Christmas is Coming.....

Christmas is almost here and we are already having fun!  We're all decorated, we've been baking cookies (although we've more to make), we're enjoying our clues (a family tradition including treats and gifts), our Christmas stories, and our Christmas music.  I love this season and it is so nice to think more about the reason for this grand celebration... the birth and life of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

 Saturday afternoon we went to Salt Lake.  We went to dinner, then headed out to Temple Square to see the lights.  It was beautiful, of course.  We enjoyed having my sister-in-law and a couple of cousins join us.

 

We stayed overnight at the Marriott at City Creek Center, which was very comfortable, then the next morning we attended the Tabernacle Choir Christmas program of Music and the Spoken Word with the special guests Alfie Boe and Tom Brokaw.  After the official taping of Music and the Spoken Word, they did a mini concert so that we ended up seeing all of the Christmas Concert.  Needless to say, it was  just amazing and we enjoyed it very much.  That Alfie Boe can sing!!!  The highlight for us was that our Alex, who has been feeling so sick a lot of the time lately, was totally well during the concert and was so happy to be there.  We were so glad since he is the Choir's biggest fan!  The concert was musically, artistically, and emotionally stunning.  

Then on Sunday evening we had a Christmas Musical Fireside.  Some friends joined us at our house, we sang lots of Christmas songs, and those that wished to performed... we had guitars, violin, cello, and  vocal performances.  And below you will see McKay playing Feliz Navidad on his drum.  He had a blast and everyone loved it.  He did it at the beginning, then did it again as a command performance at the end.  It was a very fun evening.... maybe the First Annual?

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!!!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving break last week.  It was nice to have all the kids out of school for a few days.  We had an unusually large (for us) crowd for Thanksgiving dinner.  Our friends the Swindles came, and so did Megan, and two friends from China, Zilu and Enji.  Allison made way too much food, and it was all very tasty.  It was a beautiful day, so we went to the park for a while.  And of course we watched some football.  It's always nice to see the Cowboys lose.

So the holiday made us think about the many things we are thankful for.  Our family, the gospel of Jesus Christ, a home to live in, food to eat, and a free country, to name a few important things.  And then there are the less important things like the Price is Right, pillows, and Pop-Tarts.  There's a very big list of things we have to be thankful for, and we feel very blessed.

One more thing to be thankful for: our Cougars.  It's been a tough football season, but we can always hope for next year.  And now the basketball season is upon us and Tyler Haws is looking like the next Jimmer Fredette.  Unless, of course, Jabari Parker is the next Jimmer Fredette.  Jabari, if you are reading this post, the kids below want you to come to BYU.

Hooray for November and TSwifts new album!

So the big news lately is that we've re-modeled our house!  We didn't knock down walls or anything, but we did put in new floors, paint the walls, put in new countertops and lights, etc.  It was time for a change since we decided not to move or build a new house.  

 New floors, new couches (p.s.--they recline!)

 The kitchen is pretty spiffy

Alex really likes our new 60 in TV :)

The best part, is that I got to move down to the basement.  I now have two closets, like six power outlets, my own bathroom, and the basement fridge is ten steps from my bed.  It's like I'm living the teenage dream here.  Why didn't I move down there years ago?  It's lovely.

A few weeks ago we went to Moab for fall break.  We had lots of yummy food and went hiking in Arches and stuff.  Pictures:

 Sooo much pretty red rock.  I love it.

This wasn't taken in Moab, but it is me wearing the sweatshirt I got.

That sweatshirt is quite comfy.  I wore it for like a week straight.

Halloween was the same as Halloween always is...we hand out doughnuts and apple cider to all the trick or treaters.  It's pretty fun.  I went trick or treating for a little while with some of my friends and it was fun, even though Halloween is probably my least favorite holiday.

...Which is why I'm super excited that it's November.  Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday ever, right up there with Christmas.  Plus it's Mom's birthday on Wednesday.  That means Captain Crunch for breakfast and maybe a trip up to City Creek in salt lake.  November is such a good month.  :)

I forgot some fun things.

Refer to the blog post below (which I did not title -- I simply couldn't think of one) for most of our info this week, but I forgot two fun things.

First, Todd surprised me by being a fantastic Polynesian dancer at the ward Luau a few weeks ago.  It was really fun!  There was fire dancing, too, but Todd didn't learn how to do that.

And Todd, Abby and McKay all ran a 5k last weekend.  They beat Beethoven, which means that they ran the 5K faster than the length of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (about 32 minutes).  Every year we run into Jonny and Melody -- they used to help out with Alex and McKay and we love them!  Jonny is really fast!  He won the whole race this year.  Melody pushed the baby and still wasn't very far behind.  McKay loves the whole thing and is so glad Todd will push him.  Abby did great even though she didn't train, and Alex and I cheered them on at the finish.  

Well, it's the mom's turn to blog.  It's the perfect time for me to brag about my kids.  They are awesome!  

We've had a lot of fun the past few days.  Friday night Abby and I took McKay to see Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband in concert at Thanksgiving Point.  It was so fun!  They are an awesome band and we truly enjoyed ourselves.  Todd was at a conference in Zion's National Park and Alex stayed home with friends.

On Saturday, we had a wonderful trip up to Brigham City to go to the open house of the new temple.  It was absolutely beautiful -- I especially loved the colors and the stained glass!  I was so happy being in the temple with my family.

Yesterday we drove up to Cascade Springs to see the colors.  They are already quite vibrant up in the mountains... the aspens aren't turning yet, but there were lots of reds and oranges, as you can see.  What a lovely spot that is.  The weather was perfect, and we had a great time.

I love to hang out with my family!

We have been working for a long time on planning and building a new house that would be more suited for Alex and McKay.  We recently decided not to build, but to do some remodeling on our existing home.  That should be fun!

Family Reunion

The middle of August (yes, I'm slow) brought us our family reunion, which we had been planning for for quite some time.  Family members came from far and wide to join in the fun.  A few highlights:  The first day started off with a game of family jeopardy and a trip to the BYU Creamery.

Day 2 we took family pictures in the morning, which was not as painful as I expected.  In the afternoon we had a family talent show.  Abby and Allison sang Evening Prayer from Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck.  That's right, Engelbert Humperdinck.  McKay played Book of Mormon Stories on his African drum.  I played the piano.  Everybody gave a lot of fun performances.  Next we went swimming at the Lindon pool.  For dinner we went to the Brick Oven, which was tasty and also significant because that is where my mom and dad went on their first date 50 years ago.

Day 3 we went to Bridal Veil Falls in the morning.

Day 3 was also Mom and Dad's 50th anniversary, so that was the highlight of the day.  We had an anniversary dinner minus the grandkids at La Jolla Groves, and that turned out very nice.  We then went back to the hotel and had a party with everyone to celebrate Mom and Dad.  Congratulations on 50 years, Mom and Dad!

It was great to see everyone at the reunion.  We'll see you again in two years.

Wishing it could last forever

One event that happened lately is Alex's Star Raising party!  After a kid gets to make a wish, Make A Wish provides a little party for them to celebrate.  They had cake,

And we invited lots of Alex's friends to come, (this picture was taking in the "secret garden" area of the make-a-wish building.  It was really nice)

And we got a tour of the building, watched a slideshow of Hawaii pictures, and then raised Alex's star. Each kid who makes a wish gets to decorate a little stained-glass star to "raise" up on the ceiling in the building.  It's really cool to look up at the ceiling and see all the different kids stars.

So, that was one really fun event that happened lately.  We also took a little trip down to St. George for the Boyack Reunion.  The Boyack reunions are all the cousins on my mom's side--there were like 200 something people there.  They're always fun.  

And we've just been doing the normal summer things.  Swimming at the pool, eating ice cream bars, watching the Olympics (well, the Olympics are over now, but we watched them whenever we could) and all those other fabulous things.  

And I wish it could just last forever.  

Nauvoo

Hi.   It's me, Allison, and I am totally delinquent on my blogging.  It's been my turn for weeks now.  So I'll try to catch up!

Shortly after we got back from Hawaii, Abby went off to girls' camp for a week.  She had a blast.  While she was gone, Aaron and Natalie and their boys came and we had a great time with them.  (Marcus said that his favorite part of the vacation was playing ping-pong with Uncle Todd.)  Our family took Marcus to see "Brave", which we loved.  Marcus wasn't so sure.

Anyway, the very next week Abby and I flew to St. Louis and then drove up to Nauvoo.  I didn't realize it was such a long drive, but we had a great time.  On Monday, June 25th, Abby started EFY, and I started a true vacation.  Abby had a great time learning about the history of the church and the gospel, and I had a great time attending the temple and several sites, eating at Annie's Custard, quilting and watching Wimbledon.  It was really wonderful.

One thing I really enjoyed was walking the Trail of Hope and walking through the path in the Groves.  I had plenty of time to ponder about my life and the life of the amazing men, women and children who built Nauvoo and the temple, and then left it all to follow the prophet.  The story is incredible and I know it is true.  I know that the only way they could do it was that they knew the gospel was true and that God loved them no matter what.  That inspires me.  This picture is at the end of the Trail of Hope looking out towards the Mississippi.

Abby and I were both able to be at the Carthage Jail on the 168th anniversary of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum.  We were there at different times, but I was happy that both of us were there that day.  It is important to think about the selfless lives those great men lived.  I know that Joseph was a prophet and that he did his best to serve the Lord.  Basically his whole life he had very little rest, but I know he loved life and his God and his people.

While we were gone the boys had a good time with Todd.  He took them to the temple (It turned out that we were all in the temple on the same day, but in two different temples and three different times.), to a movie, a splash pad, the dinosaur museum, and the Bean Museum.  What an awesome Dad!

Since all this happened, we've just been having summer.... 4th of July parade and fireworks, tennis lessons for Abby, swimming with Alex and McKay, etc.  I love summer!!!!!!

HAWAII

So.  Remember how Alex got to make a wish with the Make A Wish Foundation?  His wish was a trip to Hawaii.

And a few weeks ago, that wish came true.
We left on June 6th and came back on the 13th.  When we first heard that those were the dates we were going, I thought "Only a week?  That's not gonna be long enough."  But I think it was just perfect.  It was one week of letting the ocean waves lap at our sand-covered feet.  One week of lying on beach towels and staring at the blue sky and green palm trees above us.  A week of eating by the pool and lazing in the hotel room.  It was fabulous.

Other adventures?  The Honolulu Zoo, the Sea Life Park, the Polynesian Cultural Center.  Our birthday.  Eating at Coldstone almost every day.  Watching fireworks on Waikiki beach.  Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay.
Alex was kinda sick for a few days.  But that didn't stop us.  He still had a really great time.  I think it was the perfect fit for him.

The lei greeter at the airport---McKay's pretty excited if you couldn't tell

:)

This monkey at the zoo was out of control

Polynesian Cultural Center

At Hanauma Bay where we snorkeled

At the Sea Life Park--Alex really liked the Sea Lions

McKay---what a stud.

Family Picture at the temple!

pretty flowers outside of the zoo

It was an awesome trip...I wouldn't mind going back.  :)

No more pencils, no more books

Thursday was Alex and McKay's last day of school.  (It's not actually a day, it's just an hour and a half.)  It was also their last day of Junior High.  They'll be moving on to high school next year, and they will be Orem Tigers.  It's a nice brand new building, and I think they will like it there

Yesterday was Abby's last day of school, and it didn't end a day too soon.  Her school has all four years of high school, so she'll just be moving on to be a sophomore at her same school.  She felt cheated that many schools send their ninth graders to Lagoon during the last week of school, but her school didn't.  They'd rather have the kids learn stuff, I guess.

To mark the first evening of summer vacation we played a couple games of croquet in the yard.  There's nothing better than a little croquet on a pleasant summer evening.  I had to remark that we were all playing much too nicely; not like the battles I've had with my brothers in the past.  We also played a game of Koob.  It was girls against boys, and Allison and Abby beat McKay, Alex, and me.

Happy summer vacation, everyone!

This and That and Eternal Friends

At Alex and McKay's school, there is an awesome Japanese drum line.  He is in band, and his band teacher (awesome Ms. Ugaki) gave him one of the headbands that they wear.  So whenever Todd helps him play his djembe drum, McKay wears his headband.  It's wonderful!! McKay has so much fun!

