Christmas Traditions

In case you couldn't tell, this is another post about last year. (I figured the word Christmas might give that away.) Don't worry folks, we are getting through and hopefully I will have finished off last year before the end of January. (Let's hope so.)

It seems that every year, we try something new, or forget something we planned to do. (Like, we have missed seeing the lights at Temple Square for three years running, although it is always on our list.) We added in Fotofly this year, and I really enjoyed that. We didn't read as many stories or watch as many movies although we snuck in a few.

We almost forgot to do our Christmas Puzzle. I bought it months before and then stashed it away and only found it a few days before Christmas. I bought a 300 piece puzzle because I wanted the girls to be able to help more than in previous years.

Well, I shouldn't have worried. They put the whole thing together in less than two hours. I helped them start it, then took Ivory to gymnastics, and by the time I got home, it was almost all finished. Tyler and I finished it up while I made dinner.

Note to self: 500 pieces or more for sure from now on. Also, I think we should do more than one puzzle a year. The girls really enjoy it, so I might add them in more frequently. Maybe we'll do one for Valentine's day. And I already found one for Halloween. (It was 75% off. I had to buy it.)

Another tradition that we didn't miss this year was our annual caroling. I really love this tradition. We always go with the Neilsen's and then invite a couple other families. Then we all choose some people to visit, pack up some goodies plates, and off we go.

It was a chilly night, so we bundled up. Here are the Macbean's who came with us this year, and even brought their new baby. (She stayed in the car.)

We didn't get a family photo of the Moses' but here are most of the boys. (You can barely see cute baby Alex.)

Tyler was in charge of the camera, and I thought it was funny that he took pictures of the people we caroled to, instead of the people caroling. There are quite a few shots of surprised people in doorways. I don't really think it is fair to post those pictures because I don't always look my best when I answer the door randomly, but I will post these two.

This one, because it was the best picture I had of the Neilsen's. (Namely Camille and Cannon.) And also, Sis. Coomes knew we were coming, so she not only looked fabulous, but had cookies for us as well. (Maybe in the future, I should tell everyone we are coming.)

This picture I included because I think Tara's hair is just so darn cute. Not everyone looks great with short hair, but she pulls it off brilliantly. (It makes me really want to chop my locks, but it isn't time yet.)

And finally, here is our family all ready to carol. Daisy asked after the Christmas season was over, why no one came to sing to us. I told her that not many people carol anymore, but our family would as long as we could.

One last tradition that I tried out this year was Grinch Night. It was....eh, okay. The Hulse's came over and they even dressed for the evening. I can't believe I didn't get my camera out. Boo. But other than that, I decided that watching the Grinch didn't need extra treats at the end. After all, Christmas doesn't come from a store. So, it is an event that probably won't become a tradition, but it is always fun to try something new.

Three Stage Christmas Program

We were honored to see 3 Christmas programs last year. The most traditional is the First Grade Christmas program. We attended when June was a doll, when Robyn was a reindeer, and now...when Ivory was a...

TREE!!!

She was a pretty cute tree, although, yes, she wanted to be a doll. Makes me wonder what Pearl and Daisy will be when they get to first grade.

Let's just hope they are a bit taller, so they don't have short child syndrome, which is not merely being short, but managing to be placed right behind a tall child. This is the only tree picture that Ivory isn't half blocked out.

They still do all the songs like every year. (Sixteen, I think.) Ivory knew all the words, and she did a great job. And happily, the kids adjusted somewhere along the way so I could take pictures.

Daisy had her Pre-school Christmas program. We have also attended this for each child. This was the first time they had it in the classroom instead of the stage/cafeteria area. It was cozy. Daisy followed in the footsteps of past sisters. (Here she is spacing out and rolling up her shirt.)

She didn't have her line memorized, but I don't think any of the kids did. (They didn't send anything home.) But Daisy did just fine and repeated loud enough to be heard.

Pearl was digging it.

And Santa came at the end. He was a pretty funny Santa and he took time to talk to each kid. It was sweet.

Finally, June had a program of sorts. You could call it a play. Her class put on The Christmas Carol (Disney version). They are quite the thespians, according to Mrs. Hill. They did a play around Thanksgiving, in which June got a main part, but then had to give it up because she wasn't going to be there. Then The Christmas Carol, which went very well. June was a Cratchit child. They didn't have too many words, but they had a poem they all recited together.

And now they are trying out for parts in The Taming of the Shrew. I wonder if this is normal for Mrs. Hill's 4th grade, or just this particular class. And the girls dominate. Most of the major parts were done by girls, including Ebeneezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, and two of the Christmas spirits. Here is the cast at the end.

