Bethlehem Christmas Party

For our church Christmas party this year we went to Bethlehem.  The church cultural hall was set up to look like we'd traveled back in time two thousand years.  It was awesome.

A lot of people dressed up for the occasion in time period appropriate apparel.  Maybe next time I'll put forth the effort and do the same.  It was fun to see everyone all decked out.

There was a stable set up on the side.  The kids lounged about a bit before we herded them onto the next fun thing.  There were booths set up as well so the kids could do some crafts related to the time period.  They made little oil lamps out of clay among other fun things.

There was some wonderful food to enjoy at the party as well.  There were lots of fruits and veggies that the kids especially enjoyed.  There were finger sandwiches.  There were also a bunch of different types of cookies to indulge in.

After everyone had gotten their fill of food and crafts, there was a beautiful reenactment of the nativity scene.  I really enjoyed the focus we were able to have upon the birth of the Savior.  Christmastime passes by quickly each year, and I find it very important to slow down and remember why it is we celebrate the holiday at all.

A Christmas Craft

Along with the box of presents my mom sent this year, she also sent the kids some ready to make craft kits.  My kids love crafts, and I love when I don't have to gather the supplies myself!  Perfect.

All three kids had a great time with this Christmas craft.  It was the kind where you glue different color squares of tissue paper into an area to make a picture.  The kids did require a bit of help, but overall they had fun.

I'm pretty sure only one of them got totally finished (and that was a day or two later).  These things take a lot of time and patience.  But honestly, that didn't matter.  When it comes to these sorts of crafts it's the "doing" that's the point.

Yay for fun kids' crafts!

Operation

"I don't believe that man's ever been to medical school!"

I found myself thinking that quote quite a few times during our family game night.  We played Simpson's Operation.  

When I was a kid I HATED the game operation.  Anytime I touched the metal side while trying to remove a piece, I would jump a foot in the air.  After awhile I just stopped playing.  It wasn't good for my nerves.  Luckily, as an adult, I've learned to enjoy it again.  Not that I've played much mind you.  This was the first time playing as a family.  

I was actually surprised at how good the kids were -- for the most part.  But Cameron still doubled and tripled everyone else's scores.  I think he cheats.

I am glad game night isn't just about winning though.  It's about the treat, too.  We had delicious rocky road bars.  Seriously, some of the best snacks are had around this little table in our kitchen while enjoying a good game as a family.  Rocky Road bars are one of my favorite treats to make around the holiday.  Unfortunately, they are extremely sweet, so I don't make them often.  They are great completely cooled and coupled with a cold glass of milk.

Treat or no treat though, we all had a great time operating on Homer.  Every time someone touched the metal sides, instead of a loud buzzer, we get to hear Homer say a funny phrase.  My favorite is when he says, "Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow!" over and over.  That guy cracks me up.

A Christmas Carol

Last year we started a Christmas tradition that I absolutely love.  Starting after Thanksgiving we sit down in the evening before bed with the kids to read Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

We get everyone a treat of some sort and sit around our fireplace with all the lights off.  Cameron then reads aloud from the unabridged book.  The kids actually do very well with this.  Britta's attention span is admittedly a bit less than the older two, but she does alright.  This year was better than last year, and I'm sure next year will be even better in terms of sitting still and listening.  The kids really love the time together.

We have consistently finished the book either Christmas Day or the day after Christmas (depending on whether time got away from us on the big holiday). I love the message of the story, and the spirit it brings into our home.  I look forward to enjoying the time reading together as a family for many years to come.

Setting Up the Tree

Usually we like to get our Christmas tree just after Thanksgiving.  We've found that in Austin the tree can actually stay green and fresh through New Years if we are diligent, whereas in Phoenix you're lucky to get a good solid 3 weeks out of a tree.  We like to take advantage of trees being easier to keep here, and get it as early as we can.

However, this year we were pretty busy, and our minds occupied elsewhere.  It wasn't until December 7 that we headed over to Home Depot to grab a tree.  The kids were pretty anxious to decorate a tree by that point.

I've been really pleased with the Home Depot trees here.  They look nice, and the prices are pretty low!  I think we only dropped about $30 on our tree this year.  Not bad at all.

I like the smell of fresh Christmas trees.  My dad even sent us a candle that smelled like them.  Our house smelled very festive this year.

8th Anniversary

Cameron and I celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary December 5, 2011.  For the occasion Cameron arranged for us to stay the night in a fancy local hotel while a good friend from church kept the kids overnight.

The Omni is a really nice hotel in Austin.  Cameron got a great deal, too.  It turned out to be slightly comical though.  He booked the hotel through Priceline, and therefore had no way to specify what type of room we wanted.  We just kind of assumed they'd be able to accommodate us when we arrived.  I guess there really was no way of knowing they would run out of rooms with king sized beds.  We ended up in a room with two double beds.  Double beds are small.  Comically small.  We laughed and laughed.

We decided to go to the old standby favorite for dinner, The Cheesecake Factory is definitely our default.  It was a delicious meal, and we got what we were really there for: Peppermint bark Cheesecake.  They only have it during the Christmas season.  It was worth the trip just for that.  YUM.

We were both pretty tired when we got back to the hotel, and neither of us were feeling very well.  We pushed our tiny beds together, broke out the complimentary bottle of sparkling cider, and watched a movie on HBO.  It was just nice to spend the time together.

The one thing we both realized is that a night away is not enough.  Next time it needs to be a weekend.  Two nights minimum.  Something we also realized is that at this point in time we wouldn't really want to leave the kids for a whole week.  The kids are actually a lot of fun and bring a joy to our day that we would miss if they were away for too long.  I think that's a good thing to realize.  I do hope we are able to do a weekend away soon though.  I would LOVE to make something happen before the baby arrives in April.  Yeah, we'll just see about that one.

Weather

The Friday after we got home from vacation the kids had another class at the Austin Nature and Science Center.  It was raining that day.  Ironically the subject to be explored in the class was, "Weather."  Love it!

I hesitated a bit before leaving for the class worried that it would be cancelled.  It was pouring rain after all.  I'm glad we went though.  It was not cancelled, and the kids had a great time.  They even got to wear the rain jackets I had purchased for them before the drought set in.  Winning!

The kids were able to experience wind by making pinwheels.  They experimented with temperature by using thermometers.  They experienced rain by walking out to where the center had set up a device to measure the amount of rainfall.  It was a very well rounded lesson.

I'm pretty sure Britta's favorite part was the pinwheel.  She loves pink, and tells us that practically every day.  She's so funny about it!

I'm still loving these nature classes.  No regrets at all thus far.  It was even fun to have an excuse to venture out into the rain.  I love the rain, but it's hard to enjoy it as much from inside my house.  I appreciated the chance to sit outside and enjoy the weather we were experiencing while the kids learned more about it.