Caroling in Axtell

Saturday, December 20th found the Gavins and us up bright and early. We were heading out to Axtell, NE for the annual Christmas caroling with friends and family out there. 

We were supposed to be heading out by 10 a.m., but Josh and Caleb decided they had to go hunting that morning. KK said that they would definitely be back by 9 in time to clean up and pack. Wrong. Of all the days to bag a deer, it had to be that one. Not just one deer, but two. The deer had to be field dressed, then carted over to Leon's since we didn't want anymore venison, and the boys had to rush home, clean up, and finish last minute packing. We ended up leaving an hour and a half later than we'd planned...

I got to ride with my three brothers on the way out. The boys let me sit up front the whole way! That was fun and very unusual! :)

We listened to Brett Manning's Singing Success CDs for part of the way out. The rest of the way was Christmas carols.

Brie kept teasing us with her dill pickle chips. We had a lot of fun playing around with her. :)

A handy place for a necessary holiday ingredient. 

Uncle Jeff and Aunt Annette graciously let us stay in the Axtell house again. Everyone was at the pinnacle of excitement by the time we got there.

To calm everybody down, Nate started a game of Sorry with the littles (and bigs!).

Aunt Annette had asked us to bring cookies and a dozen sandwiches. Dad, Aunt Carol, Mom, and I worked on making a chicken salad for the sandwiches.

The Axtell community building is just across the town from where we were, so most of us walked there. Once there, the fun began! Somebody had blown up some balloons. Katelyn is obsessed with balls, so she was having a blast!

Aunt Haley with her niece. :)

Instead of having a hayrack ride to houses, they arranged to meet at a special needs center. We met at the chapel to sing for the residents. Wow! That little place was magnificent! 

There was one mentally handicapped guy that just loved the singing! He kept wandering around in front of us, clapping mostly off time with the song and grinning from ear to ear. He was so happy he kept shaking the guys' hands and giving some of them hugs. He gave Ryan a hug and called him "John." He was thrilled when Aaron played a song for him on the piano and we sang along! :)

Our next stop was a care center. That's one of the annual stops. :) 

After the caroling, most of us sat down for a late supper, then plunged head long into the traditional game of Catch Phrase. Usually we sit out in the main part, but it was so loud out there, we all smashed into the kitchen for peace and quiet. :)

Caleb C. got the littles started in on a game of smashing the plastic cup tower with a ball. They loved it!

Of course, after everything got cleaned up, the boys had to play their annual game of keep away, or whatever they call it... :)

Back at the Axtell house, we girls had a candy party before the boys got back. Once they got back, the fun began! Nate and Josh stayed at Smith's but the rest of us stayed at the Axtell house. Here, Ben and KK are having a moment of silence before they began to arm wrestle. :)

It was a tie!

Then they had to see how many push ups, sit ups, etc they could do. It was after 1 am before we all got settled into bed, and around 2:30 before some of us actually fell asleep. :D

While we waited to leave for Smiths', we sang Christmas carols. Some turned out, and, others, well, didn't. :)

We had church at Smiths' the next day. This video is of an impromptu sing right before church. Nate and Aaron started singing Go Tell it on the Mountain. Turn your volume and bass up to hear Nate "take us home." :)

Allen and Tammy Strong were going to be stopping to stay at our house Monday night. Nate had decided to head home that Sunday afternoon instead of Monday morning, so I was sent back with him to finish getting the house ready. Josh and KK went along too. We caravanned with Gavins again. Of course, we had a lot of fun. :)

All of us were exhausted when we got back. The boys crashed on Monday. :)

KK was being silly later that afternoon by twirling Sam's watch around on his finger. It flew off, going directly into his coffee. Sweet justice. :)