So, what did we do this year?
Light the Night on Main: Speedway's Christmas celebration. Frigid temps, bone chilling wind, and a delightful mix of sleet and freezing rain put a damper on this event. I sat in a puddle of frozen slush on a "train" in order to get to Charlie Brown's, which was highly unpleasant. But, we still had dinner at Charlie Brown's and scarfed down some Long's donuts, so we'll count it as a success.
Christmas at the Zoo. Freakishly warm night resulted in the most pleasant Zoo experience ever! We think the Zoo also stepped up the lights. Also realized that the boys are able to do the White River Gardens scavenger hunt all by themselves! Luke and I sat on a bench and enjoyed the scenery and watching the parents of younger children schlepping around trying to find the "Christmas Palm".
Danville Winterland. We discovered all the lights at the Danville park last year and had to go again this year. Once you are in the park, you can drive around as many times as you want. We went around three times and stopped to watch the "dancing tree".
Reynolds Farm Equipment. New this year to the Bickel lineup, we drove to the northeast side to see a fantastic light display! And it was at the John Deere dealer! Bonus for me!
Garfield Park Conservatory. As always, we went to the conservatory for the scavenger hunt and a walk around a tropical oasis in wintery Indiana. Ellie got to join us this year, which was a nice treat. Torrential rains also joined us, which showed us exactly where every leak is in the conservatory roof, which was less of a treat.
Carriage Ride. Cold but delightful carriage ride around downtown. We sang "12 Days of Christmas" and a few other carols as we enjoyed the "worlds largest Christmas tree".
St. Chris Children's Choir. William and Henry were a part of the choir at church on Christmas Eve. They also each read one of the general intercessions. I was a proud mama!
Rowdie Claus. We visited the minor league ball park again this year to see Rowdie Claus (the team mascot dressed as Santa). Rowdie lived up to his name by sitting on the boys, rather than them sitting on him!
Cookies. We had a blast decorating my homemade cutout sugar cookies. William's reindeer joke brought the family to fits of giggles. How do you know if reindeer have been on your roof? Yellow icicles.
Holiday Sing. The Wheeler Elementary holiday program. It was William's last year, so I was a little sad. But it was so cute, I couldn't be sad for long!
Party Day. I helped out with three classroom holiday parties in one day. I can't describe the level of exhaustion I felt by 3:00. It was a blast, but a lot of work went into making it so.
Library Party. Helping decorate the tree, watching a puppet show (the same one every year, mind you), visiting Santa, and having Long's donuts are a must-do every year.
In the midst of all this, we had basketball practices and games for William and Henry, went to the Matisse exhibit at the art museum, decorated the house, went to cousin Mercedes & cousin Fernanda's birthday party, celebrated St. Nick day, had a nice visit with friends from out of town, hosted my family for Christmas movie night, and did all the shopping and wrapping. And we still have Luke's family Christmas on Saturday,
Who's ready to do it all again? Me!! But I may need a nap first...
