....and to all a good night....

...as we hang up the coveted bat and put away the gloves and crown Kyle the 2010 winner of the umpteenth annual Home Run Derby. Eric came in a very close second....with Mason and Joel, um...not doing so well this year but there will be others. It was, as always, lots of fun and there was lots of sun to help us have that fun.

There's really nothin' better than tradition and as I read on the back of Josh's shirt today...."Respect the Tradition".....that's what we've done for the last couple of days, doing what we always do in the name of "tradition"....something we can count on year after year to bring us together, soften our hearts and warm our feelings toward one another as we honor the family unit of Hal and Leila Sullivan.

We can count on the "Count Chocula", the craziness of all ages of children, James being the favorite "kid" this year cause he came to "play"; Colleen's Family Feud game, and always great food. I appreciated Joyce's thoughtful and "thought-out" gift, a Crossword Puzzle Kit that she made for me which included all the necessities as we've gotten addicted to the Spectrum's Crossword Puzzle each morning. Thanks, Joyce; 1 across: what you are (answer: the bomb).

This year we brought out the chimes; haven't done it for a few years but the grand-kids are getting a little older and it truly was a hit with everyone. My dad would've been proud. He made them for this family gathering several years ago.

Mom usually gets the kids matching Dixie State College attire but they all seem to have plenty of that so this year it was Old Navy.

When all is said and done and the holidays are gone, I hope you will face this new year knowing that you got the desires of your heart this Christmas Season and in honor of every little girl that ever wanted an Easy Bake Oven and got it, may all of your wishes come true and your desires for this new year be just as simple and pure. I'm going to go now and enjoy a simple pleasure; a cup of hot chocolate with Cynthia's delicious homemade marshmallows and close the book on another wonderful Christmas filled with fun, family and familiar memories.....the best kind. HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and yours.

....and the winner is...

....I mean the winners are.....(this year we had prizes for everyone but 2 overall winners, one in the adult category and one in the children's category and the prize is to be the first picture on my post)....drum roll......Maycee and JoEllen.

Everyone worked really hard, even the little ones and produced some really creative houses this year. I'm sure the judging was tough.....

...but James did a great job (with a little help from Lauri). I really tried hard to win with my "Most Feminine" house (all pink) but JoEllen's hanging frosting icicles were a shoe-in to win.

Mom showed up and she and Mandy helped with the brick and mortar on my house. Always good to have her here but she made it known she didn't want to judge because she didn't want anyone mad at her.

A good group of very beautiful gingerbread houses (put together by JoEllen). It made for a fun evening of family togetherness and holiday cheer. Thanks, JoEllen and to Lauri for the food (I still can't remember the name of it. I think it's Soya but it's really good; something she learned while in Mexico. We also had tacos.)

The kids spent the rest of the evening creating their Christmas show which is getting more wonderful each year.....(maybe next year it will be so wonderful that more than just me will venture downstairs to attend it).

..and I love catching the little ones in candid moments. Matty loves the little animated (and noisy) Christmas tree and I love watching Miller arrange my nativity scene. I do love my family. It was lots of fun to WebCam with Traci for a minute or two...for some, it was their first time seeing Max. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night...

Remember when I said....

....nothin's real in Disneyland? Well, there was something "real".

It "really" rained but it was o.k. It rained on the Disneyland parade, actually, it rained out the Disneyland parade and a lot of other things but we were able to find the fun that wasn't rained out and yes, we got wet but we found places to be that could dry us out and warm us up....

We boarded the Dixie State College bus at midnight and arrived in time to freshen up and enter the park at 8:00 a.m.

Billy was in fine form as usual and I enjoyed his show several times during the day because it was indoors and warm....and I just do that, one of my favorite Disney attractions. The picture above shows us waiting for the show. We enjoyed getting to know Brian and Joannie. Brian is one of the professors in Kyle's department. They are wonderful people and really fun to hang out with. I do enjoy meeting new people and making new friends along the way. I'm especially talkative when I go to Disneyland and it has paid of in the past. It's the happiest place on earth, for Heaven's sake so why not be friendly, right....

