Backtracking - Christmas Break Part 1

In the hustle and bustle of Christmas, I forgot to record some of the events from the holiday. We packed a ton into those two weeks off school, and I officially need a vacation from my vacation.

One of the coolest things we did was visit Bethlehem two nights before Christmas. Lilly was sorely disappointed, dare I say angry, when we got there and it wasn't the actual Bethlehem and we didn't see the real Jesus being born. I, on the other hand, was super impressed. A local church essentially recreates Bethlehem on an empty field next to their church. It totally free and came complete with costumed characters, real animals (chickens, goats, cows, llamas, CAMELS), singing angels, and a live nativity. The kids got coins to pay their taxes, wrote their name in the ledger, touched the animals, saw people making pottery and pounding metal, and sat in awe of the angels singing over Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. I think we found a new Christmas tradition.





We spent Christmas Eve with the Annisons, then came home in time to open new Christmas PJ's, set out cookies for Santa, and try to fall asleep quickly. As they were running to bed, they checked the Santa tracker online and saw that Santa was already in New York. Tyler told the girls to hurry and sleep so they wouldn't miss him, and Ava appropriately said, " I don't know why, I'm excited, but I'm kind of scared, too." I think she nailed the feeling exactly. The combination of excitement and nerves and the thought of someone coming into your house while you sleep is kind of scary and fun, like a haunted house or a roller coaster.


On Christmas morning we opened presents. Lilly's favorite gifts were a Barbie guitar with a headset (like Justin Beiber's) and rock star clothes. Ava's favorite gifts were her Easy Bake Oven, new Webkins, and a stuffed ladybug that turns her room into a planetarium at night.



Our main gift to the girls was to set up the spare room over our garage into a full-out playroom. We sold the treadmill that was collecting dust, moved everything out, and set up an Apple TV for occasional movies. Toys that had been stashed under beds and in closets are now out so they can rediscover them, and they have a place to go when they have friends come to play. The rest of the house is miraculously less cluttered and quiet. Ok, so maybe the playroom was a gift to me as well.

After the German pancakes (and soy pancakes for Naomi) we rested, played with our stuff, let the kids ride their new bikes from Grammy and Grampy, and had some family and friends over to gorge on Christmas goodies, talk, and play. It was a perfect Christmas day.