Christmas Carols

 

Christmas isn't Christmas without the music!  Life isn't as enriching without music, for that matter!  Anyone who knows me, realizes how important music is to me. This year to help celebrate Christmas and share our love for the season, my 3 little piano students put on a fabulous recital. 

 

 These kids worked hard and it showed!  They have grown a lot in the past year and even pulled off some awesome duets.  I, of course, got teary as I began the recital as I shared the way music moves me and how special those kids are to me.  And, I cried at another seasonal song this year...'Santa Claus is Coming to Town.' 

I kid you not, we got to take our kids to this fabulous breakfast with Santa and when I heard the jingle bells down the hall, the whole room busting out in the song to welcome the Jolly Elf, my eyes were watering...lets just say embarrassing.  Who does that?!  I love the magic of the season, I love seeing my kids experience the joys of childood and apparently, I just love the Claus family.  After the delicious morsels were consumed, we met up with S.C. and wife.  Brenna wasn't having it with Santa, but she did enjoy Mrs. Claus.  The kids loved talking with him, have enjoyed getting messages on the email as well, unfortunately Dave got a message from Santa and he is not currently on the nice list.  So, he has a couple of days to work on that.  We will see how it goes!


We have our special Christmas program in church tomorrow, with music that fills me with the true spirit of Christmas.  I hope we are enstilling a love for giving in our children as we think of all the gifts we have. 

Snow, Sun and Stitches

 

 

A few weeks ago we had a great snow storm come our way.  I know a lot of people despise the freezing temperatures and frosty accumulation, but not Mr. Grant. 

This kid lives for winter weather.  I have to shove him out the door in the heat, but come cold, I can't get him back inside.  He spent 7 hours out in the snow on one day of this storm.   I love it.  Katelee, while she too enjoys snow play, I think she just does it so she can come in and ask...

"Will you make me some hot chocolate, mom?!"

 

Just two weeks after a blizzard, we were on our way to sunny Arizona for Thanksgiving with Dave's brother Brian.  We stopped in Vegas and the Hoover Dam on the way. 

 

 

There's nothing like hearing your two year old yelling Hoover Dam (minus the Hoover part) over and over.  Oh, Brenna.  It was thoroughly enjoyed, much more than her screams of "I want to get out of this car!!!"  at the top of her lungs after a 6 hour stretch.  Overall, the kids did great on the road trip.  We had to pull off the side of the road for some pit stops-not easy with little girls- and we left a string of gas stations with locked stalls along Utah to Arizona because Brenna refused to let me in a stall to help her and then she would crawl out when she was finished.  I formally apologize to Chevron, Texaco, Shell, Holiday, circle K and any other fueling stations I missed. 

We got to go on a hike Thanksgiving morning- it was 84 degrees, people.  The kids loved the cactus all over. 

And Wonka Brian (as affectionately referred to by Brenna) was so nice to take us out on his boat the day after Thanksgiving.  Everyone loved it.  It was killing Grant not to be able to jump in the water, but we had a great time.  Brenna was dancing and hopping about making me a nervous wreck for most of the excursion.  And, of course, she didn't want anyone to touch her and secure her. 

We stopped by the Grand Canyon on our drive home.  I had never been there.  It's awesome.  Someday we will have to go back, explore, hike and wonder at a wonder of the world!

Thanksgiving over, on to Christmas!  We started setting out our Christmas decor this week and in preparation, I took all our regular home decor off the counters.  Katelee didn't notice where I had placed these items and while dancing/jumping about sat right down on this little beauty:

Can you imagine begin stabbed by the Eiffel Tower?  Katelee can, because she was.  She came down on it just below her little bum cheek and the point went right through her clothes and through her leg.  We inspected it and noticed there was fat sticking out of a deep hole in her leg. While holding down a dry heave, I carried her to the car and whisked her away to the hospital.  She had a couple stitches.  I would show pics of the injury, but it's in a very delicate area!  Poor girl.  She was so worried Grant, Brenna and Dave would decorate without her.  They held off, of course, and Grant made her the sweetest card with money taped inside.  She came home from the hospital and he asked her if she had looked on her bed (where the card was located).  She told him no and she asked him if he had something 'sweet' for her there.  He nodded and she extended her arms to him, cocked her head to the side and said, "Oh, Grant, come here."  It was adorable.  Then, Grant, disgusted by the thought of affection screamed as he laughed and ran away.  They did end up hugging and I thought, by golly, they do love each other after all! 

