Christmas Eve Nativity

One of our family traditions is to act out the nativity on Christmas Eve. We all got in on the act this year. Erik was our director, stage manager, and cameraman, and the rest of us played multiple roles.

Olivia was Mary ("Mom, why do I have to be Mary every year?" "Uh, because you're the only girl."), an angel, and a wiseman.

Caleb was Joseph, a shepherd, and very convincing king Herod ("I wanna KILL someone!").

Ben was a shepherd and an angel's helper, and had an impressive knock-down of Joseph at the manger.

Mom played and angel and a wiseman.

I'm not sure if we'll win any Oscars any time soon, but we had a fun time. And it's always a good reminder of the real reason we celebrate Christmas. And I'm not talking about the treats, in case you were wondering. But that's a good guess, considering who you're talking to.

Blood is Thicker Than College Pride...Right?

While it's true that Erik and I both graduated from BYU, I wouldn't say we are devoted fans. Bacically, I would not consider myself a big sports fan in general. In fact, I will rarely watch a game that doesn't include one of my own children playing.

And while some of you may cringe at the fact that a few days ago we attended a University of Utah basketball game--AND wore red!--let me just explain that our little (read: 7 foot +) nephew David plays on the team. So, for the evening we were Ute fans.


We met up with David's family and were quite the RED cheering section. The only reason there is a white shirt in the group is that he shared his red shirt with his little brother who somehow got his shirt soaking wet.

David unfortunately hurt his ankle so he wasn't able to play in this game. But he was there, cheering on his team. He is the tallest one on the left, dressed all in black.


Here he is on the bench. Observation: these basketball arenas look much smaller in person than they do on TV.

Ben got wiggly, so he and I spent a good deal of the game doing laps up and down the halls. He mangaged to charm all the security people even though they were from the opposing school. He has a powerful smile, this one.

My kids loved playing with their cousins! We are so lucky to live close enough to see each other once in awhile.

To help you understand how tall this kid is, Erik is 6'3" tall, and he is just taller than David's shoulder. This is a guy you have to hug around the waist.

Even so, David's kindness and generosity outshine his extreme height. He is a great kid.... er, man now, I guess. It's weird to see neices and nephews grow up into adults! I am still getting used to that idea.

It was a fun evening, and we are looking forward to seeing him on the court in person one day soon! Go Utes! ...wait, did I just say that? Shhhh, don't tell my alma mater!

Merry Christmas!

From my family to yours, I hope this Christmas is your best ever!

Temple Lights

I'm alive! And cannot believe it's almost Christmas and I haven't done a single post in December! I've been having trouble uploading my pictures lately. I work on it for a bit, get frustrated, then give up. I'm hoping it will rectify itself soon--I miss blogging!

Well, let's start off with an activity we did a few weeks ago. Our ward's families met up at the Los Angeles temple for a nice evening of mingling and looking at the beautiful lights. Here is our cute (if I do say so myself) family. We were the only ones there not in jeans. Let's just say it wasn't my idea to dress up. I know, it was good to show the kids we dress up to go to the temple. But it was COLD! I am such a wimp.

They do such a wonderful job of lighting the temple grounds. Everything looked beautiful!

This huge tree on the temple grounds was covered with some sort of mesh net of lights. It looked amazing!

The Primary kids sang a few Christmas songs. They were so cute. This only about 1/4 of our Primary, that's why it looks so small. Afterwards we had doughnuts and hot chocolate, then walked around and looked at the lights. It was a fun evening!

Thanksgiving: The 3 F's

Thanksgiving weekend brings some fun times. We were lucky enough to spend some time on the three essential F's:

1. FAMILY

My sister Angela's family came for the day, and the cousins had so much fun together. They put on a Thanksgiving play (Ben was the turkey), played soccer in the backyard, and watched the movie "Up". We love cousins!! We are grateful they came to visit us for the day.

2. FOOD

We made way too much food (can you say 10 lbs. of mashed potatoes?!) which was absolutely delicious. We had leftovers for days. I love Thanksgiving food! Mmmm, stuffing and mashed potatoes smothered with homemade gravy. Delish!

3. FOOTBALL

Erik played in our ward's Turkey Bowl and was only sore for a couple of days. He did great. We also watched the local high school team play in the regional playoffs. It was exciting to watch. It was also exciting trying to keep Ben from tumbling head-first down the bleachers. I'm sure all the folks around us appreciated him walking back and forth behind them 47 times, patting their backs with his little hand each time. Don't worry, he granted them one of his signature grins so they couldn't get too upset.

...oh, and shopping. I won't post pics of the carnage, but I will tell you my sister and I spent 5 hours at the outlets on Black Friday. Let's just say we had success.