L.G.T.P.S.

As in, Let's Get This Party Started!  (Thanks to the "Project Mc2" New Year's countdown on Netflix, haha.)  We had a fun mini New Year's party tonight at about 8:40, before the younger kids went to bed.  Per Eliza's suggestion, we watched the King Julien New Year's countdown a few times, with lots of dancing, before getting out the confetti (which the kids helped me prepare) and the sparkling cider.  It was sweet and simple and fun, and now we can begin 2017 in good conscience.

Opposites

Bejeweled

Eliza received several arts & crafts kits for Christmas, some of which were very sparkly in nature. For the next two days, it looked like we had fairies in the house, with glitter sparkling up at us from the floor, the kitchen table, the bathroom sink, and Eliza's entire head. When glitter wasn't enough, Eliza embellished her face with stick-on jewels, and two of her siblings joined in on the fun.

Rogue One

Ben and Uncle Ben took my big kids to see the new Star Wars movie tonight. Before showtime, I was doing some cleaning around the house and Suz occupied Jack by asking him questions about Star Wars. Why was Leia raised as a princess but Luke was common? Who was Darth Vader's superior? Are the Storm Troops robots? Does Leia have the force? Was Han Solo a Jedi? How did 4 rebels defeat the Galactic Empire? And so on and so on. Jack had answers for everything she threw at him. And what started out as an attempt to get Jack talking became a genuinely educational conversation for Suz, and gave Jack an opportunity to share more Star Wars knowledge than I realized he had. At one point he even pulled out a library book to back up one of his explanations. It was so fun to listen to, and Suz and I both regretted not recording the whole thing.

When it came time for the movie, Ben needed to run an errand so Uncle Ben and Jack went straight to the theater to save seats. It turned out, that wasn't necessary. But Jack had a blast at the movie, and that's the important thing. (Cat, who compared the movie's ending to that of a Shakespearean tragedy, didn't like it as much.)

Five in the Bed(s)

Family Christmas Picture(s)

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

I set up this little photo session immediately after our ward Christmas party a few weeks ago.

I chose the above as our official Christmas picture from the 80 pictures I took in less than 15 minutes.

That's just too many to not share some of the other memorable shots with you.

My Sweet Christmas Girls

We let the kids open their gifts to each other today, and Cat was anxious for me to open the gift she'd bought me.  It's a necklace that says "I love you to the moon and back."  As we are navigating the waters of tweenagerhood and butting heads occasionally, I really loved that she'd chosen this for me.  I was deeply touched and look forward to wearing it to church tomorrow.

Tonight my sister showed me a card that Eliza gave to my nephew, Whit.  It also melts my heart.  What a beautiful message to her sweet, sometimes timid, cousin.

How To Be a Bad Photographer

1. Gather 5 children under 12.

(I could stop there, but I'll continue.)

2. Place children in a noisy restaurant.

3. Put delicious food in front of them.

4. Wait until they are in the middle of enjoying their delicious food and then exclaim, "Smile!"

5. Continue to take pictures in the vain hope that one will turn out well,

while actually just annoying the children and all of the people around you.

6. Share the least bad of the bad portraits.  Or the most bad.  Whichever you prefer.

In other news, we found an affordable place to eat where everyone goes home happy,

even without a good photo.

Wrap it Up

My kids have been clamoring to wrap Christmas presents this year.  All four of them want in on the action, and it's been fun to see them get so excited to choose and prepare presents for their siblings and their cousin.  Cat even had a friend over to hang out last week and they spent almost their entire time together wrapping presents.  Which means my job is getting easier!  And, also, I need a lot more Scotch tape.

How many jaguars does Cat weigh?

I moustache you a question.

Well, it happens.

Especially when Jack throws it against the wall.

Suz is here!

Day 1.

Tree Time

Target's Cousin Light Saber Battle

Traitor

Tonight Jack and Luke were building Star Wars-type ships using Mega Bloks and a whole lot of imagination.

I overheard Luke exclaim, "Jack, stop shooting me!  I'm on your team!"

Gingerbread Manblob

"Mom, look!  They're all standing on heads and holding hands!"

