Ward Christmas Party 2016

Another long day.
After staying up so late again last night, we got the kids up early for scripture study.  They did well with sitting at the table for scripture study, especially when there were Mint M&Ms to be had.

I put together my YouTube video of visiting our friends to get the ornaments.  We did some shopping and library visiting.
LIGHTtheWORLD for December 2 is, "Jesus honored his parents and so can you."  I worked ahead of time on this one.  I wrote a letter to my parents and mailed it a few days ago with instructions on the outside to "Open on December 2."  I'm hoping my parents got it by today.  Did you get it in time, parents?

We told our children that they could do this one by being well behaved at our ward Christmas party this evening.  They actually had it set up so the kids could eat a sack dinner in the back while watching a movie and then do other activities.  The adults could eat different food and socialize in the front.  The theme was a Country Christmas and we were encouraged to dress up.

Nichole said her dragon ate her costume.

 
It was a fun activity.  Santa made an appearance toward the end, reading to the children and singing a Christmas song with them, and several of our kids sat on his lap and talked with him.

 
Jeremy and Santa even compared beards.

I, of course, talked with friends a lot after it was over so we got home kind of late.  Sigh.  At least the kids can sleep in tomorrow morning.

Kick Back and Relax After a Big Day Day

It's been a long day.  Nichole had her dance performance this afternoon so there was a lot of getting ready for that in the morning.  Jeremy took her down to rehearsal while I took the boys shopping to get some last minute things for her.
The performance was fun.  Lots of great dances.  We were surprised to find out that Nichole's class did a Bollywood style dance.  I guess that's what happens when we go birding during dance class instead of staying in the house where the studio is.  We don't see the dance practice or hear the music.
We loved the dance performance today.

Once again proud of our little girl.  But she's not so little.  She's almost as tall as I am.

This afternoon when we got home, Nichole mentioned that it was Make Up Your Own Holiday Day.  I mentioned that we probably wouldn't celebrate it this year because of being busy.  Then she suggested it could be Kick Back and Relax Day since she and I were going to watch the General Women's Broadcast at home while eating brownies this evening.  I mentioned we had a big day so we didn't relax much.  So together we decided the holiday would be Kick Back and Relax After a Big Day Day.

Thanks to my daughter, we celebrated Kick Back and Relax After a Big Day Day on March 26, otherwise known as Make Up Your Own Holiday Day.
I don't know how much Jeremy kicked back and relaxed, though.  While Nichole and I relaxed on the couch watching the broadcast, Jeremy took the boys in to watch a movie in our room.
When it was over, we all enjoyed some brownies and ice cream.  Ahh, nice ending to a long but great day.

Connect

We had a lovely evening.  Jr. Jr. went to visit friends while Jr., Jeremy, and I went to see Nichole perform in her dance show, "Connect."  It was a beautiful show and Nichole did a terrific job.

All the kids were worn out by the time we got home.  Jr. Jr. had a meltdown because I wasn't making him something to eat fast enough.  After a long day of rehearsals and dance performances, Nichole's brain was a little frazzled and she couldn't even think of what she wanted to eat.  And Jr. fell asleep in the car in one of those interesting positions... with his hands in his pockets... and stayed that way as we carried him in and put him on his bed.

Jeremy and I are also tired so I should probably post this so we can crash.