The Christmas Post

I felt unusually prepared and un-stressed during this holiday season. I've been trying to put my finger on what caused such a phenomenon so I can recreate it next year. So far, no definitive answers. :) The only thing I didn't accomplish was finishing Lindy's stocking. Maybe by next year she'll actually have a stocking?? Maybe.

We spent Christmas Eve at the Garners eating our broccoli cheese soup and rolls. Jacob also had some Korean friends staying the night, so Mama Garner incorporated some Korean dishes, which was a fun twist. The kids acted out the nativity, and you'll just have to believe me because I didn't get any pictures. I was filming though, so at least it's documented somewhere. The grandkids got to open their gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Garner and I don't know who was more excited, them or me. They got a bird clock and a interactive globe. (As pictured below)



When we came home, the elves had been to our house and left us new Christmas Pj's! I left their keepsake books on top of their new pj's. This year I got "The Spider and the Fly" for both Miles and Gwen. They loved reading it lots and lots this past Halloween. And I thought it was extra fitting because it's about creepy crawlies, which we have studied a bunch this year. I got a replacement book for Lindy. She loved her first version of this book so much, that the original is now in half and ripped all up.


The kids slept in, and when I woke up Richie was busy making our home all sorts of cozy. It's my favorite Christmas tradition since we became home owners. He starts a fire and makes us German Pancakes. :) We finished our breakfast (grapefruit included, of course:) and then tried to get them to line up youngest to oldest. Tried. This year, we made a new deal with Santa. Santa will only bring 4 gifts from now on, and the rest are from family and friends. He'll bring them 1.Something they want 2. Something they need 3. Something they wear 4. Something they read. It seemed to simplify things. Miles big gift was a Wii and Mario Kart. Gwen's most exciting gift was her very own makeup.(She's been having LOTS of fun with it, as pictured. So far, she thinks the make-up is to help transform her into different animals) Lindy was happy with whatever was put in front of her. :)



All the kids got a group gift from Santa: Frogs. We just finished studying amphibians, so this was particularly fitting. My very favorite part of Christmas day was after all the dust had settled a little, and Gwen came to inspect the frogs more closely. As is so typical of her, she pulled them out one-by-one very tenderly and talked with them for a good 5 minutes straight. She named them Jumpy and Quicky, and could immediately tell them apart. (I still can't). Every time I tried to hold them, they would jump and squirm, but Gwen is a frog whisperer! They are totally content with her. It was magical to watch her experience this. It was like she was just in her own little world, and I got to observe.



While the kids (and Dad) Binge-played Mario Kart, I was busy in the kitchen making lunch for the missionaries. Richie is the Ward Mission leader, so we thought it appropriate to have them over. We were also hoping that some nice people in Slovakia were having Jeffery over for lunch too. These are my favorite missionaries so far. It was a joy to have them over!



Later that night, we had pot-luck dinner at our house, exchanged gifts, and then watched the kid's new movie, "Inside Out". We have been trying to spend as much time with Ross and Amanda before they have to head back to Oregon, and it was so fun to have them here for all the festivities.



The day after Christmas we went sledding with Ross and Amanda (no pictures unfortunately) And later that night we went to the Museum of Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point with everyone. I've been hearing great things about this place and it did not disappoint. It was the coolest!!!!




It's been such a great holiday. I realize that unfortunately, the kids won't remember a lot of what happened, but I hope we successfully created lots of warm, cozy, happy memories for them to tuck away somewhere. We feel very grateful.

Other happenings in December

The past couple of years, Richie has made an igloo in our front yard with all the snow from shoveling. This is the first day of construction. It gets better every year. This year, there are steps up the side, and you can slide down the other side! With the other big snows we've gotten, it's gotten much bigger since this picture was taken.


Every year the Garners rotate through names and do homemade presents for Christmas. Richie had Makenna this year and as a part of his gift, he brought her 2 boys down to our house for a sleepover to give her a break. We had a fun time with Ethan and Caleb making gingerbread houses and going sledding. The kids got to go to bed extra late and they all slept together in the same room.


