A New Year's Eve Present!

Another late Christmas package arrived today, and the kids thought it was pretty cool to receive a "New Year's Eve Present."

Aunt Heather sent our artist in residence a plethora of art supplies . . .

. . . and Red Grandma sent a bunch of little squishmallows.  The kids each chose one, then agreed to give the others to friends.

Time for a new squishmallow family picture!  Our new little friends are named (from left to right):

Pez, Pip, Ebenezer, and Spike!

In other news, Joy made a perler bead Christmas tree ornament for her hamster's cage.  It makes the place look very festive, don't you think?

Happy New Year!  The year 2019 saw big decisions and big changes for our family.  There were ups and downs, but all in all, we feel very blessed, and we look forward to what the new year will bring.

2020, here we come!

May the Best Villain Win

We spent part of Phillip's birthday playing games at our friends' house.

The birthday boy joined this table's crusade to save the world from multiple pandemics.  Sadly, the germs won.

Joy had better luck pretending to be Ursula.  She won the Villainous game.

Meanwhile, Todd puzzled over the state of our union.  Don't we all?

Chilling

How are you spending your Christmas break?

Anna's chilling with a good book.

Endy's chilling in the fridge (don't ask why--I don't know).

And here's Artie the Hamster, chilling in a laundry basket with some of his favorite snacks.  I lured him in there after chasing him around my bedroom for half an hour on Christmas night.  We're still not sure how he got out.

Chasing him was kind of surreal, because every time I spotted him, I had two simultaneous thoughts:

1) OH MY GOSH HE'S SO CUTE!

and

2) CURSE HIM FOR BEING SO DARN FAST!!!

A Late Christmas Treasure Hunt

One of Todd's Christmas presents arrived a day late, so I took a page from my dad's parenting playbook and organized a holiday treasure hunt.

I made up some simple riddles (Dad would have written them in rhyming couplets, 'cuz he's awesome like that) . . .

. . . then I stuffed them into little stockings with our initials on them.  One of the rules of the treasure hunt was that you could only read a clue if it was in a stocking with your initial on it (so the fastest participants wouldn't have all the clue-reading fun).

I then surreptitiously stashed the stockings around our house.

I told the kids the rules, then informed them that the first stocking was located somewhere on our Christmas tree.

It took them a while to find it, so I guess I hid it pretty well.  Once they found it, though, high-speed chaos ensued, so I don't have any other pictures for you.  All in all, the treasure hunt was a hit, but next time (and there will definitely be a next time) I want to make a couple clues that only the younger kids will know how to answer.  Reading is nice, but let's face it--the real fun is in finding a clue before everyone else does.

Carols and Plasma Balls

Merry Christmas!

This morning, we all sat as patiently as we could while Daddy distributed our presents, which included . . .

. . . a couple plasma balls . . .

. . . plenty of books (of course) . . .

. . . and a unicorn-butterfly-pegasus shirt that matches Anna's new fuzzy socks.

Once all the presents were open, we ate a quick breakfast, then joined some friends at a local senior center . . .

. . . to sing carols while Sister Gray kept time with some jingle bells.  I thought it was a lovely way to celebrate the Savior's birthday.  The kids griped about it all the way out to the van, then rolled the windows down and spontaneously burst into Christmasy song as we drove past our friends, bringing smiles to all of their faces.  Kids are funny like that.

It was nice to come back to our cozy home . . . 

. . . and sip Red Grandma's hot punch . . .

. . . while Daddy and Joy assembled the only thing Daddy put on his Christmas list: a new computer.

A Very Geeky Christmas to You and Yours!

Skip the Turkey, Keep the Program

Phillip and I have been parents for 13 years now, and our Christmas traditions are still evolving.  That's partly because we always went to grandparents' houses for Christmas back in California, and they made all the magic happen while we gratefully soaked up the holiday spirit.  I've only been in charge of planning our family's Christmas meals and activities since we left So Cal three years ago, and I'm still working some of the kinks out.

