Christmas 2008

AJ and Natalie’s letters to Santa were pretty darn cute. All Natalie asked for was cupcakes, which we had Christmas Eve for Zachary’s birthday. AJ apologized for getting on the naughty list (he got sent to the principal’s office 3 times this semester!!!) and promised to be good as long as he didn’t get “black rocks” for Christmas.

That night we read the kids our three traditional Christmas stories (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, and the real Bible story of Jesus’ birth) and put them to bed. Joe, who’d worked all day prior to our party, quickly fell asleep on the couch as soon as the kids were settled. I woke him up around 10, and we wrapped a few remaining gifts until 1 o’clock. Santa had to stay up late to get to our house after we went to bed, but we heard there were others in the area up way later than us.

Joe and I generally don’t buy ourselves big items except as gifts, so Santa was able to be pretty generous with us. Joe got a new LCD flat screen, and I got a piano. AJ was most excited about new Star Wars games for the Wii. Natalie got a whole bunch of nail polishes and chapsticks and purses and a motorized puppy she’s been asking for forever and clothes, among other things. But the only thing she cared about was that Santa didn’t bring her cupcakes for Christmas. Santa was confused. Unbeknownst to the big guy, what she wanted was similar to an EasyBake oven specifically for cupcakes. You can’t win them all, I guess.

After a greatly needed nap for me, we headed over to Grandma Johnson’s house for a fantastic steak dinner with the family. I had to leave early to go to work of all the awful things. We were really busy that night too. I was grateful that I didn’t get scheduled for Christmas Eve though. That would have been much worse.

Natalie's Ballet Recital

Natalie participated in her first ballet recital on the 13th. They were so adorable! She really enjoyed seeing the older girls dance as well. We have lots to look forward to. You can't make out faces very well on the video because of the lighting, but I'll post it anyway if my computer will let me.

AJ's winter...ish concert

AJ’s kindergarten winter concert was the 9th of this month. Joe and I were somewhat disappointed. We crowded ourselves into a tiny gym along with what felt like thousands of other parents only to hear AJ sing two songs that were neither festive nor Christmasy. One of the songs (although I use that word loosely) had to do with a snowflake, but that was as close as we came. I realize that schools have to be religiously neutral, but what’s wrong with a little “Sleighride” or “Walking in a Winter Wonderland”? Frankly, I would have been overjoyed to hear a Hanukkah or Kwanzaa song from my son. I don’t think avoidance entirely promotes tolerance any more than focusing on the majority’s beliefs. Jumping off the soap box…

I have a video of his concert that I'm going to try to upload, but I don't know if it will work or not. My computer is being dumb.

More knots

Natalie's knots

Natalie has recently figured out how to tie knots...so she ties up anything and everything. I've decided to catalogue some of the things she ties up.

This week's news

We’ve pretty much spent the last week trying to recover from our journey. Natalie has pinkeye (and maybe an ear infection that we’re gonna get checked out tomorrow). AJ is over his cold and bit of a stomach bug. Joe is over his bout with a nasty stomach bug. And I’m still trying to get over a cold as well.

However, we did manage to get our Christmas decorations put up. I had an ultrasound to make sure the baby is okay. My doctor wasn’t terribly pleased when I lost weight over Thanksgiving and am measuring smaller than I should be. Everything looks just fine for now though. The little one is sure an active child. She rarely sleeps. Or maybe she just sleeps when I do. That might be a really good thing!

We went to the Primary Christmas party on Friday night and listened to a few really talented musicians and a few not-so-talented ones. They're just kids; plenty of time to improve. There was plenty of pizza and desserts afterwards. We told the kids that Santa might be able to come, but we weren't sure. When Santa walked in the room, Natalie's face absolutely lit up. She exclaimed, "I knew he would come! I just knew it!" I didn't have my camera, so one of our friends in the ward took pictures of our kids on Santa's lap and is supposed to email me with them. Joe and I are loving being in the golden age of Christmas with our kids. It really is magical for them, and it's so fun to watch!

