Saturday

We had such a fun Saturday!!

The morning was pretty laid back.  I did some shopping, took Courtney to the library, went to the Church to put together some food baskets for people in the ward and then cleaned out the Church fridge (seriously, no one cleans it out and it is SO gross!).

At about 1:30 p.m. we took off for the Cox Auditorium at Dixie State College for Plaid Tidings.  It was a funny musical play that is a continuation of Forever Plaid.  Forever Paid is about a musical group (The Plaids) who are killed in a car accident on the way to their first real gig.  They are granted one chance to come back to Earth to do their big gig before being taken back to Heaven.  Plaid Tidings is their chance to come back to spread Christmas cheer and do their planned Christmas special.  It was pretty hilarious and these guys were really talented.  The kids loved it and Ethan was laughing so hard I was afraid he would pee his pants!  The rap of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" was classic.

After the play, we went to my parent's house to meet up with them and wait until it was time to go to dinner,  Last Christmas, Bryan was given some gift cards to Samurai 21 (a Japanese hibachi restaurant) but we have never used them.  We went there with Bryan's firm for the firm Christmas party and decided it would be fun to take our family.  So we loaded up and drove to Mesquite.

Ethan was in heaven and loved the experience.  He kept telling us that we had to tip the waitress and chef really well because they were "awesome!"  Courtney wasn't so sure about the place.  She was pretty nervous about eating new foods (although she ordered rice and shrimp which she loves) and the big fires scared her a bit.  She ended up eating some white rice and drinking a couple of rootbeers.

The rest of us had a lot of fun.  I caught a piece of shrimp in my mouth.  The hibachi chef slices up a piece of shrimp, flattens it and then tosses it into your mouth.  I didn't try it last time (because I didn't want to be embarrassed in front of the whole firm) but my family h as seen me in worse situations.  But I caught it!  Ethan and Bryan did too!

It was a lot of fun and Ethan has decided that Samurai 21 is now his favorite restaurant.  He was awed by how nice it was and kept telling us that he loved it!  Courtney, on the other hand, asked if we could get her a babysitter and leave her home next time we decide to go there.  I predict that she will go to Japan on her mission someday.

But then again, this is coming from the person who ordered a plain cheeseburger in Maine when everyone else was eating fresh seafood.  But I grew out of it!

Courtney's Class Party

I am the room mom for Courtney's class.  I love simple parties where there isn't a lot of stress.  This year we did it really simple.  At the end of November, the class made Christmas stockings from paper bags.  All through the month of December, parents volunteered to go into the classroom and read a Christmas story to the kids.  They left a small treat/toy in the stockings to remind the kids of the story.

For their class party, I invited a man from our ward (Don Martindale) to come in and read his favorite Christmas story to the class.  Brother Martindale is really cool because he is a professional Santa.  Up until this year, he was the Santa at Tuacahn.  But he has retired now and is finding it really hard to give up.  He was thrilled when I asked him to read to the children.

Thursday afternoon I met the Martindale's (his wife, Shannon, came along too) in front of the school so I could show them where the classroom was.  After signing in and getting guest passes (a new procedure thanks to the recent school shooting), we began walking down the hall to Courtney's class.  Now, he wasn't dressed as Santa.  He was in a red vest, Santa hat and church pants, but kids came running out of their classrooms saying "Hi Santa!"  It was cute and he loved it!

Once in Courtney's class, he was right at home with the kids.  He sat right down on the rocking chair and began reading the story of Nicholas' early life.  Did you know that Nicholas (i,e, Santa) was an orphan who didn't have a home?  He lived on the streets of a town and would whittle toys for the kids in the village and give to them on Christmas day.  One day a woodcutter saw what Nicholas could do and took him in as his apprentice.  The old woodcutter was mean and didn't like children (because of something that had happened in his past) but Nicholas' kindness soon melted his heart.  One year rhe old woodcutter helped Nicholas make the small toys for the village children but they soon realized that Nicholas couldn't deliver the toys on Christmas day because the woodcutter needed help making a delivery to a woman 20 miles away.  They finally came up with a plan to have Nicholas leave the toys for the children on their doorsteps on Christmas Eve.  Nicholas liked this because he didn't like all the praise and thanks that the children heaped on him when he gave them their toys.  And that is how Nicholas became St. Nick.

