December - The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

December started with putting up our new tree.  It is pre-lit which saved a lot of time and patience for Mom and Dad.  The girls were a big help decorating.

We rearranged things from last year and set up the nativity in front of the window.

Tree trimming time!

We still have the puppets that we got for the tree to entertain babies...the girls are still fans.

The next day, we went to the annual GD bowling party.  The kids wore their Santa hats that Mom made.  They are getting pretty good at bowling.

 Gwen only threw the ball sideways a couple of times this year!

Then they met the big guy!  Santa sang Jingle Bells with them and asked about their family traditions.

They got some gifts...

and Santa didn't get their names mixed up this year!

Then it was back to more bowling.

Cara almost getting a spare!

Twinkles our Elf on the Shelf surprised us one day with a Minecraft creeper costume.

The girls wore their Rudolph noses to school one day and were asked to lead the whole school in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!

Gwen likes to help shovel and sometimes gets disappointed when she doesn't get to help.  I wonder how long that will last?

Cara is almost swimming on her own!  Her first go at Level 2 went well!

Nana and Howie came by before heading to BC for Christmas.

The kids missed them but the presents made them feel a bit better.

We built the gingerbread reindeers from Grampy and added it to a gingerbread house.

Gwen's ballet class ended with the usual mini-recital.

 Gwen is becoming very graceful.

And light on her feet!

That night was the school concert.  The older kids sang songs from The Nutcracker while some kids acted out scenes.  Cara's class sang the overture and nailed it.

The kindergarten class sang The Lights on the Tree (to the tune of the Wheels on the Bus).  It was adorable!

It was a great concert this year!

When we got home, the kids posed for some pictures in front of the tree.  It's not often they dress up so nicely.

Gwen looking like a big kid.

And a real big kid!

It is hard to get these two to not make silly faces at the camera.

You've got to be fast...

or they go crazy again!

 Sister Christmas hugs.

Cara trying not to fall over from all the hugging.

They have a great time together!

Twinkles waiting for a certain baby to arrive.

We got in a lot of sliding, including a crazy hill not too far from our house that we didn't know about.  It is intense.

We visited with Santa again after a long wait at Bass Pro.

The girls helped with the Christmas baking this year too!

That weekend we went to Heritage Park to get a taste of Old Timey Christmas.

The girls in front of the Prince House.

Fresh snow was everywhere!

After a week of sliding, wrapping, and other Christmas activities, it was a snowy Christmas Eve.  Even though we didn't make it to Church because of the weather, Santa managed to sneak in some magic PJs as usual.  Jamie and Leah came by for supper and Christmas fun before they headed to Ontario the next morning.

The kids each opened presents from Jamie and Leah and one from each other.  

The girls with their gifts from Uncle Jamie and Leah.

And then their gifts from each other, a Minecraft zombie...

and Prince Charming!  Now time for bed.

But first...they had to make sure they left out the treats for Santa and the reindeer.  We forgot to put out the reindeer food that Gwen had made at a party, but Daddy went out in the cold, cold night and sprinkled it around the house....

It worked!  The reindeer led Santa to our house and there was a pile of presents in the morning!

The girls brought their stockings downstairs and started the unwrapping!

They got some Lego from Aunt Jill.

And their big present from Mom and Dad: a dollhouse!

 It took 4 nights for Mom and Dad to assemble it, but they did it!  The kids love it!

 Cosmo got in on the gifts as well!

 Gwen's big present she asked for from Santa: an art table!

 Cara got a this huge enderdragon Lego set from Santa!

Gwen modelling her Sadness mask from Aunt Deborah.

 One of the hottest toys this year: Santa brought Gwen Pie Face!

 Cara was hoping for her own "screen" she could play some games on...

 Santa delivered with a DS!  Cara was confused as she had no idea what was in this box.  Now she plays it almost every day, especially Yo-Kai Watch!

Santa also brought something Mary had been really wanting: a guitar!

 The aftermath...Cara trying out Yo-Kai Watch with Dad and Gwen playing her new Mickey Mouse game.

The kids do play with classic toys as well...

Pie Face was a big hit.

The girls loved their quilts from Nana.

Cara caught a weird virus over Christmas.

Gwen with her quilt.

The girls' friend Freya came over on Boxing Day for some leftovers and fun.  They had a blast at the kids' table.

We went to the Festival of Lights on a nice night.

It is always a big hit.  We drove by this train earlier in the week so we had to get a close-up view.  It was animated and pretty neat.

The kids rode in sleds of course.  Walking is for chumps.

Cara posing with a giant wreath.

Gwen with some snowmen.

It got a little chilly by the time we left, but we got in some night sliding as well.

The kids had a camp-out...in our bonus room.  They aren't brave enough to do it outside in December!

On New Year's Eve, Leah came by...

and her sister Sidney.

We had some afternoon s'mores.

The fire kept us slightly warmer until the sun went down.

We had one last sliding expedition before the end of vacation.  Gwen wiped out bad here but after a few tears she was ready to go again.

Cara flying over the same jump.

Cosmo was more interested in the tree this year, but generally left it alone.

Very photogenic.

This year's star made from last year's cards.

Family portrait.  The kids are adamant that Cosmo is a full-fledged member of the family.

 We had a great Christmas.

 And a Happy New Year so far!

Happy Holidays!