December

Ava's hair is getting curlier and curlier.  It's crazy most days.  I thought she would lose her curl by now, but I'm so happy it's getting even curlier.  We tried to make it extra fro-y.

We bought an artificial tree that we were planning to take to the cabin, but when it arrived it was really skinny.  We found out we could return it, so we used it until a few days before Christmas and then mailed it back. :/

I know these magical days of Santa are nearing an end, but I'm trying to soak it all in while I can.  I love the magic of Christmas through the eyes of a child.

Our cute little friend, Avery, got baptized in the American River in December!!  Our churches have been closed since March, so lots of kids have been getting creative for baptisms.  I couldn't believe she did this.  The American River is freezing even in August, let alone December. 

Went to a Covid-friendly neighborhood party with a live band, fire pits and food.  It was a nice outing.

Adam's work sent him this gingerbread house to assemble for their 'Christmas party'.  They did a zoom Christmas party and everyone was supposed to assemble it during the party.....oops, we assembled it early and used hot glue to assemble the walls. :)

One of Adam's ministering ladies is a concert pianist, but doesn't hear well anymore.  She really wanted to try out our piano, so she started practicing a Christmas song to perform for us months before and finally came over to play it.

We're cutting in a new driveway and had to cut down this perfectly adorable Christmas tree.  I was sad to see it go, but it worked as our Christmas tree for the week.

Adam 'borrowed' the excavator that was sitting out front and started scraping off a high side on our trail and hit the water main (it wasn't very deep obviously).  A small quick project turned into a bigger one that night.

Our neighbor gave my kids his junk, including this wagon, so they turned it into a hauling toy.

Came back up to the cabin to spend Christmas there (spent most of December, actually most of 2020 at the cabin).  We went up to Mt. Shasta and found a perfect Christmas tree. The tree permit was only $2, so that was much nicer than the $100 we usually spend on a Christmas tree.

Ava standing in front of the tree while the boys go get the saw.  It was quite warm this day, especially after tracking up the hill to find it.

Lights on and presents under the tree.  It was the perfect tree for the cabin. I didn't want to bring our ornaments to the cabin, so we decorated it with popcorn strands, dried lemons, and a Manzanita star made from clippings in the yard.

Made a wreath out of the left-overs.

Christmas Eve book and pajamas.

All were happy with their loot.  All 3 kids got .22 rifles.  Ava got some stuffed animals, dragons, jolly ranchers and a cool dragon cage that Grant made her. 

Noah got a .22, unicycle, shaver, multi-tool knife, Rubik cube and a cool knife Grant made him (Grant was definitely the better gift giver this year).

Grant got a .22, multi-tool knife, spoon whittling knives, Lego set, a waterproof speaker and pixie sticks.

I was nervous Ava wouldn't want a gun, but she has been loving it and becoming a pretty good shot.

The knife Grant (and Adam) cut out of a piece of metal.  He worked for hours and Ava and Noah's presents.

The family got a zip-line for Christmas, so we spent the rest of the week cutting down trees and working on a path for the zip-line.  It was/is a ton of work.  Here Grant and Adam are testing out a start tree for the line.

Our friends came up for a few days to play with us. It was Jared's birthday while they were there.

Jared brought their Cricket machine and made us all shirts.  I'll have to take a picture of the others, but this is Noah and Ava's.  Noah's says 'Ah Blow Es Span Yol'. 

Ava's is a dragon with her name in it.  Grant's says 'Pants are Irrelevant'.  Mine says 'Go outside, worst case scenario you get eaten by a bear' (has a picture of a bear).  Adam's say 'Let's eat Grandma. Let's eat, Grandma. Commas save lives'. 

Took the fishing boat out.

Ava playing a Manzanita tree while we burn a big pile.

What happens to a pan when it's hit by a .22. 

Made yummy donuts for New Years.  These are made with potatoes, but were actually really good. We had such a great Christmas break at the cabin.