Christmas in Santa Barbara

 Christmas Day was a Thursday. We flew out to Santa Barbara on Tuesday, the 23rd, and flew back home on Monday, the 29th. That gave us a couple of days before Christmas and 3 days after Christmas. Savie gave up her bedroom for us. They put a twin bed in Annie and Alex's room for her. We knew that the weather predictions were for RAIN, while we were there. Mostly it was just fun for us to be there and participate in the normal Simms Christmas "stuff" 😉They have established several traditions for Christmas. Annie bakes lots of treats to take to friends and ward members. They like to go caroling. Christmas morning everyone gets their own box of cereal, followed by eggs, bacon, and cinnamon rolls. Then later followed by Christmas dinner. They open up gifts while on a zoom call with Alex's parents, so that they can watch. The number 1 gift is still LEGOS. Annies big gift for Nathan was a book about him. (The bottom picture on one of the collages is a picture on the wall from a projector that Savie got). There was a Christmas zoom call with Elder Simms. Our Christmas gifts for the kids was "money to Annie" and then she spends it 😀But I did make a puzzle out of their Halloween picture in M&M shirts and then some M&M ornaments. On Friday afternoon, Mike, Carrie, and the boys came to Santa Barbara. On Saturday evening we for a walk near a pier and then to the Mexican restaurant for dinner. (Thompsons drove back home on Sunday afternoon.) That was an added bonus to see them. One of the advantages of me being behind on my blogging is that Annie got ahead of me- lol. Some of the picture collages are from her blog. The last two picture collages are for Owen and Savies December birthdays, that happened before we got there.