Star Wars!!!

Thanks to Santa's Christmas Eve present last night, we all got to see Star Wars today! Everyone also got a cool Star Wars shirt to wear to the movie. There was a whole lot of excitement and anticipation!

We made sure to arrive nice and early to get good seats. We were pleased with our seats and seriously, everyone loved the movie! Rex got a little nervous at a couple of points and climbed up onto my lap, but he couldn't look away. 

The Nativity Cast

The tradition continues, and this year Evan passed the torch to our family to organize the Nativity.  Matt went to work on costumes and came up with the best beards ever!  I love traditions and I love seeing our kids get excited for those things they remember so fondly.  

Family vs Grandpa's Team - 2015

This fun little tradition started 4 or 5 years ago.  Grandpa invited his full house of visitors to come play in a friendly scrimmage against his high school team.  This year, Cameron got a chance to play too.  Though he preferred to be the scorekeeper, he subbed in a few times and tried his best.  Donovan was aggressive and seemed to have a great time.  Matt was a beast and didn't take a break during the whole scrimmage! I just looked good, it's what I do.  

Visiting Greatest Great Grandparents

The memories I have of my grandparents are all so happy.  I loved going to their house for dinner every Sunday.  I remember some of the sleepovers I got to have there.  Grandma would make great breakfasts and take us with her to church.  I got to sit at the kids table in the dining room at Thanksgiving.  We used to play baseball in the front yard and Chris was automatically out if he hit the ball into the garden.  Sometimes the adults would join us and to play Octopus.  When I got a little older, I got to join in the games the adults played at family gatherings.  I always looked forward to having cousins come from out of town.  I loved going there for Christmas, and meeting Grandma and Grandpa at parks for Easter.  I couldn't begin to elaborate on all the wonderful memories I have of my amazing grandparents.  But today was so perfect.  I loved watching Grandma and Grandpa interact with my kids.  Grandma taught all the kids how to play Yahtzee, and sat down and played with them.  Grandpa made everyone popcorn with such care.  It was a perfect day and I was so grateful to have some special time with my grandparents.  

Driving to Reno, 1st Attempt

We had it planned out perfectly. I would pack the car up and get the house all ready to leave while everyone was at school. Matt would finish grading his finals and get home before 12. I would pick up the elementary school kids before their lunch, then get the middle schoolers at 12:30. We would be on the road before 1:00 and get to Salt Lake before 9:00. 

Then we got to Wyoming. I-80 was closed from Cheyenne to the Utah border due to high winds and blowing snow.  Cars and trucks lined the highway for miles ahead of us and behind us.

We decided to wait it out. And that was boring for a lot of people. 

But we were having a blast up front. Matt was feeling particularly sassy with my sunglasses on.  

And then after 2 hours of waiting, we gave up and decided to go another way and just drive as far as we could. But then the traffic from Wyoming to Denver was bumper to bumper the whole 100 miles so we only got as far as our house. I could tell right away that Rex wasn't feeling well. He had a fever of 102 and didn't want to eat anything. We are putting him to bed and making our decision about when to make our 2nd attempt in the morning. 

Donovan's Holiday Band Concert

I got some pictures of the whole band and Donovan playing his horn, but nothing afterwards, and nothing closer up.  Maybe by the spring concerts I'll be better at getting pictures.  We hadn't heard Donovan practicing very much leading up to this concert, but it seemed like he was playing at all the right parts.  It's a good thing his instrument doesn't stand out too much.  

Working on His Day Off

Last night when we were watching the news, the forecast for today called for 2-4 inches of snow. No big deal. But when I woke up this morning, there was already at least 6 inches of snow and it was going to continue all day. And school was canceled!! 

I don't have any pictures of the kids playing in the snow. Mostly because they didn't play in the snow. They went to the Montroy's house and played Magic the Gathering for most of the morning. Then they hung out inside for the afternoon. 

But Matt worked on his day off and shoveled the foot of snow off our driveway. What a mighty good man.