All Things Christmas

I feel like I'm finally coming up for air after running from one thing to the next for weeks on end.  December is always a busy time of year, but throw in dental marketing deliveries and church assignments with deadlines, and I'm one tired mama!
Landon and Parker had a couple days off school so I forced them to go on an adventure to Seattle with me.  I wanted to see the Christmas stuff that I've never seen before and thought they'd have fun.  They did have fun even though they made it clear they had no desire to be there.  What's not to love about these incredible gingerbread houses at the Sheraton Hotel?

This one had elves hiding and popping out of places.  It took us awhile to find them all

This is Santa's workshop

the details on the toys piled on the tables were amazing

After the gingerbread houses, we got hot chocolate at Starbucks.  It was delicious, and I don't even care for hot chocolate!

I did a little shopping while the boys looked out the window

Then we walked to the beautiful Fairmont Hotel to see the life-size gingerbread house, made with real gingerbread bricks. It smelled sooo good!

We went upstairs to the Fairmont teddy bear suite.  Luckily we were there on a weekday because it's tight quarters and definitely not worth waiting in line for.  

Isn't that bed dreamy?!

Parker was in heaven

We went to the annual Festival of the Nativities where we got to see hundreds of nativities on display at a nearby church.  Randy's parents (who came for the weekend) were very impressed. 

On a whim, I decided to make gingerbread cookies with Landon and Parker.  They were excited, the kitchen smelled amazing, and I thought maybe we were in the process of creating a new Christmas tradition.  Then the boys took a bite of their creations and gagged.  Literally spit out their cookie all over the counter and ran from the kitchen.  The cookies were delicious, they just don't like gingerbread.  At all.  Tradition over.

They were so happy...then they took a bite!

Here are some of the boxes of cookies I delivered to dental offices.  Barb helped me package them and I delivered 25 of them in one day.  A new record!

I got to help serve lunch to over 100 missionaries.  These lunches happen quarterly but the Christmas lunch is quite the production which put a huge damper on all the things I anticipated getting done that day.

The decor was incredible!  A lot of work for a one-hour lunch, just to be taken down and then put up again the next day at a different location for the other half of the missionaries in the Seattle Mission.

The cutest hot cocoa station I've ever seen!

100 missionaries eating Christmas brunch.  Afterwards they gathered for a group picture and then they all sang "Called To Serve" to us workers.  I cried.  Being around happy sister missionaries always tugs on my heart strings because they remind me of Lindsey.

The boys just arrived home from their last day of school this year.  We all need a break so even though we don't have much planned, we are going to have a good time just relaxing.  Our friends, The Franks (Oki friends) are coming to visit us for a week after Christmas so that will be a ton of fun for everyone.