Twilight, snow, friends and Barbies

Christmas afternoon I started to get tired and I took a nap. Melinda woke me and before I was fully and awake and in my right mind, I somehow consented to go see 'Twilight' with everyone. There was a group of about 9 of us so being in a crowd of family made it fun to laugh at all the super sappy romantic bits. The movie was an over-the-top chick flick. My favorite part was when the vampire hero Edward went into the sun and instead of disintegrating like any respectable historic vampire would, he "sparkled." It looked like he had a fight with some glitter glue and tragically lost. Yet, I have to say now I will feel more informed when I hear all of the Twilight references from my DW and DD. They have now both seen it 4 times now, but Connie and Wendy have seen it so many times that they've stopped counting.

It was snowing when we left the theater. The white blanket of snow covering everything, and the gently falling snowflakes illuminated in the amber street lights looked sublime. The roads were quite slick, but traffic was light and we had snow tires.

Saffron was very happy to play in the snow the next day. Here she is helping shovel the snow.

Ian and I did most of the heavy lifting.

Yesterday Melinda went out to dinner with her old high school pals, Jen and Amy to Paradise Bakery. I can't imagine how they managed to get out of their with only 1 cookie. Last time I was there I bought 2 dozen. Well I did give them away as gifts, but I swear, those cookies are like heroin!

After dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's tonight, Saffron brought me downstairs to play Barbies. I didn't really want to but she asked me so cutely and sweetly that I couldn't say no.

Peace on Earth

Last night Melinda and I went to see our friends Bob and Shirley sing at their church Christmas Eve program. We enjoyed hearing them sing and participating in the program. It was our first time to a Presbyterian service and we had a great time. I especially liked the orchestra and the band with bass guitar and drums.

The pastor gave a very moving sermon about Christ and having faith in Him. Later they dimmed the lights and we all held lit candles and sang. It was very festive and spiritual; a great way to spend Christmas Eve.

After we went to Arden and Lorraine's and we Lisette narrated the Christmas story while everyone participated as wise men, sheep, etc. They even included Samuel the Lamanite preaching about the birth of Christ and His coming. Samuel (played by Kevin) somehow miraculously missed being hit by scores of Nerf arrows. It was very nice to have a peaceful evening with family and remember the birth of Jesus. Saffron looked so cute holding a doll with Ian as Joseph at her side.

We got home a little late, but we kept our tradition of opening one present on Christmas Eve. We all drew names and the kids especially enjoyed buying gifts for each other.

We all slept in until around 9:00 when Lisette kept opening and closing our door to utilize our squeaky hinges as an alarm clock. The kids we're very happy to see that the Christmas Monkey didn't pass up our house and that he enjoyed his jungle snack (even if he did leave a big mess).


After peeking into their stocking we made a nice breakfast of hot cocoa, pop-overs, and vegetarian sausages.

The kids enjoyed opening their presents, and I enjoyed using my new camera!

Miles

Ian with his sock monkey

Lisette

Saffron in her new holiday dress from Marsha

We spent the rest of the day up at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We had a lovely white Christmas the family, nice gifts, and good food.

White Christmas

Last night we had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner. Melinda made saffron rice, roasted potatoes, and we ate shrimp with cocktail sauce. We drank sparkling cider and ate pecan pie (compliments of Carrie) for dessert as the snow gently fell outside. We read the story of Jesus' birth in Luke and all the kids opened one of their presents. Lisette and Miles had a hard time going to sleep, they were so excited.

Today we woke up with everything covered with white and the sun shining. We opened up presents and had a very nice day. Lisette got some really nice books, some games and the boys loved the Lego Star Wars. Saffron got some fun tub toys and we had a very nice day.

We hope everyone had a nice holiday with their loved ones. Merry Christmas.

Evolution of the Christmas Monkey

About six years ago we had a Christmas party at Annette's house. After the dinner we all participated in a little nativity play. Lisette was Mary and wore a blue towel around her head and held a little doll. Matthew was Joseph wearing a little bath robe. Miles was supposed to be a wise man, but he insisted on being a monkey instead. So we experienced the first nativity with a monkey; the Christmas Monkey.

I've always been pretty down on the whole Santa business. Once in college Amy and I had this big debate about the merits of the concept of Santa Claus. I can't remember much of our arguments, but I was definitely anti-Santa. My parents never really put much emphasis on Mr. Kringle when I was a kid anyway. So our kids have always known that Santa is false doctrine. I know, I know, I'm a Grinch, but I guess I'm their dad and so I guess their stuck with me.

