Friday, February 14, 2014
A BYU and UofU Weekend
We had some fun family time this weekend, First at the Rockin' Utes Ladies Gymnastics meet against Arizona:
We had an awesome time. The crowd was great and huge! 13,800 people in the Hunstman Center--which is about as many people as live in our whole county!
We spent the night at Grandma's and met with cousins for breakfast the next morning
Then it was off for some shopping at the mall, playdates with cousins, and finally the BYU Men's Basketball game for Dad and Kate. We got home very late but it was worth it for all that family fun.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Super Sunday
Our family watched its' first ever Super Bowl. By watching we mean, playing games, snacking on a buffet of goodies, and visiting. Some of the commercials caught our attention and the half time entertainment by Bruno Mars was impressive. Congrats to the Seattle SeaHawks. The best part for sure was playing games and laughing with our fun friends. We love our neighbors the Reitz's.
Snow Day
Sometimes we have to take things into our own hands and cancel school.
photography by Adrie
Happy Birthday Brynn
Lunch: Dad took Brynn out to Sugar Bean bakery where they shared a sandwich. Mom went to Brynn's school to give the kids powdered donuts and answer questions from the kids about Brynn's favorite things. Dinner: Chicken cordon bleu with mashed potatoes and for dessert, angel food cake with real whipped cream and fresh strawberries.
Even though it was a school night, we stayed up a little late and watched a movie, "Monster's University" Brynn had a great birthday!
Swimming with Sharks
Have you seen the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty? If not, you really should. I could relate to Walter Mitty because I too am a daydreamer and --not to give anything away--but I too found myself swimming with sharks just last week!
Every January, when the snow isn't pretty anymore and wool socks are a must, I dream about tropical vacations. (actually, I do that every month of the year) This January my dreams came true thanks to my new job as coordinator. I got to go on a training aboard the Disney Dream ship to the Caribbean.
My kids were so stinkin' mad that they couldn't come. "What kind of mom goes on a Disney cruise without her children???" they cried....for like days. I'll never hear the end of it but it's been worth it for many reasons...not the least of which are these...
After a day at sea we arrived in the Bahamas
I shopped at and practiced my bargaining prowess at the famous straw market where locals sell their handicrafts. Popped into the Pirate Museum, and took a 5 hour 3-stop snorkeling excursion.
The last stop was to a shark reef. I had no idea you could snorkel with sharks! so I just had to take advantage of that!
Once our little charter boat arrived, sharks started circling , the dorsal fins cutting through the surface of the water. If that doesn't send tingles up your spine... A box of bait was lowered 20 ft. down and while the sharks were distracted, some of us crept into the water very unassuming like and watched them through our snorkels, while they swam below. These were 5-6 ft. reef sharks and we saw a half dozen or so. I snapped away with my underwater camera. Minutes later we were instructed to get back in the boat. Some leftover fish were thrown overboard before we headed back to shore and those sharks came at lightning speed to devour them: Lesson learned. There is no out-swimming a shark.
Unlike Walter Mitty I didn't have to wrestle the sharks and I only came away with some blurry photos and a new respect for their speed.
The other stops included an old plane wreck, a barracuda, trumpet fish, parrot fish, brain coral, fan coral, and some other colorful fish that will have to remain nameless due to my ignorance.
2nd stop Castaway Cay--What could be safer than a Disney cruiseship? A Disney private island.
I was super excited to go parasailing here. Walked off the ship and saw this...
You can see the disappointment in my reflection!!
All was not lost however. I was on a private island, afterall and I was going to make the best of it! By this time in the trip I had made some good friends. We walked around to explore and when we came here we knew that was where we were going to plop for the day. Disney's adult only beach had plenty of room, a buffet of fruit, burgers, and ice cream to eat and soft white sand between our toes. I went snorkeling and swimming here too.
Plan B turned out pretty great. These are some of my new friends, also coordinators. Minnie is even thinking of joining our team.
