Christmas

I've started a tradition where on December 1st, I let the kids open up some Christmas pajamas and their advent calendars. Sometimes a few other things too, like Christmas books or activities. This year I gave them Lego advents and they were adorable! Every day they would open up a square and put together a Lego piece that would eventually create a whole scene. They each had their own (besides Leo) and I couldn't believe how excited they were about it! The next morning they woke up early just to open up another square. It was a fun December 1st night. We took pictures, played games, and drank hot chocolate with marshmallows. Just the start of a great December!

 Our ward did a secret Santa thing called the Legacy Ward Christmas Ninjas instead of a Christmas party because of covid. We got a couple families to secretly drop things off to, or do whatever we wanted, and then we got things in return! It turned out to be so fun. The kids loved being ninjas and ringing the doorbell and running after we'd do our drop-offs. Then when we got something at our door they were absolutely ecstatic! We got something 3 times, and did the same in return. It made for a very fun month.

The kids always love to decorate gingerbread houses and since we got a box from our ninjas, we did that together. Then Cindy had an extra one she got from work that she wanted us to decorate so we did that as well! I didn't buy my usual Costco premade one, so we actually had to put them together instead of just decorate it. They were a lot of fun though and we all had a blast! Of course Leo especially liked eating it.

We managed to squeeze in a visit with Santa at the Bass Pro Shop at Cross Iron Mills before things shut down. Of course there was glass between us and Santa, but they still got to talk to him and ask him for what they wanted, and let's be honest, I wanted the picture as a weird memory of our covid Christmas. 

We got together early with Scott and Kellie's family to go skating and then exchange Christmas gifts with the kids. It's kind of a new tradition we've always done early! We went to Scott and Kellie's house for some chili for dinner and it was just a great day.

We went to the zoo lights one evening and froze our butts off! We've actually had a very mild winter, but the night we chose happened to be one of the colder and windier ones. We "went with" the Rodychs, although we weren't really supposed to be with anyone so as we walked there were many people telling us to stay in our cohort. Even though it was freezing, I still had a good time, and it was fun to have something to do. It was a lot of walking for the kids and they were cold, but we got hot chocolate afterwards and they still had a fairly good time. 

Tamara planned our sibling Christmas party this year, and it was the hardest one to plan because of all of the restrictions that came at Christmas time. The last two weeks before Christmas we were not allowed to hang out with our families or small numbers indoor or outdoor. It was pretty much a lock down and there was a thousand dollar fee if you were caught. Eventually restaurants and everything closed down, but we got in this party and a few other things before they did. So Tamara planned a dinner date to Moxies, where we all sat at separate tables and messaged each other on our phones. Then we headed to the movie theatre, where we sat kind of together but with glass between us! It was quite odd, but something we are kind of getting used to, so I still enjoyed the night having something to do. The kids had babysitters so they had a good night too! 

We also drove to go look at this nativity that was advertised by our church. It was hilarious! You had to drive to different houses and each house has a cardboard cut-out of a nativity character. Then you would listen to a little narrative on your phone and it would play music. The last stop was at the Parkland chapel where all the cardboard nativity cutouts were! It was so funny because it had just dumped piles of snow, so we almost got stuck, and we were just expecting a little bit more. The kids, however, had an absolute blast because Grandma Nielson had given them a bag of treats to munch on while we did that. They said it was one of their favorite things!

Some other things we did this month included my mom having the kids over to make nativity cookies and other nativity crafts, coloring huge poster pictures I bought for the kids from colormefun, Bentley made the cutest nativity drawing, and we did Christmas pancakes on Christmas Sunday. There was also a really fun Santa parade in our community that we all loved watching.

Also I should mention how Leo is just becoming a little chef all on his own. He watches me like a hawk when I cook and then copies me later. I've found him multiple times with a knife and cutting board chopping tomatoes or cracking eggs. The one picture with the food on the counter was all Leo. That counter was completely clear. I can't believe he hasn't cut himself! He also loves to wash dishes. Those dishes were all on the table with food on them, he dumped the food in the sink and washed each dish. It astounds me!

Christmas Eve and Day were very different this year. We were able to still have a good time, but we definitely missed so many things! I'm thankful for kids who are resilient and able to find joy in small things. We also had planned a trip to Arizona 2 days after Christmas and realized the day before we were leaving that Bentley's passport had expired by 1 month so we couldn't go. It was very disappointing and lots of tears were shed (mostly by me and Bentley). She couldn't wait to see Brooke and I couldn't wait to see Jocelyn's family and get away from the crazy restrictions here. I had a tough time with that but eventually got over it and still had a good Christmas break. 

On Christmas Eve my parents came and dropped off gifts for the kids. My dad dressed up as Santa and the kids thought it was hilarious! My mom pulled off an elf costume as well and the kids loved giving and receiving their gifts. That night we did a talent show and nativity program over Zoom with all my family. It was odd, but better than nothing, and Bentley loved being able to play Jingle Bells on the piano while Deacon sang and shook some bells. We also exchanged food dishes outside Tamara's house and brought it home to eat. It was the same dinner of appetizers (as well as ham and potatoes) that we would've had if we were together. My mom even gave us stuff to put together her eggnog punch. After it was all over, the kids opened their pajamas and then put out milk and cookies for Santa. Bentley and Deacon even made a note for Santa without my help at all that I thought was really cute! The kids were SO excited it was finally Christmas Eve!!

Christmas day came and Bentley was up at 5am! After telling her a few times it was still nighttime and to go back to bed, we eventually all woke up by 7. It was an exciting morning of course. Santa left a note telling the kids to go downstairs to find one of their gifts, which were pony cycle horses! And a unicorn for Bentley. They were thrilled! They opened up their stockings and loved everything. Deacon got his beyblades and was ecstatic about them, and Bentley had the best reaction to her Elsa doll with the horse that actually walks and swims. Leo was adorable to watch. He was a pro at tearing off wrapping paper and his "whoa!" reaction to each gift was great. The kids each bought gifts for each other and it was very cute watching them give their gifts too. Jeff and I opened up a couple of things from each other as well, although we don't usually make a big deal out of giving things to each other. The kids played with their toys for most of the day, and then we did another meal exchange with my family again. It was a delicious turkey dinner! I just realized I took no pictures of any of that! Only videos. 

The following week was hard because, as I said, we were supposed to be in Arizona. But we still found some fun things to do. One of those things was snow tubing at COP. The kids had a lot of fun with that and Deacon was especially loving the freedom of going up and down all on his own, carrying his tube along. I was pretty proud of him! Scott and Kellie and family were there as well and it was a beautiful day. The only bad part was that we had to wear masks the whole time.

We didn't do much with the Ady's until later on because Cindy was sick on Christmas. We eventually exchanged gifts with them and did dinner. The kids all got these cute "happy nappers" sleeping bag things and were in love with them!

We went to the Noel Festival one day. They are open even after Christmas except for the Santa part, because he had already gone back to the north pole. There were lots of fun lights, princesses, vendors, and food. We bought some new masks, balloon swords, Bentley got a really pretty necklace, and we got some cotton candy and mini donuts on the way out! Tickets were on sale and it was something to do.

As weird as Christmas was this year, I think we all managed to still have a good time! We're all definitely tired of all these restrictions and feeling a little lonely and disappointed sometimes with the things we can't do. However, kids are very resilient, and I know this will have an end at some point. Can't wait to plan lots of parties and gatherings one day again!!