We pulled out all her decorations & decorated her tree. We put it in the hallway outside her apartment so she could share it with others. She also has a small round table next to her door that she keeps decorated for what ever holiday it is - at Christmas time, she sets her musical snowmen out that plays a ton of Christmas songs. It gives the place a festive feeling that everyone seems to enjoy.
I went with her to play Bingo this time. Her friend Helen is the caller.
They play two cards at a time - 10 games of regular Bingo & then one Blackout game.
Mom won an early game & won 55 cents.
But I won the Blackout game...$5 bucks...Merry Christmas to me! I get my photography skills from my Mom. :)
Later that week, while in San Jose, I got a quick visit with some dear friends at "Tanya's craft thing"...Kelly happened to be in town & it was so fun to see them both.
December also means the Office Christmas party. This year we went to Paolo's in downtown San Jose. I didn't think of taking a picture until we were ready to leave, so Grandma & Grandpa aren't in this because they left earlier, but here we are with Lucy & Ed, Brent & Danxia, Sylvia & her daughter Delfina.
We continued our celebration in the Pacific Northwest with our favorite Holyoaks. Macy & Penelope helped me with my Christmas letters...
We made some crafts, played games, & made goodies...(The smudge you see on Jill's face is actually from my buttery hands - I got butter on the lens of my camera.)
Of course, we got pretty silly...
We took the ferry over to Seattle for the day - it was cold, but very sunny.
Some of us played cards...
Some of us ate snacks to try & keep the nausea away...
Jill is still not feeling her best, but she was a good sport to suffer through it with us.
We headed over to see the Gingerbread House display at the Sheraton Hotel. We stood in a really long line & my pictures did NOT turn out very well, but it was fun to see the different displays. Grandpa kept Roman busy...
We decided NOT to brave the long long line to see the Zoo Lights, so we went to Ben & Jerry's instead...good choice!
They had a special visitor come by, too! Macy was staring at Santa & seemed to recognize a familiar twinkle in his eyes...
After he left, Penelope tried to get a glimpse of his sleigh but she wasn't fast enough.
It was fun to share a little holiday spirit with the Holyoaks. We miss them already - they are so warm & cuddly, it was hard to say goodbye.
You may not know this, but I know Santa personally...in fact, sometimes he lets me go on a few early home visits with him to check out who's naughty & nice.
We have been visiting these families for a long time...some as long as 15 years! We love our Parkview Ward friends & have loved watching them grow...
The Macias Family - Jessi, Lisa & Hunter, MJ & Tanner
The Stepan Family - Wendy & Brooklyn, Matt, Kent, Joe, Sam & Jeffrey
The Van Tuyl Family - Amber, Sara, Allison, Matt, Lilly & Mike
The Summers Family - Scott (behind the camera), Tanya (at a meeting, but she is in the photo posted earlier), the twins, Stephen, Emily, & Eric
The Barlow Family - Rob, Lynette, Justin, Evan, Lindsey, Dallin, & Mahalie (So bummed I didn't get a picture! How did that happen? Maybe I can talk them into sending me one?)
What's a celebration without a little Christmas Sushi with Ty & Christi? We've had fun hangin' out with them going to dinner, & the movies.
Here it is, already Christmas Eve. We are headed to see da boyz tonight & the Middletons tomorrow after Church. It is kinda weird not having little ones around the house anymore. Sometimes we miss those days when our kids were little, but we do our best to make the rounds & we find joy knowing that they are celebrating our Savior's birth with the traditions & memories that they are building with their families, our grandchildren.
We hope you are celebrating with those you love, too. Merry Christmas!
3 comments:
Fun post! You've been busy! Ty told me he was going to "make" you take him out for sushi... you guys are suckers! I love that Santa still makes the rounds! So cool! Merry Christmas!!!
My goodness...what a busy December! It was fun seeing you a little while you were here!
what a fun december for you guys. I loved those San Jose pics..so nice to see old friends and how much all their kids have grown.
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