I made the most of the last day on ship. I had an exciting ride on the aqua flume, swam in the pool, and sipped a pina colada in the glass-bottomed hot tub. I took in the evening show with the rest of my group. Disney really knows how to entertain. They pulled out all the stops for their Disney's Believe show. I realized I hadn't missed my kids until they started showing movie clips from tender Disney moments like Bambi nuzzling his mother and princess Ariel embracing her father...
We had another fabulous dinner with loads of good desserts like creme brulee and peanut butter chocolate mousse and merengues with fruit salsa. In the 5 minutes we had before dinner, I challenged everyone to a photo contest. Who could go around the ship and take the best selfie? The photo of me sliding down the banister didn't turn out too well. Instead, The Belgian exchange student pictured in the middle was the winner with her photo sitting on the leiu! Good thing this cruise was only 4 days! We were having way too much fun.
We debarked and took a shuttle back to Orlando. I spent so much time in this airport I feel like I became good friends with all the photo ops, like Snow White. The most exciting thing that happened on this leg of the journey was that a woman on my flight collapsed. A request was sent out for any doctors on the flight. 3 of them leaped up. In a a few minutes, the woman regained consciousness to the applaud of everyone aboard the aircraft. If I were Walter Mitty, I would have been the doctor leaping over the seats to save the woman from sudden death with my awesome CPR skills and my pocket defibrillator. All I could do was offer a little prayer and continue reading my book. The lady was fine but as a precaution some paramedics met us on our layover in Cincinnati, where it was 2 degrees by the way!
I did my best to buy back my kids' love with souvenirs. I think it worked;) Hooray for fun winter getaways!!
Back to Utah and winter and work and daydreams!!
My kids were so stinkin' mad that they couldn't come. "What kind of mom goes on a Disney cruise without her children???" they cried....for like days. I'll never hear the end of it but it's been worth it for many reasons...not the least of which are these...
After a day at sea we arrived in the Bahamas
I shopped at and practiced my bargaining prowess at the famous straw market where locals sell their handicrafts. Popped into the Pirate Museum, and took a 5 hour 3-stop snorkeling excursion.
The last stop was to a shark reef. I had no idea you could snorkel with sharks! so I just had to take advantage of that!
Unlike Walter Mitty I didn't have to wrestle the sharks and I only came away with some blurry photos and a new respect for their speed.
The other stops included an old plane wreck, a barracuda, trumpet fish, parrot fish, brain coral, fan coral, and some other colorful fish that will have to remain nameless due to my ignorance.
2nd stop Castaway Cay--What could be safer than a Disney cruiseship? A Disney private island.
I was super excited to go parasailing here. Walked off the ship and saw this...
All was not lost however. I was on a private island, afterall and I was going to make the best of it! By this time in the trip I had made some good friends. We walked around to explore and when we came here we knew that was where we were going to plop for the day. Disney's adult only beach had plenty of room, a buffet of fruit, burgers, and ice cream to eat and soft white sand between our toes. I went snorkeling and swimming here too.
I made the most of the last day on ship. I had an exciting ride on the aqua flume, swam in the pool, and sipped a pina colada in the glass-bottomed hot tub. I took in the evening show with the rest of my group. Disney really knows how to entertain. They pulled out all the stops for their Disney's Believe show. I realized I hadn't missed my kids until they started showing movie clips from tender Disney moments like Bambi nuzzling his mother and princess Ariel embracing her father...
We debarked and took a shuttle back to Orlando. I spent so much time in this airport I feel like I became good friends with all the photo ops, like Snow White. The most exciting thing that happened on this leg of the journey was that a woman on my flight collapsed. A request was sent out for any doctors on the flight. 3 of them leaped up. In a a few minutes, the woman regained consciousness to the applaud of everyone aboard the aircraft. If I were Walter Mitty, I would have been the doctor leaping over the seats to save the woman from sudden death with my awesome CPR skills and my pocket defibrillator. All I could do was offer a little prayer and continue reading my book. The lady was fine but as a precaution some paramedics met us on our layover in Cincinnati, where it was 2 degrees by the way!
