Christmas Re-Cap

As much as I wanted to be in bed before the New Yorkers rang in the new year, I wanted to do one more 2012 blog update more! 

This year, with our Christmas season promising to be a busy one, we decided to skip going to the Christmas tree farm and just get one at Home Depot.  I took the kids after school one day and they picked out a great tree (I think it's the best one we've ever had, actually.  I just put it out on the curb and it's still totally green and gorgeous.) and named it Fred.  We paid for Fred and I pulled the van up to the curb while the Home Depot man trimmed the bottom and netted our tree.  He brought the tree out to me and handed me a bunch of string, stating that he was not allowed to put it on the car for me.  Awesome.  The next half hour was a little on the stressful side.  I was trying to get Fred tied securely to the roof of Nermous (that's our mini-van's name) but was fairly constantly interrupted by the three fighting children inside the mini-van!  Plus, every time I would open one of the doors to help settle a fight, the dog would try and jump out.  I was sweating like crazy and trying not to yell and scream and my precious children, keeping in mind what a fun special thing getting a Christmas tree is supposed to be.  I just about broke down and cried right there on the curb of Home Depot when Seth told me he needed to poop.  I couldn't take him into the bathroom of the store, since my van was illegally parked.  I couldn't move the van, since the tree was not tied on top.  Now, if you know me very well, you are probably wondering why I didn't just have him use the "car potty".  Well, it was sitting on the front porch at home.  I ended up having him poop in one of the sand toys (which I recycled when we got home) that was in the back of Nermous.  When I finally pulled into the driveway of our house, with Fred still securely attached, I felt like I had accomplished a major feat!  A couple nights later we decorated Fred and he looked lovely for the rest of the Christmas season!

Haley was such a good helper getting Fred secured in his base.

Seth put the star on top...and was very serious about it!

The happy decorators, sitting back and admiring their work!

 One of the first weeks of December we went to The Streets Of Bethlehem, which is a big living nativity that a church over in Salinas puts on every year.  When I told the kids that we were going to go Seth said "Oh, is that the golden street?".  He was thinking of heaven!  Anyway, it turned out to be a really confusing concept that there really is a real place called Bethlehem, but what we were going to was a place that was supposed to be like the real Bethlehem when Mary and Joseph went there and had baby Jesus.  We looked at a lot of maps!  Our friends, the Hughes, went with us and we had a great time.  At the very end they have Jesus risen from the grave, and, even though it's really weird, we took it as a photo op! 

Abby and Haley with Aubrey and Micah and fake Jesus!  I know, it's really weird (and so not what real Jesus probably looked like)

We also took the kids to see the Christmas lights at Vasona Park this year.  Other than Auntie Laura, none of us had ever been.  We got a little bit of a late start, so Seth was already asleep by the time we got there.  I woke him up, though, and we all had a lot of fun going through the park and seeing all the super random Christmas light figures (dancing tooth, dinosaurs, fisherman, asparagus...random).  Oh, and while we were in the line to get into the event, we heard our new favorite Christmas song; Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey!

Thanks to our wonderful friend who gave us tickets, I got to take the girls to see the Nutcracker for the first time.  My mom got to come with us and we had a great time.  Seth was really disappointed that he didn't get to go.  I showed him some on tv, thinking it would convince him that he didn't even want to go, but he loved it.  Maybe next year, Seth! 

On Christmas eve morning we spent time celebrating with Carey's family.  We had a great time with Grandpa Steve, Grandma Jackie, Auntie Danielle, Auntie Kelly, Uncle Rick and Brannon.  We had a delicious breakfast and opened lots of presents!  For some reason, I took zero pictures!

That evening we went to the Christmas Eve party that my family has been going to since I was an infant.  We haven't been able to go in a few years, and were really excited to be able to make it this year.  We got to see friends we haven't seen in a long time, eat yummy food and exchange white elephant gifts.  Also, we went Christmas caroling, which is a long time tradition of the evening.  This time, though, Abby and Haley would run up and knock on the door, and then announce to the person that answered the door that we were caroling.  Then Abby would stand in front of the group of us and wave her arms around like a conductor.  What a perfect job for her...getting to be in control of a big group of people!

Cutie cuties ready to go caroling!

Christmas morning we got up and opened stockings.  I love that Seth reminded his sissies that before they opened them they all needed to sit and let mommy take a picture!  At least they are finally learning that the sooner they all look at me at the same time, the sooner they get to open them!

After the kiddos opened their stockings, we got to work making breakfast burritos.  Abby was a big help rolling and wrapping them.  Once we ran out of tortillas and potatoes we all hopped in the car and headed downtown.  We met our friends, the Hughes, and handed out socks, breakfast burritos, cuties and muffins to the homeless people out in the cold Christmas morning.  I heard Abby tell one man that first they were giving Jesus his present, which was giving people socks and burritos, and then they were going to go home and open their presents!  So sweet.  We had a good time sharing with people, shaking their hands, hugging them and praying with them.  The rain even held off until the very second we headed towards our van!

We went home and opened presents, leaving our poor living room looking like this:

 The kids played with new toys and we all just lounged around the house.  At some point in the afternoon we had birthday cake for Jesus.  I made an ice cream cake this year and it was really good!

Christmas evening, Auntie Laura and her wonderful parents, Bob and Julia, came over for dinner.  We had a delicious meal and a really fun night spending time with them:)

The day after Christmas we went to my parents house to celebrate with them!  Auntie Melissa's boyfriend, Uncle Judah, had his family visiting, plus Uncle Noah and Aunt Kellie were there, so it was a full house (we missed Uncle Nate, though).  We were super excited to give them their gifts and had a really fun gift exchange.  Oh, and my mom had wrapped up a jacket for Seth, who currently only wears t-shirts and shorts.  He unwrapped the jacket and she told him it was just in case he ever wanted to wear it.  He threw it behind him saying, "I'm not gonna wear it!"  Seriously, I don't know how that child doesn't freeze!