Anniversary Family getaway!!

For Christmas this year, John's brother Aaron gave our family a ski package for Castle Mountain.   To say my kids were excited, would be an understatement. 

"Elated" wouldn't quite cover it either.

They went skiing for the first time two years ago and have been wanting to go back ever since.   Not a single one of them were the least bit worried about the 1 hr drive that it would take to get there, and that's saying a LOT for my non-travellers. (Especially Nate;)

We got up bright and early on December 28th.   This day was actually John's and my 14th wedding anniversary and (because we aren't really the "romantic getaway type") we figured there was no better way to celebrate the day then throwing ourselves down a mountain with our children in tow!;)

After a hurried breakfast, a frantic rush to find gloves and snow pants, and a fair amount of delay - we were off!

It was nice to watch the sun rise over the snowy prairie landscape that morning.    

Small flakes were starting to fall but we could tell the real snow was ahead of us and we felt hopeful that conditions would be great.   We got to the mountain just after 9 am and were shocked to discover that the parking lot was full and there was a huge line up all the way out the door and to the rental shop.

We stood in line for a bit before realizing that we actually would need to talk to someone at Guest Services instead, so we started over in a new line.   They then sent us up to the "Ski School" part of the resort.    We were there for a short while before being sent back down to Guest Services one last time, prior to being sent over to the Rental shop. 

  I tell ya, us "newbies" were like a bunch of bulls in a china shop.   We had NO CLUE what we were doing!  haha.  

Finally, we found ourselves standing at the base of Castle Mountain and miraculously- we actually looked like skiers!   We had our winter gear on.   Boots and skis on our feet.  Helmets secure.   Poles in hand.

We were ready!

...and we were starving.  

Seeing as it was 11:00 already, we decided to break for an early lunch!  haha

The kids do not often hear John and I say, "You can order whatever you want from the menu" so when we told them just that - they were doubly excited.   

As we were eating lunch I couldn't stop looking at Natey.   He looked so SMALL to me all bundled up in gear and helmet, trying his best to unwrap his straw.   Was I really going to take this kid up a mountain and send him flying down it?  I had zero belief that this boy would actually end up skiing.

My older three disappeared as soon as we hit the slope.   They each reported that their first run was a little bit wobbly but their "ski legs" came back fast.   For the rest of the morning I just caught glimpses of those three as one of them went whipping past me!   (Occasionally I'd hear one of them call down to me from high up on the chair lift and shout something like, "Good job Mom!  You're kind of getting it!")    Yes, I'm afraid it is not Nate that I should have ever been worried about;)

John didn't leave Nate's side that entire day.  He rode the carpet lift twice and did two practice runs on that teeny section so that John could teach him how to form a "pizza" with his skis.   After that, it was straight to the top of the bunny slope for Nate.   

...and me.  

The first time I had to stand and get off the chair lift, I fell.

same with the second time....

and the third...

and the fourth....

Clearly, I had some major issues with the exit strategy, but that was the least of my worries.   For some reason, I could not figure out how to control with my left leg.   As a result, I gravitated to the east side of that hill every time!  Worse than that though - were the times when I found myself going straight down.    Going straight = going scary fast, and I desperately tried to never do that.   

In those moments when I'd find myself going straight, I'd immediately panic, which would result in a wipe out of epic proportion.  

Seriously - the wipe outs were so so good.

(I even had strangers come check on me after to see if I was okay.)  

Occasionally I'd call over to John and demand that he'd tell me how to do it, and his response was always the same - "Just do the "pizza!"   

Perhaps he was busy trying to teach our 6 year old how to make it down the hill, but I found his method of teaching to be incredibly flawed.   I mean, how could "the pizza" be the answer to every problem I was having?     (And he calls himself a teacher;)   I was having some serious flashbacks to our honeymoon 14 years prior when John thought it'd be fun to take me snowboarding for the first time ever.    I remember sitting on that very same bunny hill, throwing a very similar tantrum, all those years ago.   haha.     Now all these years later, I was tempted to yell at him and tell him that what he was saying still made no sense, but then I'd remember that it was our anniversary and I'd bite my tongue.  

 Looking back, I think I just needed to give myself a chance.  And some time;)    With each run, John's very vague advice started to make a little bit more sense, and by my 7th or 8th time down I was definitely winning.  I hated to admit it, but he was right, things did eventually start to click.   

And once things clicked - it all got so so fun!!!!!

