Monday, December 31, 2007

Month in Review: December 2007

Welcome to Month in Review: December 2007, documenting events for our family history. As always, some of this was already covered on the blog, but some of it is new.

  • We have become obsessed with sushi. I've liked it for years, but it's taken a while for Chris to come around. We have been trying out various places. We enjoyed Hapa Grill in Park City (Thanks for the recommendation, Leah!). We like Ahh Sushi in downtown Salt Lake--mostly because they have half-price rolls on Wednesdays. But so far our all-time favorite is just a little place on 33rd called Akasaka. (Bonus: I was just looking for any link, but that one includes coupons!)
  • Tommy gave a speech in school.
  • Michael has become very interested in talking about the past. He often asks, "do you remember when..." questions. Sometimes he brings up obscure details about a place we drove by months ago, other times he's just reminiscing about how I gave him a glass of chocolate milk that morning.
  • It's always fun when Grandpa comes! We had lots of fun with Chris's Dad in town, including one fun day at Jungle Jims.
  • I celebrated my 32nd birthday.
  • Tommy had a minor cold, but had a lot of trouble kicking the cough, which has been a recurring thing for him, especially in the wintertime. The doctor finally decided that it seems to be asthma, so Tommy is now occasionally using an inhaler, which seems to be doing the trick.
  • As is usually the case, The Christmas Season gave us lots to do this month. We stayed in Utah and had a great time! Here are some of the higlights:
    • I tried to resist, but I eventually decorated.
    • A few months ago I wrote about Christmas Traditions from my childhood. This month I wrote about our new little family's Christmas Traditions, including Christmas Countdowns and Chocolate Spoons.
    • We had a great Cousins' Christmas Party with a few of Chris's siblings and cousins. We had way too much food and way too much fun exchanging white elephant gifts.
    • The actual holiday was pretty low-key and very fun.
    • Chris got to talk to his brother Jason who is serving a mission in California, and will be home next month. (My parents spoke with my sister Karen, who is in Chile and will be home in April.)
  • David is still being stubborn about talking. We've been trying to teach him our names, but for some reason no matter what member of the family we ask him to identify, he will only point to Michael--or as he says it, "Ki-chael." He also consistently points out babies wherever we go.
  • You'd think that since we live less than ten minutes away, we would have made it to Temple Square before New Year's Eve, but it ended up to be a fun night to do it.
  • We rang in the New Year with Chris's brother Tom and our friend Becky and a fondue feast (I didn't take pictures, but here's a sample of how we usually do fondue). Our little Tommy was excited to stay up until midnight, especially since that's when we pulled out the cake and ice cream for Becky's birthday!
[This post was backdated, simply to file it away correctly in the archives. The actual post date was January 10, 2008.]

Christmas Passed

It all came and went so quickly...

Christmas Eve
Phil and Karine hosted a houseful. There was lots of eating, wrestling, and playing. The kids got a little head start on unwrapping since Grandma Sydney and Grandpa Ron wanted to see them open their presents.

Christmas Morning
We had so much fun I didn't have a chance to take enough pictcures!
click to enlarge
The boys were so happy and grateful for everything.
We feel grateful to have such a happy family and for all the blessings we enjoy!

[This post was backdated, simply to file it away correctly in the archives. The actual post date was January 10, 2008.]

Christmas Cracker Custom

Tommy was assigned to give a speech about one of the countries that his ancestors come from, including a custom from the country. He chose England.

Since his speech was the day before Christmas break, he talked about a favorite holiday tradition that Chris and I picked up on our missions--Chrismas Crackers:
We brought some for the class and had a great time popping open the crackers to find a hat, toy, and joke inside. (Unfortunately, it got a bit chaotic, so I didn't get any photos of the cute little first-graders with their cute little prizes.)

[This post was backdated, simply to file it away correctly in the archives. The actual post date was January 9, 2008.]

Warmest Wishes

One of our favorite Christmas treats is hot chocolate with chocolate-covered spoons. We dip spoons every year for family, friends, and neighbors. It's really easy, and we always have lots of chocolate left over for dipping pretzels.
[This post was backdated, simply to file it away correctly in the archives. The actual post date was January 9, 2008.]

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

A Very Special Christmas

Top-Ten Tuesday

We taped every Christmas special we could this month, and have been enjoying them day after day after day...

