The Christmas Season

 I started volunteering in Lucy's class weekly.  Alice, Jack, and Dexter come with me, but are always well behaved and mostly stay in the portable designed for parent volunteers with kids.  I have loved getting to know Lucy's teacher better.  Her name is Mrs. Sharp and she is awesome!

 

Alice usually strolls her monkey to Lucy's school.  We take advantage of the good weather and walk when we can.  It just recently started getting cold.

 

 

In the parent-volunteer-with-kids portable, riding a wagon.

 

 Santa came to the ward party and all the kids got a chance to tell him what they wanted.  Lucy wanted roller skates (check), Jack wanted Transformers (check), and Alice wanted him to give her a candy cane and to stop talking to her.

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 Santa Mouse came on December 5th and left candy in everyone's shoes.

I took Leland to see the Hobbit on opening night for his birthday.  Rose and Jordan babysat (they are awesome!) while we ate sushi and watch the movie.  It was really good and we scored free shirts! a win-win-win situation.

 

Dexter isn't a fan of having to wear his coat now.

 

Lucy and Jack invited a couple of friends over to decorate gingerbread houses the week before Christmas.

The boys ate some candy and then ran outside to jump on the tramp.  The girls stayed to make their houses.

 

 I guess one nice thing about it getting dark at 4:30 is the fact that it feels more cozy inside.

Christmas Eve we went ice skating.  Leland, Dexter, and Alice had to sit out because Dexter can't even walk yet, they didn't have Alice's skate size, and Leland is really nice.  Lucy and Jack were excited, but nervous.  I'm really proud of the way they kept on trying, even after falling a few times.  They never gave up.  Lucy and Jack started out using the pushy things to balance and then decided to try it alone.  We will likely make Ice skating a Faux Family  Christmas Eve tradition!  After ice skating, we hung out with Hannah, Tascha, Jordan, Rose, Poppi and Mimi at their house and then went home and read Luke chapter 2 in the Bible and sang Christmas songs.  We gave the kids the option to watch a movie or to go to bed and they chose to go right to bed!  It was a delightful day!

 

Christmas morning we woke up and opened presents, played, watched movies, and grazed and then headed over to Poppi and Mimi's house for some more Christmas fun.

Leland, Lucy, and Alice having a tea party with Lucy's new painted tea set.

We felt especially grateful for all of our blessings this Christmas.