Top Ten of Christmas 2015!

10.   It was 70º and humid!
 Now I'm a Minnesota girl who actually doesn't mind a white Christmas, but, hey, if it's not snowy, then why not warm enough for short sleeves?   It was awesome! 

9.  I didn't cook!
We used to try to do a fancy meal either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but a few years ago, I followed the lead of my friend, Karen, and opted for simplicity and low stress.  Now we go out on Christmas Eve (this year it was Cheesecake Factory) and eat something easy on Christmas Day.  We still have a nice family dinner and our Christmas in Bethlehem dinner sometime during the break, but it's so much more enjoyable not doing it on Christmas!

8. We played games!
...and got a few new games, including a funny, weird game filled with lots of childish potty humor called Exploding Kittens.  

7. It was filled with gloriously wonderful music!
We have the best ward choir director EVER (no exaggeration) and are surrounded by exceptionally talented people.   The Christmas music was definitely one of the highlights of the season.

6.  Our Christmas devotional!
I copied these booklets filled with scriptures, music, and beautiful pictures from a friend several years ago and they're still one of my favorite elements of our Christmas traditions.

5.  Christmas card love!  
Not only did I have way too much fun writing our letter this year, but I am loving our full mailbox!    Stay tuned for a blogpost with  our card and letter soon (just in case you didn't get a copy in the mail)!

4.  Awesome Christmas pajamas!
When I bought them back in October, I had no idea that we would actually need short-sleeve pjs for Christmas, but as it turned out, it was serendipitously perfect!   And, as a bonus,  we looked cute in them, if I do say so myself.

3.  Exclamation marks!!!
I often have to hold myself back from punctuating every sentence with exclamation marks, but fun holidays, like Christmas, give me the perfect excuse to be unapologetically exclamatory!!!!!!!!  
!!

2.  Everyone was happy!
Last year we had some jealousy/disappointment amongst a couple of the kids, which was very discouraging to us on several levels.  This year, to our delight,  everyone was happy, grateful, and content.

1.  Having everyone home!
By far the best part about this Christmas is having all seven of us together.   Now that Cami lives across the country and Glen works long, crazy hours, I treasure these moments more than ever.   

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!   

Top Five Reasons to Not Visit Michigan

(from our trip 9/25-9/26)

5.  Better stop at the bank (or get out your EZ pass) before driving to Michigan.   The shortest way, by far, to get from DC to Michigan has toll roads galore.

4.  Where in the hand are you?    Want to impress a Michigander?   Ask where in the hand they are from.    I personally don't have a grasp of Michigan geography and though I randomly knew about the hand trick, thanks to my friend Kelly,  the one time I was asked where in the hand (by a non-Michigander clearly) where Ann Arbor was, I could only give a blank stare and plead ignorance.  

3.   They call the University of Michigan stadium,  "The Big House," but in my personal opinion, they should change the name  to  "The Averagely Large Stadium with the Most Uncomfortable Seating in America".    Seriously!   The bench seating is clearly designed for people who weigh approximately 75-lbs and have freakishly short legs.    On the bright side, though, the stadium did make for a great family snapshot!

2. Sure the campus is absolutely beautiful, but a little campus trash clean-up would go a long way in improving its appearance to outsiders.        I've been on a lot of college campuses in my life, but I have never, ever seen so much trash strewn everywhere as there on the University of Michigan campus.   Wadded under bushes, along the curb....off and on campus....it was unsightly and clearly more than just a game day phenomena.

1.  University of Michigan  totally shut down our football team.      There's nothing like sitting there completely decked out in your enemy gear, being surrounded by the home crowd, and having absolutely nothing to cheer about for an entire game!

Michigan-31  /  BYU-0

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Things NOT to complain about:

The weather---it was absolutely perfect the whole time we were there!

The company---The Michigan fans were gracious and kind to us (most of them anyway) and we had plenty of company in our misery.

