ham dinner for the birthday boy.  Things changed a little when we realized the birthday boy had fallen asleep.  We all enjoyed a lovely meal (without Kasey) and then killed some time watching football and playing Words with Friends... Errr... I mean Scrabble!  Did you know there used to be a Board Game that is just like our favorite Words with Friends app on our smart phones?  Kasey - Did you know that we also used to "Wind a Watch"?  Ask mommy or Grandma about that sometime... :0)  Halfway through the game; Kasey woke up to join us but wasn't quite in the party mood.  So, we finished our game and gave him some time to wake up.  Not all of us were patient... Karsten was found at the kitchen table on several accounts wondering where the cake was.

"Can we have cake and eat it too?"

Before cake, we started opening birthday presents.  Kasey got a really cool world map, some sweet Nike gear and of course Spiderman toys!  There were even party gifts for the kids to take home!  What a fun afternoon!

Thanks for my Map, Brooklyn!

Cake Time!  Karsten was definitely ready for this part!  They brought out the coolest looking Spiderman cake I have ever seen!  With THREE Candles this year; we were worried Kasey couldn't blow them all out - Good thing his cousins were ready to help (*while Karsten waited patiently for the cake to be cut).