Scott and Andrea came down yesterday to pick up a bed frame we brought home for them from Monticello. We were pretty boring and mostly sat around all day while Scott and AJ played pretend Star Wars battle. AJ went to a birthday party for one of his classmates that afternoon. He was such a sweetheart. He’s been talking to McKenzie all week long about what she wanted for her birthday, and she said she wanted a dolphin. So we got her a toy dolphin as well as a My Little Pony. When she opened it, he said she was really happy about getting the dolphin, and he was very proud of himself!

A Monticello Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was pretty eventful for us this year. We left Monday evening when Joe got home from work for Monticello. We didn't get on the road until after 5 pm because we had to finish running errands here in town before we could go. And then, we made it as far as Tri-Cities before the check engine light came on in the van. Joe's iPhone proved its worth for the first time on the trip as it allowed us to quickly locate a Schuck's where they diagnosed the problem as something minor and turned the light off.

With all the delays, we only made it to Baker City, Oregon before we decided to rest for the night. The hotel was the cheapest we could find, and we definitely got what we paid for, from the non-pre-heated room to the chintzy continental breakfast. Oh, well. It could have been worse.

Tuesday, we pretty much drove all day long. Our kids enjoyed a few movies courtesy of Joe’s work laptop along the way and read books or slept the rest of the way. We’re really grateful for seasoned travelers! We planned our stops to include Apollo Burger and Gandolfo’s, two of our favorite restaurants not found in Kansas or Washington. We made it to Monticello around 9 pm that night.

Joe got to go on a motorcycle ride with my brothers and dad on Wednesday. He only crashed pretty hard a couple of times! Thankfully, no major injuries were incurred. And Ben’s bike only received mild damage as well. Maybe Jed will send us the video of one of the wrecks. It was pretty funny.

The kids spent the day playing with the cousins and Uncle Scott, who has firmly solidified his status as favorite uncle. It’s like he just can’t help playing with the kids. I helped my mom bake pies and troubleshoot her oven, which was on the fritz.

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, of course. We were saved by Grandma Harvey’s turkey, since the oven wasn’t working. My mom baked another turkey for leftovers in her big crock, but it took all day long to cook. Joe represented our family at the church for basketball and such.

Friday, my dad took my kids on a hike to see some ancient Indian ruins while Joe and I stayed home and rested. My dad’s hikes are notoriously farther and longer than he thinks they are. I decided that it probably wasn’t the best idea for me to go since I get winded going up the stairs these days. And Joe was coming down with one of the various illnesses going around the house, so he stayed home too. We’re told our kids were troopers and didn’t have to be carried at all!

What a fun thing to be able to have everyone (except Ben, of course) come down for the holiday! I know it’s really hard for us all to plan something like that, but it’s always worth it to be together at the same time.

Joe and I left for home Saturday morning. We had to stop every two hours all the way home for my poor pregnant body and its various ailments, so we took our time. We stayed the night in Boise and drove the rest of the way Sunday.

Twilight!

After obsessing over Stephenie Meyer's books for the last year, my sisters-in-law and I were anxiously awaiting the premier of the movie based on the first book, Twilight. We decided to go all out and have a slumber party to celebrate. Jeremy's wife, Dyana, graciously hosted our party, consisting of me, Liz, LaVern (my mother-in-law), and a friend, April. We drove down to Tri-Cities for the show and ate yummy Olive Garden while we waited in line to get into the theater.

I don't think the show was exactly what any of us were expecting, but we all really enjoyed it. We swooned just like the little girls every time they said a line directly from the books. We decided afterwards that we must all be corrupted because our biggest complaints were not enough kissing and violence!! We should have known it would be that way though because the books are ultratame too. Joe's mom made a good observation that we should think about what we'd want our teenage daughters to be watching. It is refreshing to see a teenage couple just spend time together and actually get to know one another. And of course, we had to stay up half the night talking about the show and the books!

The other reason for the slumber party was that we had a birthday party the next day for Jeremy and my niece, Paige. Dyana did an awesome job of planning for food, etc. So everyone was well fed and happy. Paige was so adorable eating her own large cupcake! (She just turned 1) It's always great to spend time with family. Joe and I even managed to squeeze a temple session in while we had ample babysitters.