Pre-Christmas Festivities

 

On Christmas Eve Eve, Ella's Lax team got together downtown Annapolis for a fun-filled Christmas get together with a scavenger hunt down Main Street, photo opps, pizza and treats.

We had a box of amazing homemade Grinch cookies dropped off by one of my Seminary student's families.  His mother made these. Can you believe it?? 

And then, as per tradition, we made some of our own!  Although, obviously not as fancy 😜

Dave makes everything from scratch - the dough, the icing, etc. 

A sampling of their creations.

Merry Christmas Eve Eve! 

Fireman Tan

 

He did it!!  Tanner was obsessed with firetrucks when he was little (bottom left).  We had a fireman-themed birthday party for him when he was three with a custom-made firetruck cake (complete with a water hose that actually worked!) and a trip to the local firehouse where his Uncle Jack worked as a firefighter.  This obsession recently rekindled and he has spent the past many months in training to become a firefighter.  He just completed his first certification and is now a volunteer firefighter with the Earleigh Heights Fire Department! Way to go, buddy!

Seminary Field Trip to the Festival of Lights

This is my 5th year teaching early morning seminary.  Each year, we try to plan a fun outing/"field trip" with the class.  This year, we decided to go to the DC Temple for the Festival of Lights and concert.  It was a bitterly cold night, but we all met up in the parking lot for hot cocoa and cookies before heading in to see the display of nativities from all over the world.  Then we got a class picture (here are 7 of my 11 students) in front of the Christus.

Next, we went inside the theatre to see the Christmas concert.

And then walked around to see the lights outside. 

Family pic minus Riley (home sick) and Lacey (T - 4 days untiil she gets home from school!)

Then we wrapped up the semester with me hosting all 11 of them at my house for a Christmas breakfast - I made pancakes, eggs, cinnamon rolls, bacon, sausage, etc.  

Then we opened secret santa gifts and all said something we loved about seminary.  It's absolutely one of the hardest callings in the church, but it's such a great way to start your day and such a great way to bond with the youth.  This is such a great group of kids and I love them so much!

 

The Cougars Take on The Big Apple

 

Several weeks ago, when we saw that BYU was going to be playing in a tournament vs Clemson at Madison Square Garden, Dave got the idea to hop on a train and head up there to cheer them on!  The game was on a Tuesday night, so it meant missing two days of school/work.  Our two high schoolers didn't feel like they could miss two days of school, so it was just Dave and I w/ our 12yo caboose 😀

We arrived in NYC at lunch time, so, per Dave's request, we headed to his favorite taco spot, Los Tacos No. 1 for lunch!

Then we headed to Times Square and saw that ball that will be dropping soon to ring in the new year!

The famed "red steps." 

Daddy Daughter date in NYC.

Then we went on a self-guided tour of all the most beautiful lobbies in the city!  We started at The Peninsula.

Hi!

Then we headed to The Plaza. Ella had fun seeing this since she loves Home Alone 2. 

Next stop: Lotte New York Palace

We ran into the "famous" social media stars "spongecake_theScottishfold" (they have 1.6 million followers on IG)

So cute!

My peeps

This gingerbread house, located inside the lobby, is a replica of the Villard Houses, built in 1882, which was eventually turned into this hotel.  There was a sign next to it stating that it took over 200 hours to construct (by the Executive Chef and Pastry Chef and their teams).  They used over 950 macarons to make the shingles on the roof.  

Then we made our way to Bryant Park.

We watched the ice skaters, visited the Christmas market shops and sampled some of the yummy treats!

Then we headed to Madison Square Garden for the main event! BYU (currently ranked #10 in the nation) vs Clemson.

Go Cougars!

I was texting my cousin Seth and told him we were at the game and he texted back that his sister (my other cousin) Kierstin and her son Finn were there too!  So I texted her and we met up during half time!

And then, we saw my cousin Tracy's son Caleb and his wife McCall on the jumbo tron, so we texted them and they came over to meet us during half time too - a totally impromptu family reunion!

It was a rough first half where Clemson absolutely trounced us and none of our baskets were falling. Clemson went on a 21 straight point scoring spree during the last several minutes of the first half to make the score at halftime 22-43.  It was dismal. But then.... the Cougars started clawing their way back in the 2nd half and ended up pulling off the largest second-half comeback in school history!

Here we are 51-52 with 5:04 left

And 53-54 with 3:31 left.

It was tied 64-64 with 5 seconds left.

And then Wright hit a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to win it 67-64!

So exciting!!!!

We stayed for the first half of the Florida vs UConn game that started after the BYU vs Clemson game was over, then made our way to Rockefeller Center.

A fun little Christmas/basketball/BYU-themed adventure with my baby girl and my main squeeze!

Flag Football Champtions!

 

Our Middle School just started offering sports this year, and Ella is thrilled!  She went out for the basketball team in the Fall and the Flag Football team this Winter.  She got a ton of playing time and had so much fun!

Getting that ball over the line!

Touchdown!

Games were long, dark and cold, so this was her every night after a game - exhausted, warm and cozy!

They ended the season with only one loss, earning them a spot in the Championship game.... which they won this past week!  Way to go, Ospreys!