Christmas-Part II

While we didn’t get to actually see Daniel and Tawni on Christmas, we did get to see them today. They had some presents to receive as well as some to give. In fact, they timed their arrival very carefully based on what they had selected for Malia. They gave her fifty-five rubber ducks, but they didn’t just give them to her in a box, they hid them all over the house. That meant that they needed someone to get Malia out of the house for a while. Nathan was their accomplice and he was funny about it. He put “crime” as an event on his calendar so that he would remember that he was taking Malia up to visit Kevin’s mom, thereby getting her out of the house long enough for Daniel and Tawni to arrive and hide half a hundred ducks. 😂 Upon her arrival home, Malia was less than thrilled but a good sport nonetheless when she discovered that she was going to have to hunt down her Christmas present. As of now, she has discovered forty-five and there are no others in obvious locations. This might take her a while. 😉

Daniel and Tawni got me a book I’ve been wanting. It’s basically a chemistry of cooking book so I’m excited to dig into that. Nathan got a plush microwaveable dumpling. Which he was thrilled about. And of course, he had to go pop it in the microwave right away. And Kevin received a set of decals for one of the models he is working on. In addition to the Doctor Who Little People for Daniel that I bought as an impulse purchase because it made me laugh, we had several humorous T-shirts for Tawni, some itty-bitty polyhedral dice and of course, the gift of cow for both of them. Which gave them both context for the comments and deleted video that happened on Christmas. 

We spent the evening playing games, which was fun. We love board and card games and got a new one for Christmas (The Bears and the Bees) that I think is already one of Malia’s new favorites. And after Kevin and I bowed out due to age and needing to work towards bed, the kids played some raucous rounds of Five Crowns. I’m so glad that all of them get along so well. The only missing piece this evening was Matthew, and in about a year and a half, he will be back in the thick of things.

So delayed Christmas was fun. And it made me feel a bit better about the quiet Christmas. With Tawni’s extended family living fairly close, delayed Christmas was an option and I’m very grateful. I know that the older set of kids could well end up living far away from here, and so I’m glad for any time that we get with them. And who knows? Maybe living far away will mean Kevin and I traveling for Christmas at some point in the future. 

A Shoutout for Technology

Nathan is enjoying having Jacob in Logan, had him over for dinner and games, Facetimed Ella in to play Betrayal, she set up her game and Nathan set up his so they could all play together

Rachael’s oldest son, Jacob, got home from his mission late this summer and started at USU this fall. Since we shared a house with Rachael and her family for over five years when our kids were tiny, Nathan and Jacob pretty much grew up together. They were good friends then and continue to be good friends now. Patti’s youngest daughter, Ella, is the same age as these boys and as cousins, they all enjoy being together. In particular, they love to get together and play board games. The times they are able to gather together have been fewer as they have grown up, but they get together when they can. 

Nathan has really enjoyed having Jacob in Logan. This evening, he invited Jacob over for dinner and games. One of their favorite games is Betrayal, one that Jacob introduced them to a few years back. Ella was not in Logan, so they Facetimed her in for a game of Betrayal. Nathan and Jacob set up a board on their end, Ella did a copycat setup with her board and the three of them spent an evening together.

I guess necessity is the mother of invention? 😂

Turn Left!

While the past few days have been packed full of driving and fun, today was a less structured day. We decided that was something we wanted to do differently from some of our previous trips. We wanted to have some down time in which we could just relax and hang out. As such, the only definite on today’s agenda was to find some huckleberry flavored goodies. We learned to love the flavor of this elusive little berry when we visited Yellowstone a few years ago. Matthew, who doesn’t generally get to sample the local offerings we encounter on our journeyings, was pleased to be able to partake of a variety of huckleberry flavored goods in the past and was anxious to indulge in a few more. Huckleberry items are generally found at the tourist focused stores rather than the Winco or Costco where we have been doing our grocery shopping, so we consulted Google and found a store called Made in Oregon whose website showed quite an array of huckleberry flavored delights. It was located in a mall in downtown Salem, so we drove into town and purchased jam, preserves, and several kinds of candy before making our way back to the house.

The weather was lovely today, sunny and clear but still nice and cool, so the kiddos took advantage of the opportunity and spent several hours lazing on the back patio. After some good down time, we took a short drive through the farmland surrounding Albany until we reached a fork in the road. Literally. We were, in fact, driving specifically to find said fork, which we learned about through an internet search while looking for interesting things to do near Albany. It seemed like just our kind of random, and with the Muppets’ “Moving Right Along” in our minds, we made our way through the countryside to reach it. It wasn’t a long drive, but we feel it was well worth the thirty minutes we spent coming and going. Sometimes I wonder why people do or create weird things and that thought did pop into my mind, but if nothing else, it was worth the entertainment value it gave us!

The evening was spent rowdily playing card games. I say rowdy because we are seldom subdued when it comes to Uno, Phase 10, or And it Came to Pass. We love to play games, and there was much laughter and joking at the table this evening. That is one of the perks of a more lackadaisical schedule: more time for Pig Pile. 

Game Time is the Best

One of Daniel’s desires for this week was to play lots of games. There were games played yesterday, more today, and I suspect there will be more in the next several days before he heads back to school. I’ve really enjoyed taking this time to play with my family. We laugh and joke and tease and have a wonderful time. There may be things from my normal routine that don’t get done, but it’s a “good, better, best” thing for me. And spending time with my family is definitely the “best.”

 

The BIG Game

Remember those giant playing cards that sent Nathan into a paroxysm of laughter last Christmas? Nathan and friends actually gave them some play time this evening. It was crazy entertaining…and terribly hard not to cheat. 😁