I am so competitive that I put myself out there like I was one of the kids. I ended up scoring a goal which made my day! I was pretty sore the next couple of days though!
I put up our new advent calendar I ordered from Jane. The girls got to open a little bag each day leading up to Christmas. Each bag had things like lip gloss, dollar bills, candy, etc.
Some teachers went to Paint-a-Piece and made a Christmas platter. It was a lot of work but we had tons of fun!
Here is the finished product:
Ava had a cheer competition.
It was so fun seeing Mandy, her mom, and MC there! It brought back memories of Mandy and me cheering.
Kevin had to work the Christmas parade that day. I think he was secretly excited because it got him out of being at a cheerleading competition all day. HA!
That same night Ava went with Carly to the Olive Garden. Then they went to Starry Nights and spent the night at Carly's house. Those two have so much fun together!
The next day we went to see A Christmas Carol. Jake and Dilan are in the play. It was so fun to see them!
I resisted the elf on the shelf coming to our house for most of December. I finally gave in about halfway through the month.
The elves even came to school with us! (Only for 1 day!)
The last week of school before Christmas break is always fun!
My class received an exciting surprise the day we watched The Polar Express. Santa sent us a package with bells for every stduent The bells were even cold since it came from the North Pole. It was a pretty magical day and one I will never forget!
The last day of school for the kids is only half a day. The teachers have to work a full day but it is really more fun than work. We have our staff Christmas lunch. Then each grade level can perform a skit, song, etc. Here is 2nd grade practicing for our song:
Here is 1st grade looking cute in their tree costumes:
4th grade teachers really went all out! They did a spoof of National Lampoons Vacation. It was truly entertaining.
5th grade teachers did a Nightmare Before Christmas.
Of course, Carol and I went straight to the nail salon as soon as we left school. We both got gift cards from students so we were excited to use them and start the break!
We took the kids to see Christmas City. It was pretty neat to see all the lights!
On the way home, Carol made us get out so she could take a family picture of us. We all moaned and groaned but I am glad she made us. It turned out to be a cute Christmas picture. I just wish we all had better clothes on for it.
The next day Ava helped me make Christmas treats for our family get together. This kid loves to bake and cook!
The next day we went to church and then to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Ava loves their hot chocolate.
I love this kid!
Aunt Nancy loves her some Miley! Miley loves her some Aunt Nancy!
And I love these 3 on this couch!
We had fun playing our silly games we always play. This year we went with traditional charades and of course our white elephant gifts. Papa had fun playing charades.
It was almost Christmas Eve and we realized we didn't have cookies for Santa, so the next day we decorated cookies and drank hot chocolate.
We started a new tradition this year. The 2nd grade teachers decided to get together for breakfast at Waffle House. Ms. Wanda, our custodial worker, works at Waffle House so she was very surprised when we walked in. The surprises kept coming. More and more teachers heard about breakfast at Waffle House and pretty soon we had about 15 teachers there. Ms. Wanda was in tears and overwhelmed! It was definitely a tradition we want to keep going.
That afternoon we went to my mom and dad's house for Christmas with them.
Mom read the Christmas story out of the bible.
Jason was being a big goober, as usual.
Dad got his usual Jelly Bellies. We love this tradition!
That afternoon we went to see Nana. It was hard not having her at mom's house for Christmas. I am glad we got to see her, but she looked pretty sick. We are just praying for God's perfect plan for her life right now.
As were leaving, I caught this picture of Nana's room. That is my mom sitting next to Nana's bed. Such a precious picture! Mom is always right by her side and this picture speaks volumes to me.
That night was Christmas Eve so we let the girls open one gift which is always pajamas.
We usually go to Huey's for dinner on Christmas Eve but no one was too hungry so we ate at home and spent time together watching Santa on the Santa Tracker. Ava passed the time with a latch hook fish.
Elia worked on a puzzle. The clock could not move any slower for these two!
We also watched Christmas with the Kranks. Then it was time for bed finally! By the next morning, Santa had come! He even drank his milk and ate his cookies we left out for him! (This was the before. I didn't get a picture of the empty plate and cup.)
Ava woke up bright and early at 5am. I told her she could not wake up before 6 but there was no getting her back to sleep so I caved and we got up.
Ava went upstairs and woke up Elia around 6am. Poor kid was still half asleep when she came downstairs.
Ava loved her Crazy Cart. We made her wait until the sun was up a tiny bit before she took it outside.
Then we made cinnamon rolls and opened presents from each other.
Miley even loved her gifts! Elia was trying to cut the tag off her toy, and Miley was going nuts trying to get to it.
That afternoon we went to the Carters house for Christmas. Ava got a really cute tea set.
Granddaddy is working on building an American Girl Doll treehouse for Ava's American Girl Dolls.
Of course, Cami and Ava had to do the "jumpy thing" at the mall. They love it!
Of course, we can't leave this blog post without pictures of our furry child!
Merry Christmas!!!!
