Christmas Adam

Guest Post Alert - Ryan

The day before Christmas Eve has become known as Christmas Adam.  Yesterday, on Christmas Adam, Lindsey and I spotted an SUV in the grocery store parking lot with a live pine tree on the roof.  We started talking about how Christmas was different before commercialization.  I am sure a tree on Christmas Adam or Christmas Eve was not uncommon along with one present exchanged on Christmas.  We now have not only Christmas gifts, but also Christmas Eve gifts of pajamas, many traditions, and much celebrating.  I lamented at how complicated Christmas has become, while Lindsey exclaimed that we are finally doing this holiday right!   

Because we are not doing Christmas simple, a family meeting on the first day of the winter break this year we all gathered to compare ideas for activities we might engage in over the holiday.  Swimming, sledding, movie, bowling, service project, cleaning the house (Ryan typical), eating lots of great food (Lindsey typical) and ice skating.   So on Christmas Adam night we went ice skating, Annie's idea, with the entire family.  8 pairs of skates, a skate "walker", gloves, hats, coats, and plenty of people.  To top it off, the rink had classic Christmas songs being broadcast over the speakers.  It was memorable.

Norman skated for the first time in his life. He hated it for the first 30 minutes crying as he held our hands and the "walker".  But the night ended with him smiling as he road in the stroller and each of his older siblings pushed him around the rink.  We capped it off with a drive by the Bountiful Temple neighborhood nativity display.  https://mormonsoprano.com/2009/11/26/bountiful-nativity-a-work-of-art/  

Love you all and Merry Christmas Eve!

The Last Noel

Last year we didn't get to hear the wonderful holiday song say the High School choir because about three feet of snow dumped in Bountiful in such a short time, that most if couldn't get to the school. It was very sad, which is why I was super excited to go to hear Preston and friends sing tonight. It was just lovely. I filmed the last song of the night that was accompanied by the high school orchestra as well. I know that I am just one of the parents, but I really think this group sounded incredible. 10 points to the Choirs, Madrigals, Concert Choir and the Orchestra of Woods Cross High School. Tonight was wonderful.

This was taken after the concert. Norman was uninvited (and is uninvited for the next two years to any kind of performance where good audience behavior is required.) Preston's good friend joins dus for the family shot. We love Abby!

The link to that last song: 

https://youtu.be/bnqoQ3mIVfg

Christmas in Color in Kearns

I heard a random ad on the radio the other day about a Christmas light drive by experience in Kearns, UT. The ad was short, but it is so stinking cold here that the idea that the entire light show is intended to be enjoyed from the comfort of your warm cozy car was enough to capture my attention. So the crew loaded up into the car on Saturday night and had a blast in Kearns. They even had us tune into a radio station where the lights had been timed to go along with the fabulous Christmas music. What fun. And since were driving through a parking lot, Mr. Norman was granted permission to enjoy the lights whilst wandering around our minivan. We would love to also do temple square... from the comfort of our warm car:~)

Driving through the tunnels was especially fun.

All of the lights were coordinated with the music. Pretty incredible.

This rainbow bright tree, probably twenty feet tall, was simply fantastic. 

The snowman sang along with the music. As in his little snowman mouth actually moved with the song. A Christmas miracle.

On Sunday, we had a lovely extended family Christmas party with my Grandpa, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and their kids. Santa came to visit... Norman apparently doesn't want anything from the man in the beard. HO, HO...NO!!!!

*** December 17 and 18th, 2016***

Dickens Ball/ Winter Formal

Tonight, my handsome husband and I, along with my oldest son and his date, attended the Charles Dickens Christmas Ball. It was lovely and random. I'm pretty sure that my costume was about 30 years pre-Dickens era, but old fancy was still loads of fun. Ryan really had no costume, and so we got what we got.

Also pictured is Preston's Winter Formal dinner, which they had at our house. Preston and his date, along with 7 other couples dined on home-made fries and cheese burgers (by request... I actually can cook some fancy, complicated things, but they had no interest in that. But burgers and home-made fries are still a pretty delicious menu, so I complied.

Waiting outside the restaurant. Don't they look dapper?! 

My Scotsman, staring deeply into me eyes.

Some friends. I think Ryan was supposed to wear something a little more like this.

But aren't we still having fun!

Preston's boots. Abby's fabulous puffy sleeves.

Winter Formal food. Owen made labels for every single dish on the table.

"Winter Formal Ketchup"... and "Winter Formal Pickles", etc. Totally awesome.

No one yet.

16 teens pigging out. Super fun time.

Preston and Alayna. Formal Winter Fun.

Ask the Question

On November 18th, Annie Joy and Owen Ryan competed at the Davis School District Level MLK Speech Contest. They both won their individual divisions in their Elementary School, and this was the next level of competition. They rocked it, but didn't win (the competition was pretty steep) but seeing my littles work so hard to recite the blessed words of Dr. King filled my mother heart with joy.  I know that he was not a perfect man, but many of his speeches are clearly God inspired, and I'm amazed at how his words, almost 50 years later, are still applicable.

Owen meeting the judges.

Owen getting his certificate and book.

Annie being introduced to the judges.

Annie's turn in the spotlight.

Both kids were given treats, an epic MLK pin, and got to select a biography.

Annie grabbed the book on Michelle Obama, which once again killed me dead.

Below is part of the speech that Annie memorized. Owen's came from the "I Have A Dream" Speech. 

Cowardice asks the question, is it safe?
Expediency ask the question, is it politic?
Vanity asks the question, is it popular?

But, conscience ask the question, is it right? And there comes a time when we must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.” 

-        -   Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Preach.

Clarinet!

Simon performed tonight in his Jr. High's Band concert. He is rocking the clarinet, and Norman is no longer invited to to attend such culturally enriching experiences. Most of the rest of us are fighting off boredom, wicked colds, or vomitous flu. Not the best time to be a Smith. But Simon sure sounded great!

Simon with his band teacher. They are cut from the same cloth.

Handsome blue tie. The Santa hats were a nice touch, but made it harder than necessary to see the kids in the back rows. Just sayin.

Mac Attack, I'm Back!

I was indeed not pleased with the presidential election results of 2016, but I wasn't so heartbroken that I decided to never post again: my computer decided to crash like it was the stock market in a great depression. I went to the Mac store, not once but twice and eventually had my computer wiped completely clean and returned to factory settings... and bc it was on the fritz I couldn't access/ print out all my passwords for everything so I (with the help of my handsome husband) had to re-set them. Tears have been shed over my sad little laptop. Now, when things of a technical nature don't work properly, my family kindly asks me to scoot a few feet away, in an attempt to have me take my techno vortex out of range. In the meantime, loads of exciting Smith events have occurred: winning speech contests, birthdays, snow falls, Christmas tree auctions for charity... and a boy coming into my son's 9th grade earth science class and firing a shotgun... just stuff like that:~) Seriously though, I plan on getting out the details of some of our more major happenings, but mostly, I'm planning on my computer simply working when I go to use it, now that it's been fixed by the genius's at the genius bar. If it gives me any problems, I vow to document me throwing it out of my moving Honda Odyssey, and driving over it just to make sure I've properly killed it. The way it has been killing my electronic sanity.

I'm doing a pumpkin donut demo on the television show "The Place."

The two lady hostess are twins, and I can't tell them apart at all.

At. All.

*** I did this demo on November 16th, 2016***