They did a really good job and in a VERY small space. I can't wait for the next production.

Looking back, no wonder I had no time to blog. We were so busy going, doing, and seeing. It sure was a fun season.

Corporate Christmas Spirit

Maleen asked me to include some artwork I've done for my company during the Christmas holiday. Like many companies, DHI sends Christmas cards early in December. A few years ago, I asked to help in the production process of the Christmas cards. I was then presented with the utterly mundane idea of photographing our team and somehow "dressing" us up to be presentable for the season.

Boring.

So, I did what I do best: break rules. Here's the Christmas card for that year:

For anyone who liked Grand Theft Auto III (but would never admit it), you'll recognize the style.

Turns out that clients like unusual Christmas cards, and this card fit the description. There were more than a few questions from clients the next year to see what the card would look like.

Here's what they got in the mail the next year:

There is a TON of inside meaning for this card. This was during my time in "Cell Block B." For the curious, I'd be happy to elaborate on the several details of this art. For our clients, the details didn't matter—they loved the card and demanded more the next year.

When the next year rolled around, here's what littered their mail:

Yes, it's like "The Grinch" meets "Charlie Brown." That's what's so fun about it. 

So this year, I had to top all the last ones, and I must say it's getting hard to picture such a large group in a way that isn't boring. This year's card took some work, but I proudly sent out these cards to represent our team: 

Ya, we're all a little nuts, mostly that guy with "Raging Stallion" written on his hat. 

I have no idea what the 2013 Christmas season will bring, but I'm am sure of one thing: it won't be boring. And I promise the 2013 card will get posted. Stay tuned, and Merry Christmas early.

Reflections 2012

Some years I get involved and make sure the girls do something for Reflections. This last year...not so much. I told them what the theme was and that I was available if they wanted help with anything. I don't think anything would have been entered if June's teacher hadn't required it from each of her students. June, upon learning that, dutifully wrote a poem.

It didn't take her long, and I was actually quite pleased with how it turned out. Here it is:

And I am copying it here because sometimes the blog book pictures are not large enough: (You don't need to read it twice, unless you really want to.)

Magic Moments

by June M. Cazier

The magic of a moment

Isn't always unicorns.

It can be most anything just

Let imaginations soar.

It can be a rainbow

Or a little child's birth.

It can be a ladybug

On flowers here on Earth.

It can be a candy cane

Or an Olympic medal.

A hundred thousand fifty dollars

Or a flower pedal.

A present that you wanted

From your cousin Tom.

It could be your favorite book

Or a new pet dog.

Oh, the magic of the moment

Can be fairies or a horse.

Yes, the magic of a moment

Can be anything, of course.

Pretty good huh? And then I forgot all about it, because it takes a while for Reflections to get judged. When we got back from Thanksgiving, June found a trophy waiting for her at school. We thought that was pretty cool. And I meant to blog about it, but it is a good thing I forgot, because after Christmas break, we got another note saying June had gotten an Honorable Mention from the next level. (I officially don't know what they call each level, but it is the next level up from the individual schools.)

So we attended an evening to honor the kids. Here is June receiving her ribbon.

June's best friend was there too. Hannah likes to enter almost every category of Reflections, and since some of them are less popular, Hannah did really well. She went up three or four times and left with an armful of trophies. (To be clear, I am sure Hannah's entries are good. She doesn't just win because no one enters. Except maybe dance. Does anyone else enter that one?)

Now you can see where June's goal of entering multiple Reflection's categories comes from. But I don't think it is a bad goal.

At home, June showed me her trophy and ribbon. 

The creative gene seems to run in the family. She probably gets it from Grandma Dargan. 

Oh, and this would be a good place to mention that Ivory was honored at school as well. She reads with the 2nd grade teacher instead of in her own class, and the teacher often gives her assignments to read a book and do a small report. She was asked to read one of those reports in Monday Morning Meeting. (Which means in front of the whole school.) I don't think it was the content of the report that was stellar, but just that she was reading so well. But you already knew she was a good reader. 

This is her on the night of June's Reflection award. I told her she couldn't eat any popcorn off the floor, but she could have any she found stuck to her jacket. It took her a minute, but she found it.

So, enough bragging for one evening. I do love my kids though. And I am proud of each of their accomplishments.

How I've Been Seeing the World Lately

Ahhhhh. This puts things in perspective for me (Raging Stallion). It seems like I just see things clearer down the barrel...

Just got done cleaning Mosin Nagant. She's swimming in oil right now, but I've been meaning to put up a phone like this for while. And yes, this is pretty well how it looks right before I blow something up.

Ahhhhh, I'm gonna sleep well tonight.

Good night.

