Christmas 2016

Annual tree finding at Priddy Farms.  

(Only this time we get a brand spankin new baby Greta!  2 weeks old)

Rest Home visit with home school group.  

"We Three Kings" - mom and lucy piano duet and "Jingle Bells" on the uke by luke


resthomeconcert2016 from katiehale on Vimeo.

Nutcracker Ballet.  

I remember it not being that good but it was their first ballet so I think they liked it.  There were only a few real dancers.  And on the way home it was pouring rain and we got soaked stopping at a scary gas station in the middle of nowhere to get ice cream.

Caroling at the Bradshers (oh man, we love them)  And Emme's b-day party toilet paper snowman game.

We did a Christmas dinner / nativity at the Beth and Mike Johnson's a few days before Christmas... with Christy and Tom Bateman and April and Cory Jones. 

angels.   And I don't remember a bear being at the birth of Jesus... but maybe..?

bishop visits with joey

Christmas Eve with the Wilsons and Debbie Long. 
(I am writing this up a year later and am feeling really nostalgic and tender as I go through these pictures.  Oh I miss living by them!)  blurry but special pictures.

Christmas Morning

jingle bell march

presents

a new bike for Maryanne

 and the girls spray-painted their pink balance bike blue for Freddy

 American Girl dolls (well...our generation dolls)

Oh I forgot!  This particular Christmas morning had a bit of a twist.

  The Grinch actually came and stole most of our presents and there were just few under the tree.  And Lucy opened the last one and it was an empty box that had a note about stealing the presents.  We held hands around the train table and sang.... "Fah who foraze Dah who doraze welcome Christmas, Christmas Day....Dah who dahmus Christmas Day is in our grasp  So long as we have hands to clasp"   
 I think we had a few more escape room type clues and then found this puzzle from the grinch. 

ps - I love Joey.  He makes our lives so magical.

Here's a quick little montage of some of our Christmas times....

christmas2016 from katiehale on Vimeo.

Christmas break 

Christmasbreak2016 from katiehale on Vimeo.

Malan and Jane joining Luke on his birthday date - the new Star Wars movie: Rogue One and Baskin Robbins ice cream

t-shirts at the end of december!

It was a wonderful Christmas.  

And the last of its kind.