Top Ten: Christmas Specials We're Watching
  1. A Charlie Brown Christmas. Most of this list is not in order, but I had to list this one first, as it is one of the few programs that dares to explain that Christmas is about the baby Jesus. They even have the nerve to quote a passage from the Bible!
  2. Charlie and Lola Christmas Special. This one's taped, but I haven't watched it yet. I feel confident listing it as a favorite, since I love every episode of this show!
  3. Dora the Explorer: A Present for Santa. I just love this one because we have been watching it since Tommy was very young, and Christmas isn't Christmas until I hear Boots, Dora, and Santa singing Feliz Navidad!
  4. Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Only three words to describe that guy: Stink, Stank, Stunk. I wish I could figure out the words to the Whoville Christmas song; I always want to sing along.
  5. Tom & Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale. I must confess, I haven't sat down and watched this. It may turn out to be incredibly violent--especially for today's sanitized standards. But they use the actual Nutcracker music, so I enjoy listening to the boys watch this one.
  6. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. I love watching the poetry come to life
  7. Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Just when you thought you'd seen enough politically correct cartoons celebrating various winter holidays, you get to see Wubbzy and his friends decorate the Figgity-Fig Tree for the Winter Festival.
  8. Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer. I actually considered leaving this one off my list, because it's getting quite dated, and truth-be-told, I find it a bit creepy. But my list wouldn't be complete without it.
  9. A Christmas Story. This one hasn't played yet, but we are anxiously awaiting it.
  10. It's a Wonderful Life. Classic.
You'll notice of course that my list is heavily slanted toward animated/children's specials. It's also missing some true classics. What are some of your favorites?

UPDATE: Its' been pointed out in the comments that Amazon Unbox has a great Holiday Movies Selection; you can purchase DVDs or download the movies directly. [Affiliate Link]

Monday, December 17, 2007

And Many More...

I'm still getting used to the fact that I have entered my thirties at all, so imagine my surprise when my boys kept reminding me that I turned 32 today. Chris is excited that he can go back to taunting me about being older; we share the same age for about 2 months only--which of course is shocking to the entire world who thinks he looks young enough to be my son (and of course that is certainly only a statement about his looks, not mine).

I had a great day, including:

  • A surprise Breakfast in bed--French toast, bacon, eggs, juice, hot chocolate with whipped cream... For the rest of the day, whenever we mentioned eating, Michael asked if we were going to go up to my bed.
  • A tasty Lunch out with some great girlfriends--Cafe Rio of course.
  • A fun Family Dinner out at the Pizza Factory. I forgot the camera, but my phone (the early birthday/Christmas present I got a few weeks ago) filled in.
  • Our Annual Dollar Store Christmas shopping, where we let the kids pick out presents for each other and for us. We have so much fun trading kids and carts and trying not to let anyone see what everyone else is picking out for them.
  • *Last weekend, Chris and I went out on a birthday date--dinner and a movie. I took a crack at my first crab at Joe's Crab Shack, followed by an Imax showing of I Am Legend. (Poor Chris--I was so startled during the movie that I almost clawed his arm to death.)
It was such a nice day, even if it does mean I have to go back to being the older one in the marriage.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Countdown to Christmas

Clark Christmas Candy Countdowns
This is how we count down the 12 Days of Christmas.

They are simple to make, and only require plastic wrap, ribbon, and candy.
Just lay out the plastic wrap, place the candies in a row down the center, roll the wrap, and tie a piece of ribbon between each piece (or group of pieces if you want one countdown for the whole family). Any candy will do , but we use every type of Hershey Kiss we can get our hands on: Kisses, Hugs, Caramel, Hot Cocoa, Special Dark, Cherry Cordial, Almond, Peanut Butter, Peppermint...
Yummy!Do you have an advent calendar or other countdown tradition?
Share it in the comments (or post to your blog and leave a link)!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

All Ready For Bed

Chris often remarks that as babies our boys look like miniature old British men.
In these pajamas, I must admit I can see it.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Picture a Christmas

Top Ten Tuesday


My mom called me the other day to tell me that it's always ok for me to "steal" Little Debbie snacks from their pantry; she also seemed concerned about my confession that I didn't want to put Christmas decorations up. I assured her that I go through a little Scrooge Spell each year, but usually get over it quick and thoroughly enjoy the season. Luckily my humbuginess has passed, as we were able to decorate over the weekend. Today I'm a little busy getting ready for a live TV appearance (besides the fact that I'm feeling too lazy to write), so I decided to let my photos speak for themselves.

Top Ten: Views I'm Glad I Have in My Home
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Monday, December 3, 2007

Argyle Style


What started out as an attempt to get a quick snapshot of the boys turned into a full-fledged photo shoot. I use the term photo shoot loosely--meaning I chased the boys around the living room trying to get them to sit together and all look at the camera at the same time. I'm not a great photographer, but I did find myself holding a sock over my head and making funny noises to get their attention. Of course, only later did I notice the enormous smudge on my camera lens, which explains the "soft focus/filter" look right in the middle of their faces. It just goes to show, you can't expect the boys, their clothes, the house, and the camera to be clean all at the same time. If that ever does happen, I'll be sure to get a shot--but I doubt they'll be looking at the camera.