Santa's Loot

The kids did well!  Amazingly though, they did not receive any electronics or any toys that required a pack of batteries or much assembly. In that regard, Santa was good to us too!

Charlie got some Cowboy Boots. They weren't from Santa; they are from Grandma and Grandpa (me and Keith). I ordered them online from Boot Barn. The price was good and the boots are great. We got him a size 12.5. He's in an 11 in shoes now, so they should fit for several months. He's growing so fast!

Each of the kids got a hat and scarf set from our neighbor. Jessica crocheted these herself. The scarves are great! Just the right size for the little kids, but the hats are way too tiny. My kids have big melons.

Libby wanted paper, a lot more paper. Santa didn't disappoint! She got a pile of spiral notebooks and she went right to work drawing and writing.

From Grandma (Helen) Gracie got a game based on one of her favorite books. It is a geography game, so it's educational and fun! She loves it; we've been playing it over and over again. Libby got Candyland; between the two of them we are having a lot of fun.

Charlie also wanted a lipstick taser.  The kid wanted a tiny taser gun! He saw it in Despicable Me 2 and never let go of the idea. He loved it in the movie and wanted one of his own ever since.  Santa knows how to make the boy  happy!

Gracie got a Maze-Ball. It is the coolest thing!  There are no loose pieces, no parts, nothing to lose unless the whole thing gets lost. It is all contained. Just the kind of toy we like! Santa got this thing from Fat Brain Toys online and it promised to exercise the brain with focus, concentration, eye-hand coordination and all sorts of other smarty pants stuff like that. It's just fun! We've all been trying to get the little ball through the maze. So far, nobody has even come close.

The Barbie collection this year is a bit of an odd assortment. We have a Monster High doll named Laguna Blue, two dolls from Frozen: Elsa and Anna, and Ariel. The Ariel population in this house exceeds the Schumacher population, but who's counting.

Each of the kids got an Etch-A-Sketch. They love them! Santa knows  how to give the kids some  old fashioned screen time instead of getting each kid a tablet, these things are entertaining and fun.

Charlie also got a giant Darth Vader doll. It's huge! It doesn't do anything other than stand there and fall over once in a while, but no lights or noises or anything. It is currently guarding his room against bad dreams and spiders and any other intruders. Good job, Darth.

The coolest thing Santa brought was a Hot Wheels track. It winds up and whips the cars around the track. More than one car can go cruising at a time, but when they crash at the intersections. That's the fun part though, the kids laugh hysterically!  Since it is a wind up toy, they can play forever and not worry about battery power. So cool!  The hot wheels cars have already put a lot of miles on the track. Very fun!

Merry Christmas, Everyone! We have new toys to keep us busy and entertained.