We love Christmas at our house and this year with the kids being a little older I wanted to do more activities with them. We had fun all through December and it made up the perfect Christmas Season for our family. It started with heading to the mountains for a Christmas tree. We were in search of two things, 1- The best Christmas Tree and 2- Snow! Scotty had been asking for snow since Thanksgiving. We got a little snow then but it melted away the same day and he was sad. He is convinced that if you get snow then it must be Christmas day!!! But he really does love playing out in the snow :)
So we made our way on the long curvy road until we found a little nook of Winter wonderland with snow and plenty of trees to choose from. Apart from the part where I got car sick ( I blame the little one growing inside me) it was a really fun day.
The kids got plenty of snow play in, we ate lunch, had some hot chocolate and of course cut down a tree!!! It was a great day and the kids had a lot of fun. They all were fast asleep within 5 min of getting in the car :) Too much fun for them!
Next up on Christmas fun this year was the Holiday Parade in Caldwell. We missed it last year and I was determined not to miss it this year. I was actually surprised with how busy it was! I didn't expect that many people to attend. The streets were packed with people 3-4 deep and it went on for about 7 blocks. It was crazy we got lucky and got a pretty good front row seat. But it was pretty cold out. Note to self, next time bring more clothes for kids and prob some hot chocolate too :) but we bundled up with what we had and it was a pretty good parade. All the floats were covered with Christmas lights and it was really pretty. We watched for an hour and the parade was still going strong, no end in sight. Our goal was to watch until the kids got to see Santa, but we decided to call it a night after an hour because they were getting pretty cold at that point. Even though we missed Santa the kids really enjoyed seeing all the pretty lights and hearing all the music.
Luckily we were able to catch Santa at our ward party. (saved us a trip to the dreaded mall!) All three kids sat on Santa's lap and no one cried. I was impressed. They were all to excited to ask for anything though and just said Hi. I was glad they finally got to talk to him. Scotty was a little sad that he didn't get his presents when he met Santa but I explained that he didn't bring them until Christmas and then he was happy again. Funny how little minds work like that :)
We attempted to make "Gingerbread houses" this year. It was definitely a pinterest fail but the kids loved it. It was really messy and I think that was their favorite part. I decided to use graham crackers and frosting to make it easier than baking cookies and all that but it just didn't work that great. We sort of got little houses built. The kids decorated them with whatever candy and cereal we already had before they completely fell apart! When we finished the kids had smiles on their faces and plenty of frosted graham crackers to eat so everyone was happy. I call that a win!
On Christmas Eve we finally got some snow! The kids were really excited especially Scotty! They loved getting all dressed up and going outside. They made snow angels, had snowball fights, just rolled around the in the snow and just had a lot of fun. James tried to go out and help them make a snow man but the snow just wouldn't stay together. So then they tried to make a fort ( a little ambitious if you ask me) but in the end were only had to make a small snow wall. Then James showed them how to make really "snow cones" with sugar and cream. It actually tasted pretty good. It was a great way to end the afternoon of playing in the snow!
Not long after that I heard someone playing music outside, We opened the window and the firemen were driving by in their big truck playing Christmas carols, the kids waved and yelled to them and they came to the door and gave them candy canes. I love living in a small town and having amazing people like them who make the holidays a little more special. The kids were really excited to see the firemen!
Christmas day was great! We just stayed here in Middleton. It was actually really nice to not have to pack up everything and drive across the state. I really loved spending Christmas day with just our little family. We had a nice relaxing time opening gifts. Had a late breakfast of cinnamon rolls. I made a Christmas ham and all the fixings. We got to enjoy some sparkling cider with dinner (the kids favorite part of the meal). We made peppermint candy cane ice cream for dessert! It was delicious and might have to become a tradition. The rest of the day we played with new toys, watched movies, ate lots and lots of candy and just really enjoyed out time together as a family. It really made the day feel special to just be with each other and not be in a rush to get anywhere. Of course we did miss our big families and all the fun that is usually had with them. But we chose to make the best of what we had and focus on that!
Hope all of you had special time with your families as well.
Merry Christmas !!!!
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