Two Weekends of Holiday Fun!

In the midst of all of our busyness, we have managed to go on some holiday outings as a family.  We have enjoyed doing some fun and festive activities for the past two weekends that have helped to get us into the holiday spirit.  Here is a quick blow-by-blow of the last two weeks...

December 1st:

All six of us drove up to Auburn on this Friday night to attend the incredible living nativity hosted by an Adventist church.  We have been visiting this every year (except for 2020 and 2021 when it was cancelled due to the pandemic) since I first discovered it when Logan was a baby.  I am always so impressed with how authentic this church makes this experience feel and am grateful for the opportunity that it gives us to reflect on the true reason for the Christmas season.

A live camel stationed near the three wise men.

Children and adults working at a carpenter's booth in the city of Bethlehem.

King Herod and his court.

The angels singing on high.

Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus.

December 2nd:

Lia and Ella got all decked out in Christmas colors and clothes to walk in the Santa Parade with our children's theater.  Although Lia walked in the Santa Parade for many years with her Girl Scout troop, Ella has never had the opportunity to do this before and she was so excited!

I took the boys downtown to watch the parade and cheer on the girls after dropping them off early at their theater's "float."  Here is their group coming down the street with a red truck leading the way.

The theater group approaching us.  Ella can be seen in her red and white tutu walking away from the crowd to pass out candy to the kids standing at the side of the road.

Ella walking near us to pass out candy.  She had such a good time doing this!

Lia coming right up to the boys and me while handing out candy canes.

A group photo of all four kids and me standing behind the truck after the parade was over.

December 7th:

Although this wasn't an activity with the family, I wanted to include a picture since it was a Christmas outing that Emmett and I did with his friends, Evie and Isaac, and their mom, Jill.  We went to the amazing nursery in our town to visit the two reindeer that Santa "loans" out each year until Christmas Eve.  Here are the kids standing with the reindeer behind them.

December 8th:

Since Lia was volunteering to do backstage crew for the Christmas musical, Elf, that our children's theater was putting on that weekend, she was unable to go with the rest of us up to Issaquah to visit my parents for dinner.  My mom then followed the four of us over to her church in Bellevue to visit the amazing display of the nativities event that they host every year.  After walking around to all of the rooms and enjoying nativity sets from all over the world, the kids ended up in the dress-up room for the first time ever (after Ella begged and begged).  Logan and and Ella both dressed up as wise men and Emmett dressed up as an angel.

December 9th:

I took Ella and two of her friends, Madelyn and Elise, plus Elise's mom up to Auburn to see the evening performance of Elf.  This musical was so cute and well done and a fun way to spend the evening with a bunch of girls.