When the story was finished, the kids gave him a huge "Thank you!" and he was free to go.  They loved the story and Brother Martindale loved reading it. 

Brother Martindale even brought them an autographed picture of Santa!  The kids thought that was so cool.  This is actually a photo of Brother Martindale that was taken 10 years ago when he was playing Santa in New York City.  It was a handout they would give the children after they sat on Santa's lap.  He has special connections that made it possible to get it autographed!

Caroling!!

On Thursday, right before school let out, all the classes gathered in the cafeteria for caroling.  I was there because it was after Courtney's class party (more on that later) so I went in to watch.  The kids were hilarious so I thought I would video a bit of "Jingle Bells" that there were singing.

Courtney is in a bright green shirt in the center of the picture when the video begins.  I panned over to Ethan's class but I couldn't ever really find him.

You may want to turn the volume down on your computer because these kids sang REALLY LOUDLY!

Ethan's Foot

I am only posting this for posterity sake and to gross out Ethan.  He had a ...thing...on the bottom of his foot that was really bothering him so I took him to the podiatrist on Wednesday after school.  The nurse looked at it and said, "That's a wort."  The doctor came in and said, "That's a wort."...until he decided to just "slice a bit off the top to see" and then he realized that it wasn't a wort.  He has no idea what it is.  When he sliced it, a bunch of puss came out and there is a hole in the center of the mass.  Weird! 

The doctor thinks it may be a sliver or something Ethan stepped on (he kept saying it had to be "pet hair" but we don't have a pet!).  So now Ethan is soaking his foot every day and trying to see if the "thing" comes out.  Gross, but true.

I took this photo at the doctor's office right after he sliced a bit off the top of the mound.  Ethan wanted to see what the big fuss was about and so I showed him the picture.

Shopping

Our family activity on Wednesday was shopping for Coins for Kids.  They actually hadn't raised as much money as they needed and were several thousand dollars short of their goal, but somehow it all worked out.  The newspaper article the next day said that there were kids on their list who, upon further investigation, didn't need Christmas purchased for them.  So it all worked out.

We went to the Bloomington Walmart at a little after 5 p.m. on Wednesday and there was a line of people ready to shop.  We were given a clipboard with a wish list on it from a family.  We were given a $75 per person limit.  The kids were able to help us pick out clothes, jewelery, and some other things for the boy and girl on our list.

Now, I try to get all my shopping done before December because I HATE holiday shopping crowds.  All the good sizes are gone, people are shoving, your legs gets assaulted by carts and you have to really watch your kids.  I don't enjoy it.  I never really thought of shopping for Coins for Kids as being like that, but it was.  On one hand, it was great to see all the volunteers there to help out, but on the other hand, it made for a crowded Walmart.

We finished our family and turned in the cart so it could be purchased.  It was fun and the kids want to do it again next year.  I will be better prepared next year because I'll know what to expect.  It was nice to help out.

Temple Lights

We went to see the lights at the St. George Temple on Tuesday.  Courtney had a Pizazz Christmas party so she was later than usual, but we made it all work.  We ate a quick dinner, made hot chocolate, loaded in the van and drove to the Temple.  Each year we have done this tradition and each year it has been raining.  This year was no exception.  The only difference is that this year the lights weren't shorted out by the rain!!  Bonus.  So they were actually on when we got there.

It was pretty crowded because there were a lot of youth groups looking at light also.  But we had fun walking around.  The kids wanted to go into the visitors center, so we did that to get warm.  It's so fun to go there because the kids always ask great questions.

Ethan Playing the Piano

Here is the video of Ethan playing "I Saw Three Ships" at our Ward Christmas party.  He has a rough time finding the last notes, but he did an awesome job!!

Christmas Party

Our neighbors invited us to a Christmas party.  There were 5 couples and their families invited and we had a ton of fun!  It was potluck so we took dessert (they wanted my "twinkie cake).  There were soups, salads and bread.  The kids had a great time playing around with all their friends.  It certainly was a wild time.

