I really need to catch up on our latest adventures. This will be a really long post with various activities. I hope you make it to the end. Sorry about that...
A few weeks ago we enjoyed a Nativity display, concert, and time with friends. There were hundreds of Nativity scenes. Erin Joy liked the "Joy" Nativity. I thought it was a nice one too.
We had a fun evening making graham cracker gingerbread houses and playing at the Children's Museum.
A Barbie voice-changing microphone made a great present. Thanks Jean! The interpretive dancing is lovely too:)
Here are a few pictures from the children's museum...
We went on a bus ride to sing carols and look at Christmas lights.
Carpet skating was definitely a favorite...
The library sponsored a holiday magic show. It was a lot of fun. Rachel had fun pulling a magic sock out of a stocking. Because she talked about the show so much and talked about wanting to be a magician, Santa made an emergency trip to the mall to find a magic kit for her. Her Christmas magic show is at the end of this post.
The Saturday before Christmas while we were enjoying a quiet evening in our pajamas, I heard sirens and saw emergency vehicles parked in front of our house. I accused my children of calling 911. I then noticed the fire truck was decorated and Santa Claus was handing out candy canes. My girls and I were all so excited. We ran outside in our pajamas. The girls were smart enough to grab coats and slippers. I had no coat and I was in my bare feet. We let the door shut behind us and we were locked out. Shucks. Forgot the keys....did remember a camera. We enjoyed our visit with Santa and then a really nice neighbor helped us by allowing my girls to play in their house while I retrieved an extra key from a friend.
I enjoyed finding pieces of Nativity sets all over the house. I have cheap sets so I don't mind if my girls play with them. They have a Lego set that I purposely bought for them to play with. I think Jesus would want it that way:) Notice the Nativity pieces next to the stockings we stuffed for the missionaries.
Here they are by the fireplace...
Erin Joy doesn't like the Lego baby Jesus. She always puts the angel in the manger.
My parents gave us "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and every day we have had a lot of fun opening something a food storage item represented by the song. (1st day of Christmas was pears for the "partridge in the pear tree" and so forth.) It was a lot of fun.
Hermy, our Elf on The Shelf, visited us again this year. He hides in a different place around our house. He watches us and reports our behavior to Santa returning to a different spot the next day. On Christmas Eve, he always hides in the Christmas tree so Santa can find him and take him back to the North Pole until the day after Thanksgiving next year.
Hermy always brings us a game to play on Christmas Eve.
We went ice skating on Christmas Eve. It was VERY crowded. They were having a "Snow Bash" with "snow" made by the zamboni piled in the middle of the rink. The kids enjoyed throwing snowballs and making snowmen. We might have to do this every year!
Finally, Christmas Eve night!! The most anticipated night of the year in our house. The girls are waiting patiently to open their cats because there are Christmas pajamas, slippers, and a book inside.
Ready for Santa!!
Erin Joy was so excited that her penguin slippers stay on even when she is upside down.
We always leave chips and salsa for Santa because her gets too many cookies from others. We forgot about reindeer food this year. Ooops.
Santa brought us a Christmas Train this year!! I have wanted one for a really long time because we always had one at my house growing up. Santa had to leave the presents next to the tree because they didn't fit with the train.
Christmas morning, the girls ignored all the presents from Santa, ignored the presents sitting in front of the train that Hermy, the elf, brought them and found the presents they were giving me.
The first two gifts of Christmas were the gifts my daughters gave to me! I had to open my presents from them first. I was stunned. This is the first year that they have realized that giving gifts is more fun than receiving them. I almost cried. So sweet!! Erin Joy gave me a stuffed panda. Rachel gave me a hand-held mixer so we can make cookies together. Our mixer broke several years ago. She also gave me my favorite lotion, Warm Vanilla Sugar, from Bath and Body Works. What thoughtful gifts!! Thanks, sweet girls!
Rachel insisted I take this picture so Aunt Carma and Uncle Tom could see her matching earrings and necklace and say "thank-you" for the nice gift!
Rachel just had to do a cartwheel in the middle of the Christmas carnage...
We enjoyed visiting with the missionaries from our church who are serving in our area. They opened the stockings we gave them and each received a special teddy bear from Santa Claus.
Erin Joy spent the afternoon arranging all her penguins (thank-you Grandma, Rachel, and Santa).
And putting wall decals in her bedroom (thank-you Teresa).
Notice the hat on the emperor penguin...thanks Teresa!
Santa brought light switch covers for the girls. One for the penguin room and one for the owl room...
Thank-you Santa for all the earrings...
Thank-you Aunt Carma/Uncle Tom and Mary for the pictures. I was really excited because there were three nail holes in this wall that I had tried to fill, but still looked bad. It was great to just put a nail where the previous owner had nailed pictures.
Thank-you for the wreath, Melanie! I was planning on buying one after Christmas for 50% off and now I don't have to!! I'm so excited to have a wreath to hang on my door!
Thanks for the fun Twister Dance Game Uncle Tom/Aunt Carma! We played it once then Erin Joy started using the game pieces to make a school. She labeled each circle with a name and used Nativity pieces for the students.
This student is "Glimmer." The angel in the manger...
Even the animals get to go to school....
Introducing "Makenna" the wiseman. And so forth....
Here is the great magician standing in front of her baby picture. The jacket she is wearing was a baby gift. I have a picture of her as a baby in this jacket. You could hardly see her because the jacket was so big. Now look at her....sheesh. She really loves this jacket. It is now too small and the zipper is broken. She still wears it almost daily. She needed a jacket to do magic....she had to discretely put things up her sleeve:)
Be sure to watch the video of one of her magic shows...
