Call Family Christmas Eve Party 2014

We haven't been able to attend this family party very often in the past 15 years, so it was a treat to be there in 2014!  Ethan's aunt even sewed new costumes to have on hand for the nativity!  Isn't she amazing!

Levi was super excited to reconnect with his buddy Carter (they hit it off in North Carolina a couple years ago!).  They and Conrad got to be the Wisemen and it made me so happy to see the three of them playing together!

Eliza asked if she could be Mary and since no one else really wanted to didn't have to fight for it.  The Mary costume was clearly made for someone older than 6, but Dianne is a clever one and wrapped an elastic headband around her waist and bloused it out.  Perfect!  Eliza loves her Woody cousins.  Brielle was one of the angels.

All the boy cousins were too embarrassed to be Joseph but when we asked Jonas he was willing.  He was the wiggliest, silliest Joseph I think I've ever seen.  I think Jane commented that he is definitely his daddy's boy.

Trying to get a good group shot proved difficult, but it makes a wonderful .gif Funny kids.

Austin agreed to be the donkey so long as we didn't call him... you know what. :)  He also was the narrator.  Sara wrote a script for the kids to follow.  Eliza even got to read a line.  Yes, Jonas is waving, such a ham.

The shepherds and sheep came to see the new baby.  And the wise men were on their way, but I didn't get a shot of them.  I took video of it all and I'm so happy I did.

The babies of 2014 in Ethan's immediate family.  Love each of these little cuties.  The two boys on the right were even born on the same day!

After the nativity we got set up for the $5 gift game.  This was our second $5 gift game of the trip... so we had to bring $80 worth of gifts to these parties.  Crazy.  Apparently I chose well, my kids came home with at least half of what I bought.  :)  And Grandma Jane scored and got to bring home these giant stuffies.

No one brought any desserts to the party, so Ethan's aunt ran home and brought what she could find for the crowd.  One of those treats was a white chocolate covered chex mix.  Bryant asked Ethan if it was safe to eat and when Ethan tried it he thought it only had peanuts in it so he gave the ok.  Unfortunately, there were mixed nuts including cashews which are among the top three allergens for Bryant.  He started freaking out saying that he was having an allergic reaction... that's when I happened upon the scene and we discovered the cashews were the culprit.  Ethan took him out of the party, they were on their way to the pharmacy to get benadryl (which we usually have in the car, but didn't) when Ethan had him vomit.  Once Bryant had the meds in him he threw up again (according to him it was like an explosion) and then he told Ethan, "I didn't think I was going to make it."  Poor guy was pretty upset.

Thankfully, we didn't have any problems for him after that.  The benadryl did the trick.  He hasn't ever had a real problem breathing, but he has a really severe allergy.  His mouth was all red and puffy, he vomited (though Ethan thinks thats only because of inducing-but he's done it before not induced) and he drools so much its like he can't swallow.  It is one of the most stressful things to experience as a mother and I'm sure its even worse for him.

They came back to the party for the last few minutes of the game and we enjoyed spending a little more time with family (many of whom we haven't seen in FAR too long!) and then it was off to the next party!

Temple Square: December 23, 2014

On the evening of the 23rd we took the whole family to see the lights for the first time at Temple Square.  I think Bryant and Jonas have seen them before, but so long ago that they don't remember it. We were a little surprised that there weren't more lights, but heard through the grapevine that they only light every 1 in 4 trees each year and rotate which ones get lit each year to protect the trees.  

It was really cold, but we bundled up and had a great time.  My parents, and brothers Richy and Dave and their families all joined us... along with a couple thousand of our closest friends. :)  It was a busy night at Temple Square.  Dave's family only got to see the big nativity and visitor's  center with us before they had to leave, but the rest of us faced the whole square together.

We also took some time to visit the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (it was his birthday, after all).  I didn't feel like fighting the crowd trying to get pictures with the big tree, so we opted for a distant shot instead.

And one from above.  We also waited our turn to ride the elevator up to the top of the building to get an overview of the whole Temple Square.  It was beautiful.

As we walked I was moved to sing Christmas songs and really felt the spirit and joy that comes with singing the sacred hymns of Christ's birth.  As we got through the gigantic crowd we all sang together.  I loved it so much!  I'm so thankful for such a wonderful family!!!

Richy and Kari and kids joined us to finish the evening off at Crown Burger.  YUMMM!  I love that place.  Then our lucky kids all got to go home with their cousins and have a sleep over.  Ethan and I had such a quiet drive home with only the little boys.  Bolton had to drive with us, but was invited to stay with his cousins too so I made him stay awake the whole drive north.  When we got to my parent's house to lay the baby down and gather sleepover supplies he walked into their room and said, "Good news!!"  when they asked what the news was he was elated to report, "I get to sleepover at Porter and Paige's house!"  As soon as we took him to their house he went straight to bed, but it was at his cousin's house, so it was amazing!

