Then we went to the Giving Machine in downtown Gilbert. We all chose something to donate and it was very cool! Last year, the line was way too long, but this year there was no wait so I was glad about that.
After that, Michael took Emily and Andrew home to work on homework and Dad and I took Daniel and Jonathan to McCormick Stillman Railroad Park. The parking lot was super full so it took us forever to find a spot. We walked around the model railroad building for a little while.
Then we got on the small train which had a way shorter wait than the big train.
Even the line to get hot chocolate was too long so we walked around and took a couple pictures and then left.
On the way home, we stopped at Menchie’s.
On Sunday, we had a good day at church. After church, I made everybody keep their nice clothes on so we could get a good picture.
Everyone got changed and we had some lunch. Dad and Emily played cards. I made a double batch of poppyseed bread. We drove around and delivered 11 loaves and kept one for ourselves.
After dinner, Dad and I for the Arizona Mesa Mission concert in Mesa. I found out about it when Toni posted something on Facebook. When I realized they were having another one, I knew I had to go. The concert was very nice. Elder Daniel King was in the choir and he accompanied one of the pieces and he also played the guitar for silent night at the end. I got a little bit of it on video and I am uploading it for Toni. I was able to talk with Elder King after the concert and get a couple pictures with him. I sent them to Toni when I got home and she was thrilled!
When we got home, we all watched the Nativity video.
On Monday, Dad helped me wrap presents, which is always a huge blessing to me! (Thank you again, Dad!) We took a break and went out for barbeque for lunch. When we got back, we were able to have a video call with Nathaniel and Dad got to talk to him for a while. The kids and I spent the afternoon doing chores and Andrew made pasta for dinner.
On Tuesday, Dad came with me to work. I brought in some fancy cookies and delivered them to all of the employees. Then I got ready for the luncheon. Some of the other employees helped me set up and decorate so that was very nice. We had Mexican food and everyone loved it. Then we had a White Elephant gift exchange and everyone had a great time! We picked up groceries on the way home and the kids had piano lessons. For dinner, we went to Texas Roadhouse. The wait was way longer than they said it would be but it was really good food. When we got home the kids all studied for finals.
On Wednesday morning, Dad went with me to tennis. This was the last week of my doubles league. It was supposed to end last week but today was our rain make-up day. After tennis, we went home so I could get cleaned up and we went to lunch at Panera. Emily met us there, then she went home to study while Dad and I went shopping. Every year, Dad takes me shopping for my birthday and Christmas. I found some really cute tops, a cardigan, and some nice decorative trays for my bathroom counter. We had chicken noodle soup for dinner, which is one of Dad's favorites.
On Thursday, Dad and I had some more shopping to do. When we were shopping on Wednesday, we came across a Salvation Army Angel Tree and there were so many tags left for kids who needed presents for Christmas. So, we went to Walmart to get them their gifts. After that, Dad met Emily for lunch and took her shopping for her Christmas gifts and I went home to get ready for our company to go to Feed My Starving Children. That went really well and everyone enjoyed themselves.
After our packing session, Michael and I drove straight to the movie theater to watch the new Star Wars movie. Dad had taken the kids to dinner and they were already there waiting for us. The movie was really good. I think it's safe to say we all really liked it!
There was no school on Friday, but we definitely kept busy! We went to Feed My Starving Children as a family with Papa. The kids all did a great job and we had a wonderful time together.
After our packing session, we met Michael for lunch and then on the way home we stopped and dropped off our Angel Tree gifts and went home. Soon it was time for our cookie-decorating lesson. Since there were six of us, a local mom who has her own cookie-decorating business came and gave us lessons on working with Royal icing and taught us how to make some really nice Christmas cookies. We decided to up our Christmas cookie-decorating game this year, and we sure did!
Once we were done with the cookies, Papa took Emily, Andrew, and Daniel to a nearby shooting range and they had a great time!
We had a relaxing evening and watched a movie together at home.
On Saturday morning, we went to breakfast at IHOP before it was time for Papa to go to the airport to go home. Goodbyes are the worst, but we had a nice breakfast together.
We love you, Papa, and we miss you already!!!!
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