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!