Christmas Day 2008

We woke the kids up at 8:00 today. I have always wondered what time they would wake up on their own...but Todd is never that patient. The kids got the Wii this year. This is the first game system, we have ever bought them. I don't think they expected it. I think they had given up hope that they would ever join the "owning a game system" club. They spent the day playing "Guitar Hero - world tour, Mario Kart, Wii sports and the Price is Right. It is now 10:00 p.m. and they are still at it. Ariel is on vocals, Aaron on guitar and Megan is on the drums. We had a relaxing day and the best part, we all stayed in our pj's all day.

The Eve of Christmas 2008

Christmas eve we had our traditional ham dinner. Aaron found the almond in his pudding, so he got the surprise He was kind enough to share his chocolate orange with all of us. One of my favorite parts of the night was when Aaron read us "The Polar Express." He did a great job complete with character voice changes and showing us the pictures. We played "fill in the blank" when Todd read the nativity story from the bible. He would pause every few words and see if we remembered the next phrase. We found that between the kids and I, we knew the nativity story pretty well. We sang some Christmas songs complete with guitar, keyboard and microphone. Then the kids opened their pajamas and gifts from the family drawing.

Every year I buy new pj's for Todd and I when I buy the kids theirs. I always wrap mine up and put them under the tree and say they are from Santa or from Todd... I decided I wasn't getting any pj's for me this year. When my plan was discovered, I received some gentle encouragement to keep up the tradition, and broke down and bought some. I couldn't keep up the facade this year though, the label on my present said: To: Ang From: Ang. I can't keep pretending that someone, other than me, buys, wraps and places my pj's under the tree.

Aaron felt a little bad when he found out that his sisters had bought him a gift and he did not buy one for them. They told him it was ok and that he could do "things" for them that would be better than buying them a present...like not annoying them. They wrote him a list and put on the fridge. Here are the things he is not allowed to do anymore... squeal, yell make annoying sounds, throw the ping pong ball around the house, play drums with no pads, play drums early in the morning, "buggy" things, touch them, be loud, getting involved in other people's business, make whistle noises, make pouty faces, throw tantrums, and stand within two feet of them. I don't think a list like this for a 10 year old boy was a very fair exchange for not getting them a present. He is giving it his best shot though.

Snowfall

Yesterday afternoon as I was leaving an appointment, I noticed small tiny snowflakes were falling from the sky. We don't get snow here very often in Henderson. If there is snow in Vegas, it seems to fall everywhere in the valley, except our neighborhood. The snow never stopped here until long after I had gone to bed last night. By afternoon, the roads were completely snow covered. Aaron got invited to go "tubing" in the early evening, which he really enjoyed. Around dinner they made the announcement on the news, that all Clark County schools were cancelled for today. They haven't cancelled school for a "snow day" since 1979. The fact that school was closed here brought a little gentle "mocking" from some people that live in snow states.

I never thought I would see the day when two girls would be so upset that school was cancelled. But it was real. This week is student council winter week. They have spent a lot of effort in decorating the school in the "Candy land" theme and they had dress up days all week. Also today was Gator Gives, they were going to deliver Christmas presents that they had collected for children in need. This has always been one of Ariel's favorite events of the year. I was sorry that she was going to miss it her last year. We had to cancel our Young Women's party tonight which was kind of sad. I called the girls to tell them and actually left a message on one voice mail that our activity was cancelled because the weather outside was frightful. (I couldn't help myself.)

Our neighbor, Alysha, came over around 9:00 p.m. and asked if anyone wanted to build a snowman. Aaron, Megan, and Shea wanted to build one. Ariel does not like to be cold so she had to stay inside. They built a most excellent snowman. They made a huge bottom to the snowman and when they had finished the middle section, they could not get it lifted up onto the base. I would have helped, but I wasn't wearing any gloves. I think you are suppose to wear gloves when you handle snow. They struggled for quite some time, even with the four of them using all their strength, they were unable to pick it up. They finally had to break the middle section in half and put it back together once it was on the base. They asked me to drive to the store and buy a real long carrot...I thought about it for about a second... and then politely declined. So he had a short baby carrot nose. When they were done, I went out to take a look...they did a great job..."Buddy" was one of the best snowmen I had ever seen. He was a close second to the very best snowman ever made, his name was "Eddie." Then they had a snowball fight, I had to put an end to all their fun and drag them in at 11:00 because I wanted to go to bed.