I loved these shots of my older kids.   Abby and Jess riding the chair lift with their arms around each other - how sweet is that?   Sam and Jess, on the other hand, make me laugh.  People sometimes mistake them for twins and I can understand why.  They can seriously be the best little buddies, though they often show their affection for each other in oddly aggressive ways.   They can't just hug each other and smile at the camera. 

Our family skied for hours this day and, by mid afternoon, I was shocked to see Nate coming down that hill all by himself.   My little boy!!!  He was beyond proud, but (after successfully conquering the bunny hill myself) I could hardly blame him.    It is such a fun feeling to zig zag your way down that hill.   

Our family stayed until the hill closed for the day and I'm pretty sure most of them would have stayed indefinitely had that been an option for them.   It was a beautiful day and such a fun time!

Somehow, awkwardly careening down a bunny hill (out of control most of the time) seemed like a delightfully appropriate and fitting way to celebrate the past 14 years of our marriage and family life!  

We're already making plans to go back and do it all over again!!

Favorite Night of the Year

 My family doesn't care what anybody says:  Steak and Lobster is the only way to celebrate the eve before Christ's birth.    I don't know when this type of gluttony became a tradition for us, but my kids think about it, talk about it, dream about it all.year.long!   It is a good think that we had a couple of John's siblings and their families here for dinner because Grandpa brought more seafood with him than you can imagine!    It was an absolute feast!   Think: french onion soup, the obligatory shrimp cocktail, hearth side bread, potatoes, carrots, steak and mushroom sauce, Lobster and mussels with a butterscotch layered dessert to top it all off.    I literally felt like I had eaten so much, I was going to have to roll around the house from that point on!    

Eating that much food is simultaneously gross - and delicious! 

Things I loved about this particular Christmas Eve dinner:   

*Prior to cooking up the Lobster, Jess made sure they all received a name.   Jess' was "Tiny Tim" and I think my nephew Maddax may have named one of them "Sebastien."

* Due to the cold, our Barbecue wouldn't light, so dinner was delayed as John took the meat over to Grandpa's house to cook the steak.  As inconvenient as this may have seemed to some, it was a drastic improvement from last year when our BBQ actually caught fire!  (Though Grilled cheese sandwiches and Lobster was not bad either;)

* Going through all of the work of a big meal feels much much more worth it when family is around to enjoy it with you.

I always marvel at how kids are able to be friends and re-connect in moments - even if they haven't seen each other in half a year!  My four were delighted to have Caleb, Malachi, Maddax, Savanna and the very new Vivian, to play with.   Kahoot, Things in a Box and Exploding Kittens were especially fun games to pay this year!

Our annual tradition of new Jammies on Christmas Eve was a success.  (As in, for the first time ever, every bodies Jammies actually fit, which is all that mattered to me!;)

As soon as Nate was dressed for bed he was asking when he'd be allowed to go to sleep.   

Seriously, when else would that happen?!

My favorite Christmas Eve moment is always (ironically) once my kids to bed.   I can almost see them dreaming of Christmas morning, the busyness of the day is done, presents are under the tree, stockings are ready - and all is quiet!

Every year we tape up a wrapping paper barricade (a tradition we stole from Jewel and Kendall's family) for the kids to crash through as they run to their stockings.    This year we had to get a little bit creative and ended up putting it at the top of the stairs.   It was a little touch and go there for a second with 5 kids racing down the stairs Christmas morning.  

Of course, Santa was way too good to our family this year.  Within a few short minutes the basement floor was covered in boxes, torn paper, opened packages and unwanted mandarin oranges.     There is a lot of beauty in a mess like that, if you ask me.    I let it linger a lot longer than I normally would have;)

By noon on Christmas Day, all of our family had gone and we were left to bask in the awesomeness of a fun 24 hours.   We spent the day resting, playing with gifts and eating - way more than should be humanly possible.

I worry this may be a hard routine to break free of.  

On the 12th day of Christmas...

This post encompasses some of our days this entire month (not just the 12 days before Christmas) but it is a description of our pre-holiday fun, nonetheless.  December is always jam packed full of lots to do, isn't it?   Early in the month, John and I sat down one Sunday evening to do some Calendaring and laughed when we realized that we had something going on (some sort of Christmas event) each evening from Dec 1st- Dec 13th.   Under normal circumstances this would have had me whining and complaining the whole month long.  