December Snippets 2014

Bryant is weird.  In case you didn't know this already.  :)  I guess that's why we love him so much.  He came downstairs one day wearing his hoody like this, you can't really tell, but his legs are through the sleeves, his head is coming out the bottom of it and his hood is (sort of) covering his bottom.  He wore it like this a few times... silly guy.

The boys got into their Legos after a month or so of confiscation.  Bryant built this tiny nativity.  He added to it later, but here he has the angel, Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus, shepherds and sheep, and the wise men with gifts.

This came home with Eliza with a bunch of other school work.  I'm so glad I stopped to actually read through what she comes up with because this one made me smile, a lot.

In an attempt to get the perfect gift for my little girl I had to brave the mall one afternoon.  Thankfully, JC Penny had the Elsa doll we were looking for (and for half what I would've paid online!)  I took the little boys to the playground at the mall and realized that these poor guys don't get out nearly as much as the older kids did when they were this age.  I need to do better.  They had so much fun!

Bolton: "Do I look awesome like this?"
Mom: "You totally do."
Bolton: "Is it cuz my collar is like this?"

A few minutes pass then, in a whiny voice...
Bolton: "Why didn't you name me Losing Touch?"

The kids are mostly all doing great with Accelerated Reader and 3 of the 4 received multiple awards at the latest assembly.  I only got a picture of Bryant because the little boys took control of my phone during the younger assembly.

Jonas got to go ice skating for his friend Ella's birthday party.  He had a fabulous time and is already thinking he wants to have his birthday celebration there.  He even told me that we could use his birthday money for it, what a sweet heart.

Ethan and I had the opportunity again this year to join the community chorale group to sing the Messiah a couple times in December.  We even lucked out and got to sit next to each other during both performances.  I was reminded what a gorgeous bass voice my husband has.  Made me fall in with him all over again.

Temple Hill isn't quite Temple Square, but it certainly is beautiful.  We are so blessed to have a Savior who loves us so much.  I love that we get to celebrate his birth with the world at the end of every year.

NaNoWriMo 2014

I have been thinking about following my friend Carrie's example and put myself to the test to write a novel.  I've had an idea brewing for about a year and half now.  So, when a NaNoWriMo announcement appeared in my inbox one day I decided to go for it and sign up!  

From their website:

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought fleetingly about writing a novel.

Well, as you know November is a busy month.  Even moreso for me this year since  I was putting on a play on November 7.  BUT... I had Ethan buy me a laptop to take with us on our trip to Denver and I began writing!

I wrote a lot, but because I got such a late start I wondered if I would reach my goal of 50,000 words by the end of the month.  It was so fun to sit down to write and have the story and characters come to life.  One time I told Ethan, "I gave birth to a new character today... I had no idea he was coming, but he came nonetheless!"  

My novel is about a young man named Grayson who had a journey to make to become part of a great kingdom.  I had so much fun writing and seeing my word count increase each time I'd write.  By November 10 I had around only 1900 words and by the time we came home from Denver I was up to around 20,000!  The problem was that I had 30,000 to go and only about 2 weeks to finish.  

Then our kitchen fell apart and stress started really building.  Thankfully Ethan took us to Utah for Thanksgiving so I was able to spend a good chunk of time writing in the car.  I got up before any one else was awake and would write.  I ignored some family to write.  But by the time we got home from Utah (on November 29) I was up to 45,000+ words.  I was so close I could taste it!  I had avoided writing on Sundays, but November 30 was the Sabbath and so I justified writing once the kids were in bed so I could try to finish and reach my goal.  

I wrote and wrote and after 11:00 pm my word count in my document indicated that I had more than 50K words so I tried submitting it and the official word counter still had me short!  Bummer!  So I kept writing.  As you can see below I wrote until 11:34 pm but I did it!  I completed 50,000 words in one month!  The story isn't finished and I haven't taken the time to work on it since then, but I think I will finish the story and begin editing soon.  I am so excited and so proud of myself for accomplishing something so difficult.  Hopefully one day I will be satisfied with it and print it for my family to enjoy.  I realize that it will not be anything grand that publishers will be knocking on my door to publish, but it was an incredible experience and I'm so pleased that I stuck to it!

This screen popping up had  a video below with people congratulating me.  I cried real tears.  It was amazing.  I may become addicted.  Until next year NaNoWriMo, adieu!

The kitchen; Phase 1

While we were celebrating Thanksgiving in Utah, the water mitigation team was in our house working on the kitchen.  We came home to a fully enclosed room, complete with plastic sheet walls and a big warning sign to keep out.

They found mold in the wood as well, so it was going to take a little longer to get things ready for the next phase.  When Jose came to work, he gave me a mask so I could go into the kitchen.  It is really an empty space!  Later that week we had the contractor come to finalize his bid regarding how much it would take to replace all the damage... it took longer than we wanted to get that number but once we got it we were shocked at how much it was!  We were thinking of doing the work ourselves so we could do a little extra work to the space, but its tricky with the contractor and the insurance so we are going to be using him for most of it.  However, that is causing us to wait a little (a lot!) longer than we'd like... as of right now, our kitchen has made no progress beyond this (except we took out the upper cabinets that are covered in the plastic sheeting and the equipment) below.

