Christmas update:

Day 3-16
ward Christmas party
watched both versions of "the Grinch"
saw the lights at Thanksgiving Point
kids bought each other gifts at dollar store
made snow flakes
wrapped presents
wrote thank you letters to Primary teachers
made and delivered goodies
Kangaroo Zoo
Arthur Christmas matinee
dance recital
school Christmas program
live nativity
work party
made salt dough ornaments

 

This is the example of the salt dough ornaments. We used rubber stamps and ink to add messages to the ornaments.

Liberty Park in Salt Lake has a fantastic live nativity.  A little Shepard takes you from scene to scene. The actors sing songs in costumes plus there are real animals including sheep and a real camel. We dressed very warm and went prepared with hot bags. Also, we were privileged to have cousin Andrew and his two kiddos to join us in the cold. (Sorry about the stroller reflector light.)  I recommend going if you can. Check out echoesofchristmas.com for more information. There are only a few nights left.

Day 2-

Happy accidents are wonderful. We went to our local outdoor mall to enjoy the lights and gingerbread house display but found so much more. We had pictures with Santa. The REAL one.  Real beard and long curly hair. Hazel did not think he was a comforting figure. She felt a little better when he handed her a candy cane.

  We stopped into a fantastic toy shop and Scooby enjoyed his first massage. Once we heard they were offering them for free we all had to try it out. Frugal is my middle name, right?

This is one example of the gingerbread houses. Crazy huge.

 They also had live entertainment and free horse drawn buggy rides. Bonus!

Before leaving we all had to ride the merry-go-round. It turned out to be a hugely productive night. Accidentally.

The Birth of a New Tradition:

We are trying to create some new Christmas traditions. In years past I have been baffled by my S-I-Ls twenty five days of Christmas Advent calendar, wondering how did she ever have the time. For many years now she has planned a little activity for each day before Christmas. After two years of dreaming of such a fun tradition I decided to take the plunge. I planned all through November. Everything is ready. The shopping is done, the presents are wrapped. I have nothing left to do but enjoy December. The question is will it actually be as magical as I am hoping?

Well Day 1 started out great . . . 

 We lit the candles on our German Christmas Pyramid, sang carols, shared wishes, and then assembled one of our favorite Nativity scenes. The Playmobil Nativity Scene. Perfect because it is indestructible, there are tons of characters and fun additions to look at and play with. We spent a good hour just setting the scene over and over. Wonderful right?
 

Well it was. Until one kid was sent to their room for calling names.

After a written apology, the night continued.

Awesome right? (Ben and I were giggling about this note.)


We ended our night a little less magical. The kids started in on stupid human tricks. Rosa showed us how to fart with her knee pits and then there was some schooling regarding bicycle kicks in the air. . . "get your tooshie off the ground Mom, feet in the air Mom, now do circles with your feet!". (yes, I tried it too) I hadn't tried either in a very long time. The night ended in laughs. Magic in its own way.

Realistically, I know family moments can't always be pretty. Case in point. But that isn't going to stop me from trying. Wish me luck.

In an effort to be more thankful I thought I would give thanks for a few things:

chocolate

my hubby

my kiddos

my health

my savior

Professor Umbridge in the making:

I am a fan of making the consequence match the crime. This was me killing two birds with one stone. My son needed to practice his cursive and pay for his crime.

While he was serving his time, my oldest kept looking at the back of his hand. I finally had to ask what he was looking for. Finally he said, "Mom, you are just like Professor Umbridge."

I gave him my best shocked expression.

I was thinking I was wicked-awesome but my son was thinking I was wicked-evil.
Maawhhhhha hha ha ha ha.

The Race:

The Dirty Dash was delightful in every way. We enjoyed our muddy 10K adventure to the fullest.

Before:

This is just moments before the race started, we clicked a few pictures to document our banditas costumes. Yes, we were wearing hero eye masks (because our identities are our most valuable possessions). Yes, we also wore capes because we thought they were look cool as we went racing by with our capes waving in the wind. (Did I mention you are supposed to wear costumes? well, yeah, everyone did. My son asked me afterwards why there were so many freaks there. Funny thing is I was one of them.)

Middle:

We paused in the middle of our epic course to prove our zest for adventure through photographs.

We don't look very dirty here because we had just gotten done with the sludging portion of the race. We sludged through the banks of Deer Creek.


End:
I can't even begin to tell you how much fun this was. It was like Woodstock for Runners. There was a huge turn out. Fun music to keep you running, tons of obstacles, lots of mud and water and lots of running.

 The Rinse:
After we stood in lines like cars to be power washed.My hubby made a video of the power wash. I uploaded it cause I thought it was so funny, but then decided to spare you those soggy moments.

Doesn't it look fun? Anyone want to do it next year with us?

It Rained. . .

11 years ago today it rained and it rained hard. The only reason I know that is it was the day we all became an eternal family. We have many pictures with us holding umbrellas. But, after the temple ceremony the clouds decided to part and the sun started to shine.

The last 11 years have been the same as on our wedding day. We have some rain, and we might have to use umbrellas every once in a while. But in the end it always starts to shine.

Bliss, at least in this family, is enjoying those times even when it is raining, learning to love the dark gray clouds. Sometimes it even means playing in the rain.

Happy Anniversary to us.

The Routine

 There is part of me screaming Hallelujah. Pat yourself on the back Shara, cuz you survived the summer. I wanted the summer to pass quickly. And it did.

But I sure do love these kiddos. I'm going to miss the lazy days of summer where anything goes. The bless-ed schedule begins this week. Homework, lunches, soccer, piano, dance etc. Regular bedtimes begin again. The routine. Ah the routine.

This morning Wiley was very concerned about Rosa. Did she have her lunch? Was her name written in her backpack? He told me that he would find her during recess and check up on her. I whispered, "I Love You, have a good day" as they jumped out of the car.  Wiley walked a few yards then turned around and blew me a kiss. I blew a kiss back and cried the rest of the way home.

Ah the routine. The routine.

Glimpses of summer

Summer is flying by. I'm trying hard to enjoy all the fun moments but might I add that there are only 7 weeks left. Yippy yahoo, hurray! I love my little family.

Things selfish moments I am looking forward to:

I want my house back.

I want my nap time back.

A house that will stay clean for longer.

Running errands with fewer kids.

Taking a shower w/o a knock at the door.

A set schedule.

Things that I will miss.

Older kids that help with the babies.

Homemade ice cream.

Wonderful weather.

Grilling almost every day.

A flexible schedule.

 

Saying Goodbye


My cute parents entered the MTC today. We are all so excited for them. They spend a week there doing mission training and then fly to Bolivia next week. I'm so jealous. Doesn't it just sound like such an adventure? (Although a hard working adventure to be sure.) My mom is going to be fluent in Spanish or determined to try and be. Jealousy is just seeping out of me. How cool to do the mission thing with your spouse?!  

It will be sad not to have my parents around for family events and holidays but the three years will pass so quickly (I hope). We are also happy for an excuse to visit South America.

I'm really looking forward to the blessings that come with missionary work!