This post is going to go all the way back to Thanksgiving, hence the title "holiday season."
New Year's Day
We went to watch cousin Emily as she got her mission call! Nevada Las Vegas West Mission, Spanish-speaking.
New Year's Eve
School winter break
Ben had a basketball tournament Friday, Saturday and Tuesday after Christmas and before New Year's. JB works at the scorer's table and here is Ben waiting to check back in.
I'm 5'6 and he's almost 6'5
These were our seats near the scorer's table and bench. Both JV and Varsity won all their games, and Ben played a little in Varsity as well.
On Thursday after Christmas we went to see "Mufasa" in the theater. I'm to the other side of Millie, it was hard to get everyone in the shot. (The movie was so-so).
On Saturday, Dec.28, we went to eat at Millie's burgers.
I had the Chicken Fried Stake Burger and was so happy that JB teased me and took my picture,
On Monday, Dec. 30, we met with the Deardeuff cousins in Utah for some dinner and play. My brother Joe's family got rear-ended on the way, so we were bummed! We saw Susan and the kids but he had to deal with the truck. We are glad everyone was fine.
We all especially loved holding this cutie cousin Sarah.
Christmas
We got to talk to Max for a while!
Here he is with a picture of our family we sent to his mission president. Because the mail system is so weird, the mission office had families email a letter and a video and a picture and it was part of a special mission conference.
Here are the kids with some of the things they got for each other.
Andrew's new Chiefs jersey.
A hug between James and Ben.
Concerts and performances
Millie and the 3rd graders sang on Friday, Dec. 30. She has loved this dress since I found it -- it has a sparkly top, but the material of the rest is like sweatpants/sweatshirt material.
At our stake sing-in on Sunday, Dec.15, Millie read from Luke 2.
Her tap dance performance was on Saturday, Dec. 14.
Andrew's middle school orchestra concert was on Thursday, Dec.12 in the evening.
James's 6th grade orchestra concert was Tuesday, Dec. 10 during school.
Millie's dance studio put on a performance of the Nutcracker. This is my blurry photo of me and Millie going to see it on Dec. 7.
Traditions
Each year, we love to drive to Christmas Street and see the decorations, then drive through a neighborhood where scriptures from Luke 2 are lit on big signs on each lawn. We also have gone twice now to another street that has these huge oak trees all lined with lights. It is spectacular.
We put up the tree on Dec. 1.
If a ward in our stake does this again, we will make it a tradition -- a live nativity outside with animals.
Christmas Eve we spent at the Richards' house, with the traditional pizza and matching PJs with cousins. We used to go to the bells concert at a nearby chapel but that didn't seem to be happening this year. It's crazy that 20 years ago on Christmas Eve at the Richards house after pizza and bells, I told everyone I was pregnant with Max.
Thanksgiving
JB's sister Sarah invited us to their property in St. George for Thanksgiving and we had such a great time.
The kids remembered the pool from our summer trip, but it was cold, so they spent a lot of time in the hot tub -- but still did some polar plunges!
Sarah knows all the great parks, like this one where you can time yourself running different courses. (This is Uncle Joe's phone's camera below. My camera takes dark photos like the one in the hot tub above, haha)
We went to the Western Sky Aviation Warbird Museum and I really loved it. Our guide was a 70-something retired pilot and that's the kind of guy you want talking your ear off about planes.
We played games together and did puzzles.
The feast itself was delicious, thank you to Sarah for all her hard work.
