Family Christmas Fun

Cat and Dustin came to see The First Presidency Christmas Devotional
and really enjoyed it. I was so glad to bring them and talk to them about it.

The only person who wanted this picture taken was me. 

Jack wrote heartfelt letters to Santa, telling him what he would like
for Christmas and asking questions about life at the North Pole.
Eliza had a lot of fun writing snarky letters.

 

When at Cabela's, pose in front of the stuffed animals,

and take pictures at the aquarium.

After seeing Santa we continued our little family night by going
to see the cool musical light house in PG. We got some bonus excitement
when our battery died and we needed help to get the car started.

The kids helped me roll out gingerbread dough by slapping it.

Writing letters to teachers, friends, and family members.

Decorating sugar cookies.

A fun family selfie spot after caroling and bringing cookies to a sick family.

Different background.

I chaperoned Eliza's class to attend a fellow student's performance
of The Nutcracker with the Utah Metropolitan Ballet.

Assembling gift bags for Luke's friends and for Utah cousins. 

Luke wanted me to bring Pin the Nose on the Reindeer
for his clas party.

Ben brought the kids and Janie to see the Tabernacle Choir
Christmas Recording Session.

I LOVE this latest addition to our collection
of homemade elementary school ornaments!
Luke also decorated a candle for me.

Cousin graham cracker house decorating was kind
of a bust, but these two had a great time with it!

We did several of the Light the World calendar prompts this year
and this one was a favorite of mine.

At the beginning of Christmas Break, the kids
did some extra jobs around the house to earn
money for the Giving Machine.

Then we went to the mall and the kids pooled their money for
food, school supplies, and of course some chickens for people in need.

That night we went to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and loved it!

The next day Luke and I went to our favorite doughnut shop to get
morning treats for everyone.

And our annual Christmas Storybook Storytime had a theatrical component.

Eliza lasted the longest. This is a favorite tradition of mine for sure.

A Heart Attack Named Buddy

We have a cute little elf named Elvin who has been visiting our family every December for several years.  He hangs out in the house and keeps an eye on things, and moving to a new spot every night.  When he arrives at the beginning of December he brings a little gift for the family, usually a Christmas book or movie.  This year was different, though, and Elvin brought a Christmas yard inflatable Buddy the Elf as his gift.  It worked out well that Cat had been talking about wanting this inflatable, and Ben and the kids really wanted it too.  I wasn't as excited, but we went ahead and set Buddy up on the front porch the day he arrived.  I thought it would be fun for him to be near the Christmas tree.

But as Buddy got into some trouble the next day, as Buddy is prone to do.  I hadn't understood why so many people leave their inflatables uninflated for most of the day, but I figured it out pretty quickly.  When I came down the stairs from my room, this is what I saw of the living room:

and I'll admit, it gave me a little fright.  I was pretty surprised to see Buddy looking at me through the window.  So I went outside and straighened him up so that he could face the yard.  The next time I glanced out of that window, Buddy had fallen forward so that his upper body was balanced on the banister in front of him.  By now I needed to leave the house and didn't have time for any more of Buddy's shenanigans, so I unplugged him and went to my car to go.  Imagine my surprise when I glanced at the front of the house as I was leaving and saw that Buddy was splumped against the brick wall near the windows, slowly sinking down, apparently turning into slime.

Buddy's adventures didn't stop there.  We wanted to keep him inflated as much as possible, so we kept him plugged in on the front porch, even though he seemed to enjoy turning around to check on us through the window.  (Maybe he was trying to help Elvin with his duties?)  We'd go outside and turn him around, again and again, whenever he got blown over or around.  But no matter what happens, he is always as cheerful and excited as he can be.  After all, smiling is his favorite.

November Miscellany

Red Ribbon Week: Crazy Sock Day

Red Ribbon Week: Crazy Hair Day

Red Ribbon Week: Hat Day

I joined in the fun, since I was helping with pizza lunch that day.
I got very kind compliments from very kind kids on my very big,
very itchy, and very precarious hat (which was made for me by a very
awesome friend several years ago).

Luke's Fruity Pebbles Mosaics

Luke's Clay Creation

I had fun helping the 3rd grade with their Trip to Ancient Rome.
I love the ensemble Luke came up with, especially the cardboard sandles
he and Eliza made, with some help from Mom and Dad.  He also used
the breastplate he'd made a couple of weeks earlier, and tied his
toga himself.  He made the olive leaf wreath trip to Rome that day.

Chariot Races around the track.  This was the slowest chariot.

Jack's science project was to determine if Diet Coke
really does get a better reaction than regular Coke when
you pour Mentos into the bottle.  His finding?
Diet Coke is definitely better, but not by a lot.

Savannah and Uncle Joseph came over to watch the Miami game.
There was much celebrationing at the end.

There's always something funny to watch on Cat's phone.

I love Family Christmas Concert prep!

The kids love playing the trumpet whenever Ben brings it out.

COVID SHOTS!  Woohoo!

I don't even remember what was happening here, but these
two were having fun in Jack's room, and music was involved.

More funny phone things.

It was fun to have a puzzle set up in the living room so that we
(mostly Ben) could sit down and put a few pieces together whenever.

We watched Drew rock it as Myron in her school play,
Sideways Stories from Wayside School!  Technology is the best.

Sunday afternoon.

Sunday evening.

When Eliza stayed home sick from school, she painted this landscape.

The second day she was home sick, she painted these flowers.

Guess what?  Eliza and Luke don't fit in this cart anymore.

Cousin Augustus listening to Jack at the piano.