christmas partaaay!

This past week was our ward's (Pearlridge Ward) annual Christmas Party.
It was a simple affair of yummy food, a cute Christmas Play put on by a few of our primary kids, and of course, a visit from Santa himself.

Here's the girls with their goodie bags.
This is at the end of the night.
Let me forewarn you...mere minutes prior to taking this photo, the number of smiles diminished by two. Scroll down to see.

At the beginning of the party.
Because the line to get food was forever long, Mitch thought it a great idea to start Jolee off on dessert first!
Brilliant!
Hence, the chocolate cake goatee.
And in case you were wondering..NO, nary a piece of salad or rice passed those chocolate-y lips.

Kela, however, DID eat all her salad and chicken...and was rewarded with a piece of chocolate cake also.
And no, that's not chocolate cake covering her two front teeth.

She HAS NO two front teeth.

After dinner was the Christmas play.
Which I got NO pictures of. Sorry...
But as consolation, I DID get a pic of Kaden with cousins Riho and Rumi!

AND...to get back to the whole "diminishing smile" debacle (and yes...it WAS a debacle!), here's the first one.
Anna, who despite being 5 years-old, was quite intimidated by Santa and refused to sit on his lap.
I mean, what's so scary about some strange fat man in a large red suit with a white beard that covers half his face and asks kids to sit on their laps?!
RIGHT?!

Anyhoo-we somehow convinced her to be brave and Ezra (sweet cousin that he is) offered to hold Anna's hand while walking those dreaded 6 steps up to the stage to chat with Jolly ol' St. Nick.

And wouldn't you know it, the MINUTE she walks up there, she was totally fine and happy.
Go figure.

This one, however, was unmovable in her wariness of Mr. Claus.
This picture was taken while I was "strongly encouraging" her to walk up the steps.
Yea, she wasn't havin' it.

Kela, however, was fine from the start.

I mean...one would HOPE so when speaking about a 7 1/2 year old!

Well anyway, here's just a handful of the cousins at the party. The rest of the cousins were scattered around the building and therefore, couldn't be bothered.
It was another fun activity...and perfect for getting us into the Christmas Spirit!

This picture was actually taken the previous week...but thought it was just so beautiful that I wanted to share.
It may not snow and get cold enough to conjure up the "image" of Christmas...but seeing sunsets like this helps to remind us of the true meaning behind the season...and to reflect on all the blessings we receive from our Savior, Jesus Christ.

To check out all the pictures I took at the party, click here!