Arrrrrr Halloween

 

Arrrrr Halloween was full of spooky sights.  Like this 'ere Pirate captain. 

 Witches were spotted

 

and fought, of course.

 

Spiders eggs, swamp water

                                        and earthworms were consumed.

 And a zombie wandered through our halls...not just any zombie-a "church zombie" as described by Katelee.  What could be more distubing than that?!

 

Surprises were around every corner...like what the pirate lass on the right was going to wear.  We didn't know to the very last minute if she would decide to be a hula girl, cheerleader, or lion.  All she talked about was being a princess, but she found her true calling as a master of the seven seas.  A scurvy crew indeed....

Pumpkins Scream in the Dead of Night

Name that tune!!!  We have been loving our Halloween soundtracks in the car.  We checked a couple of CDs out from the Library and are loving the Nightmare Before Christmas.  We had the Muppets new movie soundtrack serenading our every venture.  Dave may have gone batty if he heard "Manamana" one more time! But, really, the Muppets Barbershop quartet performing "Smells Like Teen Spirit,"  what gets better than that?

 
Anyway, we picked out our pumpkins from our favorite local pumpkin patch a couple weeks ago.  They have been sittin on our porch in the dead of night, and the middle of the day for that matter. It is a bit bumpy and lumpy trudging through the dirt.  Brenna kept getting twisted up.  I asked her to hold my hand so she wouldn't fall and she replied, "I did fall.  I so so sorry punkins."
 

 From what I could tell, the pumpkins held no grudges. The kids love pushing the mini wheel barrows, taking a hay ride, running through the tiny corn maze and
 climbing the tractors...as do I, lets be honest. 

The dead of night is not so quiet around here.  Brenna gets up nightly (multiple times)to use the commode, which is wierd to me, but I guess better than wetting, right? Its a toss up, really.  The biggest change in our night routines is that we have now moved the girls together in the bunk beds and Grant has been moved to his own room.  Katelee chose some perfectly pink decor for their place, it's very fitting!  She was not happy about the move and cried unconsolably at first.  Not because she wanted her own room, but because she would miss Grant and was concerned about what she would do in the middle of the night when she is scared?  She told me Grant took care of her.  Grant was so nice and had a sit down chat with her and her roles as the big sibling now. 


Brenna, well, she of course was a bit of a mess with the switch up.  She refused her bed.  I threatened her that she would be locked in her carseat in the dark garage for bed then, which she gladly accepted.  That plan obviously backfired when I found her snoozing happily in the car.  But, I think she is getting the hang of her bed now.  When we told Grant we would move him when we got some new furniture for him, he lit up.  He asked, "a TV?"  A head shake from his mom was the answer.  "A Wii?"  Another head shake.  "A phone?"  Head shake number three with the words- A BED!  He loves his new digs.



  And yes, this pic he is sleeping in Katelee's bed.  They thought they would try and trick me one night.  Why he has a kangaroo snuggled in his shirt, I do not know.  Nor does he.  He denies placing it there, I have my doubts! 

Sisters in Seattle...and life on the homefront

Last weekend, the lovely Paige turned 30.  We decided to celebrate the milestone by taking a sisters (and mom) trip to Seattle.  It was so fun!!  I made everyone taking a deep thought picture on our Harbor tour.  Shannon succeeded, my mom had no problem...

 

                                     
                                        

 but Paige couldn't stop giggling. 

Finally, the moment was captured!

We had to see Pike's Place  in the market.  They let Paige catch a fish for her birthday. 

 We ate delish seafood, went to the EMP museum, where I could learn to scratch...baby steps towards my lucrative DJing career.  The space needle was a must see, and we fit in some time for the gorgeous outdoors in the area. 

                                                         Snoqualmie Falls

 

 Mt Ranier is amazing.  Once we got to Paradise on the mountain, it was misty and foggy.  We couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of us.  It was eerie and awesome.  But we had just seen a horror film exhibit at the EMP museum, so we were a bit squealy!
                                       
It was a quick, fun trip, full of laughs and belting out of showtunes in the car.  My sisters are so great and they think my craziness is fun, so it works out for all of us!!! 
                                     

Dave said he and the kids had a great time at home.  I realized I haven't posted Katelee's new do:  She was so worried people wouldn't recognize her...so I better put it up, so you can know who this little face with the bob is.  We had it cut before Kindergarten one day and she was uncertain if Grant would know it was her when he came to grab her from her class.  She also ran up to a neighbor boy and said, "It's me...Katelee, do you recognize me?" 

 

Even with a short do, she can still ride her bike with her floaty in her mismatched pj's.  What?  You do don't do that?

