We rolled, cut, and baked our gingerbread cookies, but I'm afraid we never did frost and layer them with candy as I had promised. I discovered that those nice, little gingerbread cookies hit a spot deep down inside that was way to satisfying to ruin with extra stuff, so I ran out of powdered sugar until I could convince them that they were perfect just the way they were. Luckily, they're good kids who love their mommy!
Last year I made a "Feed the Cookie to Santa" game (isn't it great how "Pin the Tail on the Donkey can be modified for all occasions?) for Carter's preschool Christmas party, having no idea what a big hit it would become with my family. It will be a long-lasting tradition. I think their favorite part is the dizzy ride in the chair before they take their cookie to Santa. Eric has as much fun spinning as they do riding! We all get a kick out of the stumbling.
I think our Santa hat is more see-through than we thought.
Ashlyn started to take a turn, but we laughed at her, the way we (including her) laugh at everyone, and she crumpled to the floor in sobs and refused to play anymore. The drama!
Friday night was our Ward Party. Santa, of course, was the highlight. The boys' main objective was to discover if it was really Santa or one of his helpers. Due to their super sleuthing skills, they determined that he was neither because he said "I will tell Santa's helpers." Who says that? Maybe "I'll tell Santa" but what's with adding "helpers?" They're not sure who he was, but they're confident in their findings. Luckily, it didn't dampen their Christmas spirit, it only added an air of mystery.
This was the closest I could get Ashlyn. What a surprise.
The line for food gets enormously long before you really even say "amen," so I decided to leave the kids at the table while I waited in line and got all of our plates, instead of trying to keep them with me. I wasn't positive that it was the best idea, but they did pretty good. Mostly thanks to leaving my camera on the table. This was the best of the 20 pictures and 5 videos that occupied their time. If anyone is interested in how everything was decorated...let me know!
Eric had the day off on Saturday, so we loaded up and headed to the MALL! The boy's were not so excited (Seriously? That's what we're doing today?), but Ashlyn was practically giddy. Santa being there was the only consolation for the boys, but the line was so long we convinced them that a picture with the Chic-Fil-A cow in a Santa hat was just as good. Carter has no problem hopping on Santa's lap, but he just couldn't muster the courage for the cow. The picture of Isaac is on Eric's phone, so you'll just have to imagine for now.
To make up for shopping, we took them to a toy train museum to look at all of the different models and settings. It amazes me how long the kids - Ashlyn just as much as the boys - can stare at those trains going around and around. The tracks were pretty neat. It's fun to see all of the detail they put into it and find the funny little quirks.
We love getting home after dark so we can "oooo" and "awww" over all of the Christmas lights. Even the smallest strand is exciting. The kids think its nutty that people put lights on their cactus. They can't figure out why they would risk the prickles. We obviously haven't had great experiences with cactus since we've been here.
Nothing too grand, but we're loving the season!
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