Christmas 2008

Our Christmas P's...

Preparations

When we returned from our trip to California for Thanksgiving, the first order of business was to decorate the house for Christmas.

Picking out the tree -- it was cold!

Decorating the tree -- Oliver has gotten over his aversion to the camera

Our snow-village collection. We had to put a moratorium on buying new pieces a few years ago so they'd fit on top of the piano.

Our complete Hallmark caroling snowmen collection (I only had to buy one on ebay). It's nice to have some decorations that the kids are allowed to touch. Unfortunately Hallmark didn't make much of an effort to coordiate the music so when they are all playing at once it is quite a mess.

Oliver did a little more Christmas crafting


Parties

Scott and I went to two dress-up Christmas parties this year, although only got pictures of our outfits from the first. I'm not sure how this tradition started, or how it could ever end, but my suggestion that maybe next year we actually dress nicely was quickly shot down when Darin & Suzy upped the ante with their full ghostbusters outfits.

The search for the perfect white elephant gifts is a year-long effort. The 3D kitten clock and the festive duck family were big hits this year.






The Tanners had their annual sub-for-santa party and this year raised a record amount of money for a Burmese refuge family. We went to walmart and they organized us into teams and everyone got a list of gifts to buy and an envelope of money and the race was on to finish first and use as close to all the money as possible. Scott and I took home the 2nd place trophy for our holiday sweater vest outfits.

A few days later we took our annual outing up to Salt Lake to see the Christmas lights at temple square.

It was cold.

We attempted to get a Christmas card picture taken (too bad -- missed that boat this year).

We took Trax to get some dinner

and tried once again to spark some interest betweek Jack & June.

For the next party we splurged and flew the whole family to California to see the Underwoods at the beach.
It was amazing to get on the plane in the snow and get off to the warm ocean breeze. It's been a while since we've all flown anywhere, so that was very exciting. But after a crazy-hectic-almost-missed-our-flight-were-it-not-for-it-being-delayed-10-minutes experience at the airport on the way out, it was up for debate whether or not it was better than driving (I still say yes, Scott says no -- I say next time we drive I'll be behind the wheel and he can entertain the kids. Then we can decide).
It was so fun to see everyone (it's been a while) and the food was good and presents fun and the kids had a great time getting reacquainted with their second cousins (not to mention the fact that the boys' xmas lists grew after seeing Ethan's super cool remote control car).

Tuesday night we went up to Paul & Beckys for the annual Zackrison extended family Christmas party. We were glad the party was postponed (although not glad Grandma was sick) so we were able to make it. June loved their new Leonburger puppy.

Pre-christmas (aka Christmas Eve)
(That P is a stretch, I know)

On Christmas eve once everyone was back from their last minute errands and we'd delivered all our neighborhood goodie plates, we piled into the car and went up to Thanksgivig Point to see the lights.

It was an impressive display and (when they looked up from their DS's) the kids really loved it. After the lights we went to PF Changs for dinner. This is the second year in a row we've done that, so I guess you could call it a tradition, although I'm not sure we intended it to be -- it's just one of the only place around open that night. It's nice to not have to cook & clean up before the Big Night.

Pajamas

We haven't really done this in the past, but this year we did outfit the kids with new xmas PJs. They were all pretty hyper and excited on Christmas eve and had a pretty hard time settling down (which makes for an even longer night for Santa). The jammies got good use, though, since on Christmas day no one ever got dressed (and at 2pm some of us are pushing a 2nd day of jammie-wearing -- although I'm still holding out hope for a shower).

Paper

Santa came!

Presents

Brenden's Christmas list read "Surprise me!". Oliver's list had toys from every commercial, catalog, and infomercial he's seen for the past month. Highlights from Santa this year were the Wii, a remote control car like Ethans, Webkinz, a baby doll stroller, a waffle maker, an ebelskivers pan (like Ana & Darin got too!), clothes, shoes, pedal board & case.


Other favorites were the favorite things package (thanks for putting it together Rachel!), the new bike & monster truck stuff from Gma & Gpa Z, the globe from Zack & Ana (we can finally get some perspective on just how spread out the family is), the books from Stephen & Mei Li (they're being a bit overshadowed today, but will come in handy when school gets back in and the boys are back in their reading habit), and the handmade beauties from Annee. Thank you to everyone for their efforts and generosity.

After getting a bit stir crazy at home on Christmas afternoon, we took the new inner tubes out for a run on the sledding hills (turns out snow pants fit very well over jammies so still no need to get dressed!). Then back home for cafe rio style pork tacos and early (ish) to bed.

The house is a huge mess and I'm still in my jammies but we pulled it off and are so grateful for some extra time together these days. We're especially looking forward to having the Wileys here next week for a visit and extending our Christmas celebration even more!



