So This Is Christmas

Time is simply flying by!  With the kids only getting out of school on the 23rd, it felt as though our Christmas was here and gone before we knew it.  While the kids at home don't go back to school until the 6th, Ethan has to be back at BYU well before then and flies out on New Year's Day, and none of us are happy about that.  😢

Since the likelihood is low that I'll be blogging again before December is over, I'm going to do my best to cram everything Christmas related into this post so I can finish the year out with a bang.  And since I'm currently struggling to think of a cohesive way to script a narrative for the past couple of weeks, I'm going to cheat and bullet point my way through.  Hahahaha.  Here we go...

• Decking the Halls

When we got back from our Thanksgiving week in Utah, we hauled out the holly (and the boxes of Christmas decorations) and put the kids to work.  Hahaha.  They did do the bulk of the decorating, however, while one of my only contributions was to buy a new (fake) Christmas tree since our old one bit the dust last year and was tossed out when the season was over.  If we're being nit-picky, I'd have to say that -- technically -- the decorating was never fully finished (we never got around to putting up the outside lights, and we certainly didn't get all of the ornaments up on the tree), but all in all, there was enough done to make it feel like Christmas and that's all that really matters.  Right?  Hahaha. 

• Dreaming of a White Christmas
  

While the weather here in the South was a balmy 60-70* for the last week or two, Ethan supplied me with enough wintry wonderland pictures from Utah to pretend that we had a white Christmas as well.  Hahahaha.  The snow really is beautiful -- and I like to say that if it's going to be cold, it might as well snow -- but I can't say that I've hated how lovely the weather here has been.

Canon Center Christmas decorations on point.

Ethan and his roommate, Ethan.  

(Since there are a total of 4 Ethans on their dorm floor, his roommate goes by Rush -- a shortened form of his last name -- instead.)

• It's the Holiday Season

The week after we got home from our Thanksgiving vacation, we had the pleasure of attending Jane's Winter Band Concert, and I'm not gonna lie -- it was the perfect length of time for a junior high concert.  The performance lasted 30 minutes tops, and I was truly impressed with how well they have learned to play music over the course of the semester.  Especially considering that many of them, like Jane, have most likely never read a music note in their life.  It's quite amazing.  My worries that Alex and Isaac would be a handful while we were there were all for naught, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how riveted Isaac was by the musical performance.  

The winter concert was held at the High School's performing arts center and it certainly made for a much classier affair than the fall concert in the junior high cafeteria/auditorium.

Overall, I'd have to say that "lazy" was the vibe of our Christmas season, and several of our family traditions were either dropped or abbreviated instead.  For example, this was the first year that I can remember skipping out on our annual decorating of the gingerbread houses.  Sophie and Jane apparently felt the loss enough that they rectified the situation on their own and created their own houses one night last week.  

Jane opted for the glue gun method of joining her house -- complete with glue gunning the house to the plate.

Sophie went with the more traditional royal icing method of joining, but it appears as though her efforts extended more towards the "snow" on the plate than any actual decorating of the house.

Alex put together this cute little nutcracker LEGO set.

• A Holly Jolly Christmas

By time Christmas Eve had rolled around, the kids had been chomping at the bit for DAYS to open presents.  And in case anyone is wondering who was the worst about it, it was Ethan.  Hahahahaha.  Seriously, though.  I made the huge mistake of sending him out on a Christmas shopping errand last week (to buy one of Scott's gifts) and from the moment he got home with it until the time finally came for family presents, Ethan hounded {and hounded and hounded} us to open it.  

Christmas Eve has always been the day we open non-Santa gifts, and it seems as though each year we end up opening those presents earlier and earlier in the day.  Hahaha.  Since one of Grace's main love languages has always been gifts, she was insistent on picking out presents for all of her siblings even though I don't think anyone reciprocated.  Once Grace had doled out her gifts and the kids had tackled the "family presents" from me and Scott (some new games and a puzzle), they skedaddled for the rest of the afternoon to do whatever their hearts desired until it was time to celebrate Jolabokaflod.  {For those not in the know, Jolabokaflod is an Icelandic holiday tradition where everyone exchanges books on Christmas Eve and spends the rest of the night reading and eating chocolate.  Obviously I had to incorporate such a magnificent tradition into our own home.}

These books were from the girls.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but Sophie found a cool way to wrap presents on TikTok and the one on the far right is hers.  Grace's note on the back of her gift made me laugh out loud, and I loved Jane's paper/ribbon combo.

