Sunday, April 2, 2023

Twas the Month Before Christmas

I love Christmastime. It is becoming even more fun as my kids get old enough to appreciate all the activities and take a more active role.
Teaching Isaac the ways of the nativity nesting doll

Elf mode- activated!

I love my little Christmas helpers 

Aaron's work sent this train set along with the XR kids gingerbread sleigh activity. Isaac was ENTRANCED. The train was running almost constantly for a few weeks. One time, he grabbed it and tried to bring it on a family walk.

The train box had some truly hilarious Chinese translations on it. This says "Easy for children to dig it out- so this kind of toys possess features of knowledgeable and interesting." It was "Pretex" brand, which had a logo that looked suspiciously similar to the Playtex logo. 

The Mills hosted a gingerbread competition! Ours was inspired by a Calvin and Hobbs snowman scene. We titled it "Blood." 

No one appreciated our art except for Isaac. He thought our art was delicious. 

Our ward had a Bethlehem themed Christmas party. We ate on the floor with blankets and mats and had Middle Eastern style finger foods for a delicious meal with some cool Middle Eastern background music. There was a simple program with a nativity and sing along songs. Everything was gorgeous and delicious. It was the best ward Christmas party that I have ever been to. 

A view of the well and other families enjoying their meal

I talked my friend Rachel Mitton into doing a musical number with me at the Relief Society dinner. We were way better in practice- we both got super shaky- but I love the arrangement! There was a program about the names of Christ, so we picked "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." Everyone got to pick a name of Christ to put on an ornament to take home, and I love how it turned out. 

Bree, Eowyn, and Tauriel were in a Christmas dance program that I took the older kids to see. Bree and Eowyn were angels in this number with the fog machine. Tauriel was a reindeer. 

After the dance program, we headed to the Rancho Holiday spectacular. The hit activity was the "reindeer" rides.

This little guy is just SO enthusiastic about everything. He makes life delightful. 

We waited in line for that face paint for 40 minutes, then drove home and washed it off for bed. 
She maintains that it was worth it. I am unconvinced. 

Another fun holiday experience - Aaron got shingles! He alternated between telling people that it was a Harry Potter scar and that I karate chopped him in the head. It didn't hurt, just itched and lasted an unfortunately long time. 

An instant classic piece of schoolwork from Elliot

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