December was a fun, festive and busy month! It began with the Great Falls Parade of Lights on Central Avenue. We braved the cold and met up with some friends. It was pretty fun for the kids to see Santa come on a firetruck. At the end he lit up the gigantic tree in front of the civic center.
Early in the month we also made a drive up the mountains to cut our own Christmas tree. We had never done this, and weren't completely prepared, but we made it work.
We trudged through the snow in the forest in search of the perfect Christmas tree! Not sure if we picked the wrong direction to start walking, but it took us a long time to find something close to what we wanted.
Although we were having fun, the sun was going down fast and it was getting cold. We settled with one that was far from perfect, and daddy got sawing.
The kids were actually excited to be able to go home. It's hard for little legs to trudge through deep snow!
We also had to find the right trail back to the car. What an adventure!
I wish these pictures showed how beautiful it actually was there. We also had a little snow flurry pass though which made it feel magical searching for our tree deep in the woods.
Then we tied the tree down as tight as we could. It was hard. We had to pull over once on the way home. We almost lost it! Nonetheless, it was a great learning experience and one that we would like to make a tradition out of. It was fun to do a Christmas tree the Montana way!
So it wasn't the perfect tree, but we knew once we had decorated it and it would be ours, that we would love it. And we did! Lopsided branches and all.
That night was the ward Christmas party. There was a Santa, and Owen was eager to get on his lap to make sure he was aware of what he was asking for Christmas this year. What a cute boy. Teslyn wouldn't even get close to the line. When Santa made his appearance, he was a little loud and boisterous, which scared her away for the night. She's a little big to force onto his lap, so we forwent that.
For family night one night, we made gingerbread (graham cracker) houses. These kids love getting creative. Teslyn asked to make one almost daily after that.
Here is Owen's masterpiece.
Here is Teslyn concentrating on her creation.
And here it is!
Here is the first grade class of Meadowlark Elementary during their Holiday Program. They had practiced their songs for weeks and even Teslyn knew some by heart, since Owen sang so much at home.
He did a great job and it was fun to hear them sing. So cute.
We had
another random Santa Claus sighting! On Christmas Eve I decided to take the kids out for a drive in their jammies to look at Christmas lights. One neighborhood street had a line up of cars going slow for no apparent reason. When we got closer I could see why. It was Santa Claus! He was camped out in front of a house waving at cars and handing out candy canes. Everyone wanted to stop to say hi! It was so super exciting! I asked him if I could take a picture and he said sure, and opened Owen's door to pose by him. So cute! Teslyn had warmed up to Santa Claus by now, especially since she knew he was nice and brings presents. He seemed like he was in a hurry, so I didn't ask for him to walk around the car to take a picture with Teslyn too.
Christmas morning was fun and magical, just like it should be. Teslyn insisted on putting her pajamas on backwards the night before, if you couldn't tell. She wanted to see the princesses, which were supposed to be on her back.
Owen got the Nintendo DS that he asked for, and Teslyn got a play kitchen with lots of food. Among other things.
It was a fun and busy day, with lots of cooking and tons of food and some good friends to share it with. I also really love my wall of Christmas cards. It fills the space perfectly in my tiny dining area. So thank you, everyone who sent one! They are still there. I don't plan on taking them down for a while!
December was filled with family time, good food and too many treats, festivities, service for others, and a magical spirit of our Lord and Savior while we celebrated his birth, life, and example. We are grateful for this time of year where his love is shared and accepted more freely, and for the blessings that are ours because of Him.
This post would be way too long if I took a picture of every single fun thing we did that month. I do wish I remembered to take pictures of our new tradition we started New Years Eve! I blew up lots of balloons, each one had a coin or dollar bill inside. The kids yelled "happy new year!" then went crazy popping balloons and collecting their loot. A symbol for luck, health and prosperity for the year to come!