I did my best to buy back my kids' love with souvenirs. I think it worked;) Hooray for fun winter getaways!!
Back to Utah and winter and work and daydreams!!
Sunday, January 5, 2014
My Favorite Reads from Around the World--A Review of 2013
What could be better than discussing great literature with witty, bright, good souled women? Discussing it over lunch! As I've probably raved before I love my book group. This year we decided to do book lunches instead of book nights because everyone needs to lunch, right? and evenings are kinda...well...sacred. We also decided to cover the globe and focus on literature that represented different countries or cultures. Hooyah! (my favorite genre) Whoever had the turn of hosting made lunch from the country of our book selection. Let's hear another hooyah! because ethnic is my favorite kind of food! Is all this excitement lost on anyone?
Here's a summary of our great year:
In January we kicked off our international theme with 10 Souls I Want to Meet in Heaven by Michael Wilcox. This book covered some of the author and scholar's favorite historical heroes. It covered the gamut from Buddha to Mohammed, St. Patrick to Darwin and more--6 more to be exact. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about each of these great souls and how they magnified their lives to benefit humanity. I am looking forward to meeting them in heaven as well for...some great discussion over lunch, perhaps!
If there was a book that I think should be required reading for everyone it would be February's selection Wild Swans. This book covered 3 generations of women in China--from the Imperial era to Communism to the horrific Cultural Revolution of Mao. The author didn't shy away from the daily details of life and all of it was real! When I finished I wanted there to be a book like this about every country. Utterly fascinating.
In March we went to India and then floated for days in the middle of the ocean-- Yann Martel's
Life of Pi. I hosted this one and couldn't decide whether to serve flying fish or raw sea turtle? I decided to go with Indian cuisine. Life of Pi is one of my top favorite reads. The first 100 pages are their own brilliant essay about religion and life. Then you take off on this unbelievable survival tale. It's everything I could want in a book.
In April we learned about the Jewish culture with The Chosen by Chaim Potok. I am finding out that books that I read in high school are a lot more interesting as an adult. I came away wanting to be a gentle wise parent like Mr. Malter. From Reb Saunders the strict Hasid Jewish leader, I learned about the amazing capacity of the human mind to memorize scripture, know it so well you to pick it apart and put it together again, and argue every side of it inside and out. I have new respect for those guys with the curly locks.
The next month we gathered for High Tea and partook of English vittles while discussing Silas Marner by George Eliot. What a heartwarming classic about love, humanity, and redemption. I think this lovely quote sums it up: ...but yet men are led away from threatening destruction; a hand is put into theirs which leads them forth gently towards a calm and bright land, so that they look no more backward; and the hand may be a little child's. I see another parenting theme for me here.
The quickest of all the reads for me was June's A Thousand Splendid Suns by Kahleid Hosseini. This novel was gripping, it was shocking, it made me angry and unsettled and it was beautiful. It's about the triumph of women under the male dominated Islamic Afghanistan. Did you know under the Taliban you could be beaten for keeping parakeets? Not sure if that is evil or just ridiculous but either way I am sooo glad to be a woman in America.
In July we ate empanadas from Latin America and discussed In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez as well as a poetry selection from Chilean Nobel Prize winner, Pablo Neruda. The first one was based on the true story of the 4 Mirabal sisters who spoke out for freedom in the midst of Trujillo's brutal military dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. It was terrifying to read how seemingly effortlessly evil men can come to power and take away the freedoms that make life...well, worth living.
When I tell you what we chose for August you won't even blame me one bit for not finishing it... War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. See? Now you'll totally understand when I admit I didn't even START it. I wasn't about to snuff out summer with a long cold Russian tale of war! Shame and disgrace, I still went to lunch. I chose instead to visit the steamy Congo and read The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I did admit this to everyone, probably while snarfing down a deliciously seasoned Russian meat pie.
