Christmas Fun 2018

Christmas morning before breakfast

 

Homemade blueberry biscuits with sugar glaze

Happy Birthday, Jesus

Making sugar cookies on Christmas Eve

Bella and Weston's gift exchange

The NERF crossbow

Hannah and Rapunzel

Hannah and Roxie

James with his Santa gifts

Connor and Weston with Santa gifts

Weston and the NERF gun he wanted

Hannah with her Santa gifts

Trying out her new bike

Connor with his Santa gifts

Hannah, her new doll Madison, and matching pajamas

James playing Weston's guitar

 

Campfire at Tombigbee

Making beignets/donuts in the camper

Hannah enjoying her donut

 

Hannah and Daddy on the disc golf course

Will and me by the campfire

After completing a hole in disc golf

 

Monkeys

 

Grandy giving disc golf a try

Weston, Connor, James, and Hannah at Stone Mountain

Picture with Nana, Granddaddy, Kayla, and Emily

     We packed this Christmas full of fun!  We started with a visit to Georgia to do Christmas with Nana, Granddaddy, and cousins.  We went to Stone Mountain Park to see lights and a few shows.  Hannah was excited to ride the train at Stone Mountain, because she had just ridden the train to Christmas Town the week before. 

     The weekend before Christmas, we took the camper back to Tombigbee State Park.  We played disc golf for the first time, and Mimi and Grandy joined us.  The boys tried to fish again, but the fish weren't biting.  We decided that we will pull out the fishing poles again after it warms up in the Spring. 

     We went to the Christmas Eve Eve candlelight service on the night before Christmas Eve. Bella and Weston exchanged Christmas gifts afterwards.  It was kind of a big deal, because this was the first gift exchange with a special friend.  Weston gave Bella a Starbucks gift card and some sparkly earrings.  He told Bella that it took him like an hour to pick them out.  She saw them and said, "They're so pretty! You know me so well." Bella also knew Weston well.  She gave him a NERF crossbow, which he absolutely loved. 

     On Christmas Eve, Mommy, James, and Hannah made homemade sugar cookies.  Mimi, Grandy, and Jan joined us for dinner.  After dinner, we all opened gifts from Mimi and Grandy.  The kids had a sleepover together in James's room. On Christmas morning, Will and I woke up early to hear kids stirring in the playroom.  We rushed downstairs to see what Santa had delivered.  Will made us eggs and homemade blueberry biscuits for our Christmas breakfast.  We sang "Happy Birthday, Jesus" and read the story of Jesus's birth from the gospel of Luke.

Train to Christmas Town

     Will and I surprised James and Hannah with tickets to ride the train to Christmas Town.  We boarded the train in Batesville, MS, and then headed for Christmas Town.  Hannah loved being on the train.  She and James also loved the hot chocolate and sugar cookies the elves served us.  At Christmas Town, Santa got on the train and visited with all the passengers.  Hannah told Santa that she wanted "treats" for Christmas, and James told him that he wanted a "toy".  Their tickets were punched, and they were both given a bell.  Hannah called it her "dingle bell".  The Littles had a big night out with Mommy and Daddy.  It was fun getting special time with them. 

First Camping Trip in Our New Camper

Picking the camper up in Florence, Alabama

Entrance to Tombigbee State Park

First meal at the table, courtesy of Papa John's

Excited Littles

 

View from the campfire

James and Hannah on their bunks

 

Weston reading on his bunk

Connor the night owl not resting, as usual

James and Connor roasting marshmallows

Is it ready yet?

S'mores waiting on their marshmallows

Family hangout at the firepit

Hannah loves camping and especially s'mores

Mama's going fishing

Hannah enjoying the sunny day

Boys anticipating the big catch

Will helping Connor cast

Fishing buddies

Another pair of fishing buddies

James playing with a night crawler worm

      Over 7 years ago, we started looking at campers thinking it would be a great family-time investment.  About the same time, we also found the perfect house for us.  We soon moved into the house and started remodeling.  The camper purchase was put on hold.  This fall, we decided it was time to start looking at campers again.  We knew the kids weren't getting any younger, and we wanted a way to experience quality time together outdoors. We found just the camper our family needed, and Will and I drove to Florence, Alabama, to pick it up this week.  We took the camper on her maiden voyage to Tombigbee State Park.  We pulled in late Friday night with a pizza we had picked up on the way.  On Saturday night, Mimi and Grandy came over for dinner.  We built a campfire and made s'mores for dessert.  On Sunday, we all went fishing at the lake.  James had fun playing with the night crawlers that we bought for bait.  Unfortunately, the fish didn't do any biting, but it was a fun and successful first camping trip.