Every year the legend of the Christmas Monkey expands at our house. First he was just a supporting character, but he has now effectively replaced Mr. Claus. Now he fills the stockings and leaves leaves monkey poop (usually Milk Duds or Whoppers) all over the floor.


Anyway, St. Nick has been replaced with St. Primate. Instead of leaving out a plate of cookies and milk, the kids leave out a dish of oranges and bananas. Instead of of reindeer and a sleigh, the Christmas Monkey comes in his silent helicopter and then swings down between the trees on his invisible vine wearing toe-socks and flip-flops.

So is the Christmas Monkey any better than Santa Claus? I don't know, but we sure have fun with it. The kids feel sad for all the kids who don't know about the Christmas Monkey and have to settle for Santa. We love our own unique family holiday tradition and jungle Christmas mythos.

Christmas choir and Lorraine's birthday

I sang in the choir for our church Christmas program. I don't have a great voice, but I have learned to sing better, and I've really enjoyed participating in choir. It was nice sitting up on the stand with the other choir members (and ever-faithful Ian) and listening to the words of Christ and singing about his birth during the Christmas season. It was a very peaceful and joyful experience. We sang the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah and the very end. I love the power, praise, and joy in that song.

The Christmas hymns never fail to move me. The whole congregation met together again for the third hour and we sang all the Christmas songs in the hymn book, from page 201-214. Jesus came into the world and lived so simple and humbly. It kind of makes the Santa materialistic thing look pretty shabby in comparison.

Later in the afternoon I took Lisette, Miles, and Ian to the nursing home which is near our neighborhood. The primary children sang Christmas songs to the residents. It was really beautiful to hear the innocent children sing of Christ. I'm sure those are the voices He loves to hear best.

The kids also came with me and we gave out some yummy chocolate mint cookies that Melinda had baked. They seemed to have so much fun. I don't know if it was just entertaining to them, but just maybe they felt joy in serving others.

In the evening we went to Annette's house to celebrate Lorraine's birthday. Scott felt very loved because everyone went out of their way to make non-dairy dishes that he could eat (Scott has milk allergies.) Everyone had fun catching up and the boys loved playing with all of Matthew's Nerf weapons. He has quite the arsenal.

Here are some photos of the festivities. Notice that Ian so helpfully blew out most of the candles for his grandma.

Muchos tamales ricos

Tonight was our second annual Christmas tamale part with some of our homeschooling family friends.

Earlier, Wendy had 4 ski tickets for Park City that had to be used up, so James, Carrie, Bobby, and Clair went. We watched Clair's little girl, Makenna, so he could go. I didn't feel up to skiing and a big party all in the same day. So instead I cleaned up around the house a little, helped the kids with their homework, played with Saffron and Makenna, and then a took a nice long nap.

Makenna was very cute, and a cinch to babysit. She just wandered around and played with all the toys and read books. Here's a picture of James reading to her.

We took James with us to the tamale party. We got an assembly line going; someone to spread the masa on the corn husk, someone to put the filling in, and someone to tie them up. We had lots of yummy fillings too:

• Spicy pork
• Chicken with red mole
• Chicken with green mole
• Chicken with sun-dried tomatoes
• Southwest beans
• Cherry with chocolate chips
• Pumpkin pecan
• Cinnamon raisin

That's not to mention the tortilla soup, or the 4 different kind of salsas we had with chips. It was quite the fiesta of flavors! Tamales are a lot of work, so doing it together as a big group is ideal.

The kids had lots of fun, too. They ran around like creatures from "Where The Wild Things Are" for a while and then they played Lego Star Wars for a while. We were there quite late, so they kids were ready to sleep when we got home, exhausted from so much fun.

Counting down the days

Here are some of the highlights of this week:

• Saffy is doing very well using her little potty
• Some of Melinda's cousins came over and sang us carols
• Ruth and Darius got married December 11th on Smathers Beach in Key West
  
• We found out Ruth is having twins (Yeeaahh!)
  