September's choice was also grueling but much shorter so I read it and was glad I did: The Long Walk Home was about a Polish prisoner of war who was tortured by Russians and sentenced to 25 years in a Siberian work camp. He and a few others escaped and survived seemingly insurmountable obstacles like the Himalayas and hunger. The author and survivor Slavomir Racowiz felt compelled to share his amazing story "as a warning to the living and as a moral judgement for the greater good." I thought whoever hosted this one had it pretty easy as far as a menu goes. We could just not eat lunch at all! Thirsty? go suck on a rock. We had Mongolian beef with rice instead.
We couldn't neglect Australia through all of of this. So, in October we read Mutant Message from Down Under. The author shares her first hand experience on a walk-about through the outback with a special tribe of aborigines called the "Ancient Ones." Along her journey she loses all physical possessions and contact with the world. She eats all kinds of disgusting things and learns that there are no accidents only "mysteries not yet revealed." A lot to learn from this book--namely if you find yourself lost in the outback you better pray to get rescued by an aborigine. For our lunch our hostess had very cleverly cut up and arranged vegetables into frogs, caterpillars, and beetles. Amazing.
November's read could have bumped itself up as my new favorite book: The Rent Collector by Camron Wright. This novel is set in Cambodia at the dump where gangs roam, where children are abandoned, and where the poorest of poor eke out a living. Even in this most hopeless of all spots of the globe the author creates an inspiring story that just made me want to sing.
"Words are not only powerful. They are more valuable than gold."
We didn't have book club in December but I couldn't get enough of my favorite genre. I sneaked in a few other international reads throughout the year:
Girls of Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)
Memoirs of a Geisha (Japan) Secret Daughter (India) Motherhood, adoption, and the good and ugly sides of India.
Inside out and Back Again--Beautiful prose about life in Vietnam from a little girl's perspective.
A short story, The Big Wave by Pearl s. Buck (Japan) short story about villagers courage to live in the shadow of a volcano and with the threat of tsunamis
I am currently reading The Cellist of Sarajevo
Next in my pile is The Power of One about Apartheid South Africa.
This year we are sticking a little closer to home with the theme "25 Books That Shaped America." But, I will never be done traveling with books so send me your recommendations!!
Here's a summary of our great year:
In January we kicked off our international theme with 10 Souls I Want to Meet in Heaven by Michael Wilcox. This book covered some of the author and scholar's favorite historical heroes. It covered the gamut from Buddha to Mohammed, St. Patrick to Darwin and more--6 more to be exact. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about each of these great souls and how they magnified their lives to benefit humanity. I am looking forward to meeting them in heaven as well for...some great discussion over lunch, perhaps!
If there was a book that I think should be required reading for everyone it would be February's selection Wild Swans. This book covered 3 generations of women in China--from the Imperial era to Communism to the horrific Cultural Revolution of Mao. The author didn't shy away from the daily details of life and all of it was real! When I finished I wanted there to be a book like this about every country. Utterly fascinating.
In March we went to India and then floated for days in the middle of the ocean-- Yann Martel's
Life of Pi. I hosted this one and couldn't decide whether to serve flying fish or raw sea turtle? I decided to go with Indian cuisine. Life of Pi is one of my top favorite reads. The first 100 pages are their own brilliant essay about religion and life. Then you take off on this unbelievable survival tale. It's everything I could want in a book.
In April we learned about the Jewish culture with The Chosen by Chaim Potok. I am finding out that books that I read in high school are a lot more interesting as an adult. I came away wanting to be a gentle wise parent like Mr. Malter. From Reb Saunders the strict Hasid Jewish leader, I learned about the amazing capacity of the human mind to memorize scripture, know it so well you to pick it apart and put it together again, and argue every side of it inside and out. I have new respect for those guys with the curly locks.
The next month we gathered for High Tea and partook of English vittles while discussing Silas Marner by George Eliot. What a heartwarming classic about love, humanity, and redemption. I think this lovely quote sums it up: ...but yet men are led away from threatening destruction; a hand is put into theirs which leads them forth gently towards a calm and bright land, so that they look no more backward; and the hand may be a little child's. I see another parenting theme for me here.
