merry christmas

May your days be merry and bright....

the houses that we built

We made graham cracker houses this year with the Slades and Vances. While it is a tradition I love and will keep doing, I don't actually like making my own house. Instead I man the frosting bags and enjoy watching the activity. Because I am entirely lacking in graham cracker house building skills, my children were aided in their creations by others. Amy helped Slade. Lane helped Nathan. And Keri helped Sawyer.

Josh pulled a perfect Grandpa Slade move and built an outhouse.

After helping my kids, the adults moved on to their own fabulous house. Evan built a Wendy's. Lane built a ski hill. Amy built the Borough from Harry Potter. Keri built a chapel. Dave built Stormwind Bank from Warcraft. And Colin built a scene from Star Wars--the X-wing rising from the water.

It was a sugar-filled, messy, fantastic evening.

viva las vegas

Dave had some time off work so we decided to head down to Las Vegas to watch BYU in the bowl game. We drove down on Monday morning, stopping only in Mesquite for gas and a bathroom break. When we arrived in Vegas, we parked at the Excalibur hotel and went in hoping to find a good place to eat. Somehow we ended up eating McDonald's (for the boys) and Quiznos when other choices were too cost prohibitive. How boring is that!? After dinner, began the night of endless walking. We wanted to take the kids to see the water show at the Belagio. Unfortunately we had failed to plan our trip very well and really didn't have enough information. How far was it? Could we park there easily? Walking with five small children and an extra-sensitive-to-the-sins-of-Sin City husband was neither easy or fun. When we finally made it to the Bellagio, we all loved the water show but Dave and I really wished it was longer than four minutes after all our effort to get there.

We made the return trip as quickly as possible and ended up at the MGM Grand so we could see the lions. We walked in the doors and realized that we once again didn't have good information so we had no clue where they were. We decided we were all too tired to do much more walking so we turned around and left. The lions were only about fifty yards from where we were! Ugh.

We got ourselves out of downtown and went to my cousin's house. They were already in Utah for the holidays so we had the whole house to ourselves. Emma completely freaked out about the dog and spent the next hour sobbing upstairs. The boys on the other hand were thrilled by the dog and spent the next hour repeatedly calling her name.

We spent a lazy morning watching TV and then headed to IHOP for breakfast. Everyone enjoyed their breakfast and the boys only embarrassed us ten or eleven times.


Next stop: the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. It was ridiculously overpriced but I'm still glad we went. We just finished studying swimming creatures in school so it was a good follow up. And we don't live near any good aquariums so while this one wasn't exactly large it at least had some interesting creatures.


We made a second attempt to see the lions at the MGM. After more walking, we found them. Sleeping. Of course.

Slade declared that he would do no more walking! We all agreed.

Dave and I left the kids with two babysitters and headed off to the football game. The game was miserably windy and cold but the Cougars came away with a victory. When I asked Dave if he would have rather watched the game at home in his warm living room, he said, "No way." I guess that means it was worth it. Plus, we got to see Dave and Julie Keele, old friends from Boise.

We came home to fine but frustrated kids. The babysitters had refused to let them have any of the treats that we bought for them to eat while we were gone. They claimed that we had told them they were for the drive the next day and wouldn't listen to their explanations to the contrary. Oh well. We gave them lots of treats for a bedtime snack instead. Isn't that what vacation is all about?

After another lazy morning of TV, washing sheets, and reading books, we headed home. We stopped in St. George for lunch where the waiter was rude enough to ruin my meal by telling me the calorie count. Not cool. We arrived home about 8:30 pm and were happy to find plenty of treats from the neighbors on the front porch.

I think this was our first family vacation that wasn't spent visiting family. It wasn't perfect but it was good. When we asked the kids what their favorite thing was Emma said the Shark Reef and the boys emphatically declared Sophie, the dog.