After we all ate dinner, there were a few white elephant gift exchanges.  There was one for kids under 12, another for teenagers and another for adults.  It got pretty wild but everyone had a blast.  I ended up with a Snow Canyon Warrior shirt (SCORE) and Bryan got a bag of all kinds of things from a St. George knit hat (pin!) to a basket.  Ethan got a slinky, which we loves, and Courtney got a bracelet and some earrings (which I got because her ears aren’t pierced).

I am so glad we live in the neighborhood we do with such good friends.  The kids don’t know how lucky they are to have so many friends within a couple of blocks.  WE are really blessed!

More Holiday Activities

The kids have now begun to ask what activity we are going to do each night.  It's fun to have started something that they actually want to stick with.  Now if I can just get Bryan to not feel "Christmased out" then it will be a total success!

More holiday activities we have done:

On the 12^th, we made overnight cinnamon rolls (really yummy) and delivered them to people in the ward.

On the 13^th we were supposed to go to Tuacahn for the live Nativity, but it was raining so the kids made ornaments for their friends and delivered them.

On the 14^th  we stayed in and just hung out as a family.

On the 15^th we went to Courtney’s dance performance as a family.

On the 16^th we had a party with some of our neighbors.. 

On the 17^th, after FHE, we watched a movie as a family.

Tonight we are going to the Temple to look at Christmas lights.

Pizazz

Courtney had her first Pizazz performance on the new year last week at the halftime of the Desert Hills High School game.  We all went to see her first performance (now we can carpool with others in the neighborhood). She did a great job and LOVED dancing.  It's fun watching her.

Here is the video of her performance (she is on the back row, second from the right with the long blonde ponytail):

Piano Playing

Courtney really enjoys playing the piano.  I have been playing a duet with her and one morning she wanted Bryan to try it with her.  He hadn't practiced AT ALL but I think they did a pretty good job!

Ward Christmas Party

Last Saturday night was our Ward Christmas Party.  Since we don't have activity committees anymore (according to the handbook) the Ward Council was in charge of everything.  We wanted a really simple and easy party this year (focus on the pearl and not on the box) so each auxiliary took care of something.  The Young Women decorated; the High Priests were in charge of meat; the Relief Society was in charge of desserts and salads; the Elder's Quorum made "funeral potatoes"; the Primary put on a talent show/Nativity; the Bishopric were in charge of plates/cups/etc and pulling it all together; and the Young Men were supposed to clean up.

It worked out really well and a lot of people loved the more relaxed atmosphere.  The Primary had asked children to sign up to share their talents and they were overwhelmed by the response.  They had so many kids that wanted to do something that they had entertainment going while we ate dinner.

Courtney and I played a duet while people ate (we didn't get picture or video because Bryan was at a carving station).  Courtney did an AWESOME job!

After everyone had eaten, everyone moved tables to the side and pulled their chairs up in front of the stage for the Nativity.  Ethan played his piano song and NAILED IT!!  He was so excited and said it felt "so good!"  A few people who had been at the piano recital made a special point to let him know how proud they were of him.  It was neat.

After a few more talents (dancing, singing and piano), the Nativity was presented and they did a great job.  It was a fun evening!

Courtney during the Nativity (with the Santa hat on):

 Ethan playing his song (his piano teacher is to the left of Ethan):

Bryan has Ethan's song on his phone so when I download it I will post it.

December Activities

I decided that I wanted a fun, relaxing December.  I finished my Christmas shopping right after Thanksgiving and there is nothing I hate more than going to stores in December.  It just gets me out of the Christmas spirit to fight crowds.  So we sat down as a family after Thanksgiving and figured out an "Activity Chart" of what we were going to do in December.  Some things are more involved (like going to a show) but most are really simple (like making cookies for neighbors).  I wasn't sure how the kids would respond but they have LOVED it and asked every night what our activity is.  I am hoping this is a new family tradition.

Here is what we have done so far:
Dec. 1 was Ethan's piano recital.
Dec. 2 was the First Presidency Devotional which we watched on TV while playing a game.
Dec. 3 was making a Gingerbread house.  The kids loved this but I was too impatient so the walls and roof didn't set up too well.  You can see from the picture below that the roof was falling off.  But the kids loved making it...and eating it!

