Elf Antics

According to Malia, our elf is the best elf. She loves that Jingle Jangle is funny, but not naughty. So many families have elves that make a mess and leave havoc in their wake. Ours is mischievous from time to time, but never in a mean or destructive way. He tends towards humor and creativity rather than leaning towards felony. This year he arrived by air, flying in by paper airplane the first week of December. He spent his time with us fishing, doing some sledding, and giving us all a glimpse of how we would look if we decided to sport a mustache. He even gave Nathan a big Texas mustache so Nathan could decide if that is a look he would consider post mission. 😉 

Malia gets so excited for Jingle Jangle’s arrival each year. She gets so excited by all his antics. And every morning she gets so excited to pop out of bed and search for him.  (I wish she would be so eager to get up for the other eleven months of the year!) She is sad today because she knows that tonight Jingle Jangle will return to the North Pole, although that sadness is greatly tempered by the fact that tomorrow is Christmas. She is the last of my kids and I know that as she gets older her excitement for our elf will wane, but hopefully her affection for him will remain. He has been an important part of our Christmas celebrations for many years, and I hope that as all my kids grow up, they will remember the years he has spent with us with fondness. 

In other news, Nathan won the roommate lottery this year. They all got along really well, enjoyed each other’s company, and had a fantastic semester. They became such good friends that they sent a Christmas card together. Talk about an amazing blessing for Nathan in this first semester of college. I’m so grateful for these young men and the joy that they helped Nathan find in his first semester in college. Hopefully at least some of them will still be around when Nathan goes back to USU after his mission.

This is Why Our Elf is Better Than Everyone Else’s Elves

   I think he has been greatly influenced by my favorite 13-year-old boy. 😉

Even More Elf Antics

Due to quarantines and stay-at-home campaigns, lots of folks have had more time to spend working on hobbies this year. It seems things the North Pole went similarly because Jingle Jangle learned how to play the drums this year. I suspect he is in an elf band at the North Pole, but since his cronies all visit different families in December, we only get to enjoy his rockin’ drumming skills. And maybe that’s a good thing. Between Nathan’s piano, Matthew’s trumpet and Daniel’s sax, we have everything we need to fill in the rest of the music. 😊

 

More Elf Antics

At long last, Jingle Jangle’s quarantine is over! Malia has been dutifully marking the days on his quarantine chart and he is finally able to safely roam the house. He clearly wants all of us to stay healthy, because today we left us a reminder to be diligent with our hand hygiene. And then he showed us an alternative use for a face mask. I’ll bet he is just as glad to be out of quarantine as Malia is to have him out and about!

 

Elf Antics

Our family has an elf. Around this time each year, the kids start watching for him to arrive. He doesn’t usually come until after Daniel’s birthday, probably so his b-day doesn’t get overshadowed by Christmas, but this year he showed up earlier than usual. I guess the North Pole has had a crazy year too, because Jingle Jangle arrived ahead of schedule so he could finish up his quarantine and still have plenty of time for fun. Malia is anxious for his time to elapse so he can come out of his elf condo!