We started off the month, on December 4th at Blanding's annual Tree For All. It's kind of like a craft fair where people from the area bring forth things they have made and sell them to the public (I have actually participated in this on a few occasions, but have vowed never to do it again). There are all kinds of things to buy. They auction off decorated trees for charity, community groups perform, and Santa even makes an appearance. Which brought us to the Tree For All on this night.
We arrived early because last year we waited in line for over an hour. This year we were just about first in line. Ethan proudly jumped up on Santa's lap and whispered in his ear what he wanted him to bring. Earlier on this day I asked him if he wanted to go see Santa and he said no. When I asked why he said "I don't know what I will say to him because I have been naughty." Well isn't that the truth. At least he knows it. But alas, he did want to see Santa after all.
When I turned to get Ally she suddenly started to throw a fit. She had been so excited to see Santa until that very moment. Well I knew that if we left and she didn't get to sit on his lap she was going to be sad that she missed it so I made her sit on his lap anyway. Then I threw Ryan on there too for the picture. They were both very unhappy as you can see but it makes for a funny picture and memory. I got some pretty nasty looks from some spectators so I hope you all enjoy this picture. Since I am probably now classified as a bad parent.
The next day, December 5th Ally's little dance class got to perform at the Tree For All. They are called the "Tiny Taps", and they looked so cute in their little red outfits.
A little of the dancing action. To the right of Ally is her cousin Ashlynn. They did so good, and were so cute. I'll have to see if I can get the video to upload.
The little dancer. She just loves going to dance and is so proud of herself.
Well Santa was there again on the second day and I asked Ally if she wanted to sit on his lap this time. And she did, she jumped right up there and told him she wanted a pony for Christmas. In fact, she went back time and time again while we were waiting for her turn to dance. See, she wasn't scarred for life. Ryan still didn't want anything to do with Santa but none of my kids did at his age.
Javan had shoulder surgery on December 11. This is from an injury that occurred during a tube ride of death this summer at the lake. It finally got the best of him and we decided to have it looked at, where we learned his shoulder had been fractured and healed but still required surgery. So if you're wondering, yes, I broke my husband's shoulder. Better watch out! (His step dad Glade also had shoulder surgery on the same day. No, I didn't do it, it was a mule.) This picture was before the surgery, Javan was pretending so we could get a funny shot for Redd Leader. Although he didn't look much different that that when he came out. We spent two weekends up in Provo for appointments.
On December 18 we had the Young family Christmas party. All the kids were supposed to do a talent but I couldn't get any of mine to participate. Ally had practiced a song for days before but then wouldn't perform it when it came time. Daniel played a song on the piano, Reed recited a poem and did the wave with his belly and Ashlynn sang a song. That's about all we got.
But we had a wonderful dinner and the kids got to open the present they had drawn names for. Here's Ally with her necklace making kit.
Isn't Christmas break great when you get to stay up late to play with your cousins and then sleep in. It would have been better if it wasn't in my bed.
Ethan is quite fascinated with the icicles (Isn't that a weird spelling, it's right, I looked it up, but it looks weird.) He notices them all over town, how big they are, how many are lined up, how they're curved. It goes on and on. Anyway, he was so proud when he found this giant icicle on our own house and he got it down all by himself without breaking it.
On Christmas Eve day, Javan busted out the Rhino, our family Christmas present to ourselves, and took the kids sledding.
Ethan and Ally had the best time just going up and down the road at my mom and dad's house.
That night we had our traditional soup and scones with just my parents and us, although we made enough soup to feed 100. After awhile Michael and Michele's family came up and we opened cousin Christmas gifts. Ryan was super excited to open his present, he was very impatient while Javan was getting it out of the box for him.
Ethan waited all night for the boys to come up so he could finally open his present this cool Spiderman puzzle book.
We came home and the kids opened their Christmas jammies and posed quickly by the tree before we tucked them into bed for the night so Santa could come. (Ethan wouldn't wear his Christmas jammies, he said they were too big and he hated them. That didn't make "Santa" very happy. I think "Santa" thought twice about visiting Ethan this year.)
But Santa couldn't stay mad for too long and gave Ethan and the others presents anyway. Kids asleep in bed, presents wrapped, stockings stuffed, all ready for Christmas.
I was a horrible picture taker on Christmas day. While I didn't think about it at the time, I'm quite sad about it now. Ryan was so funny. He got so excited about opening presents and loved to tear the paper off. He was pretty stoked about this little 4-wheeler he got in this stocking. Ethan and Ally loved all their gifts as well. They said their mp3 player were their favorite. We spent the rest of Christmas day visiting family, playing with cousins, eating delicious food, and hanging out. It was a great day.
Javan started a tradition a few years ago where he buys me the ugliest Christmas sweater/shirt he can find and I have to wear it all of Christmas Day. This year he really our did himself. When I opened up the box and saw the denim I knew it was going to bad, then I saw the flannel on the collar. It's my worst shirt yet. I felt ugly all day. These pictures aren't real great. I wouldn't allow a picture with a real camera but Amber wanted to see the shirts so these are from Javan's phone.
Last year I decided I was tired of being the only one humiliated on Christmas so I joined Javan in his tradition. He might not be so happy about it now. When I found this gem of a shirt I was super pumped. It looked just so tacky and horrible hanging there on the rack. I mean look at it, gold crowns and wings.
The back gets even better with the crown, and wings and fancy letters that say "Majestic". I thought I had really got him this year. But when he put on the shirt he really kind of pulled it off. It doesn't look that bad at all. It's a compliment for Javan that he could pull it off because I surely didn't in my shirt.
(So I need everyone's help in finding Javan a very "special" Christmas shirt/sweater for next year. I have found several on ebay but they are kind of pricey. So if anyone sees something on clearance somewhere snag it for me.)
Christmas outfits. So cute.
A few days after Christmas we went sledding with the Ivins family. We chained up the tires on a couple of pickups, tied a bunch of sleds on the back and headed down the road. The kids had a great time.
I guess, most of the kids had a great time most of the time. We got into some really soft powdery snow, and I think a combination of spray from the truck and just the lightness of the snow caused it to just come up over the top of the sled. Ally was completely covered. For awhile she was laughing and having fun and it took me a minute to realize that her laughs had turned into screams and the fun was over.
Michele and Nicole were laughing their heads off in the back of the truck until we realized she was crying, so I tried to lift her out of the snow to get her out of the spray. I couldn't, it was too heavy and Ethan was between us making it harder.
We finally stopped the truck and got her out. Her face was completely packed with snow. You can see it packed into the sides of her hat.
It was so sad. She was freezing. When I finally got her into the truck and got the snow off her face her cheeks were so dark purple they were almost black. I got kind of nervous for a second. But I held her and warmed her up quick and her cheeks pinked right up. (I lost my hat up there on Black Mesa, I'm pretty sad about it.)
Not that this has much to do with Christmas other than that's when it happened. Ryan helped himself to the egg carton that was in the trash and made a total mess. Thank goodness they were just shells and not whole eggs. Look at his face. It's like he's saying "Check this out mom!" He has no idea this is a problem.
Ethan trying to dig my little car out of the snow drift.
Now that Christmas is over and we have started back to work and school I look back and reflect on the great time we had together as a family. We had lots of fun days together and loved every minute of it, almost. I wish we could have spent it with all of our families, it was a pretty quiet Christmas and I missed everyone. I hope you all enjoyed your holiday season as much as we did.