• The kids went to the Planetarium and the Children's Museum
• Miles read 2 Star Wars books
• Ian wrote a story about a time-traveling penguin
• Lisette can now play "Beauty and the Beast" on the piano
• Melinda had Brian and Dejah (who are very happily engaged) over for cooking club; they made jambalaya and pinwheel biscuits

• Melinda and I went to my company party and were entertained by a hypnotist while Connie babysat
  
• I took Lisette, Miles, and Ian for a quick visit their cousins in Roy
• The car windshield cracked (just before safety and registration is due)
• The kids are counting down the days until Christmas
  

Phew! Just one more week before Christmas; I hope you all have your shopping done!

Boxed trees and snow

Last Monday we popped Vince Guaraldi's' "A Charlie Brown Christmas" in the CD player and put up our Christmas tree. I'd like to say we made a trek to the woods in a one horse open sleigh and cut it down, but we didn't. We went down to the storage room an pulled it out of a cardboard box.


Friday night we got a load of snow, and more on Saturday. If my hip keeps getting better, maybe I'll take Miles to Brighton to go skiing. They got 30" new white fluffy in the last 48 hours to a grand total of 65". Wahoo!

Hanukkah with The Shins

Happy Hanukkah everyone (actually tonight is day two of Hanukkah this year)! We broke out the menorah and Melinda, Miles, and Lisette made latkes and homemade applesauce. Tasty! Very tasty indeed!

Today I actually took the morning off so Melinda and the kids could go to Kingsbury Hall (they don't allow babies or toddlers) to see A Mariachi Christmas. The actually took the bus because there isn't any good parking at the University campus. It was quite the eclectic cultural day: Christmas in latinoamerica and Hanukkah.

It was a nice morning with Saffron. She's so cute in the morning! She loves to cuddle and she likes to play cute little silly games. We slept in, read books, and ate breakfast. Saffron played monkey, hanging on my back as I walked around the house, then later played fish and frog in the tub.

Melinda arrived home with the kids around noon. They were pretty cute walking down the street after getting off the bus. I went into work around one, much to the relief of my coworker. I think he's getting the idea that I have a third sense to know when to stay away from work.

Melinda called me on my way home from work because she was stuck at church. The van battery died again after Cub Scouts. I think Melinda would renounce the whole thing if Miles wasn't in it. Everything was fine after a good jump start. That reminds me, I better go out and put the charger on it now.

Right now I'm listening to The Shins (Chutes Too Narrow and Wincing The Night Away) on my Zune. Wow. They're a great little indie pop group that are very listen-able. It's great to listen to an album without having to skip or fast forward half of the songs. Very catchy.

Family Downtown Evening

This year we bought a family pass to the Utah Children's Museum at The Gateway. The kids have been there a few times, but I've only been once so we decided to go downtown and make a visit for Family Home Evening. They had a special Robots exhibit that was pretty cool.


They had robotic toys, statues, and these really cool robotic arms you could control. It was a big hit with the the kids. We spent almost two hours there and we didn't even hit half of the place, so we decided we need to go more often. I had forgotten how fun it is. It was great because they're open later on Monday nights, and there was hardly anyone else there. Plus it's such a great opportunity to play with the kids.


On our way to the museum I took this shot of Temple Square through the car windshield while we were waiting at the light. It looked so inviting that we made a whole night of it and wandered around the temple grounds admiring the shimmering lights after the museum.

The Assembly Hall looked stunning with all of the vivid orange, yellow and purple lights all around it. I'm usually quite the Grinch, but even I can't help feeling a little jolly with all the Christmas lights up.

The temple of course looks very majestic and inviting behind all of the brightly lit trees. Somehow it's always so comforting and peaceful to me. Of course it was Christmastime 1995 when Melinda and I were married in this temple for time and all eternity. I was going to say that was the best Christmastime for me, but when I honestly think about it, they keep getting better; especially with each of the children.

I loved Melinda then, but I love her so much more now. Now we have Lisette, Miles, Ian and Saffron, too. My love hasn't been spread thinner now that we have them; my capacity to love has grown more than I could have ever imagined.

They had nativity scenes from different countries and cultures around the grounds. Lisette made sure we saw them all. We really liked the New Zealand one, with the lamb and the kiwi. It's always a good reminder that Christmas is about Jesus Christ and not Santa Claus or the Christmas Monkey.

We finished the night off by getting cinnamon rolls and egg nog from Harmons. Yum. We made hot cocoa with little marshmallows and sang some Primary Christmas songs before we prayed and went to bed. It was a very nice family evening.