...and I always like to meet some other "Billy Groupies" there. This is Meryl and she also knows Indira that I met a few years ago at Billy's show. She was able to point out a bunch more stuff about Disneyland that I didn't know....some new shows, fun places to eat...etc. You likey my hat????? My hair was so droopy I just decided to give in to being a "hat person". So totally not me but you do what you have to do on a rainy day.

Here we are heading into Kyle's favorite, the Haunted Mansion. I'm pretty sure he did that several times as well.

We discovered that the lobby of The California Grand Hotel was a pretty warm and inviting place to spend a few hours on a cold, wet day. We got home about 7 this morning. Lots of fun.....and Disneyland is always good for what ails ya......

I realized today....

.....that the reason I like going places....is that I like coming home.

Another thing that I've always known that I like is listening to very talented people "do their thing" whatever that may be (and I'm very easily entertained,) but I especially like Acappella groups and I got acquainted with these guys while serving my mission in Salt Lake and have been trying to get back to one of their Christmas concerts for 5 years.......

Eclipse which stands for Especially Clever Lads In Perfect Sync E "tone" ally...(not really, I just made that up 'cause it's late) but they are very good and what made it even better is that James and Lauri let me buy them tickets to go with me. Wasn't that kind of them....actually, very glad to have company and I think they liked it as much as I did....no, I don't think they possibly could but I do think they liked it. (We've become Acappella Groupies). Thanks, you two for accompanying me to this fine event. It's way cold up there so I was looking forward to going home and as you can see in the picture above that it's not always sunny here but it was good to have good travel conditions most of the way and make it home safely to be able to attend something else that I really like....Hurricane Dental Group Christmas parties. Now, I'm not one to really enjoy social gatherings much but this one is always a hit with me and it was especially fun this year because Mason was in charge of the food (Pasta Factory) and Karen was in charge of the games (Holiday Minute to Win it). Lots of fun.

This is a fine group of people that know how to work hard and play hard. Thanks for inviting me along. It was really a fun evening. If you are wondering why I'm a part of Hurricane Dental Group, I'm in charge of advertising. I pass out Mason's business cards.

I have just one more thing that I need to include here that I really like..... (One day I should do a blog about things that I don't like). Anyway.....I do love purses and shopping for them but I also love organizers (meaning anything that I hope will help me be more organized) and it usually comes in the form of a purse. I found this little beauty in Target. It's really a diaper changing tote for moms but I turned it into my wonderful little "sit on my side table" knitting tote. Just another one of my little guilty pleasures. There you have it.....my week-end of "me"....doing the things I like to do. I hope you will be sure to mix in some "guilty pleasures" with all of the hustle and bustle of the holidays. In being kind to those you love, make sure one of "those" is you!!!

Just thinking about "firsts" today.....

.....and this is the first Christmas card I have on record. As I've been sending out a few more cards, I've been thinking today about how important the ol' Christmas card is in my life.

I value the friendships and memories I've made as I've gotten to know people throughout the different phases of my life and for some reason, it's important for me to stay in touch. The Christmas card once a year is, in some cases, the only commmunication I have with people that were once a very important part of my life. As we've turned to e-mail and Facebook for communication these days, I still value the Christmas cards that I receive by mail and I love displaying them so I can see them during the day and each and every one puts a smile on my face because someone cared enough about me to send me one. There you have it.....for what it's worth and I've come a long way since that very first one. Evan asked me why I have 5 stockings when there's only 1 of me....and I didn't really have an answer only that 5 looks better on my mantle than 1. I think he thought me a bit selfish to think that I expected Santa to fill all those stockings just for me....maybe he will, who knows.

That's what it's all about....

