Christmas Prep

Here we are, at the end of 2015!  Can you believe it?  I swear, each year goes by faster than the one before!

I took a step away from blogging for a bit so I could enjoy Christmas Break with my kids.  We're spending a lot of time together as a family.  I'll get back into my regular blogging routine after the new year, but I figured I would sneak off in the wee hours of the morning and share a quick update!

We had a wonderful Christmas, but we had JUST as much fun during the few days leading up to the big day!

On Monday, Lily had her preschool Christmas party.  I was photographing the party, so I was able to watch her have fun, too!
 

That evening, we headed into my hometown to see Santa in his tiny white house. It's the place I went to as a child, and we've been taking our kids there since Dylan was just 3 weeks old!

Dylan was in on a few secrets this year, but he still participated!

 

Lexie and Lily were eager to visit Santa and Liam dove into his lap and started clapping!

We had a long wait, and it was a very quick, but successful visit!

 

After we visited Santa, we continued our normal tradition. We drove a few blocks over to check out a neat Christmas Light Display.  Liam LOVED the displays this year!

We ended our yearly tradition by picking up food from Pizza Hut and heading home for Christmas Family Movie Night!

The following day was Dylan and Lexie's last day of school before break. They both had their Christmas parties!

Meanwhile, Phase Two and I enjoyed the unseasonably warm Pittsburgh weather!

Wednesday was the day my kids love to call Christmas Eve EVE.  We celebrated by going to see a local light show.  It was a 2 1/2 mile drive through light displays synchronized to music. Lexie and Grant had other things to do, so we went with my dad.  It was the perfect way to build up our Christmas spirit!

After the light show, we grabbed some hot chocolate before heading home!

By the end of the evening, we were all excited for Christmas! 

 

I hope you all enjoy the last few days of 2015!!!

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Christmas Tradition

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is our annual trip to see Santa in the nearby town where I grew up! 

I visited Santa at his little house, in the center of town, when I was a child.  My dad eventually "filled in" for Santa there for several years. My kids know that Santa can't be at every mall/place around the world, so he has helpers that work with him. ;)  When Dylan was just a few weeks old, we took him to see Santa at that little house, and we go back every year.  This tradition holds a special place in my heart!

We make it a big family night, and we all look forward to it!  We visit Santa at his little house, then have dinner at Pizza Hut, and we finish our evening with a visit to a nearby house with light displays.

This year (technically last year!), we went the week before Christmas.  Of course, we picked the only freezing night in December!

Despite waiting in line, in the cold weather, the kids were so excited to see Santa!



Well, at least the older two were excited!



Luckily, we didn't have to wait too long!




Finally, we were on Santa's front porch.



With four kids, you need a plan of action before visiting Santa.  We decided on oldest to youngest, followed by an attempt at a group picture!

Dylan went first.  It makes me so sad that he might be too big to sit on Santa's lap next year.  As he told Santa what he wanted, I couldn't help but notice how BIG he looked sitting on his lap, and my mind kept flashing back to the tiny baby sleeping in Santa's arms.  How quickly time flies!




Lexie was up next!  Every picture I took looked the same.  She stared at Santa, and just kept talking!  That is so Lexie!  As we were leaving, Lexie insisted they were lucky enough to see the real Santa. I think she was right! ;)




Lily made us all laugh!  When she first climbed on Santa's lap, they had to discuss just how pretty her dress was!  After that, Santa asked her what she wanted, and she promptly replied, "I want a panda that burps and poops!"  The photographer who was sitting in the corner immediately started laughing, and I could tell Santa had a difficult time keeping a straight face!  She is such a character!






Liam was last.  He didn't smile until the end (and I missed it!), because he was too busy checking to see if Santa's beard was real, and holding onto his hand.  It was so sweet!




Like I said, we attempted a group picture.  It didn't work very well!  Santa handed out coloring books and candy, wished us a Merry Christmas, and we said our goodbyes until next time!



By that point, we were starving, so we decided to go out to eat before visiting the light displays.  We love our yearly trip to Pizza Hut (the only pizza I like, but we never go any other time of the year!), but this year the service was awful.  Thank goodness the pizza was still delicious!



We finished our evening at the house with all the light displays.  We love to see our old favorites, and discover new things that were added.





We had a great evening together! I love my crazy little crew!

Visiting Santa

Every year we take our kids to visit Santa at a little house nestled in the center of the town where I grew up. 

Even though the kids got to sit on Santa's lap on Saturday night, our Christmas wouldn't be complete without a trip to that nearby town to see him.   

We showed up right after Santa arrived at his house, and joined the short line of people waiting to see him.




In just a few minutes, we made it to the front of the line!





Dylan and Lexie were so excited to see Santa again!!!



Lily didn't have a great experience on Saturday.  She was sick with an ear infection and sinus infection AND had a swollen lip and bruised cheekbone.  She didn't seem too eager to see Santa again!



Finally, it was our turn to go into the house!  Dylan and Lexie immediately hopped on his lap!







After they told Santa what they were hoping to get for Christmas, Lily joined them. 



She did so well!  She even stayed a bit longer on Santa's lap after Dylan and Lexie walked away.  I think she realized just how nice Santa is!





Santa handed out candy and coloring books to the kids and promised that he would leave them some great gifts as long as they were good and as long as they left him chocolate chip cookies.  With a very merry "Ho! Ho! Ho!" which Lily echoed, Santa said goodbye and wished us a Merry Christmas.



On our way outside, we ran into my sisters, my brother-in-law, and my nephews in line!



My sisters begged me to wait in line with them for a while so I could snap pictures of my nephews visiting with Santa.



After all the Santa excitement, we treated the kids to dinner at Pizza Hut.  After dinner, we loaded them back into the car, and checked out some light displays in the town.  It's part of our visiting Santa tradition!








It was such a great night with our kids.  It really put us all in the Christmas spirit!