Christmas traditions

There are lots of things I love about the holiday season. The weather getting (significantly) colder is not one of them. Family memories certainly are.

Christmas when I was 4 or 5. I still like pink, but I no longer cut my own bangs (bad idea!!)

I usually only get to spend one week with my family during the holidays, but I've found lots of ways to make the most of the time I am and am not at home with them to enjoy the season.

I LOVE driving around looking at Christmas lights. We used to drive around nearby neighborhoods for an hour or two on Christmas Eve looking at these lights when my brother and I were growing up. It was neat seeing everyone's creativity. Since moving to Indiana, I've learned that some people synchronize Christmas lights to music. That is so cool! I can't believe I'd never heard of this before last year. Needless to say, we've been to see a few of those light displays this month already.

This wreath was one of my favorites

This tunnel of lights was awesome!!! It's moments like this I still feel like I'm 5 years old LOL

Granny watches Hallmark Christmas movies a lot during November and December. Since I was always at her house, I did too. These days, it's a way to connect with her and do something together even though we are 2,000 miles apart. Besides, who doesn't love happy movies? Even if they are a little cheesy at times, I like them.

Decorating for Christmas was a BIG DEAL in our house. Mom had more than one tree, tons of ornaments, strings of lights, extra light bulbs for when the original ones burned out, garland on the spiral staircase and lots of other decorations around the house. It also took a long time to put them up. We also had lights on the house, decks, trees and shrubs outside.

Family gatherings are a staple of Christmas vacation. Social media has made it easier to catch up with everyone more than twice a year, but nothing can replace actually being in the same place together and having a good time. It's always something I look forward to.

The cousins with Granny & Grandpa, having a good time as always

One of my favorite things about going home for Christmas is getting to feed our beef cows. It's not much, just breaking open hay bales and giving them hay in the morning and checking on them at night, but it's something Grandpa and I do together. Last year, it snowed the first morning I was there. I couldn't wait to go feed cows with Grandpa. We got all bundled up, made Granny take a few pictures and went out to the manger to feed cows. Snow in Western Washington isn't common and although it was almost all melted by 2 p.m. that day, we like to document a snow day when we get it.

Posing for a quick picture with Grandpa in our yard before going out to the barn

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!