Christmas on the 14th

Last night was Uncle Kyle's last night with us and we concluded our week of Christmas activities with him the only way possible: present opening, pizza and Christmas light viewing.

The girls (okay, and me) have been staring at the present pile growing under the tree and we had NO problem opening a few 10 days early.  It never happens that we get to see each other open the gifts we give in the VM family.

Uncle Kyle gave Ella and Delia some of their favorite books, a magazine subscription and the pop-bead set they've been coveting.

We older kids draw names; I got Kyle and Kyle got Dave this year.  Very very fun to be able to give the gift in person!  (Running gear for Dave and a new wallet stuffed with gift cards for Kyle.)

After gifts, we went to the always fun Uno Chicago Pizzeria for dinner.  After sharing California's version of a deep dish, we took a slow drive down Christmas Tree Lane to gawk at the insane light display one neighborhood puts on.  At home, this Holiday Mint Trifle and a few games of Trains awaited us. 

Yet again, though it was filled with smaller activities and lots of down time, this visit with family was super.  We dropped Kyle off 3 hours ago and we all miss him already!

This Year's Gingerbread Masterpiece:

The Winter Wonderland of Bass Pro

You're going to see a theme in the next few posts!  We're mere weeks away from Christmas, Uncle Kyle is here and we so rarely get to share holiday traditions with family members!  I mentioned in the last post that Kyle is hungry for Christmas activities too. So, Saturday it was off to The Bass Pro shop for the unique Christmas that only they provide!

We got a great picture with Kyle and the girls by the giant tree and fireplace.

We took target practice with the (pink!) Red Rider BB gun.  Once again, all eyes were safe from being shot out.

We took target practice again with the bow and arrow.

We watched trains and monster trucks and racing cars on tracks.  Then we sat down to color the hunting picture.

Dave and Kyle each earned Bass Pro gift cards for test driving a car in the parking lot, so we got to do some rare shopping at this store too!  Always feels good to patronize a place that provides us with so much otherwise free fun! :) 

Christmas in Columbia

When Kyle arrived, he told us that his life has been so busy lately he hasn't had time to really think about Christmas or do intentionally Christmasy things yet.  So, it was perfect that the one outing I had planned for us was all about seasonal celebration!  I had stumbled onto info for this Miner's Christmas Celebration in the Gold Rush town of Columbia.  We went last night and loved being transported back a century and a half as we walked around the old, but restored, buildings of this historic town.

One of the town's most famous spots is an old-fashioned candy shop.  We stepped right into the pages of one of our favorite Christmas stories, The Legend of the Candy Cane, as we considered each glass jar before making our treat choices.  This sweet shop is also famous for their homemade candy canes, so it was cool to see the kitchen where they make them and giant samples of their work.

The streets of Columbia contain one old-time building after the next and the history is so well preserved.  We saw the firehouse with the horse-drawn fire trucks, the courthouse, the covered wagon depot, the saloon, the mercantile, a fancy hotel, the blacksmith, even a bowling alley!  To just wander the crunchy leaf and luminary lined streets was a treat.  For this festival, there were lots of people dressed in clothes of the time telling stories, selling newspapers and shining shoes for a nickle too.

The girls were excited to find Santa.  His friends were handing out fresh baked gingerbread!

Just barely edging out the candy store and Santa as a highlight of the night was the free horse-drawn carriage ride!  We rode up and down the streets listening to Rowdy the horse clip-clop and singing Jingle Bells. 

I think we succeeded in getting Kyle in the Christmas spirit last night!

Singing Her Heart Out

Tonight it was finally Delia's turn.  She took the church stage as a choir member in her preschool's Christmas program.  We couldn't take our eyes off of her, standing so still with her hands clasped so tight, singing her little heart out and clapping wildly for herself.  Delia approaches everything with enthusiasm, so we've been hearing about this all-important program for weeks now and listening to her belt out the songs around the house.  She did so great, and, even more importantly, loved being a part of it!

Miss Jenny always does a marvelous job directing the program and getting those little 3 and 4 year olds to perform so impressively.  She said she was very proud of this year's group.  Ella had to hop in this picture.  She got to be in the audience for the first time, but remembered her part from last year well and sang/spoke the lines right along!

 We had to do the traditional stop for ice cream after the preschool program to celebrate a job well done. 

SO special this year was having Uncle Kyle there to watch Delia sing!  We've always been blessed to have church family come to our kids' programs, but to have real family there this time was awesome!  Kyle just arrived today, so a whole week of Christmas adventures await us!  Tonight was a great start to the fun.

The Rejects

A while ago, we did a little family photo shoot at Knight's Ferry.  You know me-- what was intended as a trip to get one good family picture led to a camera card with over 50 choices on it!  Here's a sneak peek at some of the pictures that did not make the VM Christmas card this year:

You'll see the winners soon.  Cards are being mailed this morning! 

(I've never mentioned this before, but maybe now is a good time.  When Dave and I began church ministry 10 years ago in Indiana, we adopted an "All or None" Christmas card policy.  Either everyone from the church got one, or no one did.  With hundreds of families in our church in CA, we've always gone with the "None" option.  So, you'll receive our card if you're a far-away family member or friend! :)  Wondering how our other friends in the ministry handle this?)

Sinterklaas

To Santa or not to Santa?  That is the question.  We've never made a big deal out of the big guy.  We don't visit him at the mall.  We don't really tell his story or give him credit for any of the gifts under the tree.  This year, however, Ella is starting to ask a lot of questions:  "Is he real?  Why are there so many of him?  Why doesn't he visit our house?"  We've given her satisfactory answers and decided this year to go ahead and teach the kids about a tradition from their Dutch heritage-- Sinterklaas.

I've always thought the story of Sinterklaas and his helper Zwarte (Black) Pete was pretty interesting!  We've had this ornament for a while and we've told the girls the short story explaining it: Sinterklaas is the Dutch Santa.  He's based on a real person.  On December 5, he rides around with his chimney-sweeping helper putting treats in the wooden shoes of the good children.  The naughty children are given rocks and sticks and the really naughty children are stuffed into Black Pete's empty sack and taken away. (If you want to read more about it, you can click here.)

So we told the longer story last night, explaining what the kids in the Netherlands do to celebrate Sinterklaas Eve.  We listened to a few Dutch Sinterklaas songs (anyone remember singing "Sinterklaas Kapoentje" at the Museum of Science and Industry in kindergarten?).  We also put carrots in the borrowed klompies for Sinterklaas's horse.

The girls had a spring in their step when they came out of bed this morning.  It was fun to see them light up at the discovery of little wrapped presents and chocolate coins in the wooden shoes.  We open presents on Christmas Eve and don't include Santa.  I really enjoyed getting to finally see the magic of this through kids' eyes!

Tradition!

For the third year now we had our annual Christmas cookie making night with Jeff, Amy, Jonathan and Grace.  There are some things, like chopping the tree, watching The Grinch and listening to The Messiah, that just make it feel like Christmas.  This fun night with our friends is one of them!

The steps to a counter full of delicious cookies:

One, roll the dough and press it into Christmas shapes.

 Two, add sprinkles!

Three, watch them bake.  (This is the picture we take of the kids every year, kinda fun to look back and watch them grow! Click to see 2007 and 2009.  Must have skipped 2008...)

Four, devour as many as you can before your parents bag them up!

Christmas Bliss

(We're watching Dr. Seuss's classic "How the Grinch Stole Christmas.")

Tree Trimmin'