 Dec. 4 Courtney made a countdown ring for Christmas.  She made one ring per week so it wouldn't look like Christmas was so far away!
Dec. 5 we decorated Christmas ornaments.  We had some packed away that were clear and so we swished some Pledge Floor Care around the inside and then put in some glitter.  After shaking it around, the inside of the ornament was coated with glitter.  It was really simple and very fun.  We each made two.  The kids started combing colors.  They turned out really well.

Courtney's ornament:

 Bryan's "Giants" colored ornaments (orange and black):

 Ethan and his ornament:

 My pink ornament:

Dec. 6 was Bryan's work Christmas party so the kids got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Oman.
Dec. 7 we made hot chocolate and drove all around looking at Christmas lights on houses.  There is one house on Jacob Drive near our house that has their lights syncopated to a radio station.  It's really neat!
Dec. 8 was our Ward Christmas Party (more on that to come)
Dec. 9 we made overnight cinnamon rolls for some friends in the neighborhood and delivered them.
Dec. 10 we made a Christmas present (I can't tell you what because someone may see)

Tonight, Dec. 11, we are going to make cookies and take them around to some of the older people in the Ward.  The kids are pretty excited.

I have had a blast doing all these things and it hasn't been expensive because most things are free or we have them on hand!  I'll keep you updated on what else we do.

Ethan's Piano Recital

Ethan has a new piano teacher who is in our ward.  She is really good and is very laid back so it suits Ethan's personality really well.  He had been working for a couple of months on 2 Christmas songs to play at their recital ("Silent Night" and "I Saw Three Ships").  They were more difficult arrangements but he had worked on them and they sounded really good.

The night of the recital came and I had Grandma and Grandpa Pack on Skype so they could hear Ethan play.  He had practiced these songs right before we left home and had done really well.  He said he wasn't nervous at all.

He sat down, began his first song and then lost his place.  They were memorized so he didn't have the music with him.  Ethan plays more by ear than by note (a problem we have been working on for years) and the piano was out of tune.  He couldn't find his spot or get back on.  He struggled with the song for quite a while before I asked the husband of his teacher if he could just move on.  I felt so bad for Ethan because he had the song down before we showed up.

So they had him start "I Saw Three Ships" which is a song he really enjoys playing.  I think by that time he was just too upset.  He started off great but lost it again.  Poor kid was so embarrassed.  His teacher finally said he could sit down.  He was really upset.

After the recital, Bryan took Ethan to the car while Courtney and I finished up.  I grabbed Ethan's certificate and treat and then we were off.  I took him to ice cream later and he was doing better.  We told him we were very proud of him and the way he handled it.

His piano teacher is in our ward and she hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him at Church on Sunday.  Her husband had talked to Bryan and I during Church and we told him that they just needed to treat Ethan normally and not make a big deal of it.  After Church, the piano teacher called me asking if she could go over and talk to Ethan.  I told her she absolutely could and that he would probably like that.

She came over with a bag of pretzel M&Ms to give to him and told him how proud she was of him.  He handed everything so well and she apologized for not stepping in to help him sooner.  It was really great of her and it made him feel so good to know that she cared about him.

And, he was going to have another opportunity to redeem himself....he was scheduled to play the songs at our Ward Christmas Party the next Saturday. 

Interviews

Each month one of us will take the kids out to have "interviews."  We try to do it on the first Saturday of each month. One month Courtney gets breakfast and Ethan gets ice cream.  The next month Ethan gets breakfast and Courtney gets ice cream.

This month I took Courtney to breakfast and Ethan to ice cream.  Courtney ALWAYS picks McDonalds because she wants to play on the play area and she LOVES hash browns.  We had a lot of fun chatting about how her life is going and things.

I didn't take a picture of Ethan but I took him late Saturday night to the Adobe Ice Box in Ivins for ice cream.  You get to serve yourself and then they weigh it.  He loves that place.  But they don't have any indoor seating so we sat in the cold van and chatted while we ate our freezing ice cream. 

