Christmas

On December 1st, we took down our Halloween decorations that we had left up for way too long and decorated for Christmas! Our elf on the shelf, Dash, also showed up that day and brought the kids matching candy cane pajamas, so we wore them as we decorated. It was so fun to have new shelves to put things on! We moved the tree over by the window, the perfect spot, and it looked great. The kids also did their trees in their rooms. We have a girl tree and a boy tree, although Leo was asking for his own to put in his room so we may get him one for next year.

December was a great month, as it always is with all the Christmas activities! We went to the small time theatre play like we usually do and this time they were doing "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever." I took Bentley and we went with Kellie and Emri on a little mother daughter date. We ate at Via Cibo first, and then watched the play. The girls decided to dress up really fancy, including high heeled shoes. I think Emri was trying to impress a boy in the play, but they both had fun with it!

When the kids had a PD day, I used that opportunity to book a Santa visit at Southcenter Mall. I booked it around lunchtime and Jeff was able to sneak away from work and join us for an hour. We combined it with the giving machine and decorating cookies like we usually do. The kids all loved Santa this year! Boston has really warmed up to him and isn't afraid any more. He asked him for a Bluey robot drone with a remote control? Not exactly what we had talked about, so that left me a bit confused! Leo asked for Avengers things, Deacon asked for a fishing rod and a Lebron James basketball, and Bentley asked for some new Birkenstocks. Then we each picked something from the giving machine to buy for someone in need. Afterwards, we had lunch in the food court, and then decorated and ate cookies! Such a great time, although kind of sad that Dad had to go back to work.

The kids' school Christmas concerts this year were great! Boston had one at his preschool and I had my parents come with me to watch. It was kind of funny watching Boston being very unwilling to participate or even stand up with his class. He wasn't mad...just not interested. He finally did something when they threw a handkerchief like a snowball. At least he stayed in his seat and didn't come running to me though! We had some snacks together in his class afterwards and that was that. The RDL concert was great, as it usually is! Leo got to be in it this year and it was so fun to watch him sing. Deacon had to dress up in an 80's theme, which he was very annoyed with at first. After he got dressed and I slicked back his hair, though, he loved it! He loved the clothes (even the jeans!) and even wanted to wear his hair slicked back the next day at school. He got to play his recorder in the concert. Bentley looked beautiful in her sparkly dress and got to play the handbells, which she was very excited about. They all did great!

Scott and Kellie hosted the cousin party at their house, as usual. We had chili and chicken noodle soup, and the kids exchanged their Christmas presents. Everyone was very happy, especially Tara who was in love with the princess castle jewelry box we gave her that sang. It was adorable! Boston also loved his fire station fort Aunt Kellie got him and the little kids all played in it and brought snacks in. Tara got Bentley friendship necklaces for herself, Bentley and Emri so they all wore them together. We also played the gift exchange game with lots of little presents where you pick a number and can open or steal, which is always a lot of fun!

Bentley had her last Activity days of the year where they decorated gingerbread houses and did a mini gift exchange. She loved it! She also went to Violet's birthday party at Color Me Mine.

Our elf on the shelf did some pretty fun and silly things this month. One day I let Leo buy one thing at Dollarama and he found another elf on the shelf, and of course decided that's what he wanted. So now we have two elves! The new one's name is Ginger and he looks a bit different than our other one, but it makes for double the fun. I think my favorite thing the elves did was lose 6 babies they were babysitting from the North Pole! The kids had to help find them around our house. We said goodbye to them on Christmas Eve, and even got to touch them to give them hugs. Weeks later, Boston tells me he misses them so much. 

On the Sunday before Christmas, we went to church for one hour of mostly music. I had been working hard all month to line up all the songs and narration. There was one piece where I played the piano while Britton Manville played the Violin to "What Child is This." I was really nervous about this one because in our practices she struggled a bit to keep the right rhythm. I almost didn't go through with this piece, but prayed lots, and was so happy when it went off without any mistakes! Everyone said it was beautiful. It was a relief when that Sunday was over, but it all went really well and I'm always so thankful for all the people who share their talents. 

Christmas Eve came and we spent the evening with the Nielson side. Dinner was the usual appy's, with a side of ham and potatoes. This year Jeff smoked a ham and it was so delicious! I made some deviled eggs, so it was pretty easy. The spread was great! We had a talent show, as usual, and Bentley and Deacon decided to play a song together on their recorders. They played Jolly Old St. Nicholas because they had both learned it at school and it was really cute! I tried to throw together a last minute reindeer Hokey Pokey for Leo and Boston to do, but it was a bit of a mess. Kind of funny though! My dad did some magic, of course, and even had Deacon step on a bunch of eggs without breaking them. We did the nativity as well and then everyone put on their new pjs for a pyramid picture. It was a great night!

On Christmas morning we all got up around 8am and did our own thing at home before going over to Ady's. The Santa gifts this year were just what they asked for, except for Boston. He opened up a Bluey shopping cart and said it wasn't what he asked for, and then proceeded to kick the present. Luckily he also got a robot dog with a remote control, which made him pretty happy. Although, later on he became kind of scared of the thing. The kids also got to go to the basement to see the big arcade basketball game! We have loved playing that together ever since.  The kids all loved their stocking stuff and their presents from us, and it was so much fun watching them open everything. I was especially excited to give Bentley the Taylor Swift blue crew neck in an XS. She wanted it when we were at the concert, but they were totally sold out. I was able to find one on Ebay! After presents, we headed over for breakfast and presents with the Ady's. It was the usual delicious breakfast we always have and presents were great too. After hanging out for a bit I took Boston back home to play with some of his new presents and then came back for turkey dinner. We all had a lot of fun together. Earlier on, just the adults had gone to Activate and dinner at Omo (Japanese style where they cook the food in front of you), and that was in place of presents. 

On Boxing Day, we all went to the church gym with Jeff's extended family to socialize and have a place for kids to run around. It's become tradition to do this now and is fun to see the family. Rob and Carry always make the drive up to see everyone too. 

The next day, the Fox's flew in and we were so excited to hang out with them! We had lots of sleepovers, went skating, went to Activate, and even waited for them to come to do our sibling Christmas party. Tamara and Lee planned it this year and we started by eating in the food court at Chinook mall, and then went Axe throwing. I had never done it before and was surprised by how hard it was, but got the hang of it by the end! It was actually a lot of fun! We hung out at Tamara's house for a bit afterwards too while eating Billy Miner Pie that they had picked up from The Keg. The kids had the time of their lives hanging out together and we just love when they come for a visit! The left around the same time Jeff and I left for Las Vegas. That will be for the next post. 

December was such a great month and Christmas was so great this year!