 

And, Brenna...well, she is becoming the mean kid in the hood...or I am now becoming aware she is the mean kid on the street.  I have witnessed her biting of her sister, but now recently I have seen her push, pull, grab and bully other toddlers.  She thinks she is a sweetheart, who do you believe?

School Starts and a Kindergarten Miracle

 The traditional school year is officially in full swing.  Grant started 2nd grade a week ago...I'm not sure if his hand gesture is to indicate that or world peace, either way, he is one grown up fella!  So far, he has been so glad to be back to being a student.  I choked up as a dropped him off, and that didn't give me hope that Katelee's first day of kindergarten would be easy. 

 She begun her educational journey into kindergarten just yesterday.  I couldn't even talk to her about it.  I got her ready, told her how much I loved her and would be thinking about her all day.  I gave her a penny, just like I did on Grant's first kindergarten day. I told her that if she was ever nervous to just rub it to know she is so loved and she would be in my mind every time she touched it.  Well, girls' cute skirts don't have pockets, so she couldn't tuck it away and discreetly touch it like Grant could...so it got stashed in the backpack.  Truthfully, I don't think she needed it.  She told me she thought about me all day, but when the time came for her to run into the classroom, she sprinted towards the door.  I had already given her a hug before we got to the playground in case I didn't get another chance, but when that whistle blew and Katelee, excited as could be, rushed to join her classmates, I couldn't help myself...I lunged at her arm and pulled her to me.  She looked at me like I had lost my marbles, I mean how many times did she have to say goodbye??!  But, after one last kiss and hug, she was out of site and I scooped up Miss Brenna to finish my cry in the car.  I am a baby, I know, you would think #2 wouldn't be as hard as your first.  Really, it probably wasn't, but I think you gear yourself up for all the milestones your oldest has ahead, and before you know it, the subsequent children are there too.  On one hand she seems like she is too little to start, but on the other, I know she really is so ready...I mean, look, she too can rock the peace sign like a tween...

 Our miracle:  The night before K started school, I had to take a phone call and Dave got dinner going for the kids.  After I finished my call, I joined the family, got lost in our wonderful dinner discussions (wink wink...it's usually more like, "Brenna, stop walking across the table!")...and I turned to look at Katelee's half eaten plate.  I gasped and exclaimed "Dave!!!  A flour tortilla?!!?? Her first day of school is tomorrow!!!"  He had accidentally made Katelee's quesadilla with a flour tortilla instead of corn and our little celiac head can't tolerate that.  After hearing that outburst, Katelee threw down her food and sobbed.  She was beside herself crying out that she would be sick at school.  She really does get violently ill, frequently just from a contamination of a crumb of gluten.  Well, Dave had planned on giving her a priesthood blessing to start school anyway, so in his blessing, he included a promise that she wouldn't get sick....and she didn't-at all!!!  Such a great blessing and faith promoting experience for us. So far so good, so I have a feeling that this  school year is going to ROCK!!

Bonjourno Italia!! warning:travelogue ahead

 A few years ago, Dave was in his travel agent planning mode and asked me if I could go anywhere for our 10 year anniversary...if money was no factor...where would I want to go.  I told him-ITALY!  So, when his worked announced last year that the destination for President's Club was going to be in Rome, a few months after our 10 year, we knew we had to go!!  Dave pushed so hard to qualify, and literally made it at the last second.  And thus, our Italian dream began!  We left the kids for 9 days in the capable hands of our parents and we were off.  First stop: VENICE

 We had a hotel right on the water, stayed the night, had a gondola ride, and went to Murano to the glass factory.  We had to book it to catch a train to our next city.  Dave had booked a hotel in the Tuscan countryside and was told to go to the city of Arezzo.  Well, here we are on our train to Arezzo, happy as can be, because at this time, we didn't know we were heading 4 hours in the wrong direction of where our hotel really was....Barga.  We had some great assistance from some locals after they laughed at our expense (and our excessive luggage).  We were traveling with our friends, the Bevans, and their little baby, so we had a lot of stuff!  We had to rearrange plans and head to Florence for a couple of days.  When we got to Florence and were a bit lost there, who should ride by, yep, the Elders.  Gotta love the missionaries. 

