Christmas Activities 2014

We enjoyed a lot of fun Christmas activities this year.

First up was decorating our home! Lucy and I put up all the Christmas decorations one day when Zach was at work to surprise him. I love the cozy and magical feel they add to our home.

Stockings hung by the chimney with care, while I am always dreaming of a white Christmas. 

Next we celebrated St. Nicholas Day by putting our shoes out by the fireplace in hopes that we were good enough that St. Nick would reward us with treats! We were not disappointed!

Zach got a game and Hello Panda cookies and I got Hello Panda cookies. pajamas, and makeup.

Lucy was so excited to try on her new pajamas that she immediately took off her old pajamas, and had to wrap herself up in this blanket so that I could take a picture of her with her treasures, which included: Candy cane stripe pajamas, cat ear headband, Hello Panda cookies, white church tights, polka dot hair bow. 

Clara loved her new maracas, pj's, and Hello Panda cookies. 

The next fun family activity we enjoyed in December included a surprise family date planned by Zach! We went to the Clay Festival at the Art Museum, which included free admission to the museum for the day.

I didn't take any pictures of the ceramics and clay, but I did snap a few pictures of some of my favorite paintings from their collection.

Passing Storm over the Sierra Nevada's, 1870
Albert Bierstadt

Low Tide, Hetherington's Cove , Grand Manan,1881
Alfred Thompson Bricher

Blue Bonnets at Late Afternoon, 1915
Robert Julian Onderdonk

We enjoyed spending time relaxing together on a Sabbath afternoon.

Zach and Lucy watching scripture stories on his phone together.

Clara and I snuggling as matching stripe twins.

Lastly, we enjoyed a very special family night watching a live nativity that several local churches (including ours) collaborated on together. I was brought to tears while listening to the special musical number performed by one of the volunteers who dressed as a shepherd as he sang about the birth of the Savior.

This was my favorite family Christmas activity this year, and can't wait to attend next year. Maybe we will even volunteer and dress up as angels or shepherds ourselves. I loved the sweet spirit I felt as we watched the scriptures being played out before us.

Lucy's favorite part was the baby Jesus doll.

Enjoying the finale, and joining in singing Christmas hymns. 

Bass Pro Shop Christmas 2014

We made another trip to Bass Pro Shop this year to enjoy their awesome (and free) Christmas activities.

First up was a family picture with Santa!

When Santa asked Lucy what she wanted for Christmas she told him, "Christmas lights on my house." Haha! Keep wishing. ;)

Next up, we rode the carousel.

Followed by archery practice with Dad.

They got the bulls-eye on the first try!

Not pictured: Making foam ornament bird crafts, getting free Christmas key chains, and checking out the huge fish tank and all the other taxidermy animals on display

We ended the night by using a gift card we had to buy some of their homemade fudge. It was the perfect treat to end our family night.

Pumpkin pie, rocky road, apple pie, dark chocolate with walnuts, caramel praline. 

Enjoying family night together. 

 We look forward to going again next year!

Six Flags

One of the amazing Christmas gifts we got from Andrew was tickets to Six Flags! We all had an great time! It was so much fun!

Lucy loved all the rides and characters. Good thing we dressed warm, it was freezing that day! The free-refill hot chocolate mug we bought was definitely worth the cost!

I loved the shows and rollercoster Zach and I rode, and enjoyed spending some time on a few ride with my Lullabelle girl.

Teacup ride

Canadian Flag Man!

Clara enjoyed being cocooned in several layers of clothes, blankets, and booties.

Clara was a hit with the cast members. 

Even in the freezing cold Six Flags was so fun! It definitely made the lines shorter. Maybe we will get season passes one year! The water park section was closed, but would definitely be fun in the summer months and a good way to spend hot Texas days.

Strained Peas: Baby Hitler

While feeding Clara strained peas one night, I noticed an uncanny resemblance in manner and appearance to a famous dictator.

"I do not like green peas in a jar. I do not like them near, or far."

"Nein!"

While attempting to break her of her dictatorial approach to eating, we keep giving her new foods to try.

At this Asian restaurant rice was on the menu, unfortunately she couldn't handle it and coughed it back up. I guess she first needs to master swallowing things other than liquids, such as successfully masticating and swallowing a soft piece of bread, before tacking bits of rice.

Small food particles, who knew?

"Who me?"

Wise words indeed.

New Home: Park Visits

We love that our new house has a park just a few streets away! We have already taken advantage of it.

My sweetie.

Everything is big in Texas?

One of the rare chances of freedom and getting out of her stroller.

"What is this strange warmth on my face? What is that bright light in the sky?"

"Heeeey!"

Another day, another time being trapped in her stroller watching the fun just out of reach. "Gee, I'm glad I have these plastic rings to hold..."

This girl loves running and screaming at the park, the only place I let her. 

Winterfest & Movie Night

Our little community hosted a Winterfest and the girls and I stopped by to check it out while Zach ran errands. I heard that there would be snow!

We brought a few toys to donate to the Santa's Workshop and got some tickets for rides, but because it was so cold we didn't even end up using them. We did win coupons for some free desserts at the Chick-fil-A booth, and some free hot chocolate mix.

Lucy also enjoyed writing a letter to Santa telling him her Christmas wish and also shared what she was giving her Dad for Christmas.

North, to Alaska!

She loves these costume suits and was laughing the whole time. Eat more chicken!

The "Snow" I had heard so much about. Lucy's face says it all: Disappointment/confusion

Oh, well! Stand on it, poke at it with your mitten, take a picture, and we're off!

Despite the surprisingly freezing temperatures that day, and the somewhat of a let down on the snow front, it was a fun activity to go and check out. Next year we will have to have Zach come with us so that he can take Lucy on some of the rides while I stand with the baby.



Another fun activity we did for a family day was to go see the movie Frozen at the theater. This was both Lucy and Clara's first movie theater experience and they both did great, minus one small incident with Clara. Half way through the movie at the climax musical number I realized she needed a diaper change, stat.

Suffice it to say that it wasn't her first bath in a public restroom sink. By this point I am pro. Lucky for her I had an extra outfit in the diaper bag for her to change into! Then back to the movie to enjoy the rest of the show. She even fell asleep for the last bit.

Anticipation!

Excited!

Lucy loved it, and is very eager for her next movie theater experience.

A Bass Pro Shops Christmas

One of the surprisingly best Christmas activities we went to this year was a simple family night at Bass Pro Shops. Our friends from church invited us to meet up with them there and we had a great time with free crafts, rides, and a family picture with Santa!

The store is always an interesting place to visit because of the extensive taxidermy displayed throughout the entire store. It also has an enormous fish tank the size of our living room where you can see all kinds of fish. The Christmas decorations just made it an even more fun place to visit for the holidays. Lucy really enjoyed seeing her friends from church, all the animals on display, and especially telling Santa her Christmas wish.

Way to go Pro Bass Shops! We even bought a few small tin mugs with candles in them that looked like hot chocolate for stocking stuffers and some homemade fudge and divinity from the sweet shop on our way out. Yum!

Obligatory picture of Clara's favorite pastime while on an outing: Looking around doing nothing, wishing she was free from her stroller prison

Free crafts with all our friends!

Just chillin'

The girls at the North Pole!

Amazing sweet potato casserole fudge and divinity

This is one Christmas activity I will definitely be doing again next year for a family night! I loved that everything was free (ride, picture, craft, looking around store) and there was a variety of things to entertain for an entire outing.


Anyone else have any fun local activities I should know about for next year?