We had a lot of fun in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Here is a sampling of some of the things we did. Above is when we went to Temple Square after Thanksgiving to start the season off. Click here for that post.
On December 6th we had our ward Christmas party at church.
We had to leave the party early to go to Emily's band concert. She plays the flute in Beginning Band. I don't have a picture of this event but I do have this lovely video. Emily is in there somewhere, you just can't see her.
The weekend of the 15th-16th was a tad busy. It started off Saturday morning when Steve, Emily and Zac woke up and left for Temple Baptisms at 4:45 in the morning. The night before when we made the kids get in bed early and told them they would be waking up super early they starting groaning. But we put a stop to that real quick like when Steve explained to them that the closest temple to him when he was growing up was a 2 day school bus ride away.
When they got home we quickly changed gears and left for Emily and Aubrey's last volley ball games of the season. Then it was on to Zac's Eagle Scout project. Click here for that post. Later that day the girls went to my mom's house to make Christmas ornaments with her and my sister Lauren. Then I picked Emily up and brought her home so she could babysit and Steve and I went to the adult session of Stake Conference. Then we picked Emily up, took her back to my mom's house where she and Addy were spending the night and brought Aubrey home with us. Steve, Zac, Aubrey and I woke up early the next morning to go downtown to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert with guests Tom Brokaw and Alfie Boe (we only had 4 tickets). It was incredibly fabulously fantastic.
Since we were at the Sunday morning performance they were broadcasting Music and the Spoken Word. Before it started they instructed us very thoroughly that we could not make any noise. No clapping. Nothing. He said that there would be a moment in the performance when Tom Brokaw would be telling the story of the WW2 Candy Bomber and there would come a point in the story when we would really really want to clap. But not to. So partway through the performance we are smack dab in the middle of the Candy Bomber story. There are kids on the stage acting out the story. And then fog starts coming from the ceiling so it is like we are in the clouds. Then snow starts to fall. Then we hear planes flying over head. And then all of the sudden hundreds of tiny parachutes like the Candy Bomber used started falling from the sky. And you think this is the point at which you would want to clap but had to refrain. But it's not. Because then Tom says "Ladies and Gentlemen, please help me welcome the 92 year old Candy Bomber Colonel Gail Halvorsen!" And then it is like ARGGGGHHHHH! How can you not clap at a moment like that??? For real! I believe if you asked any of us what our favorite part of the concert was, it would be that. Followed by the rockin' awesome organ solo. Don't think an organ solo can be rockin' awesome? Well you my friend would be mistaken.
Here is a short video with some of the highlights from the concert. You should watch. It is well worth the 3 minutes and 48 seconds. Click here if you can't see the video.
After leaving the concert we had some time to kill before my mom and the girls got out of church so we went to Temple Square.
Then it was back to my mom's house. It was my Dad's birthday and so we were having a special celebration. Also my mom wanted to make me the cake of my choice for my birthday which had just been a few days earlier. I requested her delicious banana cake with homemade chocolate cream cheese frosting. Oh yeah.
We were in the middle of eating linner (lunch/dinner) and I can't remember how it quite happened but suddenly people started sticking food up their noses. We are such a well mannered bunch.
Zac's favorite thing to do when we are at my mom's house is to sleep on her swing on her back deck. He didn't let the snow outside stop him. He is in there somewhere.
Then we paid a visit to my dad's grave and put some Christmas flowers on it.
And some of us were not properly dressed for the occasion. Like being shoe-less in the snow. And right now Zac is sitting next to me critiquing every thing that I type and he was asleep on the swing when this picture was taken and he is freaking out now because Emily is wearing his jacket. Instead of hers. Which she had at grandma's house.
Then we played a round or two of Skip-bo and then engaged one another in a friendly little gingerbread house decorating contest. Click here for that post.
The next week was a long one since the kids had to go to school all week while they were anticipating the long awaited holiday. Finally they (Zac, stop telling me what to type. Seriously.) Finally they were out of school! Friday afternoon we mailed our letters to Santa. Better late than never.
That night we had a little "End of the World as we Know It" Par-tay. You know. Because it was December 21, 2012. The end of the Mayan calendar. Check back later for that wild party post.
On Saturday, December 22nd, we woke up and the girls went ice skating.
Addy had to cut her ice skating short so she could go to a birthday party to see The Rise of the Guardians. I went to finish up my Christmas shopping and Steve was at work and Emily and Aubrey stayed to skate some more and then went to lunch together and had a little fashion show at Ross.
And this is what Zac did all day.
On Sunday the 23rd, we went to church. Then we went to visit our friend Alice.
It was good to see her again.
It was a fun month leading up to Christmas. We made a lot of great memories.
Stay tuned for our Christmas post coming soon to a blog near you!
