Tis the season for cute kids dressed in fun accessories singing merry songs. We have a child in first grade and that means the annual First Grade Christmas Program. (This is one of my favorites.) In the past, we have had a doll, reindeer, and tree. Other options include elves, snowmen, and Santa. (Although Santa is usually all boys. I say all boys, but there was one girl this year.) The die was cast and Daisy's lot fell in with...
...the elves. And what a cute little elf, if I do say so myself. It seems very fitting because Daisy has this bend in her ear and sometimes I call it her little elf ear, although really, it isn't pointed. It looks more like a troll ear, but that isn't cute to tell your child.
That is one sad little elf next to her. In fact, the little girl in the white sweater left before the performance started and never came back up. Poor thing. I wonder if she had stage fright. It is something I could easily see Daisy having problems with just a year or so back. But Daisy is fantastic now. In fact, all of Santa's helpers look ready to go.
The first grade class is huge at Daisy's school. I believe there are six classrooms. It makes for quite a full stage.
Daisy had the prestigious job of being one of the bell ringers later in the performance. As far as I can tell they are distributed randomly throughout the pack, but none of our kids have got them before. Way to be first at something Dais!
Such a fun age and such a fun program.
Earlier in the day, (yes, same day) we were at Pearl's Christmas Program. It was a little less intense considering there were only 20 or so kids. Pearl started off with a reindeer nose.
But I think it was bothering her so she switched it out for the weird Christmas lights headband. She did her part excellently. She had it all memorized beforehand. "As I drew in my head, I was turning around, down the chimney St. Nicolas came with a bound." I'm not sure she would be a Cazier without some shirt rolling during the performance. Daisy had it down when she was in preschool.
Now for the close-up of light-head.
Santa came again! Still the same jolly Santa. Still LOVE his belt. (You can see it better back in the Daisy post.) Pearl seemed to take a liking to him.
She yakked his ear off about how good she has been and what she wanted for Christmas.
Then we got a photo of her with her buddy, Miss Tasia.
As we were leaving, Pearl gave me a brief tour of her classroom. My favorite part by far was the science station where the fish lives. Pearl said, "This is our fish. He used to be orange, but he changed to blue!" (Hahaha. Sounds like a fish died and it was easier to tell the kids that he magically changed color. Funny, I thought it was the science station, not the fantasy station.)
I hope you enjoyed these abbreviated programs. You were able to avoid all the crowds. You are welcome. Just another service I offer during this Christmas season.
Some traditions take a bit more efforts than others. I have done sugar cookies before and I'm glad to say that many years ago I gave up the perfection of sugar cookies. Some years I didn't get around to it considering the work and business of the season, and I still hadn't found the perfect recipe. Well this year, I didn't have many excuses, and I found a recipe that is pretty close to perfect. (Although I had to double the batch.)
Sprinkles, frosting, cookies, creativity. What isn't there to love? (Well, the clean up obviously, but let's not focus on that.) Let's look at some of our cookie moments.
The only person I helped at all was Pearl. Sometimes I would finish frosting a cookie for her, but many times she did fine by herself.
The girls can get pretty detailed with their creations.
Even Dad came down for the second batch. We always love having him join us for any activity.
Yum.
Here is the first batch when we didn't have blue and yellow frosting yet.
The little pearl beads are popular, but they don't taste very good. (In my opinion.) But everyone else seemed to like them. (Even Moxy was finding them on the floor and crunching them up.) Here is my Pearl with a pearl.
Finally all done. Christmas sugar cookies....big check!
If you keep the cookies in an air tight container, I think they are best a couple days later. Just make sure you scrape off any pearl beads. (Or better yet, don't put any on in the first place.)
It is time for a good purge. That means finding all the random pictures that don't really have a home and putting them all together. It makes for a scattered post, but that is how my brain runs most of these days anyway.
Ready? Good.
When I was a kid, I remember curling up next to the heater vent. I have great memories of fighting for real estate space with Betsy (the dog) and sometimes leaving my feet against the metal vent until they were overly-toasted. It is good to see that heater hunkering is still a common pastime. In the winter I find kids on the heater vents all over the house. I only have a couple pictures, but trust me that even the older kids are found curled up over a warm rectangle.
I guess warmth is a hot commodity (ha ha) around here on the chilly days. It may look like the kids are trying to strangle me here, but really they are just putting their cold hands on me and trying to steal my heat. Evil children.
Robyn and Mom Selfie
Pearl made a turkey in preschool. I admit, it is a bit of a stretch, but maybe if you look at the picture upsidedown, it will look more like a turkey?
