As soon as we got home from San Diego (like that very night) we started celebrating Christmas! I love to really start the month off strong and spread the holiday activities and spirit through the whole month. That Monday we did our annual "Kick off to Christmas" party. The boys were so excited! They loved decorating the tree, were super psyched about their new matching jammies, and then we snuggled on the couch and watched a Mickey Mouse Christmas movie and drank hot chocolate. I love this little tradition- it's such a fun way to start the holiday!
December 1st we had our BYU friends Christmas party! We've been friends for 8 years now and we love these people! We hosted at our house this year. The adults had a wonderful time chatting around the table while the kids ran wild through the house. We now have 8 kids between our three families (with two more little boys coming in 3 months!) and it is crazy and what a mass of children it is! This Christmas party is one of my favorite events of the season and I'm so glad we made it happen. Also, this picture, with all 8 kids smiling and looking at the camera is nothing short of a Christmas miracle. (L to R: Ella, Hudson, Ryder, Brooklynn, Sophie, Kynlee, Chase and Drew)
December 1st also started our daily acts of service countdown. I love the excitement the boys feel while pulling the little squares off the calendar I made and finding out what we'll do that day and who we will make happy. We made these cute swirling sugar cookies and took them to the fire station and police station one day. It was one of my favorite things we've done- both the fireman and policeman who took the cookies from us seemed so genuinely touched and surprised, and my boys were so sweet wishing them a Merry Christmas. We also had one day where the boys picked some toys to donate- and I was impressed with their willingness to give away a few of their toys. The picture of Hudson and the reindeer was just an activity we did one morning, because this boy has been asking me if we could make a reindeer from his handprints for over a month now!
We took the boys to see Santa! I love doing this a Farmington Station, where we've gone the last 4 years. He's the sweetest Santa, takes his time to talk to the boys, and makes it such a fun little experience! Chase asked for a remote control monster truck and Hudson asked for Paw Patrol play-doh. Hudson also reminded Santa that he LOVES the balance bike Santa brought him last year.
On December 3rd our service activity was to support a local charity- the Festival of Trees. My mom and I have volunteered there for years, but Ben and the boys had never seen it. It really is an incredible event and supports such a great cause- charity care at Primary Children's Hospital. The boys were a little underwhelmed- they heard "festival" and immediately thought of the fall festival at school- with train rides and a bouncy house and donuts. But they were good sports anyway! Ben took the boys home after an hour and my mom and I stayed for 5 more hours frantically working the ticket booth (it was busy!).
I only had to take like 300 pictures to try to get a few cute ones of the boys, in their suits, in front of the Christmas tree. I really love these dapper little humans. This Sunday our service activity was getting to church early to hold the doors open for people as they came. Hudson was ALL OVER this!
We had another couple of baking service days- one to be delivered to a widow (our neighbor, Margo) and one for the mailman. We made some delicious mint brownie cookies with peppermint sprinkles. They took a big part of the afternoon, turned out to be a little more complicated than I originally expected, and my kitchen was pretty messy, BUT I did have a great time cooking with my sweet boys and love seeing them get excited about taking treats to others.
Just nine days into December and it just feels like Christmas! I really, really love this time of year. The older my boys get the more fun and meaningful it all is. I think it's going to be a great month for our family!
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