We had a fabulous Christmas Break!
Most of it was spent in sunny California with Mark's sisters and their families.
Some of it was spent in Boise.
And some at home!
But before we get to all of that I need to post about Abby and Hannah's Christmas Programs at school!
Mark decided to change things up a bit at his school with the Christmas program.
His idea: "Christmas around the World".
Each class would choose a different country and then spend the month of december learning about their countries christmas traditons. They would also learn a song and sing it in their countries language to the parents on program day! Great idea!
TUESDAY DEC 17
Abby's kindergarten class chose Bolivia.
They sang "Away in a Manger" in Spanish! And served us authentic Bunuelos (scones) and Api (drink).
This is Abby and her friend Shailee dressed up as traditional (as we could at least) Bolivian girls.
The program went well and I think most students and teachers enjoyed it.
THURSDAY DEC 19
Hannah's Christmas program was more typical.
They performed songs and poems that they have been learning.
She did a great job and I am so proud of her!
Now onto our Christmas Update....
FRIDAY DEC 20
Our original plan was to leave for California after Mark and Abby were done with school on Friday,
we would stay somewhere halfway-ish and get there in the early afternoon on Saturday.
But I think Mark was feeling the Christmas Spirit (since his christmas program went off without a hitch) because he decided it would be okay to take friday off. Good thing I was ready!
So we hitched up the saddle and took off Friday morning.
Grandpa and Grandma weren't expecting us until Saturday night, so when we knocked on their door and yelled surprise, they were truly surprised!
SATURDAY DEC 21
We anxiously awaited the arrival of Liz's family from Portland and Rachel's family from Boise.
We also ran a few errands to help us pass the time.
SUNDAY DEC 22
Sunday began by attending church.
We had a great Sacrament Mtg Christmas program followed by a heart-felt Relief Society program.
(We were having too much fun chit-chatting with the locals that we completely missed Sunday School! Oops!)
After church grandma let the kids decorate the christmas tree.
They strung pasta and used Grandpa Smith's handmade ornaments.
The kids had a great time!
The tree turned out great!
They were so proud of their work!
The kiddos left to right: Burke, Kyle, Carter, Emma, Abby, Hannah, and Lucy
Afterwards it was dinner, dishes, and then off to bed (for the kiddos at least!)
MONDAY DEC 23
The fun activity for the day was decorating Gingerbread houses.
TUESDAY DEC 24 - Christmas Eve!
Between last minute christmas shopping and wrapping, meal preparations, and the mundane duties of motherhood,
we did manage to throw an amazing "Reindeer Games" Party for the kids during the day. Hats off to you Lizzy!
Liz had prepared a few "reindeer games" to play.
Such us...
Christmas Bingo
Pin the nose on Rudolph
Even Grandma and Grandpa had their turns!
But we must have spun grandpa around too much because he was WAY off! Ha Ha!
And a tricky unwrapping game! To name a few!
Thanks Lizzy for the fun games.
It really helped pass the time for these kids!
That night we had a yummy tri-tip dinner.
After dinner Mark's brother Tom and his family joined us.
We chatted for awhile and got caught up! We love seeing Uncle Tom and Aunt Maya.
After a while the kids got restless so we decided it was time to start our rendition of the Nativity story!
We followed my same script from years past. (I really like it!)
This year Hannah was Mary and Lucy was the angel
Kyle was Joseph
Uncle Tyler and Abby were the Innkeepers
Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus at the Stables
Emma was the lone Shepherd being visited by the Angel
And Uncle Ryan, Tage, and I were the Wiseman who joined everyone at the stable.
Despite the chaos, with twelve kids 8 and under (and one, namely Sam, had a MAJOR blowout on grandma just before starting) you could really feel the spirit as we read about Christ's Birth and the true meaning of Christmas.
After we finished, we said our goodbye's to Uncle Tom, Aunt Maya, and little Bruce,
and it was bedtime for the kids.
Surprisingly, they all went to bed REALLY well.
Good thing because Santa had some work to do!
WEDNESDAY DEC 25 - Christmas Day
Christmas morning arrived (and not too early, that I remember!)
Before everyone let loose on the presents, we did manage to get some pictures in front of the tree.
And then it all began...
Hannah drew Mark's name and had given him a new Boise State lawn mowing hat.
Daddy drew Sam's name. So it was 49 er's onesies all the way! Sorry Dad!
We had left most of our presents and home with a note for Santa to leave his presents their too.
More on Christmas #2 later.
The rest of the day was spent playing with the new gidgets and gadgets.
Oh, and eating our hearts out on a scrumptious Turkey dinner (can't forget the food!)
So fun!
THURSDAY DEC 26
Thursday was just another day spent playing with cousins and all the new toys.
We did have another get together with some family from Grandmas side.
It was fun to visit with them (for some of them it was my first time meeting them!)
Uncle Bruce, Kari, Daniel and Hank
Tim, Aiden, Finn and Sarah
All the cousins!
Tage, Hank, Carter, Burke, Kyle, Emma, Abby, Hannah, Mark, Lucy
Aiden, Finn, Sam, Ruby, Rachel, and Jack
FRIDAY DEC 27 - Game Day
So all the Bates' kids went in on a ticket for the BYU bowl game for Grandpa for Christmas.
The men that were there, generously purchased a ticket for themselves too, so grandpa wouldn't have to go alone!
And game day was friday!
The men left early in the afternoon to head to SF where the game was being played.
Us ladies made the kids clean up the house. No really! They were super cleaner-uppers!
Afterwards grandma bought pizza and rootbeer,
the kids watched a movie, and the mom's got things packed and organized.
Next we put the kids to bed and watched a few movies ourselves while waiting for the men to come home.
They had a great time despite BYU loosing.
SATURDAY DEC 28 - Depature Day #1
We all woke up saturday morning pretty sad because our time in California had come to an end.
We will, of course, miss our time with Grandma and Grandpa.
But we will especially miss the sunny, 60 degree weather! It was absolutely gorgeous while we were there!
Fortunately for us, however, our vacation was not quite over yet.
We would be making an overnight pit stop in Boise with Rachel's family.
Mark's brother Mike and his family were visiting there so we decided to stop in and say hello.
We pretty much just visited with them, we were too pooped to do anything else.
But it was great to see them anways.
Here's a picture of the latest Bates' babies (minus baby John).
Sam, Brooklyn and Jack
And here's a pictures of those infamous 2 year olds.
Madison, Ruby, and Lucy
I think it's safe to say we loved every minute visiting family and friends in both California and Boise.
A big thank you Grandpa and Grandma Bates for letting us come and stay with you,
and for making this Christmas so special.
We love you and miss you already!
Also thank you to Rach for letting us crash at her house for the night. We love you too!
SUNDAY DEC 29 - Departure Day #2
Sunday was the offical end of our traveling.
We woke up that morning, said our goodbyes to both Rachel's and Mike's family, and started for home.
The only thing that kept us from crying (not really) was the hopes of Christmas #2 awaiting us at home.
We got home early that evening to find Santa had not forgotten us.
In all honesty though, he totally could have and the girls wouldn't have even noticed!
My parents joined us this go-a-round.
If it looks like Lucy is sick, its because she is...
the cousins shared more than just fun times with us, if you know what I mean (We still love you Ruby!)
My sister-in-law made us all these adorable hats! Thanks Jess!
We had another fabulous Christmas!
And even though most days (especially during the month of January) I wish I was still in CA, it's good to be back home!
Thank you all for making our Christmas vacation a great one!
We couldn't have done it with out you!
Obviously! :)