There. I did it.

an effort to catch up

Sorry about the lack of blogging for the past couple of months. Here is my one effort at catching up and then we'll try to move forward. (Warning: this could be rather long and boring. I'm going to skip fancy formatting and witty themes in the interest of just getting this done.)

In November Oliver did a lot of crafting. It seems every time I try to distract him by suggesting he go read a book or watch a show, it results in more craft ideas. There were Christmas count-down chains, cars & boats made out of shoeboxes, and animals made out of paper towel rolls. Here he is inspired by the book Fast Food making transportation vehicles out of produce.

Really I promise I try not to encourage this. But a mom can only say "no" and "later" and "hold on" and "i'm busy" so many times. He moves forward and insists and seems undeterred until I have to finally give in a go buy him some cucumbers and mushrooms.

He saw these Thanksgiving Turkey cookies on Nickelodeon and decided we had to make some too.
Again, see how I was trying to just plant him in front of the tv for a while -- and it totally backfired on me.

Another day I needed to make some brownies for a church activity and I thought June and I could have a nice mother-daughter bonding cooking experience together. I let her help pour and mix, but it wasn't long before she realized the batter was yummy.

Rather than fighting her, I thought I could just out-run her and worked as fast as I could to get it into the oven. Indeed we did bond well during bathtime.

We spent Thanksigiving in California with the Wileys, and convinced Rachel & Chrsitine to join us.
On Thansgiving morning we participated in the La Canada Run for the Hungry (the boys did the 1-mile, Rachel the 5k).
Scott went and picked up his grandparents in Apple Valley while Rachel & Christine and I helped with the meal (we were in charge of the apple pie, pumpkin cheesecake, and mashed potatoes)

and the kids played with their cousins.

4-generations of Wiley men

We're considering finding an agent and offering their services to play a character aging from about age 9 through age 80 -- don't you think it's amazing how much they look alike?

I found this list folded up like an airplane in Brenden's backpack. I'm not sure if he made it at church or at school, but we found it quite humorous to read what he's thankful for. My guess is the assignment was to list 30 things you're thankful for. His teacher must have given him an example to prompt #1 on his list, and several of them must have come from him just looking around the room to try to fill it in.
Be clear that Mom & Dad got #26 & 27, far below #1 Low gas prices, and #5 hangman. But at least we beat #29 pencils.


We helped Webb set up his new Santa & Reindeer display, which made us excited to go home and usher in Christmas at our house.

We've been having a very snowy winter here in Utah so far. Luckily we knew it was coming and managed to get the Christmas lights up before it hit. It's cold enough and consistently snowing enough that it stays on the ground, and we have snowbanks growing along the sides of the roads. We are grateful to live on a cul de sac with two snow blowers and a snow plow, so we regularly come out to find our driveway and sidewalks already cleared. Brenden and Scott have worked to keep the front walk and steps clear and salted.


The boys have been sledding almost every day with neighborhood friends.
They found a couple great spots in the nearby where they can go on their own, and then we've taken a few trips to the ultimate sledding hills at Rock Canyon park (yes that is where Oliver crashed into the picnic table last year, but they're careful to avoid that now).

(I realize now in looking at these pictures that it appears we are not dressed well for the snow. I assure you that we have full snow gear for every member of the family and most days do dress warmly from head to toe. Only a couple of times have the boys been out sledding for a while before I've realized they are wearing their sneakers and low-socks.)

Brenden had his holiday piano recital and performed Jingle Bells and Um Pa Pa. Now that his allowance is tied to practicing, he was very well rehearsed and did a great job.
In November I also got rather busy at work and tried to start my Christmas shopping early. I did do quite a bit ahead of time, but didn't really know when I was supposed to stop. I think all it did was prolong the shopping period and increase the amount purchased. We'll have to figure out how to improve the strategy next year.

A nice bit of recognition

So this article came out today in the Mormon Times by Orson Scott Card, entitled "Searching for Good LDS Music". It is so great and well written and bold and he voices sentiments we've had on the subject for years. He also gives a nice little nod to Scott's album, "Mary's Lullaby" (the second in his lullaby series).

"Mormon Art" is a complex subject that intertwines and challenges questions of testimony, talent, spirituality, identity, calling, culture, and recognition. We are (well really Scott is, but I do my best to cheer him on) doing our best to effect changes from the inside, which is mostly slow and frustrating, so it is nice to be recognized for our efforts from time to time.

Here are some great excerpts (although the whole thing is good so go read it here):

I bought at least one CD from every Mormon pop singer on offer, and my kids and I listened to them as we drove home. I'm afraid we weren't a very sympathetic audience.

Most of the singers sounded as if they were talking down to Primary children. You know what I mean: that smiley, condescending tone that used to be heard, not just in Primary, but in Relief Society meetings as well. For many years, it was the oh-so-special accent of LDS women in public discourse.