Tell Me Something I Don't Know

The other evening we were all kneeling down for family prayers and, as usual, Luke was running around, resisting our efforts to help him settle down.  Finally, Ben caught him and started to put him on his lap, but Luke refused.

"No," he said.  "I want to sit wif Mommy."

Oh, he's so sweet, I thought.

"She's more comfy."

I'm choosing to take that as a compliment.

Paper Masks

Eliza cut a bunch of snowflakes the other day, then branched out into masks. She taped hers onto her face, then taped mine onto my glasses.

Turkeys Go On Strike 2.0

One of the highlights of 3rd grade at my kids' school is participating in the Thanksgiving Play, Turkeys Go On Strike.  I love that they have this overly cheesy play that they do every year, so the older kids can talk about the parts they played when they were in 3rd grade and they know all the songs, and the younger kids know exactly what to expect when their turn arrives.  I also love seeing the costumes of the kids dressed up as turkeys, cranberries (who are singing a song about how they should get their rightful turn as the main dish since the turkeys are on strike), and the squash.  It's the stuff of elementary school legend, or at least nostalgia.  I spent some time in Jack's classroom before the play, helping tape feathers and cranberries and Native American headbands on their respective actors, so it was fun to see the kids getting excited and snap a picture of Jack and his buddy.

We are TV reporters
We've got TV style
We wear TV jackets
And a big TV smile.

We are TV reporters
We've got a big scoop
Have we got a story
Of who's flown the coop!

Thanksgiving's canceled!
We can't help but shout
Thanksgiving's canceled
The turkeys walked out!

We are TV reporters
We've got TV style
We wear TV jackets
And a big TV smile.

We are TV reporters
We're broadcasting live
We're waiting right here
For the birds to arrive

Thanksgiving's canceled!
We can't help but shout
Thanksgiving's canceled
The turkeys walked out!

This is the big closing number, "It's Not About Turkeys," which is a sweet little song.  Unfortunately, the guy in front of me was adamant that I not get a good video, haha.

Chorus: It's not about turkeys, it's not about Thursday, and it's not about playing ball.
They call it Thanksgiving 'cause it's thanks we are giving, and now it's time to thank one and all.

You Better Not Pout

Luke wasn't excited about seeing Santa at our Ward Christmas Party last week.

But I think he would have been even more freaked out if Voldemort had shown up, as was the obvious expectation from the announcement we received a few days before the party.

Jack and Eliza were more than happy to visit with Santa.  Eliza told Santa that she wants a dog and Santa happily agreed, adding that St. Bernards make good pets.  Eliza enthusiastically smiled and nodded.

I know where Santa lives, and he will be hearing from me soon.

I'll try again tomorrow.

I had planned on publishing a real blog post tonight but my computer seems to have disappeared while I was at choir rehearsal and I just don't have it in me to try to do anything worthwhile on my phone.

So, good night.

Sharing Scriptures

The theme for today's Light the World activity is "Jesus read the scriptures and so can you." So I asked everyone in the family what their favorite scripture story is and wanted to share them here.

The number one spot must go to the story of Nephi Getting the Brass Plates from Laban.  It was the hands-down winner because half of the family designated it as their favorite.  Eliza said she likes it because if it wasn't for Nephi, we wouldn't have the scriptures.  Why does Ben like it?  He said Nephi "was led by the spirit not knowing where exactly he was headed.  I appreciate how the Lord leads us in our lives and allows us to demonstrate our faith that way." This story is also a favorite of Jack's, but I failed to get anything else out of him on the topic.

Cat's favorite scripture story is that of Moroni and the Title of Liberty.  She was about to get out of the car to go to school when we were talking about it.

Me: What do you like about the Title of Liberty story?
Cat: It's cool.
Me: What's cool about it?
Cat: (picking up her backpack) The Title of Liberty is to cool as my backpack is to heavy.

So there you go.

Luke said his favorite story is when Jesus became a baby.  Yes, that's a beautiful one.

And after deliberating, I've finally decided to list the story of The Stripling Warriors as my favorite - but my answer might be different tomorrow.  I love that these young men had taken the teachings of their mothers to heart and lived with such obedience and faith that not one of them died during intense fighting.  The Lord's protection is real and He blesses us for our righteousness.