It was fun and I love hearing how the kids are doing.  I think they like the one-on-one attention too.

The Law Firm

In October, Bryan was made an equity partner in the law firm so they put his name in the firm name.  It was pretty exciting.  They made up a new logo with business cards and they have spent the last month changing the signage.  I think it looks pretty good!

The Park

 During the Thanksgiving Holiday we wanted to do some fun things with the kids.  Bryan had to go into work for a little bit but we wanted to go to a movie.  Courtney had wanted Bryan to take her to the park but it just wasn't going to be possible with all the other activities we had planned.  We had been out and were on our way home before the movie when we passed the park on Bluff Street.  Courtney asked if we could go and I figured it was as good a time as any.  The kids had a lot of fun climbing all over the structure that was there. 

Growing up, there was one of these in our play ground, but you can't find one near a school now because of legal ramifications.  The kids had a great time climbing all over it and I got some fun pictures of them.

Thanksgiving Day Hike

We have a tradition of going on a hike after Thanksgiving dinner.  This helps with digestion and makes us feel a little better after we have stuffed ourselves.

This year we went to Paradise Canyon which is really close.  It's at the top of a subdivision just off Snow Canyon Parkway.  It took about 10 minutes to get to.  Bryan had been mountain biking there before but we hadn't been to this part of the trail before.  It was really fun because it wasn't too steep and the kids loved it.  We went about a mile in (I think) until we came to a vista of Ivins. It was cool to see the entire town at once from above.  Then we hiked back to our car.  It wasn't long, only about an hour, but we all had fun!

Birthdays

 My dad's birthday is on November 23rd and Bryan's is on November 24th.  Since Thanksgiving was on the 22nd, my parents were going to be around for the birthday celebrations.  So we celebrated on Monday with dinner out and then I made a cake for my Dad (Bryan likes pie).  I had some old candles that I had forgotten about so I put them in the cake.  I had forgotten they were sparkler candles that were trick.  We lit the cake...as you can tell it was really bright!!

 Dad tried to blow them out but they kept re-lighting.  It was pretty hilarious while he worked and worked to get them all out.  He finally got them all to stay dark!

Cute Courtney

I don't remember what she was doing but I thought these were cute pictures!

Twister

Courtney loves to play Twister.  A lot of times I just spin for her and she plays on her own but she got us all to play one time and it was hilarious!!  I saw a "dance" version in the store the other day.  That would be right up her alley!!

 

Ethan goes down!

Tuff Kids Turkey Triathlon

The kids had their turn to show how tough they were in the afternoon at their Turkey Triathlon.  They had to swim 1 lap, bike 1 mile and run 1/2 mile. 

We got to the SHAC, got them all set up and they went inside to wait for it to begin.  Courtney was nervous for her first tri so she wore her life jacket (which really slowed her down).

Ethan's stuff at transition 1:

 Courtney's stuff at T1:

 The kids before the swim.  Courtney kept showing EVERYONE the numbers on her arm.  It was cute!

 They both had a good swim.  Something went weird with Courtney's timing chip because it showed her swim taking less than a minute but she took longer.  Ethan swam really fast and did a great job.  I took care of Ethan and followed him out to the transition area to help.  Bryan stayed by Courtney's side (she was at the last lane so he could walk beside her while she swam) and helped her during her transition.

Ethan getting ready to go bike:

 Courtney getting ready to bike:

Ethan's bike ride:

Courtney's bike ride (you can tell she enjoyed it!):

Ethan's run to the finish line:

 Ethan is finished!

Courtney's run to the finish line:

 Courtney's finish!

  Our awesome triathletes!! 

 Courtney wants to do another one and Ethan says he does too.  This was a fun experience and I think it really helped to have Andrew and Grandpa part of the tri-team too.  

Here are our Turkey Triathletes: 

Andrew, Bryan, Courtney, Ethan and John

A couple hours later, Courtney had ANOTHER birthday party to go to but she only lasted an hour.  She was pretty tired after 2 birthday parties, a soccer game and a triathlon.  Who can blame her?!

Saturday night we had an early Thanksgiving dinner and then everyone went to bed.  It was a crazy day but was fun!!