Alex and McKay have had a wonderful time in Junior High the last three years!  They have learned a ton and made a lot of friends.  On Friday, their special needs class had a party to highlight all of the things the kids had accomplished.  They talked about Alex helping to dissect a sheep's brain, and some other stuff they did in science class, and they highlighted Alex and McKay since they will be moving on to high school.  (AAARGH!)  The teacher and aids were in tears as they told how much our sweet boys have contributed to the class and how wonderful it is to have them around!  We were very proud parents.

Yesterday we went to Logan for a friend's wedding.  We first stopped at Maddox Drive-In in Brigham City for lunch, then enjoyed the lovely drive through Sardine Canyon.  Once in Logan, we went to see the temple, moseyed through the cemetery to see Todd's grandparents' and great-grandparents' graves, along with several other relatives' graves, and drove past the house where Todd's Dad's grandparents lived in downtown Logan.  (Todd's Dad grew up next door, but his house is no longer there.)  It was a very nice day.

And we saw 8 temples between our house and Logan.  Amazing!


Finally, we went to the wedding reception for Linsey.  Her parents, Brent and Leslie, (see the picture below) were friends of ours in Boston.  Their son, Jake, is about 4 years older than our kids and has cerebral palsy.  These are the friends that we lived with in Hungary 13 years ago when we took Alex and McKay to the Peto Institute.  Brent and Leslie have been wonderful to us and we just love them.  They were so instrumental in helping us work through all of the CP-related issues when our kids were little.  It was wonderful to see them.  And wonderful to visit with Jake, who is truly inspirational.  Despite his physical challenges, he just finished his first year of college at Utah State and starts a full-time church service mission tomorrow working with computers in Logan.  He is so excited to be a missionary!  His speech is much easier to understand than it used to be and we loved talking to him. His candor and wit in explaining to us some things about his life had us laughing.  And he had me crying -- which led him to declare: "Oh!  You're just as bad as my mom!"

It was a wonderful day.  I am so thankful that Heavenly Father has placed so many sweet friends in our path to help us along in our not-so-normal life.

Finally, it's time to make our summer reading lists!!!  Last year Todd and Abby and I enjoyed writing down our summer reading goals, so we're doing it again this year.  We'll help the boys make some goals, too.  I don't need a list to motivate me, but it was fun to keep track and compare notes on what we were all reading.  Of course, last summer Abby and I each had about 20 books on our lists, and Todd had 3.  We keep teasing him.  Well, I think Abby has made her list and now I need to make mine.....

Happy Mother's Day

Dad surprised Mom for mother's day and took her up to Salt Lake on Friday afternoon.  They stayed overnight and came back on Saturday morning.  It sounds like they had lots of fun.

Here are some irrelevant pictures:

Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.  Yum.

In Harry Potter Land.  I took this picture all by myself.

It's a pillow...it's a pet...it's a pillow pet!

Countdown until Christmas: 225 days

Countdown until school is out: 18 days

Countdown until we go to Hawaii: 23 days

Countdown until Friday: 4 days

Spring Fun

Since I last blogged, our family has had some fun outings and some fun at home. First of all, our little dog Molly had a birthday! So we had a party. She turned three. It was fun.

We had a wonderful time at the Thanksgiving Point Gardens for the tulip festival. It was beautiful. We were very excited to see the beginnings of a permanent exhibit of Angela Johnson's sculptures of the life of Christ. Eventually there will be 15 life-sized sculptures, but right now most are still small and 3 are big. It is already stunningly beautiful. (I was so amazed that I forgot to take any pictures of them, but I'll include some of the kids on this beautiful day.) I predict that eventually when the exhibit is finished, people will come from all over the world to see it.

Abby and I went to see The Secret Garden at the Hale Center Theater. It was amazing. The lead male was an friend of ours, we met him in Nauvoo, and it was so fun to see him and his wife. They are such nice people. So here's Abby with Dallin and Rachel.

Alex and McKay had a great time at the 9th Grade World Fair. Their helper had been working with them on the information to present Bangladesh since January. They had lots of visual things and she programmed their iPad so that they could tell everyone all about Bangladesh. Todd made a lovely yogurt drink, Mango Lassi, to serve. It was really fun.