But it was CHRISTMAS for goodness sake, so I tried to make the best of the busy feeling.  And it helped that most of our evening plans involved the entire family!   Christmas concerts, broadcasts, outdoor nativities and plays down at the theatre, just to name a few.   What better way to usher in the holidays then to get to spend every evening with the ones you love most.   

When I managed to look at it in that light - it was perfect!

Other fun happenings within December:

Lots of baking!

Nate was my main helper during this Christmas season and became quite the expert cookie maker.  

We spent a few days baking several dozen assorted cookies to give away to friends and neighbors.  

Nate was always willing to keep going.  (Even when I wanted to light the kitchen on fire;) 

(The picture of our piano in the top right corner features a banner that I received as a gift this year.   It became a favorite piece of Christmas decor to me, for sentimental reasons.)

We attended LOTS of Christmas concerts!

Jessica and Sam both performed in the annual CES Choir concert which is just cute as heck.   Abby has joined the Cardston girls choir this year and put on an absolutely breathtaking performance.  The song Carol of the Bells used to drive me crazy and now (thanks to them) it is a favorite!

Naturally, we tried to continue our annual tradition of eating supper via candle light for the entire month of December.    (Which subsequently meant we carried on our annual tradition of arguing over who gets to light the candles, who gets to blow the candles out, and who plays with the candles when they aren't supposed to.)    One of these years, this is going to bring peace and tranquility to our meal time.    I just know it!

Nate and I both managed to catch the flu.  Which again, would normally really stink, but since we'd all been so busy - I was perfectly happy for the opportunity to be immobilized for a day.   So, on this one blessed snowy Sunday morning, Nate and I skipped church, watched movies, cuddled in bed and caught up on some obviously needed rest.   Minus the aches and nauseousness, it was positively dreamy!

(Note:  When Nate asks for a pillow or two for a backrest - he doesn't mess around!)

Much to my dismay, Buddykins the Elf showed up at our house again this year.  (I sometimes joke with the kids that this is the reason we move around so much.   In hopes that Buddykins will not be able to find us;)   Our little Elf's antics were relatively lame this year, probably because a certain someone failed to consult pinterest for ideas, like she should have done.   This became apparent to me one day when I caught Nate moving her around with a set of kitchen tongs.  Clearly he was being very careful not to literally touch her, but it gave him the ability to move her around on his own.
Which subsequently gave me the ability to stress a little bit less over it;)  

(PS: I think it is cool that I've used the word subsequent twice so far in this post.  Cool beans!)

As you can see, the Christmas spirit oozed into all we did throughout the month of December.  

The kids were constantly crafting fun wintry scenes, like this Santa sleigh and Rudolf that Jess made out of Lego.    Abby started going to school dressed as though she belonged in Whoville (just kidding, it was dress up day;) and what would Christmas be to me without the obligatory kindergarten Rudolf hat?!
(For the record- it'd be nothing!  Much like Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the ol' turkey hat.  Both are a must, in my books!) 

By mid December, my brain was fried.   Which might explain why, when Jessica asked if she could have a Christmas party on the last day of school, I agreed.  The last day of school!!!  All those kids, hopped up on sugar from classroom parties and excitement that school is out?   That is pretty much the kiss of death right there and I should have known better, but like I said, my brain was too tired to think clearly by this point.    So...on December 18th Jessica and 12 of her best friends came over for a gingerbread house making party.   It was loud.  It was chaotic.  It was messy.   

And they were cute.    The end.

When Nates school teacher texted me this photo of Nate I almost started to cry.   He looks too big to be sitting on Santa's lap.  Stop growing kid.  You are making me sad!!!!!     

Our Christmas tree though made me happy this year.   It was a giant fir tree that John bought downtown.   It smelled great and (despite the fact that we argued mildly about how much shorter John should make it before setting it up) it looked great too!

One Monday night, some friends in our new ward invited our family (as well as my sister Jewels family) over for Family Home Evening.   The Wolseys are such a kind family and it was such a fun evening filled with yummy food, Christmas messages and games.    I'm only mentioning this because my sister used her mad paparrazi skills to snap a photo of Nate and I snuggling by their tree.  

  I love it, so it needs a place in our journal!

Just a few days before Christmas (Dec 22nd to be exact) John's sister Rachel had her baby.   Her expected due date was only a few days away, but we were all shocked (in a good way) to hear of her arrival.    It was the happiest news of the day!   Jessica told me later that she had used up 10 pages in her journal writing about that happy news, she was that excited.   She wasn't kidding either.   When we were able to see little Vivian on Christmas Eve (more about that later)  - Jessica hogged her the whole time!!!    At one point I wanted to hold Vivian and Jess wouldn't give her up.  Thinking I could wield a bit of extra power, I told her that for every minute that it took for her to pass Vivian over, I would take away one of her presents.   Jess looked up at me and said flatly - "That's ok.  I like her more than presents."   

