Christmas Season Double Special!
Since having come back from California, baby Elizabeth has learned to sit and she is still only nearly crawling. She has made progress - she can take little "steps" with her feet and occasionally her hands - but she hasn't put it all together yet. She took a break to get good at sitting once she learned that. She really likes sitting and using her hands. She gets frustrated when she can't get to something out of reach, so she'll be very happy when she learns to crawl. (Although she's a very happy baby in general.)
Monday night after getting back, for our family activity we went to the library to see a teenager acting group from Provo perform a short version of Cinderella. It was a lot of fun. The mice were the kids' favorite characters. The king really hammed up his part, and there was a very funny third trumpeter. We really enjoyed it.
On Last Friday and Saturday we had the Plastows over for a sleep over. The kids were good, and they had a fun time playing with our kids. Brooklyn was sad for her parents a little bit, but Logan was a very good big brother and helped her cheer up. By the end of the trip she was 100% okay with us.
They apparently left their shoes and socks all over the house, so getting them home took a bit, but all in all it was a very fun visit.
At one time while they were over, Mike went out to Tupeas imports and bought a single brick of Samoan Coca (since that was all they had, and their next shipment was coming in this week).
The girls have started making Christmas presents for each other. Mike and Alison also ordered Christmas presents for everyone as well. We used our four gifts system, which Alison has gotten to the point that she's very happy with it: Gold for a King (anything the kids want), Frankincense for a Priest (developing the traits that make us like God: creativity, physical strength, etc), Myrrh for a tomb (something to help you overcome as you learn and grow and progress next year), and Swaddling Clothes because your parents love you but want you to be out of their hair (something for the kids to do Christmas afternoon while Alison and Mike get to enjoy their own presents). Having categories makes it much easier for Alison to think of gifts for everyone.
This past Monday, for our family activity, we saw the "Best Christmas Pageant Ever" by a city volunteer performing group. We all loved it! Alison is reading the book to the kids as part of school, and Rea was very eager to tell everyone how much of the play was directly quoted from the book (most of it). Mike has apparently never read the whole book, so this was his first time hearing the entire plot. It was great. We hope they do it every year so that it can become a tradition.
Tuesday Rea woke up with a cold. It quickly spread to Alison; everyone else got the sniffles but nothing else. Rea is pretty much better by now, and even Alison is starting to feel better. She gets really frustrated that she's so susceptible to colds, but she's been this way as long as she can remember, so it's probably not going to get any better. She wants to figure out a way to live with it.
On Thursday, we went to a Christmas celebration at the stake center. The choir and some smaller ensembles performed gorgeous Christmas music, and everyone got to sing along with some of them. It was a really nice event! Elizabeth pooped through her clothes on Mike about 2/3rds of the way through, so he missed the end. He met up with us at the refreshments, which were donuts and cider. The kids loved that part.
Saturday morning was the ward Christmas party. We had a delicious breakfast, a sing-along, and a Nativity play by the Primary kids. Timmy was a shepherd, Sara was an angel, and Rea was both an angel and an innkeeper (the original innkeeper didn't make it). They all did a great job.
Mike is currently grading finals in his online class. It takes a lot of time, but it is also one of the most rewarding parts of the job. He really enjoys his teaching job. Probably he will keep doing it after he retires.
Monday night after getting back, for our family activity we went to the library to see a teenager acting group from Provo perform a short version of Cinderella. It was a lot of fun. The mice were the kids' favorite characters. The king really hammed up his part, and there was a very funny third trumpeter. We really enjoyed it.
On Last Friday and Saturday we had the Plastows over for a sleep over. The kids were good, and they had a fun time playing with our kids. Brooklyn was sad for her parents a little bit, but Logan was a very good big brother and helped her cheer up. By the end of the trip she was 100% okay with us.
They apparently left their shoes and socks all over the house, so getting them home took a bit, but all in all it was a very fun visit.
At one time while they were over, Mike went out to Tupeas imports and bought a single brick of Samoan Coca (since that was all they had, and their next shipment was coming in this week).
The girls have started making Christmas presents for each other. Mike and Alison also ordered Christmas presents for everyone as well. We used our four gifts system, which Alison has gotten to the point that she's very happy with it: Gold for a King (anything the kids want), Frankincense for a Priest (developing the traits that make us like God: creativity, physical strength, etc), Myrrh for a tomb (something to help you overcome as you learn and grow and progress next year), and Swaddling Clothes because your parents love you but want you to be out of their hair (something for the kids to do Christmas afternoon while Alison and Mike get to enjoy their own presents). Having categories makes it much easier for Alison to think of gifts for everyone.
This past Monday, for our family activity, we saw the "Best Christmas Pageant Ever" by a city volunteer performing group. We all loved it! Alison is reading the book to the kids as part of school, and Rea was very eager to tell everyone how much of the play was directly quoted from the book (most of it). Mike has apparently never read the whole book, so this was his first time hearing the entire plot. It was great. We hope they do it every year so that it can become a tradition.
Tuesday Rea woke up with a cold. It quickly spread to Alison; everyone else got the sniffles but nothing else. Rea is pretty much better by now, and even Alison is starting to feel better. She gets really frustrated that she's so susceptible to colds, but she's been this way as long as she can remember, so it's probably not going to get any better. She wants to figure out a way to live with it.
On Thursday, we went to a Christmas celebration at the stake center. The choir and some smaller ensembles performed gorgeous Christmas music, and everyone got to sing along with some of them. It was a really nice event! Elizabeth pooped through her clothes on Mike about 2/3rds of the way through, so he missed the end. He met up with us at the refreshments, which were donuts and cider. The kids loved that part.
Saturday morning was the ward Christmas party. We had a delicious breakfast, a sing-along, and a Nativity play by the Primary kids. Timmy was a shepherd, Sara was an angel, and Rea was both an angel and an innkeeper (the original innkeeper didn't make it). They all did a great job.
Mike is currently grading finals in his online class. It takes a lot of time, but it is also one of the most rewarding parts of the job. He really enjoys his teaching job. Probably he will keep doing it after he retires.
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