 While in Florence, we went to Fiesole, an archaeological site with lots of Etruscan ruins, super old....we walked along the River Arno and Ponte Vecchio, we saw the Golden Doors to the Baptistery across from the Duomo.  These are incredible...please pause to take a peek below!  And of course, we saw THE DAVID!!  (not my David, Michaelangelo's famous sculpture, of course!)  I turned the corner in the Accademia, where the David is, and literally, gasped as my hand flew to my chest.  The tour guide with us laughed and told me it was right to be so impressed.  I fell in love with Michaelangelo's work on this trip.  Thinking about the statue now, gives me the chills.  So amazing.

 The next day we thought we would be brave and rent a car.  After a few mishaps-learning that the reverse in the cars there occurs when  you pull up on the stick!, cars heading towards us, dirt roads, etc., we learned that speed limits are suggestions, lanes can be shared with multiple cars and scooters and just go with it.  So, we did.  Dave was an authentic Italian driver and wove around like he owned the place.  We drove through the Tuscan rolling hills, stopping at the tiny towns of San Gimingnano

 and Volterra.  It was picturesque and quaint.  A perfect place to get lost, which we did, of course!

 Next stop on the drive, Pisa.  Really, we just wanted to see the Leaning Tower and get our cheesy tourist pic. 

 We continued on our exploration and went to Cinque Terre.  Holy Hannah, that is a gorgeous area.  I need to go back and hike and swim and go through the villages just hanging out on a cliff above the water there.  But, we were in a bit of a rush.  We had to get to the infamous Barga, to make sure our hotel did indeed exist and not in the dark since the roads are so twisty and some not paved. 

 We got to Barga, but couldn't find our hotel.  We pulled over and a nice local told us just to follow him, so he guided us up the windy mountain paths.  It was lush and breathtaking.  All the rooms were sold out in the hotel, so we got upgraded to a suite with our own terrace overlooking the entire valley.  Yea, no complaints there. 

 Unfortunately we only had one night in Barga, and then it was off to ROME!  We had begun our trip a few days before the ADP events started.  When we arrived in Rome, we were on ADP time and dollar.  They know how to take care of you, let me say.  As soon as we were off the plane, it was pure pampering.  We had time to walk to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps before the welcome party began. 

 ADP rented a villa near Vatican City, overlooking the entire Rome city scape.  To say looking out over the Colosseum, St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican, etc was surreal is an understatement.  We were blown away by the view, the location, the trumpeters announcing our arrival, the dinner, everything.  When the sun set, an opera singer serenaded us and when he finished up, there was a firework show at the pond at the villa.  Incredible. 

 We got up the next day and went to church outside Rome.  It was such a sweet experience.  We met couple missionaries that were so inspiring.  They were so kind, they loaded us and the Bevans into their little car and took us by the temple site, where they oversee the construction. 

 After church, we hit the Colosseum.  Nothing like pondering holiness and gladiators back to back.

 Our tour around this place was the best I have ever been on.  The Colosseum is so amazing.  Our tour guide was a proud Roman (not a lover of the French).  He was so informative and made us understand the fascination we were experiencing. 

 Dave thinks he is a gladiator, but we all know who would leave the stage out the winners door...I'm pretty sure he would take the loser's exit!

 Our tour included the Forum and Palantine Hill.  As we walked along, our guide would pick plants and we would guess what they were-bay, fennel, mint, capers.  It was great.  He also recommended the best restaurant after we were finished.  My tongue has never experienced such pesto before. 

 We had to find Michaelangelo's Moses, also, that was in the area by the Colosseum.  I could not get over the fact that every corner in Rome is fascinating and touched by thousands of years of history.  You may just stop in a church and there is a masterpiece, or architectural wonder.  It's unreal.

 The next day we got to go to St Peter's Basilica, the largest cathedral in the world, where the Pope does his duties.  It is more than massive.  It also holds the Apostle Peters remains, as well as many popes through the centuries. 

 Before we had Dave's awards dinner, we hit the Pantheon. 

 Time for ADP award night.  We got in our fancies and had a dinner with awards, speakers and entertainment.  It was fabulous.  This string quartet was electric and hooked up to amps.  One minute they are playing "the Prayer," the next "I Love Rock and Roll."  It was awesome. 

 Our last day we got to explore Tivoli and Villa d'Este.  The gardens here were

 so refreshing.  I even got Dave to play a quick game of hide and seek in the maze...

 yea right!

 Of course, we had to see the Sistine Chapel.  Sorry folks, no pictures allowed there...we followed the rules, most of the tourists didn't inside.  It was better than I could have imagined it to be. 

 Wrapping up our Italy extravaganza, was a farewell party in Borghese Park.  (think Central Park of Rome)  Can you tell we had a great time!?  As if anyone really read all this....ha!