Christmas Eve and Day 2014

This year we celebrated Christmas on the 26th of December, which was the day after we arrived home from Florida. Yes, we flew home on Christmas Day because it was way cheaper that way. Flying on Christmas would have been a depressing prospect if not for the hours we were able to spend with the Ellefsens in the Kansas City airport during our long layover.

It was so incredibly nice of the Ellefsens to leave their Christmas festivities to hang out with weary travelers, and we are so glad they did! We tried to leave the airport to find food only to find that, duh, all restaurants are closed on Christmas so the workers can be home with their families.  So, we all went back to the airport and enjoyed a lunch in the airport restaurant.

These two cuties came all dressed up in their Christmas finery.  So fun!

So, it turns out I didn't get many other good pictures of the group. I think I was too busy talking.

While driving near the airport in Missouri we also saw that gas in the Midwest is $1 cheaper than our gas in the Pacific Northwest  Whaaaaat?  (That blurry picture says $1.92 a gallon, which is the cheapest I have seen gas in almost a decade.)

After leaving Kansas City we had another 4 hour flight to Portland, arriving late afternoon. Our home teacher and friend Dale McDonnell fetched us from the airport. Once home we went into full speed unpacking/clothes washing/Christmas Eve mode. 

One glitch in our plan . . . we hadn't thought through what we were going to eat for our "Christmas Eve" and "Christmas Day," and we were scrambling a bit when we realized that all grocery stores were closed. Luckily, we had a little milk which was still good, some frozen Rhodes cinnamon rolls to make for breakfast, and some assorted this and that for Christmas Eve dinner.  On our Christmas Day Dan ran to the store to get food so we could make broccoli soup.

Once everything was unpacked and put away we gathered in the living room to hear and act out the Christmas story, with Bailey playing the angel, Joseph playing Joseph, and Aubrey playing Mary. Then we opened Christmas Eve presents (pjs and Studio C shirts from Brandon and Angela) and Aubrey read our  new Christmas book to us.

 A photo shoot in the new sleepwear.

 Then it was off to bed. The kids set up their traditional sleepover in the bonus room. Normally they watch Christmas movies for hours on Christmas Eve, but I peeked in to take a picture of them shortly after they set up their beds, and they were all fast asleep. Our bodies were still on the Florida time zone, and it felt like 1 a.m.!

 My eyes popped open at 5 a.m. (8 a.m. Florida time), and I read my book until I heard the kids stirring. They didn't realize we were up, so they watched movies until 7 a.m.

 Then off to the tree to see if Santa visited!  A very sleepy Santa did visit the night before. He was so silly and mixed up several of the gifts. It had been a very long day for him!

 Santa always leaves very funny answers to their Santa letters.

What's in the stocking, Aubrey?   Joseph found Pokemon cards in his stocking.

Joseph tried on his new Christmas socks and Bailey received an external hard drive from Santa.

 WARM things for Bailey, because next year she will be attending college in a very cold place!

 New crossfit shoes for Dan and a new stuffed animal for Joseph.

 I love the way you wear that scarf, Aubrey!

 Bailey was mighty surprised when she unwrapped an iphone box. She was all smiles when she read the note and found the (used) iphone inside.  We did some research and found a way she can do a no contract prepaid cell plan which mostly uses wi-fi (very little data included). The cost is very reasonable, but with limits on texts and non-wi-fi data. She is fine with working with the parameters of the contract, and we feel better that she has a GPS for when she is driving.

And the moment when they spread out their fun surprises for a picture.

A few of the sweet cards Bailey gave to family members for Christmas.

 

Right after breakfast Joseph asked permission to spread out his new huge Lego set on the dining room table. 

And then he started building.

 And hours later he was still building.

 He didn't stop for anything, with only Christmas candy as sustenance.

5 hours later he had built the entire Lego set!

We had a very merry Christmas!

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!

Christmas season

Hooray for the Christmas season!  A few glimpses . . .

