As usual, we squeezed in as much as possible from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas Day! Both kids were really into Christmas this year which made my heart grow! I've always loved Christmas and actually get sad when Christmas Day comes because it's all over after that. Emmett was very into Baby Jesus and talking about the Christmas story. Clara continued to explain to everyone the real reason we celebrate Christmas!
We started off the season with the annual Christmas Tree lighting. We watched them light the tree in the park and caroled down the street to light the tree in the middle of town. The traditional Swedish dances did not work out so well this year, but we still had fun! The kids took their obligatory picture with Santa and Elise did not disappoint anyone by crying!
I just happened to look into Nutcracker tickets right when they went on sale. Since the entire bottom section was the same price, I managed to get front row tickets! Tia and I took the big kids and they really enjoyed it. I was a little worried because it was during Emmett's nap time, but he was enthralled and did great. Clara definitely loved it the most and started reenacting it afterwards!
We helped decorate at church and followed it up with our annual trip to pick out a tree. The kids helped me decorate, and I'm not sure who was more excited. They were literally begging me to start decorating Thanksgiving night and could not wait to get everything out!
Next we hit up the Reedley Farm Equipment Parade. It had rained earlier in the day and there weren't nearly as many people as usual. We still had a great time and managed to find some friends! Elise was not a fan of the truck horns and spent most of the parade with her hands covering her ears. Lyla was also not a big fan of the firetruck horn, but managed to power through! Emmett burst into tears several times when he didn't get any candy, otherwise we all enjoyed the lights!
This year, Clarita wavered about being in her school float for the Santa Lucia parade. I helped out several days getting it ready and one day I pulled her out of class to show her the costumes and she decided she really wanted to be a horse (not at all what I would have chosen for her). The theme was Charlotte's Web since the whole town had read the book the month before. The kids and I helped put it together the day of the parade and Emmett got to be a cow since there were extra costumes! We all agreed that he was the cutest cow ever! We stopped and saw Santa on our way home, rested, and then headed back downtown. It was a little sad not watching the parade, but both kids had a blast riding on the float. Bailey, and a bunch of our friends were on the Washington float so it was fun to see them too. Dada spent the day running a cold, rainy, muddy 100K so he did not get to see the kids in their first parade, but they told him all about it in the morning!
The Baptist Church in town hosted the ice skating rink again this year. It was still incredibly difficult to skate on synthetic ice, but the kids had a blast. My favorite was the hay ride through town. Clara threw an epic tantrum because I wouldn't let her get all of the coloring pages (there were a million) and I literally had to drag her home while Emmett kept picking up her boots she kicked off.
Zoolights did not disappoint this year. Abuelos, and los Ramirez joined us this year and the kids had a blast running around looking at all the lights! We had been watching the Star Wars movies so the kids were super excited to see storm troopers and Baby Yoda.
The kids had pajama day on their last day of school and I helped out with Clara's party. Clara helped me make gingerbread cookies and then she and Bailey decorated them! Abuelos watched the kids while we hit up the HMC Christmas party, and I even participated in the door decorating contest at work (I did not win)!
We made sure we went to Christmas Tree Lane early this year. Clara walked most of the way, and Emmett was doing great until he fell into a hole in a sewer grate, got soaking wet, and hurt his leg. There was a lot of whining about having to walk, but overall we enjoyed the lights!
Tio Robert and Tia Erika tried to have a cupcake Christmas party last year but they all got sick and had to cancel. This year it went off without a hitch! We enjoyed a nice afternoon of good food and good family/friends!
Last, but not least, was pajama train. There was some confusion about the date, and nights sold out super fast, so we ended up getting tickets on a different night than Tio Robert, Tia Erika, and Eleanora. Tio Rene was sick so Abuela Sheri took his place. It was a cold night, but that made it feel more like Christmas! We saw lots of friends, ate lots of cookies, drank lots of hot chocolate, rode the train a million times, and took our annual photo with Santa. It was a great night!
