Miscellaneous December

We crammed an awful lot into the first two weeks of December, before leaving on a trip to Florida on December 14th. Here are a few more moments. . . .

Joseph did an awesome 4th grade project on a "classic toy." He was assigned Hot Wheels cars. He drew the picture himself (while looking at an actual  hot wheels car), drew a fiery border, wrote a nice essay, and created a graph. He finished it and turned it in a week early since we were missing the last week of school before the break.  Go Joseph!

Speaking of Joseph, he has discovered the immense appeal of Harry Potter. Hooray! It is so fun to share this beloved and magical world with another child. He has read nonstop throughout December and has finished the 4th Harry Potter book and is in the 2nd of the Percy Jackson series. Reading Harry Potter was very timely, as we had the chance to visit the Harry Potter lands in Florida.

Bailey and Joseph were my gingerbread house decorators this year, and they did a fabulous job decorating the pre-made Costco gingerbread house. I am sorry to say that we skipped sugar cookie decorating this year, for the first year ever. Something had to go!

We attended several service projects, including an evening wrapping presents for the homeless shelter with the rest of the youth in our ward. Lucky me - I get to serve with the young women again (this time with Beehives).

It is totally impossible to see what Bailey is holding in this picture so I'll tell you. I sent Bailey and Joseph around to deliver Christmas goodies (chocolate cookie sandwiches with peppermint frosting) to neighbors. Aubrey missed out on the deliveries because she had many late rehearsals and classes throughout December.

Speaking of Aubrey, I only have video, no pictures, of the vocal recital for her private vocal lessons (and I really should take the time to upload the video to the blog).  Dan and I were completely blown away at the maturity and clarity of her voice. I guess it's been awhile since we have heard her since a solo, other than singing in church. She sounded so beautiful and sang with confidence and artistry. Go Aubrey!

The picture below was taken during the evening we offered to babysit the 6 kids belonging to Joseph's football coach so he and his wife could go out to a movie.  We were really excited at the chance to hang out with 6 kids ages 8 and younger. We thought we were prepared. We were wrong. 

By the end of the night we could only whimper as we surveyed the total devastation throughout our entire house. Who knew that 5 kids running around (they took the baby with them) could make such a total mess and frazzle our nerves so completely. We were glad to do this service but I'm not sure we will be offering again!

An a final Bailey moment . . . . this is a picture taken at a meeting of the "Storm Buddies" group she started at her high school.  She arranges activities during lunchtime in which high schoolers interact with the Life Skills (special needs) kids at the school. She has made great friends with these wonderful kids, and they find her in the hall at school to tell her how excited they are about the next meeting. We are so proud of Bailey's compassion, enthusiasm, and leadership skills!  Go Bailey!