Christmas is Over, The Geese Got Really Fat

Well, only half of that is true. The geese didn’t get too fat- we only gained a pound or two. The calendar says December 26 and it’s back to reality. David has been up since before 6:00 a.m. working on coding booklets for NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) testing and I helped a couple of hours. But the memories of Christmas Past (a la 2008) are about to be immortalized as only they can be as a blog post.

We returned to Utah from California and half of December was already over. Luckily, before we left for California, we hit the day after Thanksgiving sales and cashed in on “killer deals” on two little trees for the porch and a new artificial tree for our living room. (We “caved in” after years of dead fresh trees by Christmas and bought one for our living room.)

Snow came about the same time as our return and, of course, the birds had to be fed...

and we discovered that a couple of rabbits had taken up residence in our backyard.

By the time we got started on decorating for Christmas, all our neighbors had their houses lit and decorated for about 3-4 weeks. (Remember- “Thanksgiving came late this year.”) We really had to “play catch-up.” To make up for the lack of a fresh tree, we bought a fresh cedar garland. I “trimmed”...

and David cleaned up after me.

This year, we were in charge of the Tanner Family Christmas Party. We decided on our mission, after attending a wonderful Ward Christmas party with the centerpiece being assembling Hygiene Kits for LDS Humanitarian Services, that if we were in charge of a big Christmas party, we would like to do the same thing. So, that’s what we did. We planned, organized, invited, and did the bulk of the buying before we left for California and finished the preparations the week we came back. The party was wonderful! We had soup, salads, and rolls before we started work on the hygiene kits. It is so true- “many hands make light work” and we had lots of hands- little ones...

and bigger ones! It took very little time to assemble 72 kits. We enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies and then Grandma Tanner shared a story about giving at Christmas and “feeling good from the inside out” that entertained the kids of all ages.

Each child had been invited to bring new or gently used toys to donate to LDS Humanitarian Services to go orphanages around the world. Grandpa and Grandma filled in for Santa and Mrs. Santa and kids filled the giant red bag to overflowing.

We were very excited about how the party turned out. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it, there was lots of interaction between individual families, we had lots of good food and fun, and we all felt good about the service we were able to give.

Which brings us to the week of Christmas… We finally got the tree decorated a couple of days before Christmas ...

and the rest of the house (upstairs) was done by Christmas Eve.
With no family here for Christmas, we pared down and just decorated for ourselves and got it done when we got it done. We planned a few fun activities to keep us busy- Ballet West’s Nutcracker, Temple Night with the Ward, brunch with another “empty-nester” couple Christmas morning, and talking to our kids and grandkids on Christmas Day.

It was a joyful Christmas. Our big present this year was getting our living room done and we love it! The last pieces came in time to decorate for Christmas.
Since we haven’t posted pictures for a while, you can see our new room as it is decked out for Christmas.

While Christmas Day has passed, we still have lots to celebrate and we appreciate all those gifts that will last- a wonderful family, good friends, and each other.

Most important of all, we have the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, with all its blessings, and throughout the year, we will remember

Tender Mercies

My life is full of “tender mercies,” but I have been especially blessed this last week. By the miracle of the internet, I was able to hear Brian sing "I'll be home for Christmas" (sigh- we'll miss him!) at his Ward Christmas party (Soirée Serenade) , read that his broken foot has healed and he is walking around, albeit somewhat crazily, on two good feet, and learn that our grandson, Braden, is wishing for his two front teeth this Christmas. By phone, I learned that Julie’s broken leg is healing. And, I had the opportunity, with David, to visit Tom, Amy, Jacob, Allison, and Gideon in California. (David attended a leadership training conference for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, in which we will be involved in January through the first of March. We went down early to spend some time with the Omer Family.)

Here are some highlights of our trip…

Hiking up to Griffith Observatory. These guys are world class hikers. Los Angeles was spectacular in the distance. On the other side of the mountain was Hollywood and its famous sign.

A fun time was had by all! Getting ready for church... Grandpa was in charge of Jacob's close shave...

while Grandma loved getting Allison "all dolled up!"

Visiting Jacob's pre-school...

Postgame Jenga after FHE...

A chance to read together...

And hang out at our hotel... loved the warm hot tub.

Jacob and Allison braved the chilly water and weather to show Grandma their swimming skills.

Ahh... a towel and a snuggle is a good thing.

On our way to Los Angeles, David and I spent a wonderful afternoon at the magnificent Getty Center- awesome gardens...

wonderful art...

and amazing architecture.

Then we headed down to Hollywood, where the last but a significant tender mercy occurred. We were one exit away from our destination, the Pantages Theater, when we hit heavy traffic. We slowed down, but the car in front of us apparently didn’t. He swerved and laid rubber and we put on the brakes. For a calm second or two, we thought we were fine, until the car behind us slammed into us. The best laid plans of walking around Hollywood before heading to the theater evaporated as we waited quite a while for the Highway Patrol to arrive. Once we were safely off the freeway, another officer arrived and the two of them worked quickly to get us on our way to the theater to see... “Wicked.”