While Rachel was having her baby, we had invited a sweet couple of friends of ours over for dinner.   The Gladdings are so dear to us and we love them very much.   They gifted our kids with a chess/crokinole board that they used to use.   The kids had a blast that night learning how to play.   We also took this as an opportunity to read through the account of Jesus' birth (luke 2) and act it out.   Jess took it upon herself to be the set designer and turned our piano bench into a donkey.  My favorite part though is the sign she had hung on the door of her "inn" which, unfortunately can't be seen.   She'd mispelled the word NO and instead wrote, "There is now room at the Inn."   haha  

I'm pretty sure I will laugh about that a million more times before it stops being funny to me.

Is there anything better than sleeping under (or beside;) the Christmas tree?   (Nope.  There just isn't)

Well, that pretty much wraps up all the highlights leading up to Christmas Eve that I just don't ever, ever want to forget.    As great as Christmas Day is, it really is the days before it that make the season special to me.   

So, from our house (well not our house but our temporary house) to yours - 

We hope your Christmas season was all you'd hoped it would be too!

Magic mornings

The fall makes for the most BEAUTIFUL sunrises.    

Like, absolutely stunning!

There were a couple of autumn mornings when I actually got up and out of bed early enough to go for a morning jog around the temple.   (Seeing as we spent a large part of this past year leaving kitty corner to the temple, I really should have taken advantage of this opportunity more than just a couple of times.;)   Still, on those rare mornings when I did get up early enough to be greeted by the sun, I was always blessed with truly majestic scenes!

One morning a group of walkers (three sweet ladies) stopped me and told me that they had been walking around the temple for years and had seen so so many beautiful sunrises, but few people ever really see them.   Can you believe it?  What a shame!!!

I resolved then and there to never miss another sunrise again!

Of course, that goal lasted all of two days.  Now when my alarm clock goes off, I'm lucky if I don't hit snooze a billion times.    

But I do remember!  

Oh boy, do I remember.

There is absolutely magic in the early morning hours!

Tooth Fairy mishap

The tooth fairy in our home has dropped the ball more times that I can count.   It has never been unusual for one of our kids to wake up and bring us their unclaimed tooth, explaining that for some reason the "tooth fairy just didn't come!"  

No biggie, right?

I usually suggest to them lots of reasons why this might have happened:

* "I bet your room was too messy.  Perhaps you should go clean it and see if she comes tonight?"

* "Well did you practice the piano this week?   The tooth fairy isn't allowed to come when little girls and boys haven't done what is expected of them."   

...etc..

One day though a couple of months ago, our flaky tooth fairy messed up in an epic way when Jessica lost a tooth.   Not only did the tooth fairy forget to stop by on the first night, but even after she'd cleaned her room, practiced her piano, done all of her homework and done everything RIGHT - 

the tooth fairy forgot to show up - AGAIN!

Two nights in a row?!!  tsk tsk.   That is pretty inexcusable, even by my standards.

Seasons end

I never  did record how John's Volleyball season ended this past year.   It was a truly awesome couple of months for him and his team!   As I think I'd mentioned before, John had a strong group of players this year.   Many of them had been on the time for a few years, by this point.   One boy was one of the best setters in the league.    They ALL played great together and worked hard - which made it a really fun season to watch!!!

For most part, these boys won more than they lost.  They went into the zone finals with a pretty good chance at making it to provincials.   Ultimately, they lost that opportunity when they lost to Eagle Butte (Medicine Hat) in the third set by just a few points!    

Arghh!!!!!   It was so sad.  

(Though I felt sad for John and the boys, I managed to feel better every time I pictured what that 12 hour drive to Grand Prairie for provincials would have looked like!)   All is well that ends well;)

Shortly after the season ended, we had the team over for one last get together.

We fed them Cafe Rio and John showed them a video he had prepared, highlighting their season.   

It was fun to watch them interact together, wrestle each other and do all that stuff that older boys do.    I'll admit, the Mom in me sometimes feels a bit nervous as I contemplate my kids' future teenage lives and I think I will worry less if they are able to find a good group (or team!) of friends that will be there for them!

It was a fun couple of months, watching them all, for sure!