Tis the season...

Okay, so I am suffering from major "bloglag" (this is a term coined by Sharon, copyright pending). December is typically my slowest month for work, but not this year. Since mortgage rates have dropped like crazy, I have been swamped and many a good blog post has passed me by. This is truly upsetting to me (not the work, I'm happy for the business) because Fall and Christmas are my favorite time of year and my blog intentions have been seriously marred due to first the computer issues and now being too busy. I have major cute picture backup going on and I wonder if they will ever get their day in the sun :(
So here is our holiday season so far in a serious of "miniblogs" meant to simplify, organize and highlight the positive. (I am asking Santa to magically do this to my life too for Christmas....oh and to send some of his cleaning elves to my house).

Thanksgiving Feast



We do two Thanksgivings each year, a short stop at my Grandma's house where we hang with my family and pick at a few vegetables or potatoes (hoping not to offend but saving our appetites for later). The real spread comes at David's mom's house. She goes all out every year. Fresh turkey from up north that they go pick up themselves and homemade everything else. I am obsessed with her yams....I never knew orange mush could taste so good. I wonder how long I can get away with her doing all this and me bringing the rolls. I hope forever.

Endless Christmas Parties

It seems we have had at least two Christmas parties every week all December. The most memorable was David's work party early in December at the Grand America. The food was great, the decorations beautiful, but the program was neverending. Everyone had to stay to the end because they were raffling off cool prizes and there was a cash-filled balloon drop at the end (that ended up being a joke, seeing formally-dressed adults scrambling for balloons that ended up containing a random dollar here or there was just wrong).
They had an American Idol type contest where previously chosen (or volumteered) employees performed, for the most part, songs with entirely inappropriate subject matter. One lady sang a song she wrote for her 15 year old daugther who was kidnapped and raped and had a baby. It was a tragic story, but not something you bring up or sing about at a work Christmas party where most of the guests are men. She even brought her daugther and her baby on the stage during the song and I swear the awkwardness was paplable.
Another highlight was an overweight girl who had stuffed herself into a tiny (and I mean we-feared-a-wardrobe-malfunction tiny) black dress and red stilettos and warbled through a drunken version of "Santa Baby". Classic.
But we managed to walk away with a brand new blu-ray/dvd player for five hours of our time:



We then promptly returned the blu-ray player to Costco and got our kids some Christmas presents instead because we are just cool parents like that :)


Special Delivery

This year we wrote and mailed letters to Santa, stamps and all. Ashton was extremely excited at the prospect and insisted on writing his own (after I helped him with spelling).









But the best part of this whole holiday ritual was the little green envelope that arrived in our mailbox just a week or two later. It was addressed to "The Kent Boys" and came straight from Candy Cane Lane in the North pole, it read:



It delighted Ashton to no end which of course made my day.

MoTab and my freezing legs

Every year, we somehow fanagle tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert. I have a love/hate relationship with this tradition. I love the concert and the spirit of the beautiful conference center decked out with Christmas lights and garland. I hate:
1) Trying to find a babysitter for like 7 hours because all my family goes (Thanks Jamie)
2) The traffic
3))Masses of people everywhere when you are trying to get out of there when it is over.
4The FREEZING temperature and having to walk a mile to your car with bare legs.

You see, I hate nylons. I don't profess to have perfect legs but I hate the feel of nylons and they run the minute you put them on so why bother? Well on nights like these, you bother because if you don't, your legs feel like two over-sized icicles attached to your torso which only serve to make the rest of you that much colder. We managed to snap one photo below on the way there. (Note aforementioned icicle legs sporting sporting seasonally-inspired mega goosebumps and finished off with cute brown Mary Jane heels that David gave me for Christmas last year).



And while we are on the subject of frozen appendages...does anyone know of a good nose mitten? My nose is constantly cold and has caused David to nickname me "Rudolph" (I know, soooo clever). I can't stand it and have seriously begun to consider inventing one of these things to put me out of my misery.

The Frosty Hitchhiker

With all the mounds of new snow we have gotten in the last week, Ashton was very anxious to build a snowman. My ever-brilliant and creative husband decided the best way to show off a good snowman was to take it with you everywhere. Thus, he nearly broke his back lifting giant-sized snowballs into our truckbed to give us this extra passenger who has been quite a hit with out fellow drivers.





Kindergarten Christmas

Ashton's Kindergarten Christmas came complete with Karate kicks and decidedly awesome dance moves to "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas". Last year for preschool he threw a huge tantrum and sulked in the back most of the time, so this year was an enormous improvement (Zander took his place in the back with the tantrums and mischief, thanks to David for taking Daddy duty while I filmed the program).


I know this one is kinda dark, but they were really getting into this Rudolph version, it was hilarious:



And of course the program was capped off with a visit from Santa. This year they went all out and actually got one with a real beard...impressive.



But the best part was when we got home and Ashton gave me his present that they had made in school. The card Ashton declared was "made with love" and the wrapping paper was decorated by his very own hand with Christmas trees and reindeer.





When I opened the package, I broke down in tears, it was beautiful and thoughtful and something we will cherish for years to come. I was so grateful to his teacher for putting something like it together.



Misc. Holiday Sidenotes

1. I finally dragged David Christmas shopping this last weekend. We haven't really gotten that much done and I tried to make a date of it. Well, after one hour he starts slumping and moaning and complaining of "achy legs and back". You got to be kidding me, this guy is always boasting of his strength and such and a few laps around the mall give him leg cramps....ridiculous.
2. I sang in church today and I am amazed at how nervous I can get. I sang a version of "Once in Royal David's City" by my highschool choir teacher (it is awesome) and the moment I get up there I swear I forget how to breath and my swallowing mechanism goes into overdrive. I think I managed to mask it well enough by making it sound like "phrasing" choices rather than involuntary breathing breakdowns, but who knows. I'm way out of practice.
3. Zander is starting to really take on the challenge of talking. He mimics a lot of what we do and his new favorite thing is to go around the house bellowing "Ho, ho, ho!" He's even got the little round belly to boot.
4. The other day at Walmart, Ashton asks me for some toy or something and I told him no, that we were saving our money for Christmas presents right now when Ashton declared loudly, "But Mom! Christmas costs less at Walmart!" Hmmmmmm....

And finally, another vintage Christmas moment for your entertainment pleasure. I found this at my mom's house and couldn't resist.



Christmas of 1987 or 1988 in San Bernardino, CA before Alisha was born. Let's break it down:
1)My Dad before he succumbed to the old man glasses and graying hair.
2)My mom was beautiful even in middle age.
3)Yes, at one point April had just as much curly hair as Jamie and I...we're not sure what happened.
4)Julene doing her "Julene pose" that she made in all photos of the eighties and nineties. I'm so glad her wicked stepsister personality faded and we are friends now
5) Jamie when she was so little and innocent...we're not sure what happened with her either :)
6) Our family dog Buffy. The only animal I have ever truly loved enough to look past her pooping in the living room. She even slept in my room people.
7) And me, at 10 years old I'm sure I thought that red sweatshirt and sideswept hairdo were stylish, but you would think a few older sisters and a mother would have helped me out, you know?

Merry Christmas!!