Weeks before Christmas 2012

A lot has gone on over the few weeks leading up to Christmas. So much so, Dad has gotten behind in up keeping the blog. First off we had a Gingerbread village appear in our Kitchen. Grandma Black helped begin it, ward members contributed more (Two more have since been added by school classes) all decorated and later snitched upon by the kids.


Kaylie was part of the entertainment for our Ward Christmas party, doing a "midget" skit, she is the arms on the far left.

Dallyn's class performed on Ukuleles for about 45 minutes for the School. It was very cute and well done. I especially liked the rocking Santa look and Jingle Bells Rocks.

 

 

 

We did out traditional Christmas carolling to our neighbors friends and family. He caroled to about 30 homes and frequently get comments about how no one carols anymore. The kids love it and it is always fun to see people smile as the answer the door to Jingle Bells and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. I believe this is our 6th year of this tradition. 

Another fun tradition has been doing very active things on Christmas Eve to "wear the kids out." This year included a swim at the Rec Center and bouncing at Get Air trampoline park.

 Cam

 DJ

 Cam

 Kyler

The other major going on is we (mostly Dad) have spent almost every spare minute of the past two weeks remodeling part of Scott's sister's home. It was a project that needed to be done and will be a great blessing for their family, but it has taken a lot of time (100 plus hours) and a lot of work. It is almost done and we are grateful to all the friends and family that have helped out.

A white Christmas with Heidi

It was the first Christmas we have had that was a truly white Christmas. We have received at least a foot and half of snow in a few days and made Heidi's gravemarker and the whole cemetery taken on an even more surreal scene. It was nice to be so close and be able to visit her on that special day.

Christams 2012

Well Christmas this year was very different than it has been in the past. Heidi, with her enthusiasm for life, made all Holidays and especially Christmas, very fun and exiting. Not only were we without her influence, but Dad was also under the weather and the kids had to more or less fend for themselves. Luckily, Santa and other present givers did not disappoint. Some of the highlights included: Kaylie - Sewing machine, hair straightener and goodies. Cameron - Magic Set, Lord of the Rings Lego video game, a swim parka, and a nerf shotgun. Dallyn - Bike, bike jump, remote control monster truck and Star Wars fighter pods. Kyler - Tablet computer, Star Wars fighter pods and a nano bug. Dad - Triathlon wetsuit, BYU duct tape and hugs from the kids.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Busy Week for Cameron, and the rest

This was a busy week for our family, but was extremely so for Cameron. The pinnacle of the week was Cameron playing Mr. Drake, Oliver Warbucks Butler, in the School's rendition of Annie. He had 4 performances during the week and did a phenomenal job.




Cameron had to do a science experiment, wherein he decided to see if our new hamsters would roll faster across a 5 meter distance in a clear or a colored ball. (Clear was the "clear" winner) And yes we got two more hamsters from some relatives that needed to get rid of theirs.




Cameron also went on a Scout outing and got to shoot a shotgun for the very first time. His first shot demolished the clay pigeon he was aiming at. Good shot Cameron.

Dad did not fair was well at the Scout outing, during an intense game of mid-night capture the flag he collided with a scout and broke his big toe. The scout needed 3 stitches and it was not a pretty picture all around.

Dad also had his annual Company meeting this week. He put in a lot of time preparing presentations, but also had a little fun. Below he is with Orabrush at a Go-Kart facility during a "team building" activity. The Company Holiday party was also this week where Dad had the cutest date there, Kaylie.

 

The other great thing that happened this past week was a visit from Grandma Black. She stayed with us over the weekend and had a great time with the kids doing several fun projects, like building the ginger bread houses below.