Mini Resolutions

We figure it is never too early to start getting children interested in setting their own goals and helping their dreams come true. I am pretty sure that the kids made some small goals last year, but who knows where they ended up. This year, I am smart enough to know where to find them again....right here, on my pseudo journal. Well, we could call it a real journal, because I pretty much tell it like it is anyway, and wouldn't put embarrassing secrets in a private journal regardless.

We told the girls they should focus on making a goal in three areas: Personal, Educational, and Spiritual. This is what they came up with:

Ivory
Personal: Find a fossil. (This stems from her desire to be a geologist.)

Educational: Master subtraction facts using Xtra math.

Spiritual: Have prayer daily.


Robyn
Personal: Take an art class and try two new mediums. (I am really proud of Robyn. Her art skills have been blossoming. She is already signed up to take an art class, and I am very excited to see what she comes up with. I think I have mentioned this before. I'm just excited for her.)

Educational: Finish learning multiplication tables up through 12s.

Spiritual: Do prayers daily.


June
Personal: Take a bath or shower every day.
Stop biting nails before June. (The month, not herself. And you can see that this lovely trait is shared by many in this family.)
Learn two church hymns on the piano. (This could also be listed under spiritual goals.)

Educational: Enter more than one thing in the Reflections contest.

Spiritual: Read the whole Book of Mormon before 2014.
Memorize and recite an article of faith every month until completed.
Remember daily prayers.



You can see that June was a little more ambitious, but that comes with age. The youngest two didn't make goals. If I could make some for them, it would be:

Pearl
Stop picking on Daisy and learn to speak more clearly.

Daisy
Learn the sounds of the alphabet letters and stop getting into Mommy's stuff.

And that about covers our family. Tyler did make some goals as well. I'm sure he has them written down somewhere. I only remember that he was planning on attending the temple with me, and building 12 websites. (That sounds ambitious to me, but he can do anything he put his mind to.)

2013 should be a fabulous year, especially if I get to break more grammatical rules, like starting a sentence with a number. (Tyler might cringe when he reads this.)

Book Review 2012

It feels good to have another year of reading done. Mainly because I know there is another good year ahead of me. This last year, I read 16 books. Less than 2011, but my goal was 12, so I'm satisfied with that. And two of them I read at the end in December. (They are actually books I planned to read in 2013, so next year may be a bit shy.) Christmas break was actually a nice vacation and Tyler told me to slow down in my reading, but I hardly ever have the chance to get lost in a book now days.

So, here are the books I read. (Not in any order.)

Last year I had a hard time choosing my top 5, because many of the books were just eh....But this year, I LOVED so many of them. I wish I could have a top 10, but I'll try to keep it simple.

Here are my:

TOP 5 PICKS

5. The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau: I picked this book up randomly at the library and really liked the story. A girl lives with her people underground (where she has lived her whole life) but their resources are running out. And more importantly, the lights are beginning to fade. I'm really not one for book synopsis but I highly enjoyed the book. So much, that I quickly got the second book, which wasn't as thrilling, but had an excellent moral. Then book number three I didn't finish, because it got boring. Sorry. But I would highly recommend the first book, and I would read it to my children as well. Oh, and there is a movie, which I will have to go watch now.

4. The Book of Nurturing by Linda and Richard Eyre: This book was so interesting to read. The authors have written many books about family, parenting, and children. In this one they compare animal traits in nature to traits we should use with our children. It is a feel good book that makes you think about your relationship with your kids and gives you some great ideas to use now in your family life.

3. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell: This book is perhaps different than any book I have read before. It seemed to take a theory and back it up with a ton of research. (Okay, maybe I have read books like that in the past, but not so cut and dry.) I thought it was fascinating. I was very impressed with the amount of research put into the book, and the examples used. I'm sure it sounds boring the way I am explaining it, but I was not bored at all through the whole book. And I think this is a book Tyler might enjoy. (He is picky about  what he reads.)

2. Divergent by Veronica Roth: This is the book I read quickly over Christmas. It was so good. It is science fiction/action/adventure and keeps you moving like the Hunger Games. But it also gets you thinking about attributes of society and where you fit in. Perhaps I enjoyed it more because I was able to read it quickly, but I think I would have loved it either way. I'll have to go find the sequel.

1. The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen: This book was so inspiring to me. A track star loses her leg in an accident and deals with learning to walk and cope with a prosthetic appendage. I honestly felt that I could lose a leg after reading this and be fine. After reading it, I felt hopeful and optimistic about any kind of race we have to run in life. It wasn't the best book ever written, but it was a great book for me to read last year. (And apparently, my favorite.)

I would love to hear what your favorite book of 2012 was. I am always looking for something good to read.