Not only did we run into the M, H, P, and N families from our ward/stake, but my brother Peter and nephew Davin came with us in our car, AND my dad and brother, Nate, flew in for the occasion!   

Though it didn't exactly turn out to be the grand weekend we'd planned...

It was great to spend time together as a family.   

And since it was Ellie and Davin's first time to Michigan (and meeting a BYU football player), we will still call it  a success!   

Go Cougars!   

Top 10 of Cabin Life

The cabin in Island Park, Idaho is a family treasure.   

Glen's maternal grandparents built it themselves many years ago and Glen's been going to it every few years since he was a child.  Because of how far it is from home, we don't get to it as often as we'd like, but over the years we have made a lot of irreplaceable memories there.   Here are a few from our trip there this summer (Aug. 10-15, 2015).

    

 TOP TEN AWESOME THINGS ABOUT THE CABIN 

(in no particular order):  

10. The hammock.  

 What better way is there to relax outside than a cozy hammock big enough for three?  My kids consider the hammock one of their favorite things about the cabin and it is not infrequent to find one of them out there taking a nap on it!   When Cami had a fever for a few days, she spent a lot of time there on the hammock!

9.  Wazowie!  

 Glen's grandpa used to give him a big giant underdog push on the swing and yell, "WAZOWIE!!!" as he let go.    Glen told the kids about that memory one day and now he's constantly giving "Wazowie" pushes whenever we visit the cabin.   Probably more than he cares to.  But it's something the kids love, so he does it anyway! 

8.  Yellowstone.   

 Island Park is only about 20-minutes away from the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park, so we always like to spend at least a couple of the days we are at the cabin touring around the park.  We love the beautiful drives, hikes, and gorgeous vistas! 

7.  Wildlife 

Bison, moose, elk, zebra, great gray owl, bald eagles, prairie dogs, marmots...we love all the wildlife we see around the cabin!  Most of it we see in Yellowstone, but the two moose were actually in Henry's Fork of the Snake River near Macks Inn and the great gray owl and bald eagle were right in the backyard of the cabin!   

6.  Campfires

Every time we sit around a campfire, I always think that we should make them more often.  I love the conversations and the delicious fire-roasted food! 

5. Being Outside

The thick humidity and swarms of  bugs that are par for the course during DC summers, are noticeably absent in the West.    It did get pretty hot during the day, but it didn't have the same oppressive feel and the cooler (bug-free) evenings made it downright delightful to be outdoors!  

4.   Fishing! 

Glen is a fisherman at heart and he tries to work a little fishing into every vacation we go on.  We've been fishing in some pretty amazing places over the years--New Zealand, Asheville,  Canada, Minnesota, etc.      The crystal clear waters around Island Park though, are home to some of the best freshwater fishing in the entire world.  Henry's Fork of the Snake River is just a stone's throw from the cabin,  and most, if not all,  of my children have caught their first fish right under the bridge at Macks Inn.   

You can't fish at Big Springs, but we love to go see the amazingly pure water right as it bubbles from the earth and the large fish that  thrive there in the clear water that manages to stay 52º F year round!   

3.  The "stray" dogs-

-they aren't actually stray, but it's small towny enough that the neighbors let them wander freely and my kids took full advantage.   My kids loved friendly snuggles and games of fetch, and I loved that it helped alleviate a little of their sadness at leaving our own canine at home.   

2.  The Playmill in West Yellowstone!   

We saw performances of Mary Poppins (see below) and Damn Yankees (because you know me and how I like dams).   We love the small theater homey feel and we especially love the fun atmosphere and high quality performances.   We try to go to at least one performance every time we're in town.

1.   FAMILY!!!!  

 This is the best part of all.   We picked up Grandma Sandy in Denver on the way there and Aunt Lara and family flew in from California to join us.  We absolutely LOVED having them there and were especially excited to meet Carissa (1) and Caleb (3)  for the first time!   We are already looking forward to our next visit!