Parade of Lights and the Nutcracker "Fancy Night"

Denver has a big Christmas "Parade of Lights" to kick off the holiday season. Kim's new office building has an outside balcony that overlooks the City and County Building where the parade starts. We had hot chocolate and popcorn all just a few steps away from the warmth of the indoors while we watched the parade with some of Kim's co-worker's families:

Mattie was very excited for us to go see the Nutcracker. We decided it would be "Fancy" night. Kenzie was too little to go out to such a fancy event. We all dressed up in our best duds and went out on the town for dinner and the Denver Ballets performance of the Nutcracker. Mattie was sooo excited. Here she is at dinner enjoying a chocolate cup for desert:

Mattie really loved the Nutcracker. She tapped along the the music and pretended to be Clara (the girl who receives the toy Nutcracker) for the next month: