Christmas 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was full of family time and busy with projects that I stayed up way too late to finish (pajamas).
I got sick a week before Christmas and lost a week's worth of time to sew, wrap, and finish shopping.
Thankfully, Burke took most of the week of Christmas off of work and we were able to get things done.
We woke up Christmas morning, checked out our stockings, and headed to church. I was a meanie and made the kids wait until after church to open the rest of the gifts.
It sure made it last a lot longer than usual, and we had an opportunity for the kids to focus on the real reason for the season before the gift mayhem commences.

Cousins and More Cousins

We have had lots of family time lately. We spent the 4th of July with Burke's family. Everyone gathered together to remember Burke's dad, as it has been one year since he passed away.
The cousins were so eager to play with each other.
Adrienne especially loves her cousins Acacia and Ava.
They are joined at the hip.
They absolutely love each other.
I'm sure they made Grandpa laugh.
We also were able to be present for the blessing of my newest nieces, Paisley and Zoey. I forget how tiny and sweet babies are until I am around them.
They were adorable and fun and I loved holding them and giving them a bottle, and everything else that comes with babies.
I am sure Grandpa would have loved to have been in the circle to bless his granddaughters, and celebrate their birth at the family gathering afterward. He was missed.
Later that week we traveled to visit Burke's brother Justin and his family. Justin was called to be in the bishopric in his ward, and asked Burke to ordain him as a high priest. It wasa wonderful opportunity for all of us to be there and for Burke to perform the ordination in place of his dad.

As we were leaving, they invited Nathan to stay with them for another week. He jumped at the opportunity, and we (a little wistfully) re-packed his belongings and said good-bye.

He was so excited, and I was thrilled for him. But I am a mother hen and have been worried about him already and it has only been one day.

Burke and I called him tonight. I reminded him to brush his teeth. Really good. Because his aunt really can't tell him they look gross the same way his mom can. Can she?
He sounds like he is having fun, but maybe missing us a little more than he thought. (Or that's what I'd like to think.)

Maybe we're missing him a little more than we thought too...

A Birthday Gift

My mom and dad came to visit Nathan for his birthday. They brought him a gift that he could open and a gift that I don't think he realized was a gift.
His Great-grandpa came with them. And he brought his harmonica.We all had a little laugh about that.
Grandpa always finds an opportunity to play for whomever he can find.My kids loved it.
Great-grandpa loved it.
Annika is still talking about when she can get her first real harmonica.
I think the real gift is being able to appreciate family.
I am so blessed to still have all four of my grandparents. (Got some good genes there).

Nathan really enjoyed the gift he opened though. I have no idea how I have not gotten a picture of it yet because I believe that it was surgically attached to his hand as soon as he got it out of the package.
It was a nerf gun. And he loves it. It has been confiscated more than once for my other children's protection.
We are currently working on getting him to focus on target practice right now.
But it is so fun to shoot it at people.
I got Adrienne the other day when she was trying to sneak up on me.
And it was really fun.
Then she took it away.
Darn.
Guess I should be a better example.

Trust Me

I learned this morning how much my dad must have loved me even when I was a snotty teenager and he didn't have to.
But in a roundabout way.
We have been working on getting better at reading scriptures as a family lately.
Burke likes to do it in the evening before bed, but wonders why I have such a bad attitude about it then.
(I explained that after a full day of kids, bills, kids, making meals, kids, and shopping I am DONE and ready to fall into bed after we get the KIDS to bed).
We decided to try doing our reading in the morning.
Quite a commitment since Burke leaves for work before the sun rises. (In fact, Adrienne insists we are waking her up in the middle of the night because it is still dark.)
We have tried it all this week and found it to work out much better. They are a bit of a captive--if unconscious-- audience.
What does this all have to do with my dad?

Well, after we finished reading this morning and Burke was gone and we were all lying semi-conscious on the couch, the phone rang.
You NEVER want a phone call at 6:15 AM.
I flew to the handset and learned that Burke was stranded on the side of the freeway. (Remember that post with a 200,000 mile odometer? Yep, it was that car.)
I was to come and pick him up and tow him home in our other registered vehicle (the one with 155,000 miles. It came home from the shop Thursday.)
Grateful that all my children were at least partially awake, I issued instructions for them to be fully dressed, rooms cleaned, and getting their reading done while I was gone.

Then I ran out to the van to head to the rescue of my beloved...
And found an empty gas tank.
Like REALLY empty.
Sigh.
Stopped to get gas...
Then went to the rescue of my beloved.

I found a grumpy and frustrated Burke and a sad, broken-down, previously-faithful vehicle pulled off the road.
Burke hooked up the tow strap and we were just deciding who was going to be in which vehicle when the cavalry pulled up.
Highway Patrol.
With lights on.
AWESOME!
He offered to follow us and make sure we didn't cause any problems as we attempted to get to the next exit.
Gee, THANKS!

Anyway, it came to me to be the "driver" of the vehicle being towed.
A job I had done once before, as I nervously assured Burke this morning.
As a teenager.
My dad had come to the rescue of his stranded and clueless teen daughter.
He told me how to control the brakes and steering when "driving" an incapacitated vehicle as it is being towed.
That was many years ago.

As I climbed in the car this morning and Burke pulled away from the shoulder (with the HP trooper bringing up the rear), I distinctly thought to myself, "I CANNOT believe my dad trusted me to do this as a teenager. What was he thinking? I would never let Nathan do this. I know he would crash into the van. He wouldn't pay close enough attention to what he was supposed to be doing. I can't believe that I didn't crash."

Then I found myself wondering what would have happened if my dad hadn't trusted me, or loved me enough to let me try?

It was a bit of a wake up call for me (literally).
As I teach my chicks how to fly, I frequently find myself clipping their wings. I think of it as protecting them (and maybe my future vehicles ;). But is it really good for them to never make a mistake because they didn't get an opportunity to try in the first place?

Thanks to a loving, trusting father, I was armed with knowledge that I needed this morning at 6:30 AM.
Thanks dad!

Thanks to a loving Father in Heaven, we were able to make it to our driveway before the tow rope broke.
Yes, there was a little prayer of ironic gratitude uttered when Nathan steered the car into the garage as Burke and I pushed from behind.

Hot Tubbin'

Aunt Kellie's family came up to visit us. Well, they came to ski, so we went to visit them at their hotel. It was nice to see everyone and let the cousins visit with each other.
We decided to take advantage of the opportunity to go sit out in the hot tub.
I got in with the kids because Burke couldn't find his swimsuit. (How convenient).

We started with a bag tied around Adrienne's cast, but lost the bag later when we noticed it was actually holding the water in.
Adrienne decided that Aunt Kellie and cousins Hannah and Becca were the greatest. We almost had to leave her there to live with them forever.
In the end, we convinced her that coming with us would be okay.
It was a great evening, thanks guys!

Arrow of Light

Nathan earned his Arrow of Light last week. To celebrate, we had an amazing pack meeting with some special guests who put on quite a show for us.
After the other boys got their awards, the dancing and storytelling began.
They did a great job, and got the boys (at least mine) excited to earn their Eagle Scout award.

Nathan's grandparents were able to come to the meeting to support him. We appreciate it-- Thanks!
At the end of the dancing. One of the young men told a story about the arrow of light and the feathers that correlate the seven rays that come from the arrow. Each represents a value that a young boy should try to develop. It was a great thing to watch, they spoke right to Nathan and he was feeling pretty special.
At the end, they did a special "Snake Dance" that was for everyone. If they came and tapped you, you were obliged to join in. They got all the kids and lots of the parents (our meeting was quite small).
My girls loved it, but the boys weren't quite so sure. They ended up joining the dance and had smiles by the end. Of course, chanting the SpongeBob Squarepants song while dancing around holding feathers tends to make you giggle. We're so proud of Nathan. Congratulations!

Um, Better Late Than Never?

I think that is the mantra for my life. I'm sure my mom would agree, as would Burke (although I haven't been late for Church for ages).
Life has been busy. I have been working on getting things ready for a new Primary year, including getting teachers, a bulletin board, and binders ready. I haven't gotten around to doing the CD's yet. In addition to that, I have had Christmas, New Years, a baptism, and a birthday. Plus, Burke was off of work for the whole week between Christmas and New Years, so we took time to enjoy his company.
I have fallen behind in blogging, so my goal is to cover everything this week.
Starting with Christmas:

We had a nice Christmas Eve with a dinner at my sister's. Then we met up with Grandma W and headed to the city center to look at the Christmas village.

Of course, when we got home, it was time to open the annual Christmas jammies.
The kids all had cute jammies, and some cute (if I do say so myself) robes I sewed with my new Christmas present.
After that, we read the Christmas story from the bible and went to bed. At least, I did.

I was unaware of Burke's nocturnal sneaky activities. He accuses me of being very snoopy, so he had to go around to the neighbor's and gather up the gifts he had hidden there....
There were more surprises to be found in the morning.

Christmas morning was a blast. The kids ran out to see the spread.
A new bike for Nathan, a karaoke machine for Kade, a Nintendo DS for Annika, and a CD player for Adrienne.
A new calculator for Burke (yes, Santa knew he was an engineer without a functioning calculator...sad, sad).

Santa is full of surprises.

Burke and Kade made me a new step for my bathtub. It is quite a reach for a shorty to climb in and I have almost fallen a few times while getting in and out. Therefore, I had casually mentioned a few dozen times over the last 4 years how much easier it would be to have a nice step to climb in and out.
Burke sneaked off a few nights and went to a neighbor who is an amazing carpenter and made me a beautiful, thoughtful, matching knotty alder step for my bathroom. I loved it.
Thoughtful (and handmade) gifts are the best!

After opening gifts and relaxing for a while, we headed off to see The Princess and the Frog.
Very cute, and a nice way to end the day.
Grandma W stayed with us through Christmas Eve and into Christmas Day. We enjoyed her company and the kids were so sad when she left the next day to head to Disneyland.

Santa and Hammers

My kids' school has a Breakfast With Santa every December. We get to have doughnuts and juice and share our greatest wishes with Santa. The kids are always excited before we go, but then act a little shy when we get there.
This year, Nathan decided he was a little old to sit on Santa's lap. But he did it.
And there was a classmate there who took his picture when he did it. And she was a girl. She giggled. He was embarrassed.
Can you tell?


Adrienne got to see Santa too. She wasn't sure about sitting on his lap though.Do you love the body language there?

After we saw Santa we went to Home Depot to do a project. They made wagons that were just right for putting present in--at least that is what Adrienne said.
There were hammers, nails, wood, and stickers. They loved it. After the big project, we went to lunch with Grandma and Grandpa to our favorite Mexican restaurant to celebrate Kade's birthday.

He wanted to go to this particular restaurant because he wanted them to sing to him. An added bonus was getting a yummy sundae that his siblings tried to inhale before I put the brakes on.
Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for braving the snow and heading up to see Kade.
More to come on the big birthday...
He's 8!

Thankful

We had a great weekend spending the holiday with Burke's extended family. The kids played with their cousins, the adults ate (and ate), and Burke got to go shooting with his brothers and their boys.
I got to go shopping.
What more do you need?
I am so thankful that we have family who can gather together and enjoy a nice meal.
I am thankful that my kids love to play with their cousins.
I am thankful that we are all healthy this year.
I am thankful that we could still talk about Grandpa and how much we miss him.
I am thankful that I have a great family of my own.
I am thankful that my boys held the door open for me and my girls on Sunday.
I am thankful that my husband hung all my Christmas lights.

I am thankful that my driveway gets shoveled when it snows...
Lest Grandma see this photo and think poorly of my mothering skills, I claim ignorance. This was Daddy's little helper who was supposed to be in bed, and sneaked out to help daddy shovel the driveway. And no, I didn't take this picture, but I did laugh really hard when she came in with freezing little feet.
I am thankful for my children who keep things interesting and for a husband who makes a 4 year old get out of bed and want to be with him in bare feet on a cold snowy night.

Perfectly Princess-y

We went to see Disney Princesses on Ice. It was a special treat, and I didn't tell the girls we were going until we got there.
We had excellent seats. It was a great experience and we had so much fun.
It started with Mickey and Minnie. Adrienne was fine.
Then we got into Snow White, Ariel, Mulan, Belle, and Aurora.Adrienne was not so happy to see the villains in each story. She sat on my lap for the entire first half of the show.
The second half was Cinderella's story.
That was better.
The stepsisters were right in front of us. Adrienne was a little scared of them too, but she stayed in her seat.
Of course, every princess needs her fairy godmother. Sometimes a mom needs one too.
At the end, all of the princes and princesses were on the set waving in their beautiful gold and white sparkly gowns. Annika was in heaven.It was nice to have a girl's night out with the cousins, aunt, and grandma.
Thanks grandma!

What Goes Around...

Shortly before parent teacher conference, Nathan informed me that he had a project in his social studies class.
No problem.
He had to build a model of a Native American home. A teepee or a long house, etc.
No problem.
Then he told me it was due the next day.
And it was already 10 PM.
And he didn't have any of the paperwork for directions or requirements for the teepee.
And it had been assigned for a month, he thought.
Now we have a problem.

I was more than a little perturbed at his lack of responsibility, but had to keep my tongue in check because someday my own mother hoped that/warned me this would happen.

I was in Mrs. Achziger's class for 7th grade English. She was just as her name sounded: awful.
We had to do book reports once each month. The requirements for the reports varied, sometimes we had to do a simple description of the report, sometimes we had to do it verbally.

There was one way we could get out of it. It was by reading a book that was extra long. Then we could skip a month and there was one less book report to do.

I decided that was the way to go when I had procrastinated one month and didn't have time to read an entire book before the report was due.

Now I just had to find a book that would fit the bill.
I picked Jane Eyre.
Not a short book.
Very long, very complicated for a 7th grader.
But I read it, and mostly liked it.

For the next report, the teacher had decided that we were going to illustrate each chapter with a drawing.

I had to illustrate each chapter of a 600+ page book.
Plus, this happened to be over Christmas break. Who wants to do a stupid book report over Christmas break?

So....

I found myself doing some drawings the Sunday night before school started. I didn't realize how long it was going to take until I had been working for an hour and had only done about three pictures.

My mom was hanging around the kitchen while I worked, asking questions. When she figured out what a predicament I had put myself in, she had pretty much the same reaction I did when I found out about Nathan's teepee assignment.

Grrrrr.

She let me work for a few more hours, but finally took pity on me around 10 PM and grabbed some paper and worked with me to get it done.

We worked for a while longer, and finally finished the report long after my bedtime.

I got an A.

But,

I have never heard the end of it since.

Which is good, because it helped me have a smidgen more patience with Nathan as we worked on his teepee.

He got an A.
He will never hear the end of it.