(To: My mommy

p.s. I didn't even read what this is about, I just say this to you all the time -- but it is of the YA genre you requested so knock yourself out!! -- Grace )

Everyone was pleased as punch with the books I picked out for them -- except for Isaac.  To quote my favorite 6 year old: "Mom, did you realize I'm not a baby anymore?"  LOL.  Apparently he was offended by my board book offerings because they weren't "cool."  Oh well.  My love for BabyLit books is clearly higher than his, and my calculated risk that he would love them, too, failed.  Live and learn, I guess.

My other choices did a better job hitting the mark:

Ethan -- a book of piano music

Grace -- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Sophie -- Sense and Sensibility

Jane -- My Lady Jane

Alex -- Mothering Heights (a Dog Man book)

Scott -- Pines (book 1 in the Wayward Pines trilogy)

My haul from...

Jane -- Blended

Grace -- Yes No Maybe So

Alex -- The Glass Hotel

Ethan -- The Armchair Economist

"Isaac" -- West Side Story

Scott -- Revelations in Air

Sophie -- On Animals

Christmas morning dawned bright and early for me when I woke up at 4:30 and couldn't fall back asleep.  Alex and Isaac were up a couple of hours later but we held them off until 7 before forcing everyone else to get up.  My "scavenger hunt" idea from last year to find their presents under the tree was a big enough hit that they requested the same for this year, and I happily obliged.

An example from Ethan's clues -- 1.) "SANTA LOVES" paper with a black gingham ribbon, 2.) grey paper with deer and a red/white striped ribbon, and 3.) green scales paper with white gauzy ribbon

I haven't done matching Christmas jammies in a while, but when I saw these at Target, I couldn't resist.  And I super couldn't resist when I found matching DOG pajamas as well.  Hahaha.

After they each found their three gifts, they circled up and took turns opening one present at a time from youngest to oldest.  On their clue cards, I put an asterisk next to their main gift, and I thought it was hilarious that everyone but Isaac chose to save the "best" for last.  Isaac wanted his first.  Haha.  As always, I did an amazing job as Mrs. Claus and everyone was happy with their loot.  

If I were handing out superlatives, I'd have to say that Jane wins "Best Reaction" of the morning, hands down.  Is there anything funner than surprising someone with the thing that they REALLY, really wanted, but thought there was no way in heck they'd actually get???  I think not.  Hahaha.  If I were to continue the superlatives, Grace's anatomically correct skeleton would obviously win "Strangest Gift" and Isaac was easily the "Most Impatient Present Opener."  Alex would probably win "Overall Most Joyful" and Ethan and Sophie would share the award for "Most Outside-the-Box Gift" -- Ethan with our family road trip blog books I printed out for him, and Sophie with a monthly subscription to Once Upon a Book Club (YA edition).

Her "Once Upon a Book Club" YA box -- it comes with a book plus coordinating wrapped gifts.

Not gonna lie -- I picked this "Paper Maker" out as much for myself as I did for Jane.  Hahahaha.

Fun fact -- Sophie's latest obsession is rollerblading.  She's been begging for a pair of her own for weeks now.

There's that "Best Reaction" shot.  Hahaha.

Yes -- she has been wanting a skeleton for months now.  And not a Halloween-y type play skeleton, but an anatomically correct, scientific one.  I aim to please.  It's all about that Christmas magic.  Haha.

Most hilarious quote of the weekend --

ISAAC: (said tearfully) "You know I just like to watch!" 

(In response to me ordering all of the children to clean up their mess in the piano room.)

"Clyde" and Grace

Well, folks -- that's all I've got!  We've had a lovely time this past week playing games, sleeping in, and hanging with the fam, and I fully intend to enjoy every second of the rest of the time we have together while all of our chicks are back in the nest.   To close, I'll leave you with this year's "Christmas Card Picture," and "Newsletter."  (Spoiler alert -- the picture is not actually Christmas-y and the newsletter does not actually contain any news.)

(Picture taken on the trail to the Heceta Head Lighthouse in Oregon)

Merry Christmas!  

Rather than bore you with the mundane details of our 2021, we decided to go a different route instead — book recommendations, from our family to yours. (Because everyone always wants to know what to read next, right??)  Our favorite reads of the year are…

Isaac (6) — Boy Meets Dog: A Word Game Adventure by Valerie Wyatt and Dave Whamond

Alex (10) — Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling & The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Jane (12) — Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pies by Jordan Sonnenblick

Sophie (14) — The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer

Grace (17) — The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan & The Great Gatsby  by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Ethan (18) — The Armchair Economist: Economics and Everyday Life by Steven E. Landsburg

Jessica (41) — The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis, The Rose Code by Kate Quinn, & Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb

Scott (44) — Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

We hope the end of this year finds you happy and healthy, and may peace and joy find you in the year to come!

{You can follow our family adventures all year long at www.bunnysauce.blogspot.com}