Miles and Gwen had another dance recital! Richie and Lindy got to come, as well as Grandma and Grandpa Garner. The kids did so well! Their confidence and skills amazed me. Gwen's performance was my favorite this time because the little girl next to her was NOT happy about being on stage. Her pouty face and refusal to move, alongside Gwen's radiant smile and moves was hilarious. After they danced, Santa came. All the kids ran to get in line, but Gwen very cautiously joined the line with a frown on her face. I asked her what the matter was and she said, "He doesn't look like the other Santa's I've seen before." :( Afterwards, I explained to them both that sometimes the real Santa sends helpers to visit with the kids and passes the messages on to him. Miles said, "Oh, that makes sense, because his beard looked like it was falling off his face." They are growing up TOO FAST!!!


Caleb turned 3 and Makenna threw a super fun "Wreck it Ralph" party. The kids cried when it was time to go home. (The sign of a truly good kid's party.)

The First Half of December

Can you believe December is already half-way over? That's crazy. Today was supposed to be a really busy day, but we woke up with one throwing up Gwen, and two sick-ish other kids. There's a slightly croupy sound to Lindy's cough and it's freaking me out. So, we are going to stay in as much as possible and enjoy all this fabulous snow that we've been getting.

First Dance Performance
Miles and Gwen's dance group had their first official performance at the Festival of Trees the first week in December. It was completely magical to watch them. Neither were nervous even a little bit and both of them seemed to know the steps better than anyone in their class. (To be fair though, I was mostly just watching them :) I forgot my camera, but did remember the video camera. About 2 seconds into Gwen's performance, it died. I was so sad! Luckily other mom's shared their pictures.



Home-school Christmas Party
We hosted our home-school group's Christmas party. It was really low key, just pot luck soups, salads and bread sticks and lots of talking. The kids ran around and played with each other, but eventually we called them together to perform on the chimes. :) Mom Garner bought a set of chimes for the kids to use and we practiced a few Christmas songs. Far from perfect ;) but a really enjoyable experience for all.



Laundry Bomb
It must be December. Along with everything that comes in December, you still have to keep up with all the regular stuff. "Keep up" is a loose term, obviously, as shown here.


Miles Meditates
I walked into the family room on Sunday and found Miles like this. Cracked me up.


Play Date
We had one of Miles's favorite friends over the other day. They were busy down stairs for a long while, but eventually came up holding a box of cake mix and declared, "We're going to make cupcakes now." We went with it and ended up with some really colorful Christmas cupcakes to share with neighbors.


Ward Christmas Breakfast
Always an event to look forward to. This time Richie was busy washing windows up in Park City, so we missed him, but it's always good to get together with the awesome people in our ward.


Temple Square
It was a Christmas miracle for sure. I actually convinced Richie to take us to temple square to see the lights! He had been washing windows all day and was cold and tired. However, we had an errand to run all the way up in SLC, so I suggested that we might as well see the lights while we were up there. He was such a good sport, especially with the mass amount of people. :) We had no major meltdowns from the kids, no kids got lost in the crowd, no kid peed their pants....it was a total success!


More Window Painting
Here's a few more pictures of a few more jobs I got either in late November or early December. It's nice to earn some extra cash doing something so fun. On one particular job, it was so cold outside. I was frozen by the time I was done. When I got home, Richie practically pushed me on the couch with a blanket, brought me dinner, hot chocolate and then rubbed my feet while we talked. What a guy, right?


First Big Snow
We woke up this past Monday to a winter wonderland! It was completely magical. There wasn't even a flake in the sky on Sunday night, but on Monday morning it covered everything outside. It's like one of my favorite Sam Payne songs says, "It's like the world noticed, just how much you need a break. So it dropped a load of icing and invited you for cake." :) It made for some dicey roads, but the kids and I had a blast outside in it. I convinced Richie to come home early to avoid rush hour on the icy roads, and then he took the kids outside again and built an igloo. Then he came inside and made a fire while I made some "chicken" noodle soup, this time completely pellet free! Ha! Oh, and it was delicious. Good memories made. A near perfect day.