Daisy and I went on a date WAY back in October. The kids love Menchie's. Eh...not my favorite, but I love the kids, so it translates well.
I was dropping off Ivory at gymnastics one day and we saw this guy a little ways off who was golfing in the brush and being followed by a flock of turkeys. June took a dozen pictures. She thought it was so cool. I wasn't really sure what to think, but if he doesn't fit in a random post, I don't know who does.
Pearl and Mom Selfie
We get a family ornament for the tree each year. We take turns picking it. Last year Pearl chose this one. (With a LOT of help from mom. i.e. I think I picked it out and then claimed Pearl helped. Shh...don't tell.)
This year is Dad's pick. He hasn't gotten one yet, but if I could choose, I'd go for something like this...since two kids joined the ranks of glasses wearers. We'll see what he ultimately decides...
Eddy continues to hide around the house this year. June told me 'Eddy' is one of her favorite Christmas traditions. I just feel bad when Eddy falls asleep and forgets to move. Then I have to help him. But he usually is on the ball. He has been quite sneaky this year. Ask the kids about the 'bell.'
What would you say is on Pearl's plate there? Lima beans? Edamame? Nope. They are Caramel Apple Sugar Babies. (These are new to me.) She called them Sugar Plums. And since I've never even had a sugar plum, I won't argue with her. (I think I would like sugar plums. I really like plums...)
Mom Selfie
It is nice to have the basement this year. It seems to have become the wrapping station. All the gifts are kept down there in the storage room, and the kids have dutifully steered clear after I told them how Grandma Dargan lost some gifts when she saw them. NO one wants to see their presents early.
Ivory found a cozy spot one day while doing laundry. I like her creativity in creating a desk.
My kids don't play with dolls very often. It did make me laugh when they came down with their dolls 'dressed' up. The one with purple hair is missing a leg. They gave her a tuft of colored hair for a leg and they named her Hippity Hoppity. Then they dressed up her leg. (I can't remember what they named the leg.) It makes me smile since Miranda and I played with a lot of Barbies and destroyed many of them, but still loved them just the same. (Ah....good times Princess Anita.)
There you go. I think that is quite enough randomness for one post. I'm not sure if it put you in the Christmas spirit, or if that was even the point, but enjoy your day either way. One week until Christmas Eve.
According to the Muppets, the greatest gifts in life are children, ice cream, and laughter...in that order. (I'm surprised bacon didn't make the list.) I pretty much agree with them.
And children make the holidays better. The magic is for them. The magic comes from them.
After Thanksgiving, we got the tree out. The Christmas spirit was soaking into the kids quickly. They got out paper and frantically started coloring and drawing. (They are so cute and creative.) The Christmas pictures were rolling in.
I made them all get dressed for church before we put ornaments on the tree. We had a great system of lining up and distributing said ornaments. The rule is no fighting over which ornament you put on the tree. You just get what comes up next. And the girls are great about it. Even when Daisy got 8 or 9 weird santas in a row. No complaints.
The man of the house got to put on the star this year.
The evening was filled with music and laughter. And even some dancing.
Although the holidays can be stressful, some moments make it all worth it. I hope these are the moments the kids remember.
In other news, along with these pictures I found this picture of Robyn holding a large candy bar. Can I remember why she earned it? No. Was it important? Probably. Good job Robyn.
And around Thanksgiving, June passed the term for having to keep her original earrings in. Now she sports whatever she would like. It is like she passed some sort of rite of passage. (And no infections--which isn't surprising considering how OCD she was about cleaning her ears.)
I think we are about ready for a picture dump from my phone. That might be next on the list...
p.s. Robyn just informed me that she got the candy bar because she made the best 'Wordle' in the class. I can't even explain what that is. Just know that she is the best. Ahem....I mean, she made the best one. :)
So, if you don't know by now, whenever the Cazier's do something...it's epic. (At least we like to think so.) It was no surprise, then, that when we put up our Christmas lights, every other house in Utah dimmed a little as if in deference.
Reflections is always a big thing at our house. We have had many years of fun projects. This year was no different.
THEME: The World Would Be a Better Place If...
Daisy was planning on entering a photograph, but when it came down to the wire, we didn't get it done. (Sometimes that happens.)
Ivory wrote a song. She composed it during the summer, since they know the theme by the end of the school year. She worked really hard to get it just right. Her sisters helped her perform.
Her hard work paid off. Although they forgot to bring a computer to the awards evening, so no one got to see it, she still earned a medal moving her on to the next level.
Robyn wrote a poem.
The
World Would Be a Better Place If...
The
world would be a better place if all the world was green if it
seemed.