For example, when I considered what to cook for Christmas Eve dinner this year, turkey seemed like an obvious choice.  It has "feast" written all over it, right?  The trouble is that it's a hassle to make, a pain to clean up after, and I didn't really love having a repeat of Thanksgiving dinner a mere month after Turkey Day.  I want Christmas dinner to be something different (and simpler).  I guess I've got a year to figure out an alternative.

On a happier note, we celebrated Christmas Eve by drawing pictures to give as gifts . . .

. . . and having our Christmas Eve program, which is a medley of traditions Phillip and I grew up with.  We read portions of the nativity story from the Bible, then moved the corresponding nativity figures to the stable in Bethlehem, like my family did growing up.  We also sang lovely Christmas carols to go along with each part of the story, like we used to do with Pink Grandma on Christmas Eve.

I hope the kids (and their parents) came away feeling a little closer to their Savior, with a little more desire to carry on His mission of love and hope.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Christmas Eve Eve 2019

Just two days left until Christmas!

The girls helped me hang dollar store ornaments on our tree out front . . .

. . . then we went inside to read Christmas books . . .

. . . and play a family game of cards.

Also, if you're looking for the perfect gift for that special someone in your life, your local CVS store has just the thing.

Fuzzy, for Short

Joy's little hamster is getting used to living in our home.

He feels perfectly comfortable running on his wheel when we're in the room.  Joy says this species of hamster runs the equivalent of four human marathons each night.

She has decided to name him Artemis, after the leading man in a book series she likes.  She calls him Artie for short.

I call him Mr. Fuzzypants.

The Rocket Scientist on the Shelf

Remember the "enderman the shelf?"  I thought he would be content to just hang out in random spots around our house, but apparently . . . 

. . . he and Joy had bigger plans.

Unfortunately, rocket science isn't as easy it sounds.

He managed to construct a serviceable rocket, though, and started a countdown.

A few days later, I spotted him across the room.  I assumed that he had crash landed and the mission was a bust . . .

. . . but according to this super-official government document, it was a success! (Every time I see this picture, I think the paper says, "Mission Sucks."  If my mission required me to plow headfirst into a floor lamp, I'd probably feel that way too.)

Snow Meh

Another snowstorm rolled in today.

It's still pretty . . .

. . . but to be honest, I'm kind of over the whole snow thing at the moment.  School cancellation threw a wrench in my plans for the day, so we're all stuck at home with cabin fever.

Inclement weather didn't deter this guy from delivering some Christmas presents, though.  In the 21st century, Santa wears a black beanie and drives an Amazon van.

Our Chaotic Christmas Tree

We trimmed our Christmas tree for our family home evening activity today.

While the girls strung the lights . . .

. . . I set out some nuts and our random collection of nutcrackers . . .

. . . so all the tree trimmers could share a snack after we finished.

Our tree looked pretty chaotic by the time we were done, but I think that's how a family Christmas tree should be.  Whenever I'm tempted to artfully decorate our tree by myself, I think of my sister's high school friend who visited our house one December.  Mom invited her to help trim the tree, and she commented that it was the first time in her life that she had ever decorated a Christmas tree.  Her mom was very particular about decorating their tree, with every coordinating ornament placed just so, and she never let her kids participate for fear they would do it wrong.  I'm sure her Christmas tree was beautiful, but it makes me sad to think that her kids didn't get to join in the fun.  Our tree is a hodgepodge of mismatched ornaments that will never appear on a magazine cover, but they are infused with memories that warm our hearts, and that's how I like it.

Twirling Trees

We went on a family outing to a nearby farm stand this afternoon to buy a Christmas tree.

Most of the trees were hanging from the rafters of the greenhouse, and they would spin slowly as you brushed past them.  It was kind of magical to stroll through a forest of twirling Christmas trees.

The younger kids played tag among the trees while Daddy and I searched for a nice spruce . . .

. . . and of course, Joy found something to climb on.

So did Andromeda.