Merry Christmas!

We are readying ourselves for a Christmas road trip down to Show Low and a flight to Oklahoma immediately thereafter. Things are busy, and I still need to pack, but I wanted to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and share a few pictures.
I just finished making this tree skirt. With the exception of the borders, it is made entirely out of random fabric I already had, so it was economical, too. I am happy with how it turned out.

As I was laying it out to get it ready for quilting, Dane thought I was making a pretty bed.

Dane met Santa at our ward Christmas party. He told Santa he wants a Lightning McQueen toy. I'm pretty sure Santa will provide. In abundance. He told me.


Merry Christmas, everyone. Have a super happy holiday season!

Thanksgiving and Dashing Through the Snow*

My parents came into town for Thanksgiving, which was an especially nice treat for me since I haven't had Thanksgiving with my side of the family in eight years. But having dinner with their lonely daughter wasn't their only reason for coming out. Kenji had his senior recital a couple days before Thankgiving, and he did a great job.


You might find it glaringly obvious that I, his beloved violin-playing sister, was not invited to play in this sextet. Maybe he's trying to punish more for not including more photos of him on my blog. Maybe he's just aware that I hadn't touched my violin in more months than I'd care to admit. Regardless, I was terribly offended.
Here Kenji is with his proud parents and his proud teacher.


Dane was very well-behaved during the recital and then enjoyed himself in the fountain in the lobby.

I didn't take any pictures on Thanksgiving Day, but dinner was delicious, and I successfully cooked my first turkey (with some giblet-removing help from my dad).
The next day was Joel's birthday. If I were a better wife, I would have posted a nice tribute to him on his 31st birthday. But now it's too late. But we still had a happy day together. Happy birthday, dear.
Dane also had a little run-in with my mascara.

Then came time for

SANTA RUN!!!

Shortly after my previous 5K experience, Rika said she'd be in Utah for Thanksgiving and wondered if we could run a 5K together. As I researched the options, I discovered a race in Ogden that required all runners to dress as Santa. We were in. Soon, my dad decided to run with us, and we began creating our costumes. The shirts, hats, and beards were provided. Here were are, gearing up:

You can't tell, but we had bells on our shoes.
Warming up





Here you can see all the Santas milling about:

And then, we're off!







We made it!



It was fun to run all together, though I was definitely the slowest and ended up walking a little bit. Boo. I feel like a big lame for walking at all, but it is a lot easier to think you can make it the whole way when you're sitting on a chair reminiscing than when you're actually running.
Dad got first place in the Hood bracket with 34:36.
Rika got second with 34:50.
I got third with 38:00, which is a bit of an improvement from the first time of 39:14. I tried to sprint at the end to get in under 38 minutes, but my legs disobeyed.
Mom and Kenji were good sports for hanging out in the cold cheering us on. It was a fun day.
Thanks to Kenji for being our photographer. As usual, I forgot to take a picture of him until we were having dinner afterward.

The next day, Kenji played in Music and the Spoken Word. If any of you happened to be watching, they had a close up of him for about 2 seconds. Swish.


At the famed "performers only" door #2 at the Tabernacle.


And Dane got his second-ever but first non-hideous haircut.



Joel's mom came into town, too. We all had Thanksgiving dinner together. It is fun to have both families together like that every once in a while.
That's pretty much it. I was especially thankful for family this year, and I'm grateful that so many family members were able to come and hang out.

*Please note: there was actually no snow during the dashing.

Done

Super Saturday is over.
I am so happy.
I am so tired.
I am so happy.



Also, Kenji has scared a few people by cryptically mentioning a flipped SUV. Back when we went to the apple orchard, we stopped at the bank on the way. As we're waiting in line for the ATM, we hear the sickening crunch of cars smashing. I turned around and saw a cyclist laying on the ground, and I thought he had been hit, which would have been very bad. We all jump out of the car. The cyclist is walking away (so he's not dead) but there is a smashed sedan and an SUV on its side, still rocking from the impact. Kenji actually saw it tip and fall over. Anyway, apparently the SUV (which was being driven by an eight-months-pregnant woman) ran the red light, smashing into the sedan and narrowly missing the cyclist. Everyone was fine. It was pretty scary though. The cyclist was mad that there was so much hubbub about the woman being pregnant because she's the one who caused the crash in the first place. He twisted his ankle or something when he fell. Joel helped the pregnant lady get her stuff out, and the paramedics were there almost immediately, and they got her out. Again, everyone was fine. Crazy, eh? So now the mystery has been solved.

Also, Super Saturday is over.

Other Autumn Airings

We've been doing a few other things lately, both fallish and unfallish, that I haven't gotten around to posting.
A couple of weekends ago, we had unseasonably warm weather, so we decided it was a good car washing day. It had been a while since we'd washed the car, and I honestly couldn't remember the last time we'd vacuumed the inside, so we spent a merry afternoon making it right. Dane got completely soaked before I decided to just change him into his swimsuit, and then he made the most of it.




Have I mentioned that we got a butler who mops our floor in a snazzy blazer and bowtie?

One Sunday, I got dressed for church wearing a new blazer my parents had sent me. Then Joel emerged wearing pretty much the same outfit. So then the only thing left to do was to dress Dane similarly.

Dane and I carved pumpkins the week before Halloween.
This picture belies the fact that he was very wary of the goo inside.


"Mommy! Lookada goo!"

The pumpkin eventually became Curious George. Every time Dane walked by the pumpkin thereafter, he'd casually wave and say "Hi, George."


One morning, Dane and I played in the leaves for a while.


Also, here's a shot of Woody throwing rocks in the "river"

Happy Halloween!

Woody's Roundup!

Right here everyday!
Woody's Roundup, come on it's time to play!

There's Jessie, the yodeling cowgirl
(yodel-ay-ee yodel-ay-ee yodel-ay-ee-oh-oo)

Bullseye, he's Woody's horse
(he's a smart one)

Pete, the old Prospector,
("has anyone seen my pickaxe?")

And Woody, the man himself, of course

It's time for Sheriff Woody!

He's the very best!

He's the rootinest, tootinest, shootinest, hootinest cowboy around!

Woody's Roundup.