December 2021 PART 2- Gaudete Party, Boys' Choir Concert, Mountain Trip

We had our annual Gaudete party and as always I barely take any pictures.   Hosting 60-70 folks keeps you busy!

My goal at our parties is to get folks to move out of the kitchen area!  Everyone wants to stay in the kitchen!

And every year the men do a reading from Handel's Messiah-

The next day was Gaudete Sunday and the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  They had rose petals fall from the ceiling.  Marky was chosen as the one of two boys to climb into the ceiling and drop roses.  He sent me this picture.  

 In December we had our last Christmas concert where all four of the Ayers men will sing (the Dads sing every other Christmas concert).   It was BEAUTIFUL!

BB and Poppy always support us!

The morning after the concert we hit the road for a trip the mountains!  We hadn't gone in the fall so we were excited to get there!  As always, I drive and Daddy works!

We got in town in time to have dinner and visit Christmas village!

We rented the most beautiful cabin with the most beautiful views.  What a treat!  All the Christmas decor was sparkling when we walked in- it was magical!

The next day we did the Mountain Coaster and had a ball at Dollywood!  These pictures are all from that day, although I see they are in random order!

The next day we had our tradition of teddy bear pancakes!

And we spent time relaxing at the cabin.

That evening we went to the Pirates Voyage Dinner show!

Sadly, we came down with the flu during this trip.  After being sick all of Thanksgiving and most of December, it was a harsh blow to get sick again.  We were on the mend and able to go to church by the next Sunday-