Christmas 1999 found our family about as "rock bottom" as it could possibly get....then the call came on Christmas Eve. There was a liver for Scott and we were off to Salt Lake and LDS Hospital to begin the process about 2:00 p.m. By 10:00 that night, he had his new liver...and why do I mention this in my blog today? My kids came together for each other that Christmas Eve.....and they've done it again this year. Nothing makes a mom happier than to see the kids supporting each other. I know they won't always agree with one another and at times there are differences, but what matters to me is that they can come together when help is needed....so let me pay tribute to my five children and their desire to "be there" for each other. Nuff said.....so let me also remember why it's important to keep the traditions going. In hard times, it's the "constants" in life that keep things "real".....nothing more real than the tree I put in my family room each year and every year I'm tempted to go artificial, but here it is, one more year with the same old ornaments I've used for the last 20 plus years. I did lose Traci's but finally replaced it this year and I keep thinking it's time to put the grand kids on but until I do, here they are....my kids. I've enjoyed watching them start new traditions in their families and carrying on some of the traditions we began in our own family. Some of my favorite Christmas traditions are the Christmas cards I get and hearing from friends (I have to send them to get them and some years are easier than others), and I love getting the neighborhood gifts (but haven't been too faithful in giving them but I did get it done this year) and I love knowing that my family will come together on Christmas Eve at my mom's. We don't even have to make the call, we just know what our assignments are year after year. I love Christmas music and Christmas food and Christmas cheer (I have to admit I need to get some of that but I'm trying). So Merry Christmas one and all to whoever may read this. It's just a mediocre year for me but at least I'm trying. It gets better as it gets closer. I still stand by my old favorite saying..... "love so easily understands, what you can see is the smallest part...you don't need Christmas in your hands, when you have Christmas in your heart." P.S. Just another thought....when life gets "too real" for ya, just go to Disneyland....nothin's real there!!!!!! Oh, yeah....

It's usually the food....

.....that makes something memorable or worth experiencing and that's what I've found in my life, regrettably, but it's a good thing, if done in moderation. Scott and I learned the art of fine dining from Uncle Mark as he was the first one to introduce us to a "Five Star Restaurant" when we visited him in Fresno a long time ago. It was the first time that a maitre d' unfolded the napkin for me and put it on my lap. It was Mark who first introduced me to lobster when he came to visit us after we had moved to Pullman and I've continued to try and have it on each anniversary as in those "lean" years I only got it once a year. I think what Scott must have loved about all the traveling we did was the opportunity to try "exotic" food.

I soon made a few rules for myself; I eat nothing that still has eyes on it and I eat nothing that should be cooked but hasn't been. I still love fine dining and I especially like to try new places and new flavors.

Joyce and I venture out once a week and we usually hit the same old faves, Olive Garden, Electric Cafe (now Capelletti's), Pasta Factory, Paulas.....but we've discovered a new favorite, the Bent Fork (click to see more) and we went there today, only because they have Cider Onion Soup on Tuesdays and of course, we've become connoisseurs of Tiramisu and they have the best. Not made in-house, but we don't care. It equals Olive Garden's and it's liberally soaked in whatever they soak it in (yes, I know it's coffee and probably rum so there could be W of W issues) but we really like it a lot. So, I'm giving my review: We first walk in the door and they treat us as "regulars" probably because we are and we have preferential seating, by the window, and the waiter pretty much knows us by name (actually we haven't told him our names) but he talks to us like we're old friends. He promptly gives us our water and is very accommodating to our "When Harry Met Sally" type of ordering and asks us two or three times if everything is o.k. The Cider Onion Soup was better this week than last week, but probably because we've been thinking about it all week and we asked if we could have dessert with the meal so we could take this picture. That's about it for my review. I've looked up Cider Onion Soup recipes but probably won't try it....just hold out for the best. I give the Bent Fork 5 huge stars today. (The Honey Mustard on the side was the best I've ever had!!!!!)

After lunch, we ventured out on the new interchange south of town that goes out to the new airport.

Sorry, Spence. We just took the wrong road while you were here. Lots of growth taking place in our little town.

Speaking of fine dining, while Spencer was here, he hit his favorites (Cafe Rio and Pasta Factory) and we reminisced about the times of the BEST dining in St. George. We both agree that we really miss The Gable House and a yummy Dickens Rib Sandwich. What are your favorites??????

What better to do on a Friday night...

.....than go to an amazing Christmas concert at Tuacahn, the most wonderful stage in the world and see some really professional, awesome (I actually tried looking in a thesaurus for some other words to describe this night and there just weren't any except "magnificent", "exciting", and the usual stuff like that so I'll leave it at just "awesome")talent.

I had seen Nathan Osmond at Acapellastock and he is just such an accomplished entertainer that I thought I'd go check his Christmas performance out. He also had Noteworthy, the acapella group of girls from BYU, the little boy that played the little Tarzan this past summer and a really sharp-looking drum line from Dixie High School (they accompanied Nathan on Little Drummer Boy and that's when I cried, it was so good). It was a great night of entertainment. This picture is lame but I had to include it for the record.