Thanksgiving in Utah ~ aka: The Beginning of our Kitchen Saga

This tale  begins on November 15, Ethan and I got home from Denver around bedtime.  My parents had left earlier in the day and a friend had most of the kids. We picked them up and headed home, got them in bed, and ran a load of dishes.  

Sunday Ethan went to his meetings in the morning and I was lazing about.  When I was forced to get up to get breakfast for the kids I found that the dishwasher hadn't worked during the night (something that had happened in recent weeks, but never this obviously).  I could tell that no water had made it into the tub, so I tried running it again.  I told Ethan when he got home what had happened and when the cycle finished we checked and were flummoxed that we still had the same problem.

Over the next week I did dishes by hand and Ethan tried troubleshooting the dishwasher.  He tried all the electrical fixes that we could find in the manual and online.  Finally, on Sunday November 23 he pulled the machine out to do a physical check.  That's when we discovered a 12 inch tube that had been a feast for some rodent.  It was riddled with holes!  And the floor under it was wet... so now we knew where the water had been going... Ugh.

We borrowed a fan from a friend and hoped we could let it dry out.  Then on Monday, November 24 Ethan pulled up one of our floor boards (we had a laminate) and found that there was water at least 4 feet away from the dishwasher under our floor.  My dad recommended that we call our insurance.  So we did.

Tuesday the water mitigation guys came in and checked to see how bad the damage was and to begin the drying process.  I was supposed to host Thanksgiving at my house and was trying to figure out how it was going to be possible.  They told me I could probably work around all their equipment, but by the end of the day I was convinced we needed to escape the house.  After meeting with the contractor briefly and learning all that we were in for, I did my best to convince Ethan that we should drive to Utah.  Thankfully, I didn't have to work to hard to convince him.

Ethan was able to get Wednesday off so we hit the road.  Dog and all.  When I called Jane to see if they had room for 8 extra people at her Thanksgiving she made me feel so good.  She was excited!  Love that she didn't make me feel like a burden, at all.  (We actually got a text from someone late Tuesday night saying that they could join us for Thanksgiving dinner and we had to tell them we weren't able to host anymore.  Awkward).

Thursday morning we all worked together to help Jane get ready for her giant party.  We made cranberry orange relish and jello, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy.  Maybe more, I can't remember.

It was so fun to work in the kitchen all together.

After the delicious feast things settled down a little bit.  Time for a snuggle.

The kids got royal treatment and were lucky enough to have whipped cream sprayed into their mouths twice!

Look at all the yummy pie!  Can you tell my kids were excited?

Jonas rocked out with Ethan's old violin (no he doesn't play now).

Bolton and Aunt Jeni rocked out too.  Love those photo bombing girls in the back.

Watching Frozen didn't do much to keep Uncle Doug awake after his turkey dinner.

Once most everyone had gone home, we played The Name Game with Jeni and the girls.  It was so fun!  Eliza and Levi both had a turn to win!!  It was pretty exciting.

We left Scott and Jane's around 6 and headed over to my parents for pie (again!).  We had so much fun playing the name game with the Woodys that we brought it to my parents and played it with them too!  This was actually Friday afternoon.  Eliza won at my parents as well.  This is her team as it got bigger and bigger.

We were planning on leaving Saturday, but we decided that we were ordering new cabinets from Ikea for the kitchen and they were having a sale that ended on Sunday, so we had to get it ordered before we left.  We went back to Scott and Jane's and Ethan worked on ordering the cabinets while the kids worked on raking the leaves.

Don't be fooled that it was about the work... it was all about the fun!

Ethan took a break from the phone to race the dog.  I think he won... but Murphy was right at his heels.

I love leaf jumping pictures!  They are so fun to take!

Levi moved his pile from one area to right in front of the swing set so he could launch himself into it.

Since we were there, we took the chance to help set up for Christmas!  Ethan got to perform his first lobotomy... on Santa no less.

Jonas and Bryant were great helpers for Grandma Jane.

They both thought it was pretty fun to see the ornaments with pictures on them.  Jonas especially loved this one of him as a baby.  He is convinced that Abe looks just like him.

Then he found one with his dad as a kid.

In true 2-year old fashion Abraham worked hard to make as much mess as possible while the rest of us worked.

Oh, good!  Bryant found an ornament with his dad's face too.  He even pulled the same expression for good measure.

Lucky us, we got to see Luke and Nora (and Eric and Sara) one more time!

It was 6 pm or so when we finally hit the road to California.  Ethan drove until midnight when I took over.  I had to switch with him at 3 am because the snow on the road at Donner Pass was freaking me out.  He had me take over about 30 minutes before we got home.  We made it home by 5:30 am!  We were blessed!  The kids slept great (much better than I expected) and we were alert enough to be safe.

We're so thankful for our wonderful families that give us so much love and support.  Thanks everyone for making our Thanksgiving such a treat!