Merry Christmas

It was a very different Christmas this year, and I liked it.  I was up at 7:00, a decent hour, but not one that shows much enthusiasm.  I had time to read, bathe, get dressed, and get breakfast ready.  Then I had time to read the newspaper, put on Christmas music, and have a hot chocolate.  Terry joined me quite early.  Brent came in around 9:30, and we woke Ty up at 10:00.  We ate breakfast before we opened presents!  It didn't even bug me.  It was different, and relaxed.  The four of us had a great time.

 

Ty spent most of Christmas break rolling out his muscles.

Brent finishing breakfast before present opening.

Ty got up last and didn't have time to get dressed and do his hair.

Ty still rolling...Brent still sitting.

Terry finishing breakfast.  Notice unopened gifts and the computer going.

 Early in the afternoon, Terry and I ventured out to Meridian to see if Santa had visited the grandkids.  He had.

Amee with two little monkeys.


Early evening we ended up at Mom and Dad's with a lot of the rest of the family.  The ham that wasn't used Christmas Eve, was devoured, along with shrimp dip, pork and seeds, and lots of goodies.  It wasn't bunco, but we had a good visit.

 That evening a little snow storm left a skiff of white for Christmas.  It was a different Christmas this year, and I liked it.

179 to go...

The first day of school is always exciting, frantic, boring (too many rules and procedures to cover), and fun.  We dismiss at 1:15, so the time flies by, but everyone has been so wound up, it's exhausting.  I have the smallest class ever!  Twenty three students in a sixth grade class?!  This is heaven!  And so far, they're all angels - great kids.  I came home happy and tired.  I took a nap from 6:00 'til 7:30.  The beginning of everything new takes some getting use to.

Quick Family Time

Bad grandparents.  I had in my mind that Hadley's birthday was the 16th.  Terry didn't have anything in his mind.  We didn't check until this morning, and it was Thursday!  I won't forget again.  Hadley's is the 12th; Hudson's is the 16th.  I'll forget someone else's, but not Hadley's.

We wanted to run her gift over to her, but the McClures were at Mike's work party all afternoon.  They thought they would be back at 6:30.  We decided to get together with Bry and Amee and the boys for something to eat, and check out the house that is almost theirs.  We wanted to talk with them about how we could help.  We met at Souper Salad which worked out well for the kids, the health conscience, and me, the dieter.

We then went to deliver the gift, but even though we were an hour and 1/2 late, the McClures were still partying.  We got caught in a big downpour, huddled under their porch.

We decided to go over and check-out Bry and Amee's list of house projects.  It's going to be nice having these two families in bordering subdivisions.  The kids will go to the same school, but they live in two different stakes.  They're all close, but not too close.

We finally got our belated gift over to Hadley, our pinkalicious girl.  She got an outfit with a pink shirt, and a Dora doll with pink pajamas on.  (We'll have to make her some clothes to wear during the day.)

It's great having so much family close.  We can squeeze in good times without any plans.

I'll Take That Call!

 

Those that know me, know that I don't like to talk on the phone, answer the phone, or carry my phone.  Every once in while though, I get a great phone call - like yesterday.  Jessica called!  She was just touching base and catching up.  We talked and laughed for over an hour.

I met Jessica when she was in my fourth grade class at Jefferson.  She stayed in touch with me, calling me at home, when she moved on to Jr. high.  I ended up calling her to babysit for me, which led to us taking her in a couple years later.  Her family's situation was pretty scary, and low.  I was taking her home from babysitting one night and couldn't let this beautiful girl go into an empty house, with the power off, in a bad neighborhood, and a creepy guy living next door.  At the time, her mom was living with a different creep.  We called and asked if Jessica could stay the night at our house.  By the next week, she was living in our bonus room.  She only stayed five months.  We would have taken her forever, but it wasn't meant to be.  She had another path outlined.

We've stayed in touch always.  She lived on her own in an apartment her senior year of high school.  She never had a driver's license, so she took the city bus everywhere.  She's always worked hard (a couple jobs at a time), and has always been a creative, artistic, free spirit.  Most of all, she's enthusiastic and positive about everything.  She was the first person in her family to graduate from high school, and soon after, moved to Seattle to make it on her own.


She just turned 24, is a make-up artist, has been to Europe, has a nice boyfriend, and has made it on her own.  She's planning on going to college this fall - business administration.  I forgot to ask her if she has a driver's license yet.  We were too busy talking about the French Riviera, German men, Italian food, and Monte Carlo.

Get to know her:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzmCHPBfBUM

It's a Boy!

Bry and Amee and everyone else except Tanner had bets on a girl, but the ultrasound clearly showed that our next grandbaby is a boy.  He'll be here at the end of May or first part of June.  They have about four months to wrap their heads around a son, make plans, and pick a name.

It Snowed, and Snowed, and Snowed!

Finally!  The snow started coming down at about 6:30 AM.  It didn't stop all day.  It was beautiful and exciting.  The kids kept watching out the window as it piled up inch by inch.  They went out at recess and made giant sculptures and snow forts.  They came in freezing, wet, red, and happy.  At about 4:00 it started warming up and the snow turned to sleet, then rain.  It rained all night and the next day.  Now it's gray and slushy, but Bogus is open, we have a good snow pack, and all the worries that came with a dry winter are over.