This morning I strapped on my hiking boots and went for a walk. It was a "balmy" 36 degrees when I left the house, but the wind was blowing. So when you factor in the wind chill, it was really about 80 below. It is not every day that you get to walk in the snow in Vegas. I love the snow. I love the way it makes everything look clean and fresh. I love the crunching sound it makes under your feet and the sparkles it makes when the sun hits it. As I was walking, I thought I saw some deer hoof prints...or maybe they were just dog prints. I can't be sure. Our winter wonderland is starting to melt now, water is starting to pool in the streets where the snow use to be. I paused to visit "Buddy" next door. I tried to prepare the kids last night by telling them that the "pranksta gangsta's" might come in the night and knock over their snow friend, but suprisingly, he was still standing. His carrot nose, one eye and part of his smile and fallen to the ground in front of him, on account that he is beginning to melt. I carefully put them all back into place and picked up the broken broom that was laying on the ground and put it back on his skinny little arm. He is good for now. I will look back on this "snow day" with fondness for years to come.

First attempt at photo for Christmas letter - Failed

We had a little trouble getting us all together to take a family photo this year. I sent the black and white one to the Costco printer and requested 80 prints. When I picked them up, the top of the kids heads were suspiciously missing. As much as I tried to move the crop box around I could not get us all in the photo. Costco is very stubborn with their crop boxes, they would not even give me a fraction more "space" to get the kids heads in the photos...so we had to go through a second photo session. For those of you who have ever had a family picture taken, can imagine how torturous the second photo shoot might be (thank you for your sympathy.) So, because you won't get any of the above in a Christmas card, I thought I would let you look at them here.

The Tree Trimming

We got the tree up and decorated last Sunday. We had our friends, the Arterburns, come over and help us. It went as smooth as tree trimming parties can go. Not too much fighting (since we had company and all) and no broken ornaments.

I love getting the decorations up for Christmas. I have scaled down some over the years so it goes a little faster. I don't like "fluffing" out the tree. Every year when my hands are covered in lots of tiny artificial tree cuts, I think that the next year I am going to wear gloves when I fluff, somehow with all that time in between Christmases, I forget my most excellent plan.

It is already December 7th. I had plans to put all the lights outside up this weekend. I did not get that done, so now I am thinking that it is too close to Christmas to go through all that work and then take them down again. We might have outside lights this year, but we might not. I think outside lights should be more like an every other year event.

A beautiful day for a flight...

After two days of rain in Las Vegas, today was a beautiful, sunny day. A great day for the kids first small airplane ride. Our friend, who is a pilot and a very good dog trainer too, was kind enough to take us up for a morning flight. The kids really had fun, they were a little nervous at first. The girls and I went up first and then Todd and Aaron after us. Todd actually has his private pilots license. The last time he took us on a flight, I was pregnant with Ariel...so it has been a very long time.

I have braved the crowds every year to join the happy shoppers of "black Friday." This year I decided it really wasn't fun for me anymore...so I stayed home. I have to say I was a much happier person not waking up so early and hanging out with grouchy, selfish people all day. I didn't even have a newspaper or look at a single ad...that made it easier...I didn't know what I was missing.

Thanksgiving Day

We have so much to be thankful for today. It was a quiet Thanksgiving, just the six of us. I had prepared a lot of the food yesterday to ease the cooking burden today. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade is a tradition at our house...I don't know why...no one watches it. It just plays real loud for three hours in the background of our morning. We ate our dinner around 1:00. There was only one T.D.D.D. (Thanksgiving Day dinner disaster) that was the stuffing. It was way back in the bottom corner of the oven and basically tasted like burned hard croutons. That was dissappointing. Aaron learned how to carve the turkey and had a little try at it. He did really good. After we ate, I watched football and Todd and the kids did all the dishes. That is only fair. Zoey was passed out on the couch all afternoon on account of the turkey drippings that were drizzled over her dry dog food. Everyone (but me) felt so sorry for her that she could not have dinner with us. I am strictly for dogs eating their own food, so not to encourage her to become a beggar and all. We were hoping to take a family picture today for our Christmas cards but it rained all day.

Why "family meetings" should try to be avoided...

So we tried to have a family meeting tonight to discuss some things. I was to take notes...so I typed as fast as I could to capture all the "fun" that was going on... (This is kind of long but entertaining...)