Speaking
of seam, if clothes would size themselves to fit you,
if
dogs didn't leave around so much do-do the world would be a better
place.
If
you could be perfect, no rashes or sores,
If
you had books that didn't weigh so much, the world would be a better
place.
If
unicorns existed, if there was no lice in my hair,
the
world would be a better place.
By
Robyn Cazier
She got a ribbon for participation. Next year I think she should enter a comic. Do they have a category for art and literature combined??
June entered two categories: Literature and Art. She came home with two trophies!
I don't have a picture of her art piece, but she used Washi tape and made a collage of tape. It was very interesting.
June's story was great. Take a moment to read it.
The
Best Friends
By June Cazier
The world would be a better place if everyone had
friends. But not just any friends–friends with good influence; nice
friends, happy friends. The world would be a better place if everyone
had my friends.
Kindness is one of my friends. She's with me all the
time, hovering over me. She is shy. She whispers in my ear. And
Kindness seems to know everything. She whispers about a lonely
girl, or a boy whose feelings are hurt. Kindness invites me to help
them, to be kinder. She is a friend I love to be with.
Kindness is the one who led me to Nature. Nature is
pretty, but no one seems to like her. Mean and Dislike, the school
bullies, seem to always be near her. They picked pedals off her
flowers, threw stones at her birds, and yelled at her breezes. Nature
seems to always be alone.
But now, Nature is a close friend of mine. She has
shown me the true beauty of the world. Now, I see everything the way
it was meant to be seen. I take in everything around me. Nature
brings out my real personality.
Love has been my friend for a long time. She has led me
to love others as I love myself. She makes me feel compassion for
everyone. Thanks to Love, I treat others as I would want to be
treated.
Positive is always happy! She is, by far, my loudest
friend. She is always shouting cheerful, absolute things. She is the
optimist. She shows me things I hadn't seen before. Positive always
overpowers a bad situation with wonderful words, helpful phrases,
and positive thoughts. I've never heard Positive say an unhappy thing
in her life! And since I befriended Positive, I haven't said or even
thought as many negative things.
Patience is quiet and sweet, nothing like Frustration.
She is soothing and soft. She is the one who keeps me calm and
friendly, even when I don't feel that way. She waits for me. She is
kind, and understanding too. She shares my burdens and feels my
happiness. Patience is a friend everyone needs.
Industry is always ready to work. She is helpful. She
puts service as a leading priority and serves everyday. When I watch
Industry work, it gives me a ready feeling, a feeling that I should
get out and do some work, too. Industry makes me happy, and a harder
worker.
Honesty is another of my wonderful friends. Honesty is
a special friend. He gives me confidence to do the right thing, even
when I do it alone. He gives me confidence to tell the truth. I can't
even think of the last time I told a lie since I met Honesty.
Laughter is funny. She makes me laugh until my cheeks
hurt. She makes me laugh even when I don't feel like laughing. She
makes me happy. Just seeing her makes me smile.
Cheerfulness is right behind her, ensuring that I'm
always happy and having fun. They make a great team.
Modesty is a big part of my life. She helps me to keep
my clothes modest, but the modesty I've built inside is what I credit
her for. I can do good things and sit quietly instead of bragging and
boasting. I congratulate others on their achievements without getting
jealous and bitter. Modesty is a helpful friend.
Share has a giving personality. She gives to all, and
she inspires me to give also. She is kind to everyone. She does
unselfish deeds everyday. Although many of her deeds go unnoticed and
many more are credited to others, she just shares some more. I want
to have a loving, giving, helping quality about me; just like Share.
Charity is gentle. She is always ready to help, and
never turns away from you. She is always ready to assist those around
her. Charity seems to perfect, like all my friends. Organization is
a good friend too. He keeps things clean and organized. With him
around, I remember to keep my room clean. I pick up litter. But he
has done more than that. I feel more organized. I feel like
a better person. Maybe it's just me, or maybe my friends have had a
great impact on me, but I feel happier.
With the help of my amazing friends, Kindness, Nature,
Love, Positive, Patience, Industry, Honesty, Laughter, Cheerfulness,
Modesty, Share, Charity, and Organization, I have definitely become a
greater, happier, person. I certainly have a happier life, now that
I've had this fantastic influence to always do the right. My friends
are helping me to be my best, and they are bringing out qualities I
didn't even know I possessed. My friends make me happy.
They are the best friends I could ask for. The world
would surely be a better place if everyone had friends such as these.
I think she did such a good job. I think my friend 'patience' has been avoiding me. Or maybe she is just busy during the holiday season. If you see her, tell her I could use a good chat.
I'm proud of all my kids and the imagination they use all the time.
