Time for Christmas

This year it was time to all gather in Wyoming for Christmas. 

Before we left, it was time to drive around Parker looking at lights and drinking hot chocolate. This year we stopped at an incredible display that you could actually walk through. It was impressive!

When we arrived, it was time to decorate the Christmas tree with all the cousin ornaments they get every year from Nana.

Then it was time to celebrate Linda's 65th birthday! I made an orange cranberry cake. Orange sponge with a homemade cranberry jam filling with white chocolate frosting. It was quite delicious.

It's always time to decorate sugar cookies!

Time for the Nativity. 

The kids did a great job acting it out but mostly looked cute in their costumes.

Aislin was particularly cute as a sheep.

And thank goodness the Pajama Elves came on time and delivered all the kids their matching pajamas on Christmas Eve.

The cousins all gathered around PopPop for reading time of The Night Before Christmas.

After lots of wrapping and rearranging, it was time for some rest.

And then it was Christmas time!

Time for stockings. Time for presents.

Exciting times!

It's always wonderful spending time with family.

Covid Christmas Piano Recitals

It's always fun when Christmas time comes around because we start hearing non stop Christmas carols on the piano every day during practice. Raegan was excited to start piano this year and although her initial enthusiasm is waning, she is doing really well. Because everyone is still pretending like covid is an issue, there was no piano recital this year and so their teacher recorded it at a practice. At least in person practice is back.

 

 

Ayden started with a new piano teacher this Fall (after searching and being on waitlists for a year). She had graduated from Laurel, who all the kids have been with since first grade and then she was stuck with me for the past year during Covid, so this has been wonderful. It's been incredible to see Ayden's progress with the increased intensity in instruction. She is a natural!