(I think it ended the first time Sheri Dew spoke in general conference. It's as if LDS women heard her and thought: "Oh, now we can talk like grownups.")

That tone of voice did not translate very well to singing -- it undercut the credibility of every word they sang. We called them "smile singers" and never played the CDs again.

*******************************

Maybe the problem is simply that not every singer is a songwriter. And if the best LDS music continues to consist of new interpretations of standards, I'm fine with that.

Which is a long way around, I suppose, to calling your attention to a Shadow Mountain (i.e., Deseret Book in jeans) release called "Mary's Lullaby: Christmas Songs for Bedtime."

It's a compilation of familiar Christmas carols -- time-tested, so there are no songwriting issues. Instead, producer Scott Wiley was able to hold everyone to an excellent concept: The carols really would be performed as lullabies.

The volume stays low, the rhythms gentle, the tempos slow. The singers do nothing to show off or decorate the music. They're intimate, as if being sung to a baby held in the singer's arms.

*******************************

I had already heard many of these singers doing their own music and, sadly, dismissed them -- as performers, not just as songwriters. Why? Because they sang as if they were auditioning for American Idol -- that over-wrought, over-decorated style that conceals every scrap of originality and character in the singer's voice.

Yeah, yeah, you can sing like Whitney. So what? Who are you?

On this album, every single voice emerged with individuality. I wanted whole albums of these singers singing like this.

Simplicity. Clarity. Good music. Strong and well-chosen words. Then their sincere message could touch my heart, because they had put up no barriers to my receiving it.

It's a lesson that applies to Mormons engaged in all the arts. Testimony does not substitute for craft and skill.

*******************************

Ultimately, the responsibility for the quality of Mormon music rests with the audience -- the market, if you will. If there is no difference in sales between albums with good songs and albums whose song-writing awfulness suggests the Jonas Brothers, then nobody will learn anything -- not the songwriters, not the singers, not the arrangers, not the producers and not the publishers.

Without a discerning audience, then the artists know that anything will do -- or that nothing they try will make any difference.

So when you pay for an album like "Mary's Lullaby," you get two rewards: the album itself and the possibility of improvement in all LDS pop music.

a little tidbit to tie you over...

Until I get the chance to come up for air from my heads-down Christmas shopping and an unusually busy time at work, on top of our normal craziness, here's a video of June from tonight.

June worked all day to learn how to play the harmonica. I tried to show her how to blow and close her lips around it and who knew that was hard. It was mostly frustrating for her but finally tonight she figured it out and was so proud to show off her new skill.
Special shout out to Oliver for operating the crucial spotlight.

sights that warm my heart #1

I know I'm behind on blogging and I'm sorry. I have been busy and every day I try to start a post and get distracted. I have other things I want to say and other pictures I want to share, but tonight I wanted to start a new series I've been thinking about called "sights that warm my heart." Every once in a while I see something that makes me stop and remember how happy I am. It is rare to have a camera on hand at that precise moment, so I'm not sure how many of these I'll be able to do, but here's a start.

Tonight I went and saw Scott play a show with Paul Jacobsen & the Madison Arm at a quaint little art gallery in Salt Lake. It was the perfect setting for PJ&tMA and they played incredibly -- dynamic, energetic, personable, tight. When Scott plays guitar (when he's sitting down) he always crosses his feet like this. It's one of the first things I noticed about him when I'd see him perform or practice when we were dating. Now when I see this familiar sight it makes my heart happy and overwhelms me with that nostalgic giddy feeling of young love. I love seeing him play music and am so grateful that he has such great friends who help bring that out of him.

the washing machine ate our socks

I know this is an age-old excuse to explain the pile of unmatched socks that every family inevitably acquires, but it's true. Today my beloved washing machine got sick, and I paid $130 to have a guy come clean out the drain. This is a sampling of what he found, in addition to a gross mangled sock and about a measuring cup's worth of unidentifiable muck (not pictured). The good news is in the end the visit will only cost us $104.51 due to the amount of money recovered (assuming I can reasonably clean it up and a store or bank will take it). Guess I need to do a better job of checking the pockets. And now I know how to clean out the drain.

In other news, Scott neglected to mention the best part of Oliver's halloween costume: his autograph.
He asked me to teach him his autograph so that when he's dressed up as a bike rider/motorcycle rider he could give it out. He actually got pretty good at it and took a sharpie and pad of paper to school with him and handed one out to everyone. Man this kid is funny.


