December, December a Month to Remember!

So, this month has OBVIOUSLY flown by without too much time to sit and blog. I know, bummer, huh. Before I know it I’ll be taking down all my Christmas decorations, cursing all the new stuff I have to find a place to keep, and wishing I had spent more time not stressing. As I type this I am riding in the car with Tyler and el kiddos as we head to bustling Williams, Arizona to ride the “Polar Express.” More about that later, I am sure.

I have to first and foremost thank Daniel for making this blog possible. I hate feeling incompetent and there is nothing like computer issues to humble myself. I told Daniel I hated having to use him for his computer skills. I felt like I was his cyber-pimp and he was sooo willing to answer my every freaking-out-over-my-computer phone call. And he came over twice. AND even did some at-home labor. But more than his computer talent, I have been grateful several times this month that we are friends after all these years. Daniel’s mom, Monica, came over with Daniel this past Wednesday. After they left I had a lot of time to think about all the memories I have with Daniel and Monica and their home back in the ‘hood. If I had to identify my longest relationship with a friend it would be (after my family) Daniel. Anyhow. I’m glad we reconnected after so many years . . . and not just because Daniel knows his computers (I’d feel the same if he had a profession of no consequence to me), but because he’s one of my people.

This month has been filled with the normal Christmas fluff and stuff. I thought I'd share here some of the good times so far. Just click on the mosaic and you can see the pictures closer up. Yes, I am sure you'll want to be studying them and making comments on many of them :)

First, there was the annual cousin's Christmas hosted by Dustin and Leah (and hosted oh-so well!) Every year we have a good time and this year was no different. However, I do have to admit when they announced it would be a "dirty Santa" gift exchange, we upped the game a bit. The dinner was delish, the games were fun (and telling), and woo-hoo! the gifts were hilarious. My favorites were the re-appearing gifts from last year (WHOA Horsey hitch and a fabulous legal-sized ream of mint green paper) and the "naughty" toys for adults only. I couldn't help but also enjoy Erin's super great DI find and my dad was thrilled to get the decoupaged toilet seat (that I ended up with last year, but this year has pictures of cousins' parties of the past). Perhaps the best gift to make the rounds was my grandma's old, brown, L-shaped couch. We've had the couch for a while and my brother and cousin have housed it since Grandma's passing. Tyler hates it. HA-ATES it. He's been trying to give it away for forever and he finally decided the cousin's party would be THE best way to "keep it in the family." Well, the long story ends up with Christina picking the couch and scheduling a delivery (a condition of knowing what the gift was) and somehow Darin got it in the "dirty" part, WHICH he promptly re-gifted VERY last BACK to Tyler. It was CLASSIC.

Here's some pictures of our decking of the halls!

The girls also had their dance recitals. It's just one more mark that we're getting closer to Christmas when we gather for a night (or two) to watch the girls strut their stuff and [Kenzie especially] swish their hair. Ms. Lori is a saint to do this year after year and my girls LOVE them. In addition to my 2 girls, 4 of their cousins also take from Ms. Lori and every recital is like a reunion with all the friends who are also there raising another generation of dancers.

And what do we all need in the midst of the hustle and bustle? A little R&R to the Batt's cabin in Duck Creek, for sure. Right after the cousin's party we took off to spend the weekend DOING NOTHING! That's right. Despite my Christmas list being a mile long, we took the kids to play in the snow, watch movies in the home theater, and relax. On Saturday I did not even get dressed until 6pm and that was only because I showered and put on different pjs. Thanks SOO much for the invite, Jamie. Jared and Mindie are some of our bestest friends, so spending time with them and the Batt family is always an extra sweet treat.

And of course, what would this post be without a recap of the snowstorm that took over Vegas. Last Wednesday it started coming down and didn't stop until around 9pm-ish. I kept my kids inside to help me prep for my book club that I was hosting that night. Well, thank you, snowstorm, but only 2 people braved the storm to come and eat (with such small numbers we didn't really discuss the book.) Since I had gads of soup leftover, some of the extended family came over to eat and then the kids went out to play. And by kids I mean my husband and his 29 year old brother. They went to play in their trucks in parking lots and to have a snowfight and all that other juvenile, 1st snow kind of games. About 8pm I had the kids aLL ready for bed when Uncle Brandon came in asking if the kids could come out too. I was already to say no when he started saying stuff like, "You know they'll cancel school tomorrow," "This is a once in every 30 years kind of thing," and "They'll only be kids for a while, let them play before they get old." So I had a momentary argument with myself and then relented. Out to the garage we went to dress them all and once they were all snow-bibbed, booted, coated, and gloved I informed Tyler and Brandon that this play session was a guaranteed 30 minute commitment before the kids could come back in and re-dress. I swear! That would be THE worst part about living in the snow; the dressing and undressing. They had a ball and we still have our snowman on the driveway even today! (Although his shrunken head is a bit disturbing and one of his stick arms fell off.) It was pretty amazing and I am glad the kids could dress and undress and redress on Thursday when school was cancelled. (I know! How funny to cancel school for 6 inches of snow in only PART of the valley. Oh well.)

And finally, here are some of the other random photos I found on my camera when I downloaded them to the computer. I told you how much I am loving the nativity-playing that happens and it's gotten tons better since both my mom and Dodie (MIL) gave me my Christmas presents early, the Little People Nativity. I love to set them all up and let the kids' imaginations go wild (well, not too wild since we're talking about Jesus' birth and all.) And since we missed church today, last Sunday was our big Christmas outfit day. You know I love me some color-coordination, so it's nice to know once a year we can come all together and share our Christmas spirit at the same time. We also dressed up for the ward party which was a "Night in Bethlehem" theme and thanks to Grandma Dodie's stellar costume supply we were all dressed to the hilt . . . or whatever they wore back then if it wasn't a "hilt." (And yes, Brevin totally looks like a shiek or something.)

I'm hoping to get another post done tomorrow about our AWESOME trip to Arizona. It was so much fun and having all our family together (except Grandpa Bruce *sniff*) was a real blessing for us. Ho Ho Ho!