December 2013

 Happy December! Elk Grove is more dry and beautiful this time of year than any in the last 100 years. We haven't had any rain and it has been unusually warm. It's hard to complain because we've had so much fun being outside and having opportunity to attend many fun events.
 Tanner's big news of the month is a belt promotion in karate, his first lost tooth, and turning 8 years old. Tanner promoted to a blue belt. It is the last belt in the intermediate group. He learned lots of kicks and sets of moves that he was able to pass off and promote to the next level. He has been working hard and we are very proud of him. His other big news is a lost tooth. For a long time we've been calling him shark tooth. His new adult tooth grew in behind his baby tooth so he had 2 layers. Finally his tooth was loose enough to give it a good tug with some pliers and it came right out. He's was happy that the tooth fairy came to visit after he took great care to put his tooth in a bag under his pillow.
 Parker and Tanner have been doing well in school and prepared wonderful Christmas programs that we were able to watch and cheer them on. Castello's second grade classes gathered in the multi-purpose room and sang several songs with actions and some dancing. Tanner was on the front row, so I had to sneak my way up to the front and find a sweet spot to snap some photos and record the festivities. Tanner's favorite song was "Do you know Blitzen" Darryl was awesome and surprised Tanner by coming in the middle of the afternoon to see the show. Parker and Alyssa wouldn't leave his side. Parker's performance was lots of fun. His preschool teacher taught the kids some very fun and cute songs. Parker did all the actions and performed so well. His favorite song was "Hokie Pokie Reindeer". Parker had the chance to do a winter presentation for gymnastics. He showed off his skill on each of the different apparatus and had a big smile on his face when he finished. He's doing a great job in gymnastics and I know he has a lot of fun with it.

On the second weekend of December the kids participated in the live nativity at the stake center. This is the 8th year our stake has organized the display of the nativity sets and had kids act out the Christmas story. Tanner was a wise man, Parker and Alyssa shepherds. They did a great job and it was fun to invite our neighbors to come and participate. The exhibits were really wonderful.
 December is always riddled with activities related to the holidays, so for Christmas the Moms Club had a party in the afternoon, so some of the older kids could attend. We used the gym at our church and played games, decorated cookies, met Santa, sang songs, and took pictures in the photo booth. It was lots of fun. The moms club right now has a very interesting dynamic with tons of boys. The party had 5 girls and more than a dozen boys. It got pretty rowdy, and a little out of control for awhile but overall it was a fun afternoon. My favorite part was the hot chocolate. One of the moms found a recipe from "The Polar Express" website and made it. I couldn't get enough. It's probably a recipe I will need to dig up.

By the time we reached Christmas Eve, our kids were exhausted and happy to be out of school. Unfortunately that is when the illness settled into our house. Alyssa started the "fun" with a really aweful cough and was laid up for several days. Parker got the cough and it lingered with him for 2 weeks or more, while he was sick he passed it to Tanner that was hit with the full flu virus. In the midst of it all we welcomed my parents and younger brother Steve to our house. They flew in Christmas Eve and we celebrated with a reenactment of the the Christmas Story and the Jesus Stocking. (The Jesus stocking is one we hang on our mantel with all the other stockings and we make a commitment to Jesus on Christmas Eve as our gift to the Savior. Then we write down our gift and put the paper in the stocking to be read on the next Christmas Eve.) It was fun to read past gifts and recommit to being more like the Savior. To stave off illness for the week we juiced the grapefruit from our tree in the back yard. Some
 On Christmas morning everyone slept in. That is my favorite thing the kids do every year. They love to sleep until almost 8:30. Even Alyssa our early bird slept in and finally gave me a morning of leisure. It was one of my best Christmas gifts. The festivities of present opening was fun. Darryl's parents sent some money to pick out gifts, so we decided on a balloon theme for the kids. We found some cool Air Swimmers in the shape of Angry Birds. We filled them with helium, then they have a remote control to move the fins and send the balloon all over the room like it's swimming in the air. Alyssa loved her Tinkerbell helium balloon and dragged it all over the house. Tanner's favorite thing from Santa was a Kindle with Minecraft loaded on it to play. Santa sent him a note that he could play all day and it was his for the day, then he would have to share with his brother and sister after Christmas. Alyssa was excited to get a new Tinkerbell doll from Tanner and some new Barbies. Parker got a monster truck that cruises all over the house. We enjoyed a bunch of movies and fun. Tanner also got all the Harry Potter movies because he's reading them, and as he finishes a book then he can watch the movie. So far we watched year 1 and year 2. The rest are too mature so they will have to wait until he is older. My favorite gifts were from Darryl and Tanner. Darryl promised me 8 hours of PTO (paid time off). Tanner gave me a nap, which I am still waiting to have time to take. My favorite gift to give was a photo book of our family reunion in Washington last summer. I gathered all the photos of the event that I could find, then created a book. It was a lot of fun. The rest of the day was spent playing with toys, watching movies, and napping for most people. Almost every bed in the house was taken.

 We can't end the year without the celebration of Tanner's big birthday. This year he turned 8 years old and was baptized on his birthday. Darryl's parents flew into town to participate in the baptism. Unfortunately Tanner has so very sick for his big day. In the morning we had church and he stayed home sleeping. As the afternoon wore on he could hardly move. We had dinner with the Sorge family that had come for the evening event, and Tanner still couldn't muster some energy. Finally by the time of the baptism service, Tanner woke up enough to put on his suit and tie and sit through the service. He was baptized by Darryl and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We were happy to share the evening with close friends and family. Tanner came home to blow out candles on his brownies then go right back to bed. The adults and friends stuck around for the evening and ate Tanner's favorite desserts in his honor. We had fruit trifle, blackberry crumble a la mode, and brownies. Tanner's health did improve in the coming days and we have been so proud that he will often want to stay up into the evening reading his new scriptures (a generous gift from the grandparents).