My take away from this vacation was two things. First, knowledge is power. I could have easily done a much better job of research which in turn would have meant a much better trip. Secondly, I have absolutely no desire to ever have a dog.

remember this

This December has flown by. Dave has been extra busy at work and that has made things interesting. Our advent activities have not all worked out very well. There has been plenty of holiday spirit even if it wasn't how we envisioned it. I'll remember...

reading lots of Christmas stories like this new favorite...


sleeping by the tree...


and in Santa hats...


piling in the car to deliver neighbor gifts...



directing our ward's choir program (even though I'm not the choir director)...

my heart breaking for Dave playing his clarinet in the choir program and not a single note coming out and being so in awe that he totally kept his composure...

having a great Singing Time in Primary where we invited random people in from the hall so we could give them a gift of song with a bonus gift of chocolate and then later hearing from Emma that the kids in her class wanted me to know that they loved doing that....

and girls in pretty dresses...

random

Just a couple of random things that I don't want to forget.

At the beginning of the month, Sawyer wanted to wear the dresses in the dress-up box. For such a cute boy, he really doesn't make a very cute girl.

He also is constantly hiking up his pants. If they aren't pants with cuffs that stay up themselves, he'll just hold on to the hems so they are up above his knees.



Dave and I came home from a date and asked the babysitter if anything went wrong while we were gone. She told us that Nathan had cut his hair but didn't think that it was that bad. He was already in bed for the night so we didn't get to see the damage until the morning.


He has a total fascination with scissors. I manage to keep them hidden away for awhile but he always finds them and wreaks havoc on something. Curtains, toys, clothes and hair. This haircut was so bad we had to buzz it all off.

'tis the season

Sometimes I feel like I'm drowning in the mundane. You all know the drill: schoolwork, laundry, dishes, meals, messes, snotty noses, diapers. Sometimes it seems to suck all the energy right out of me. On the other hand, I really try to focus on the good things. When it starts to feel like its too much and I just can't take it anymore (funny how this seems to coincide with that certain time of the month), I try to buck up, sing a little Zippety-doo-dah and get back on my merry way.

Since this is the season to be jolly after all, I've been trying (and sometimes failing) to do just that. Once again we are doing our Advent Activity calendar. Some of the activities have not worked out for one reason or another but most have. Among other things, we baked sugar cookies, colored Christmas pictures, watched Christmas movies, drank hot chocolate. I got to go see my sister in A Christmas Carol.

Last Saturday was Christmas Around the World. This year was the 50th anniversary. In the morning, Dave and I attended a reunion breakfast. It is always great to see old friends and once again recognize how fantastically blessed we were to have been folk dancers. My parents were in town to see my brother and his wife in the show. They graciously took the kids to the BYU employee Christmas party with the Daniel grandparents. After the breakfast, we met up, sent the kids home with Dave so Emma, Mom and I could spend the rest of the day shopping. It was my semi-annual day of shopping. I only do this when Mom or my sisters are around. We finished the outing with dinner at Shoots.

Then it was off the Marriott Center for the show. Before the performance, they had a video playing on three ginormous screens of performances of Christmas Around the World through the years. It was really fun to catch a few glimpses of myself up there. The show itself was great this year too. Yeah, folk dance!


Last night, Dave and I were given tickets at the last minute to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert. Despite the bitingly cold temperatures and having to sprint the five blocks to get there, we enjoyed it. I do not think Natalie Cole is much of a singer but I love listening to the choir.

This morning we turned up the Christmas music nice and loud and danced around the kitchen. I definitely tend to the more subdued side so the kids always find it hilarious when I bust loose a bit. Tonight we will be attending our ward Christmas dinner. Emma and I will be playing Christmas music with a string ensemble as prelude. Afterwards, the kids are planning to sleep by the tree. Tomorrow is the ward breakfast with Santa.

My photos have been rather sparse so far this month. I must remedy that situation. I must document the rest of our activities like seeing the lights, making fudge, graham cracker houses, and caroling. Christmas is only two weeks away!

give thanks for thanksgiving

1. I'm thankful for quiet mornings.

2. I'm thankful that I managed to stay calm today. Even when the turkey and rolls weren't done on time despite my careful planning.

3. I'm thankful for pretty tables.


4. I'm thankful for bountiful food.

5. I'm thankful that I had thought to buy a gravy packet because my gravy turned out to be one big, globby, disgusting mess.


6. I'm thankful for time spent with family.

7. I'm thankful for even more fabulous family in other places and cell phones that allow me to talk with them.

8. I'm thankful for the small things and the really big things that make my life full and wonderful.

9. I'm thankful for Thanksgiving.