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Today was a great day to rake the leaves. George, Emily and Evan came over and did just that but mostly played in them. No better combination than a trampoline and a pile of leaves.

The last couple of days have been great raking days so I decided that it could be a new tradition to bring more meaning to BLT Day and it could be called "Bag Leaves Together" Day! We actually did haul off a bunch but the back yard is still pretty loaded.

It's been a pretty fun day.

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The shade of summer....

....is now a big mess on my front lawn but to Miller, it's a party.

It didn't help that I forgot to turn the sprinklers off and they are all soaked but we'll continue to "party on" for the next couple of days as this late fall turns into winter and the Christmas season is upon us, lock, stock and barrel (a merism or figure of speech meaning "all", "total" "everything". You probably knew that but I just wondered where that phrase came from so I looked it up. Click HERE if you want to know too).

I think this is the earliest I've ever put up my tree but hey...when the mood hits...ya gotta go with it. I'll put on my new Canadian Tenor Christmas tunes, heat me up some hot chocolate and I'm good to go. BTW, it's BLT day tomorrow...however....some think it's Dec. 2nd. The verdict is still out and I can't find any proof one way or the other so....I'm having mine tomorrow; I'm just sayin'....

There's this saying...

....or maybe it's a "grandpa-ism" that goes: "How was your "trip" last "Fall"? I think it would apply to me as I just got back from a trip to Kentucky and had a wonderful time, but last Friday as we were hurrying down the ramp to make it to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis so we could get the 30% discount, one of the little ones crossed in front of me and.....you guessed it....I tripped and fell. Nothing more humiliating than falling down in a public place. I'm not sure which was bruised the most, my knee or my pride but Spencer helped me up and we were on our way for a great day at this wonderful place.

Lots of fun stuff for the kids to see and do.

I'm posting a few of the many pictures I took, the highlight for me (other than spending the day with my grand kids) was the Barbie Exhibit. I don't know why I like her, but I do. Barbie was a big part of my childhood and since she didn't enter my life until I was 9 years old, I guess I just didn't get enough of her so I've continued to collect and adore her through the years and though Spencer would rather line 'em all up and use them as target practice, he actually walked through the exhibit with me, bless his heart. I actually own a lot of the memorabilia that was on display and it was fun to see it all and remember the hours and hours I would spend not only playing with them but saving money so I could buy the beautiful, detailed dresses and outfits for a whopping $3.50 a piece. They just don't make 'em like that any more. Something that I thought was really cool was the display in the store window (see the picture in my title) with real Barbie dolls in each of the letters spelling Barbie.

We had fun painting, playing Wii, kickball, watching t.v. and playing my new favorite game, (and I don't usually like games) "Wits and Wagers". Clickity click on it to learn more about it. As I mentioned before, this is the 8th Thanksgiving I've spent in Louisville, Kentucky and the last as the Kentucky Wells family is finally ready to move on. I will miss this place immensely. It's been good to my family but we will welcome them home with open arms and lots of new adventures ahead.

Dinner was divine as usual.

Spencer taking the little ones off to bed so we could play more Wits and Wagers in peace.

I do love these kiddos and it's always sad to leave them. Lest you think the week-end was perfect (it almost was) there were a few "tangles". Not only did we attend the movie "Tangled" which I thoroughly enjoyed; can't say it's my new favorite but I LOVE 3D and it took this movie from a 3 thumbs up to a 5 for me. O.k. back to the "tangles". I bought some really soft, expensive yarn and I was supposed to be able to pull the yarn out of the middle but it got so tangled and turned into a huge mess and Spencer just wondered why I kept at it for hours and hours and even recruited the whole family to help me out of this mess, so if you've read this far you're probably wondering why I'm even posting about such a stupid thing as tangled yarn; it was worth saving. It's the softest yarn I've ever worked with and turned into this. Thanks Shana and Laynee for sticking with me and getting this done. Thanks to the Spencer Wells family for inviting me for one last Thanksgiving at their Old Kentucky Home. It was a relaxing and funfilled vacation for me. I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving week-end and that everyone has weathered all the storms, both in life and on the road and finds themselves in a safe warm place this night.