More Christmas Activities

Laura and Jessica's church kicks off the Christmas season with a wonderful carnival for the kids.  Each year it has added attractions and we love going each year.

This was the new and STAR attraction this year.  A snow hill!!  These poor Texas grandchildren of mine barely know what snow is, and this was so fun for them.

We were at the fair early and were some of the first to try it out.  Elizabeth and Ben are climbing to try their first ride.

I only have shots of Elizabeth.  I took them of Ben and Cooper but they are too far away or blurry.  But trust me, they loved it.

Side view of their church and some of the stands.  They had hot chocolate, popcorn, and cotton candy.  They also had several bounce things, a petting zoo, several arcade type games, a train ride, pony rides, and a living nativity.  All of this is free of charge.

Giant slide.

Look at this cutie.  He kept the hat on all night.

Waiting in line for a ride.

Now our group is ready for the nativity.  We get our hot chocolate and get good seats.

The view from our seats.  They have a little amphitheater near a little pond.

The kids just love the show and always get to go down to see baby Jesus when it's over.  Elizabeth points out that it's a girl because she can see some pink!

Another tradition is to go to a Christmas show.  Last year Elizabeth went to the Nutcracker for the first time.  The boys really wanted to go, so we thought we would try it this year.  I found a cute centerpiece for our lunch table.  We had some pizza at home before we left for our 2:00 show.

Last year I bought Elizabeth a nutcracker to commemorate her first show.  {I suspect that had something to do with the boys desire to see the show.}  Grandma didn't disappoint ~ I picked up some nutcrackers at T*rget.  That's a  much less expensive proposition than picking them up at the theater!

Checking out the table.

They all did a great job at the show.  They were all very attentive and frankly surprised us.  I was wise this year and brought small water bottles and a cookie for intermission which was helpful.  The ballet is at our beautiful theater, and it came complete with snow falling right before intermission.

Magical.

It was a cold day, but we walked to the downtown Christmas tree for a quick picture.  We are on the backside, because the front has Santa, and there was a long line!

We met Grandpa and the dads and Jackson at Cheesec*ke Factory for dinner. It was a long day, but so fun.

You can see we cram a lot into our December, and this is just the stuff I am included in ~ they do many things with friends too.