We arrived just in time for the bell warning the audience to be seated. We really did enjoy the show, but the experience was dampened by our highway mishap and sore necks, as a result. However, we were so full of gratitude for tender mercies. We could have been going much faster and following much closer, with disastrous effects. The car behind us could have been going faster and following closer, with disastrous effects. Our rental car sustained scrapes and dents

but the other car had some major damage, including a bumper that was about to fall off on the side not seen in the picture.

We could have suffered significant injuries, but we were pretty much ok. We did find out that the insurance company of the people who hit us has agreed to cover everything, including medical care if we need it. Our insurance company will never hear about it.... We are truly blessed and we acknowledge all those tender mercies we experienced during our visit to California.

Hooray for Halloween!

Most years at Halloween, I find myself hanging out at the Salt Lake Clinic doing flu shots. Departments battle each other for the best decorations, the best pumpkin carvings, and everybody gets "Booed" with anonymous treats. It's fun. About half the clinic employees dress up for Halloween, some of whom really get into it and are hilarious, especially our head hauncho, Ross. So, there is some peer pressure to dress up more or less. I went looking for a costume at our local favorite costume shop, D.I., and found a cute Old Navy long sleeved tee with pumpkin. Then I set out to find something to go with it. Wednesday, I found exactly what I was

looking for- classic Charlie Brown- not only fun, but comfy, and I can wear them for PJ's.

So, here I am, on my way to work this morning, carrying our little Flu Shot Clinic

Great Pumpkin. (Thanks, Grandpa Tanner!)

After work, it was time to get ready for who knows how many kids. Each year it's a big guessing game. Looks like we'll come out about even this year.

David likes to hand out the candy and he really gets a kick out of wearing his costume-

imported from Scotland. He is really fun with the kids. Gotta enjoy them since we

don't have grandkids around.

Here's a shot of a huge gang of kids that showed up at our door. Many of them we

don't know because they come up from other areas in vans.

One last shot... this adorable little giraffe who was savoring every moment and treat!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Multiple Choice

For a long time, the only two choices for a B-B-Q meal around our house have been semi-burned or semi-raw... or spend a lot of time babysitting the food and turning often. Our old B-B-Q was purchased about the time we moved into our home, almost 30 years ago. After David helped Brad put together their new B-B-Q, he has been thinking about all those hot spots and cold spots and that B-B-Q's would be going on sale at the end of the summer season. We were in luck and a great one was found, already assembled(!), that would offer us two choices for fuel- propane or natural gas. While David did not have to assemble it, he did do the conversion from propane to natural gas and we're ready to grill! Now our B-B-Q options are multiple choice and the big question is... what shall we B-B-Q first?

Minnesota Memories

(Written on the plane to Boston- in August. I totally understand the terms "blogshaustion" and "blogbligation," coined by my blogging daughter and son.) As we fly off from Minnesota, we are loaded down with a ton of memories from our stay with our daughter and her family. Our Nauvoo trip was great and then we returned to MN and settled down to some serious fun, helping Brad out with Braden, Dallin, and Trevor while Emily orchestrated the fun for her Ward at Girls’ Camp.

When Emily returned, the fun continued. Here are some of the highlights of our time in Minnesota:

Hanging out with the gang, including White Dog, and lots of story time with Grandma and Grandpa (I still cry reading Stone Fox!)

Baking cookies with Grandpa (and Grandma) a couple of times

David learning virtual BMX racing from Braden and then the real thing- starring Braden and Dallin

Catching frogs and catching the free Wednesday morning kids movies
Fishing at a nearby lake and checking out the Sheriff’s squad car- the flashing lights were great!

Morning runs and playing in the park- Braden and Dallin riding their bikes & Trevor in the stroller
Lessons in pumping on the swings- David is an expert teacher/coach!

Applauding the cool jumps

Christening the newly assembled grill

Enjoying one of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes on a Sunday evening Celebrating our 36th anniversary at the beach and visiting some great Minneapolis museums

Celebrating David’s 64th birthday at Chuck E Cheese’s- gotta love the frog game spitting out tons of tickets!
Watching the Olympics and getting in a couple of “chick flicks” with Emily
And the finale… telling the animals and the kids to “Say Cheese and Monkeys” at the zoo...followed by the Twin Cities River Rats putting on quite the waterskiing show on the Mississippi River, with Minneapolis in the background.
Our trip was great and we appreciate the "over-the-top" hospitality and non-stop fun. We loved being able to spend time with our cute grandsons and Brad and Emily. As David said several times, “It’s fun being a Grandpa!” I add my enthusiastic shout, "It's fun being a Grandma!" We really love the times we get to hang out and get close to our kids and grandkids who live so far away!