Family Meeting to discuss fun family activities and goals
Sunday Nov 23, 2008

1. Dad suggested that we hike the grand canyon in April - 17 miles...Ouch! (He cautions us not to get off on a tangent as the discussion starts to go in every direction) Dad will be very disappointed if everyone does not do it. Accomplishment equals satisfaction!! Summary: Get in shape. Do stair stepper and walk etc. Prepare to do a hike at red rock in the next month to get in shape. Mom suggested December for a Hike at Red Rock. Ariel says "It sounds like absolute torture"...she would also rather shoot herself in the face. Ariel suggested that next month we climb the Stratosphere as a family, barehanded with no ropes or harnesses we just need to practice. She thinks we could do it easily.

2. Dad says he is concerned because the girls are inactive which means lazy. Girls do not realize what bad shape they are in...Dad does not think they can run across the street. Ariel says, "yes we can!" Dad says if you are ever in a bad situation you wouldn’t be able to help yourself or someone else..Ariel said, "Like running across the Grand Canyon." Megan said, "We can have an adrenaline rush-they are very common, you can google it." (Lots of arguing going on...) Dad says you probably can’t even do CPR and Megan says, "Yes I can I am CPR certified until March 2009" Megan is performing CPR on a pillow.

3. Another family goal Dad has for us is to make some music together. (Megan feels real awkward about that) He says everyone needs to practice on their own and that Ariel needs to get her violin out. Ariel suggested to Dad that he teach himself how to play the violin. She says, "stringed instruments are way harder than drums." Ariel thinks it is annoying that we keep giving her the suggestion to teach herself the violin. Dad says he is not taking guitar lessons now. He also does not know what is going on in Ariel’s brain. Summary: Effort first equals lessons.

4. Fun family activities that the kids are suggesting:
Ice skating at the Galleria Mall Parking Lot..Ariel says it is more fun and cheaper than the other ice skating rink.

Megan suggests for us to go to Africa she says we can do a lot of fund raising for the family.. She is sure we would thoroughly enjoy it. Dad says we cannot afford to go to Africa. Megan really wants to go on a wild animal safari. Aaron says, "sure we can all spend $2,000 a person to go to Africa. Megan replied, "That is why we are doing fund-raising."

Ariel suggests that we breed puppies. She says we can reverse Zoey’s "issue" and have puppies and sell them...

Megan suggested that we should open a farm and it will be in our backyard because we have plenty of room .

Snow boarding: The girls said we have never skied or been snow boarding. It is Megan’s dream. She says just because we (her parents) didn’t pick it up like everyone else in the world...they should still get the chance to do it.

Shark Reef - Ariel said Dad said we could go there but he tricked us.

Megan wants us to go to Mandalay Bay to see the dolphins. She actually wants to swim with them...it has been her life long dream. Aaron says it is his dream too...he wants to be rescued by a dolphin that he doesn’t even know...Ariel wants to know if he knows a lot of dolphins.

Megan suggested that we go to Bonnie Springs to ride horses..Ariel says "No, it smells like poop." and Megan says there is that really good restaurant there. We can go to the petting zoo and have the peacocks chase us and scare us. Megan said, "Bonnie Springs is realistic."

Aaron suggested that we go bowling...he says, Bowling is actually realistic.

Megan suggested that we all become pirates and sail the open seas.

Angela's first accident since receiving her license at the tender age of 16

Friday I had my first car accident. I was picking Megan up from school in the church parking lot. I was parked in the stall and when Meg got in and I was going to back out...I felt the need only to look over my left shoulder and was quite surprised when I started backing out to feel the impact of the car driving behind me on my right side. I smashed up the back bumper of the "family van" really good for my first try. The teenage boy I hit was OK, his car was OK...he thought I was an idiot (which I am.) I was really upset and wanted to cry... Megan said, "Don't cry mom, you will just blur your vision and get in another accident." I had to laugh at that. We left the parking lot without notifying the police and I was informed later that I committed a small "crime" by leaving the scene of an accident. Since this was my first one, I didn't have all the rules fresh in my mind.

A partial week "get away" to Utah

Last week I drove Ariel to Cedar City and dropped her off at Southern Utah University for a campus tour and to spend the rest of the week with her friend. I drove up to Bountiful to see my family for the rest of the week. It was a nice break from my mom duties...Megan was already in Montana for the week. So Aaron and Todd had less time to be "nagged" by me and more time to do some bonding activities.

I really enjoyed my time there and saw some very special friends that I don't get to see enough(that was so wonderful!) I shopped and went out to eat a lot (which I love to do)...thanks to the kitchen remodel at my parents house.

It was great to see my parents, brothers and some of my sisters, sister-in-laws and my niece and nephews. The little boys showed me a lot of cool "tricks" on the trampoline...some of which I had never seen before...and of course it was good to see BYU win again.