And here Mierae and I are standing next to the famous temple in Guatemala.
Mierae's favorite part of the displays was the train running on a track suspended in the air in each room. She wanted to go back over and over to see them.
We loved seeing the gingerbread houses on display too. The room smelled SO yummy!!
And in the atrium was an incredible "tree" made out of potted poinsettias.
Two days after that was our ward Christmas party. Now, to preface this activity, I need to do a little background explanation. Our ward's East/West boundaries were changed again a couple months ago. I was serving as the Relief Society president for the East side, but found out that I was now going to be changed to the new South side (previously West). So, I was released. Eric had been serving in the Nursery and as the Ward Music Chairman. Well, a few weeks ago, we were both called in to talk with a member of the bishopric. We found out there was a new calling for us: Activities Committee Chairs. Now, I knew the current Activities Committee Chairs needed to be released, but I certainly wasn't campaigning for their calling! It was just so surprising because I hadn't thought of that at all! It was like getting my mission call to Ukraine when of all the places in the world I could have been sent, Ukraine hadn't even crossed my mind! Eric and I are excited to have a calling where we serve together (but I guess we've technically already done that since Eric was called to be choir director when I was still a choir pianist). But anyway, the Christmas activity was coming up two weeks after we were called! Thanks goodness the Fords already had everything planned. We just came up with an activity for the kids and were in charge of finalizing the carol singalong. Having this activity to get us warmed up was very nice. Since we weren't in charge of everything, we just got a taste of what things will be like: Jolie strapped in the backpack the whole time while Eric runs around making sure things are taken care of, and me chasing Mierae around or taking her to the bathroom or cleaning up after her. Well, at least all the activities will be exciting!! We got a few shots from our activity, though no time for a family pic.
Mierae LOVED seeing Santa Claus!! She was so excited to go up to him and say hello, and it probably had nothing to do with the fact that he had a candy cane waiting for her... :)
Mierae enjoyed the whole evening with Deva. They ate their pizza together, saw Santa together, ate candy canes together, and ran around the gym together. It is so fun having a best friend!!
Mierae couldn't stop talking about Santa after that. One afternoon she got out my address book (she said it was her "scriptures"), and sat down to read and kept talking about Santa Claus coming to the airport. At least she has the modern Santa image in her head!!
Last night we got to do the activity we've heard so much about but hadn't attended yet: Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Here we are last year at the Cincinnati Zoo (when Jolie was still on the way) with my sister Tamara's family.
The Columbus Zoo has a lot more lights, but they were both a lot of fun, and full of holiday spirit! Mierae dressed well for the occasion.
And Jolie wore matching leopard skin coat and shoes.
On our way to the zoo, we stopped at the mall for Mierae to get a free Chick-Fil-A meal.
Jolie was more interested in eating the table than the food we brought for her!
When we got to the zoo, the lights were beckoning.
We spent most of our time at the indoor attractions, of course! We LOVED being in the Reptile House. Mierae was fascinated by all the snakes and turtles. She was brave and pet the snake in the hands of a zoo employee. She would have stayed at the turtle tank all night long if we hadn't prodded her on!
We also enjoyed the Aquarium, where Mierae pet a starfish, and Jolie stared and stared at the fish tank. It was so fun to see Jolie watching the animals and being interested in what they did. We spent several minutes watching the manatees as they spun themselves around at the bottom of their tank and came up for air every now and then.
But, the best part for Mierae was probably the carousel ride. She didn't seem too excited when she was on, but I think she was just looking around and taking it all in. When the ride stopped, she didn't wan't to get off, and kept asking if she could ride the "horsey" again. We stayed and watched the next group on their ride, and Mierae poked her head through the gate the whole time.
Jolie and Eric were happy to watch while Mierae and Mommy were on the carousel.
It was a great way to entertain the kids, and we enjoyed a fun evening as a family. Now, we're off to DC to see my brother before his family moves to Africa, then to my cousin's wedding, and we're spending Christmas with Eric's sister and his mom! It will be so much fun. Hope I can post about it before too long. See you next year....
1 comment:
What cuties! They are growing so fast! I wish we could see you at Christmas. Have a wonderful holiday!
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