Christmas Eve

This year for Christmas, we're in Sterling with Mike's family. The traditions in my family for Christmas eve are going to a candlelight church service, then driving around looking at Christmas lights and singing carols loudly in the car. Mike's family has a dinner every Christmas eve, with wild rice mushroom casserole (mmm, a new favorite of mine) and prime rib (which was actually delicious tenderloin instead this year).

Because everyone is all dressed up, we tried for family portraits. Trevor's family were old pros at it and smiled beautifully at the camera.
Other families faced more challenges ensuring no one was blinking or crying or picking their nose or closing their eyes.
Including mine.

After our tasty dinner, the children put on a nativity play for which Kara was the executive producer, writer, cast director, costume designer, and caterer. One of the highlights was certainly Josh as the donkey. [Insert donkey pun here.]

Ater this, we played with the kids downstairs and got imprisoned, tortured, And shot at.

A violent ending to a pleasant Christmas Eve.