We held off as long as we could, but finally started playing Christmas music at every possible moment the week before Thanksgiving. We also started working on our "must watch" list of Christmas videos.

Dan and Joseph feel strongly that colored lights are prettier on the tree. The girls and I like white lights. So we finally bought an artificial tree which has pre-lit lights which can be switched between white and colored lights, so everyone is happy.

 On Thanksgiving Day we started decorating for Christmas. We pulled out Brandon's special ornaments to give to him and Angela for their first tree and then everyone hung their own ornaments.

 

 

We started reading Christmas stories around the tree every night.  This my my favorite tradition.

While we read Christmas books Aubrey sketched this awesome Santa Claus. I'm going to frame it!

It was COLD the first week of December. Cold enough that Joseph finally agreed to wear a heavier coat to school.  He added a cool looking beanie to the ensemble, but only after he had thoroughly inspected the effect in a mirror.

We attended several of Aubrey's vocal performances; a VSAA Choir performance

And a fun performance at Portland's Singing Christmas Tree, a 52 year old Portland tradition. It is impossible to see her, but her choir is in red dresses at the front of the tree.

Before and after the Singing Christmas Tree performance the girls and I went Christmas shopping in Clackamas. We had a great time and shut the mall down at 9 p.m.!

That day Dan and Joseph were given tickets to the "Civil War" college football game, between which U of O and OSU. It was freezing cold that day, but apparently it was a great game and a fun bonding day for them.

Apparently Bailey and friends found Santa during lunch at Skyview High School.  Who knew Santa visits the high school students?

We have heard some beautiful Christmas tunes coming from Joseph on the piano. He also is beginning to sound very nice when he plays his cello. He recently was able to move from "pizzicato" (finger plucking") to using the bow.  I love the sound of the cello!

 Because we have some busy plans this Christmastime, we scaled down some of our other events and traditions. We did take some yummy treats to a few families and have been able to do some service projects. The kids and I participated in Walk n Knock, a Vancouver-wide service project to gather food for the local food pantries. The girls and I helped at the Share House, which helps homeless and transitional clients, at Mutual last week.

It has been a wonderful December so far! 

More November Glimpses

A round-up of a few more November moments:

Dan and Joseph puzzling on a Sunday afternoon.

Brilliantly colored trees everywhere.

Bailey helped babysit the kids of Joseph's flag football coach during the last game. This was no small feat - they have six kids under the age of 8!  As a thank you gift to the coach we gave him and his wife movie tickets and said we would babysit all the kids while they went to a movie. That took place last weekend, and it was BEYOND wild. I couldn't believe how much 5 tiny kids (they didn't leave the baby) could exhaust two adults, two teenagers, and a Joseph. It took several days for us to put our house back together after the whirling dervishes destroyed it. They were absolutely adorable, but we all decided afterward that we kind of like our mostly peaceful household!

And here's my cute football player with his best buddy and teammate Alex.

Alex has the ball on the left and Joseph is in black on the right.

After the game the coach gave Joseph a great motivational poem to hang in his room.

One of Joseph's super cool and original Lego creations.

Another Joseph story . . . clothes shopping with this boy is always hilarious. He strikes poses in the mirror to see if he looks  nice enough in the clothes before he is okay with  wearing them. 

And this is a random Bailey selfie I found on my phone.  

Shopping one day with Aubrey. This girl has a great sense of style. Both my girls do, and they definitely didn't get that from me!

Joseph and Alex after their basketball game (basketball started as soon as football ended). They have had a great season and Joseph's basketball skills are growing tremendously!  We have a tradition of getting a McDonald's ice cream after every Friday night game.

Bailey earned her YW Medallion about 15 months ago, but because of some miscommunications with the leadership in the ward she hadn't actually received the necklace.  I was released from the Relief Society presidency a few weeks ago and put into the YW presidency, so I was able to arrange for the "official" presentation of the award. Way to go, Bailey!