A few days after christmas, we got dressed up and enjoyed a day at the theater to see Wizard of Oz - thanks Grandma Carol!
The show was absolutely fantastic (almost too hard to describe, it was so good), but one of the most memorable moments of our day was when we pulled off on the side of the road to take a picture with the dinosaur in front of the gas station. This has become a wish for my girls, and I guess they never thought we would do it.
We have created our own holiday traditions -- on Christmas Eve, it is just us. We cook a feast. This year, it was a traditional duck dinner with pea/mint soup, fennel/apple stuffing, au gratin potatoes, green beans, broccoli, and asparagus.We talk to our families in Ohio on the phone and via video, while opening up some gifts throughout the evening. We end the evening in matching jammies - and this year, they were picked out by the girls!
On Christmas morning, we wake to see if Santa has left the girls a gift. Lizzie asked for a jeannie lamp (she got one!) and Carolyn did not have a specific request (she got a board game!) The favorite gifts of the year were boots for both girls, orbeez in our stockings, a hat with a built-in lamp for steve, and stationary and a new coat for me.
After eating brunch and playing games throughout the morning and early afternoon, we quickly tidy up the house and host our Christmas Day party. We cook pizzas all night long, with each guest making their own creation on dough. We have done this party nearly every year we have lived here, and it has been awesome way to celebrate our friends. It is also awesome to see how the party has grown as all of us have had kids and the kids are now getting so big. This year, we had nearly 40 people in our tiny home. It was cozy! New this year, Steve created a scavenger hunt where teams had to solve riddles and take covert photos around the house to show that they solved the riddles. A first prize of cash ($100) kept everyone motivated and very competitive. They worked on the game for nearly 90 minutes.
Guests often come in jammies!
The ugly christmas sweater may become a new tradition!
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One of my favorite memories of this Christmas was waking up the day after our party and finding this note taped to the kitchen cabinet. Apparently, Lizzie is starting a family band using the cans leftover from the party! She said nothing about it, just posted the flier. When we cleaned up the party, she made sure to set aside the cans she wanted for the band. And by now, we are coming up with a band name, but have not had any rehearsals.
The holiday season began with a couple of concerts at the girls' school. First, there was the 5th grade music concerts. Carolyn chose to be in orchestra, and is learning how to play the cello. Second, there was the all-school holiday concert. Lizzie's class sang a song in hebrew. Carolyn's class sang a song from Home Alone. Steve was in the parent orchestra. (I had to do admissions decisions at work and missed it this year. No photos or videos of the second concert.)
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Each girl hosted a party at our house for their friends. Lizzie is at a new school this year, and has made new friends that I wanted to get to know. Carolyn has also made a new set of friends that she has been talking about. For Lizzie's party, five little girls came over after school on the last day before break. We did crafts (puppets and ornaments), a puppet show, decorated cupcakes, watched a movie, and played the saran-wrap-ball game.
For Carolyn's party, the girls requested a fancy dinner party. They did a gift exchange, as well as the saran wrap ball. They also made a craft (ice skaters in an altoid tin moved by a magnet) and watched the movie Elf.
How wonderful it was to see the girls so happy and with such nice friends!
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These parties were followed by a party at a friends' house, where Father Christmas showed up. He was awesome - called up each kid by name and knew something 'nice' and 'naughty' that each kid had done recently. Who doesn't believe in the magic of the season!?
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We also got to see Nutcracker. A friend of ours gave us tickets unexpectedly.
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There was the annual faculty club christmas party, where Santa and Mrs. Claus show up.
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We also took RJ out to see 'Pink Martini' playing with the Utah Symphony. On our way, we stopped to see the windows and gingerbread houses at Grand America, as well as the Macy's windows and the lights on Temple Square. Our favorite part of the evening was when we formed a conga line at the end of the concert, and also to see how much RJ enjoyed being out.
