Garapata State Park
"Hiking distance: 6-mile loop; Elevation gain: 1,600 feet. . . . This hike is strenuous and only recommended for serious hikers." (You know, serious hikers--like our 4 and 7 year olds!) This was the trail we decided to conquer the day after Thanksgiving, and the girls loved it! The trail took us along a creek through a bit of redwood forest, then up to a peak overlooking Monterey Bay. We enjoyed beautiful scenery all along the way, and the girls were champs despite some seriously challenging climbs and descents.

Happy Advent!
Advent is in full swing out here! We actually kicked off the Christmas season a bit early this year (before Thanksgiving) by attending the lighting of the Christmas tree at the local mall. This event also included cookies, hot chocolate, and window shopping at our favorite toy store. Very popular!

The actual Advent season started with a Hanging of the
Greens service at church. We decorated the sanctuary with members reading about the meaning of the decorations and the congregation singing Christmas carols in between. Our family presented the colors of Advent, and the girls got to drape the new linens on the altar and cross. They also joined the rest of the kids in the congregation in decorating the Christmas tree.




Once we got home that Sunday, we did more decorating! Accompanied by Christmas cookies, of course. (The girls and I had a great time making shortbread shaped like Christmas trees the day before.) This is the first time in three years that we've actually been in a position to use our Christmas decorations, and we are pretty excited about it! The centerpiece of our Christmas decor is the Crismon tree (unfamiliar with this tradition? Check out this link), but the girls also have a tree in the upstairs hallway to decorate however they want. Goose and I also did the count: I think we have 19 nativity scenes displayed around the house. The girls and I also decided to string some lights outside this year--nothing elaborate, but it was a first this year, and they love having them out there! Of course, no Advent season is complete with an actual Advent wreath to light every evening.

Our daily Advent celebrations this year have also included an Advent paper chain: each link is printed with a Bible verse from the Christmas story.  The girls have had fun watching that chain get shorter and discussing the details of the nativity story along the way. We've also been reading through Dicken's A Christmas Carol, which has been quite popular. (I think Marley is the girls favorite character, since I keep hearing ghostly wails of "Scrooooooge!" at random throughout the day followed by laughter.)

This year we also got to participate in a friend's Christmas tradition: making gingerbread houses. Miss M made the gingerbread from scratch and built the houses, then invited the girls over to join her kiddos in decorating them with an assortment of icing and candy. So much fun! And delicious!

Last week our OCF group decided to skip our regular meeting and attend Streets of Bethlehem in a nearby town instead. This is a major event sponsored by a local church that includes a "marketplace" where the kids got to pet animals, string beads for bracelets, make clay pots, grind grain, smell spices and perfumes, and watch a magician along with the rest the crowd "in town to pay their taxes." We were ushered by Roman guards to move along through the inns (where we witnessed Mary and Joseph being turned away) out to the "shepherd's fields" (where we saw the choirs of angels) and finally to the stable itself with Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus.

We are looking forward to celebrating the rest of the season!