Breakfast, the Cabin, and One Missing Page

Since Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, our presents waited patiently at home while we attended church for an hour. They asked me to sing, if you can believe it. The number actually went pretty well, except for the point when my accompanist (Phillip) discovered that he was missing a page of the song. Oops.

Back at home, Daniel had fun playing with his new magnet fishy puzzle . . .

. . . Joy loved her new Pixar storybook . . .

. . . Phillip thought it was fun to get a scale model ornament of his motorcycle . . .

. . . and I was delighted to receive a new mouse (my old one had become really temperamental).

The next day we went to Pink Grandma's again for Phillip's birthday breakfast, and to spend a little more time with Emily and John before they flew home . . .

. . . then we headed up to the cabin for a few days with my family. I don't have a lot of photos of this week, but I suppose I captured the most important thing: that we spent it with people we love.

Merry Christmas!

Music and a House Call on Christmas Eve

We had a fun Christmas Eve at Pink Grandma's house tonight.

We played the white elephant ornament game . . .

. . . and sang Christmas carols, . . .

. . . then Joy used Phillip's old toy doctor kit . . .

. . . to give Anna a thorough check-up (who knew you could check a baby's blood pressure in their leg?).

Doctor Joy also inspected and vaccinated anyone else who would sit still long enough. Every test she performed on me found some new ailment I didn't know I had.

Joy was really excited about the Christmas Eve music program, . . .

. . . and Phillip and I love the painting Pink Grandma gave us as a Christmas gift. I'm not sure if it was specifically of the Sacred Grove, but it certainly reminds me of that. Thanks, Mom H.

Stickers and Gumdrops

We headed to Pink Grandma's house today for some holiday fun.

While Anna played with Uncle John and Aunt Emily . . .

. . . and Daniel scribbled a lot . . .

. . . the rest of us made gingerbread houses.

Mom, Laura, Emily, and John made the one on the left; Phillip, Joy, and I made the one on the right.

Joy also made a fun Christmas picture with Grandma.

Just three days until Christmas!

Cards At Our Fingertips

What do you get when you combine . . .

. . . toddler fingertips, washable ink pads, and a fun holiday idea from a creative friend?

A cute little boy with a cute little Christmas card.

Reprisal of a Historical Impression

Hey, Anna . . .

. . . do you know how to do an impression of the fall of Rome?

Sure! You start with the Pax Romana (27BC to 180AD).

180-193 AD - Period of insurrections

285-306 - Reign of Diocletian, empire split in two

455 - Vandal army sacks Rome (make sure to make a surly Vandal face)

476 - Last emperor deposed by Barbarians, beginning of Dark Ages (aka Terrible Twos)

How'd I do?

Homework Already???

Recently Joy was at a friend's house when the oldest son was doing homework, and she asked to do some, too. The mom wrote out some little things for her to do (e.g. fill in the blanks in the alphabet), and Joy has been asking me to assign her more homework every day since then.

Here she is working on her latest assignment.

Today our little student filled in letters, identified shapes, and drew pictures.

We should probably explain to Daniel that it's not OK to look at someone else's paper.

Speaking of Daniel, he's taking an increased interest in art these days. He likes to color in his dinosaur coloring book, or tell me what letters or shapes to write in it.

Daniel also enjoys creating sticker art with his shirt as a canvas.

DIY Decor

I decided to improvise with some of our Christmas decorations this year.

I can't seem to find a tree topper I like, so I put a pinwheel at the top instead. Maybe I'll try making something more traditional next year, but I kinda like the rainbow quirkiness of this year's "star."

I've had similar trouble finding a tree skirt I like, so I bought a $10 holiday tablecloth at Target, cut a line out from the center, and voila! Instant tree skirt.

In keeping with the do-it-yourself theme, Joy decorated our door with some of the fun holiday crafts she's made at preschool. You can tell how high a child can reach by where they hang their decorations.

Happy Birthday, Joyful One

Guess who's five years old this week!

That's right - it's been five years since this young lady joined our family.

A couple days ago we went to Pink Grandma's house to celebrate with dinner and cupcakes.

Joy received the magnetic equivalent of paper dolls as a birthday gift (note Joy and Grandma's collaborative artwork adorning the windows in the background).

Today we had my family over for dessert and presents.

While Joy opened gifts, Heather entertained Daniel with his favorite YouTube video: the Fantasia version of Noah's Ark, starring Donald Duck. Heather soon had quite an audience gathered around her phone. Good times.

Happy Birthday, Joy!

Christmastime is Here

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

At our ward Christmas party yesterday we were treated to a French horn quartet (you can see Daniel in front of the stage, listening with rapt attention), . . .

. . . and the kids posed for a picture with some guy in a red suit. It's funny--I can't quite bring myself to tell my kids that some bearded guy flies around in a sleigh and leaves presents under everyone's trees, but I still feel compelled to have them annually photographed with a red-suited stranger handing out candy. Humans are not rational creatures.

This afternoon we checked out the Southern California equivalent of snow drifts (a.k.a. lots of palm fronds blown down in the big wind storm a few days ago) . . .

. . . before heading to my grandma's house to watch the First Presidency Devotional. We had a lovely time, but this was the only good picture I caught from it. Awww . . . aren't they cute?

Beauty Pirate

I'm not sure if Anna looks worried because her sister is a little wild . . .

. . . or because Joy's actually a pirate with a pink eye-patch.

Puzzling with Papa

It's been an eventful Sunday.

Joy gave a talk in Primary (with her helpful Daddy holding the visual aid) . . .

. . . then we drove to my parents' home during naptime.

The kids had fun doing puzzles with Papa (Daniel's wearing a bib because Anna makes them look so cool) . . .

. . . and we scored some elk meat from my dad's recent hunt (thanks, Papa :). Roast, anyone?