Also, Lisa asked me to post these links. Here are our interviews with Stephanie almost exactly a year ago:

Nienie's interview with Scott

Nienie's interview with Sarah

Halloween-Best Day Ever? or Please Never Return Again

Halloween - Best Day Ever:
Not only did I have a great reason to leave work early and hang out at home, but we were going to carve pumpkins and get ready for trick or treating!
Halloween - Please Never Return:
What ever happened to Jack-O-Lantern? You remember Jack, he looked like this -

eyes, nose, mouth, just what you need to get the job done.

well folks, say adios because Jack has been downsized and replaced with this:

brenden's pirate ship pumpkin

seriously? do you have any idea how long this took to do? dont get me wrong, Brenden started it....guess who finished it?

needlessly elaborate.

Jack, we hardly knew you...


Halloween - Best Day Ever:
The kids look great in their costumes. I mean, cmon how great is it to see them all dressed up. And what a fantastic photo opportunity.


Halloween - Please Never Return:
Photo opportunities inevitably lead to meltdowns. Here we watch as June devolves -

sarah tries to put june down, apparently her legs stopped working

here we see June immediately before she put her face down on the concrete
i was however, able to use this for a laugh from the boys when i threatened to squash the bug with my foot
(not a big hit with June)


and finally, fully sprawled out on her back

Halloween - Best Day Ever (silver-lining edition):
The great 2008 Juney Halloween Photo Session Meltdown did, within but moments, turn into this -


she even threw in a leg trick, to increase her presentation score! -


Halloween - Best Day Ever:
The Robertsons, our neighbors from across the street, hold an annual neighborhood Halloween BBQ.

june on her way across the street to the party

The whole neighborhood turns out, lots of kids on bikes and running around. It was great.

Halloween - Please Never Return:

They only serve hot dogs, chips and root beer at the party, so while many of us were well fed, Sarah-not so much.

Halloween - Best Day Ever:

Trick or Treating! While the boys were off like lightning to gather as much candy as possible, it took June a while to get the hang of her first real trick or treating experience.

While Oli is already on his way, candy in hand (not bucket, guess who was carrying that - file under please never return) June was slightly apprehensive about approaching Dracula for candy, even if Dracula was only a 13 year old Kyle Howard, and he was wearing jeans.
June also didn't like the fact that I kept putting her candy in the basket. She clearly supposed that I was running some sort of child labor scheme, sending my kids out to do my candy bidding, only to take a hefty percentage off the top.
She also couldn't understand why every candy tasted the same, like a plastic wrapper. She tried, but she just couldnt get through to the good stuff.
As the night progressed however, she caught on and before long she was eager to continue and get more "da-doos."
We are pretty sure that she decided that due to all the "thank-you's" we insisted on when the candy was offered, surely these treats must be called thank-you's.
So she would get the candy, run back to us, point and say "da-doo." Whatever works I say, I mean, it's free candy!

Halloween - Please Never Return:
Wardrobe Malfunctions. While none of our children had any Janet-esque flashing incidents, we did have our fair share of costume ordeals.
First, Oliver was supposed to be a motocross rider, but seeing as we turned down his request to ride his motorcycle from house to house, he decided that he was dressed as a bike rider wearing motorcycle rider clothes. What he didn't tell me though was that bike riders wearing motorcycle rider clothes usually only wear their super heavy helmets for 15 minutes or 5 houses, whichever comes first.
Lucky for Oliver though, I was dressed as a Dad who is willing to carry costume cast-offs and buckets (see above), so win-win.
Brenden was a great sport, despite the fact that he was wearing a wool coat, wool pants, and a stack of over 12 hats, the bottom of which was a wool hat.
Not only was he super hot and itchy all night, but he had to constantly hold on to that stack of hats to keep it from falling, all while being essentially choked by a stuffed monkey draped around his neck.


Halloween - Best Day Ever:
Look how pretty Sarah is in my grandma's old sweater! Apparently she dressed up as a super hip, super hot mom.


Well everybody, that's all for this way-to-long Halloween wrap up. I think in the end we will celebrate Halloween again next year. It was on thin ice a few times last night, but all in all, a success.

oh wait, there is one more thing, I think this would be filed under both categories. After about 20 houses, with their buckets only half full, all the kids were ready to go home. Sarah and I did our best to motivate them. Keep going! Free Candy! but alas, they were ready for home. Stranger still, when we got home, brenden went upstairs and took a shower on his own, then came downstairs and proceeded to practice piano on his own without a single word from us whatsoever.
All of this prompted me to ask Sarah what she had done with the real brenden.


and finally, for Rachel - Halloween flashbacks

chris peterson and i as either 1.luke skywalker or 2. karate guys. in both cases we were also dressed as guys who's moms used bowls as tools during haircuts.

sarah and annee oct 89. annee is either assistant devil, or possibly assistant to the devil. sarah is either I Dream of Jeannie, a more run of the mill Genie or part of one of those weird kids groups that dances near the foodcourt in the mall around christmas time.
either way, they both have too much makeup on.