The quickest of all the reads for me was June's A Thousand Splendid Suns by Kahleid Hosseini. This novel was gripping, it was shocking, it made me angry and unsettled and it was beautiful. It's about the triumph of women under the male dominated Islamic Afghanistan. Did you know under the Taliban you could be beaten for keeping parakeets? Not sure if that is evil or just ridiculous but either way I am sooo glad to be a woman in America.
In July we ate empanadas from Latin America and discussed In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez as well as a poetry selection from Chilean Nobel Prize winner, Pablo Neruda. The first one was based on the true story of the 4 Mirabal sisters who spoke out for freedom in the midst of Trujillo's brutal military dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. It was terrifying to read how seemingly effortlessly evil men can come to power and take away the freedoms that make life...well, worth living.
When I tell you what we chose for August you won't even blame me one bit for not finishing it... War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. See? Now you'll totally understand when I admit I didn't even START it. I wasn't about to snuff out summer with a long cold Russian tale of war! Shame and disgrace, I still went to lunch. I chose instead to visit the steamy Congo and read The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I did admit this to everyone, probably while snarfing down a deliciously seasoned Russian meat pie.
September's choice was also grueling but much shorter so I read it and was glad I did: The Long Walk Home was about a Polish prisoner of war who was tortured by Russians and sentenced to 25 years in a Siberian work camp. He and a few others escaped and survived seemingly insurmountable obstacles like the Himalayas and hunger. The author and survivor Slavomir Racowiz felt compelled to share his amazing story "as a warning to the living and as a moral judgement for the greater good." I thought whoever hosted this one had it pretty easy as far as a menu goes. We could just not eat lunch at all! Thirsty? go suck on a rock. We had Mongolian beef with rice instead.
We couldn't neglect Australia through all of of this. So, in October we read Mutant Message from Down Under. The author shares her first hand experience on a walk-about through the outback with a special tribe of aborigines called the "Ancient Ones." Along her journey she loses all physical possessions and contact with the world. She eats all kinds of disgusting things and learns that there are no accidents only "mysteries not yet revealed." A lot to learn from this book--namely if you find yourself lost in the outback you better pray to get rescued by an aborigine. For our lunch our hostess had very cleverly cut up and arranged vegetables into frogs, caterpillars, and beetles. Amazing.
November's read could have bumped itself up as my new favorite book: The Rent Collector by Camron Wright. This novel is set in Cambodia at the dump where gangs roam, where children are abandoned, and where the poorest of poor eke out a living. Even in this most hopeless of all spots of the globe the author creates an inspiring story that just made me want to sing.
"Words are not only powerful. They are more valuable than gold."
We didn't have book club in December but I couldn't get enough of my favorite genre. I sneaked in a few other international reads throughout the year:
Girls of Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)
Memoirs of a Geisha (Japan) Secret Daughter (India) Motherhood, adoption, and the good and ugly sides of India.
Inside out and Back Again--Beautiful prose about life in Vietnam from a little girl's perspective.
A short story, The Big Wave by Pearl s. Buck (Japan) short story about villagers courage to live in the shadow of a volcano and with the threat of tsunamis
I am currently reading The Cellist of Sarajevo
Next in my pile is The Power of One about Apartheid South Africa.
This year we are sticking a little closer to home with the theme "25 Books That Shaped America." But, I will never be done traveling with books so send me your recommendations!!
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Christmas Memories
Last Sunday we had our Choir Christmas Program. I am the music director and Brandon is the choir director so we were in charge of coming up with said program. We themed it "Christmas Memories" A few people from various ages from primary kids to grandmas took turns sharing their special Christmas traditions, a favorite gift, or what Christmas was like when they were a kid. These were intermingled with musical numbers. It turned out really great, as they always miraculously do, and I was reminded how much I enjoyed hearing about how other people celebrate this joyous holiday. I decided to come home and free associate my own:
We always had different people living in my home from year to year, relatives or exchange students or whatever. Also my mom's health wasn't too stable and neither was my parents financial situation so our Christmases were a little different each year depending on the situation. Some things were for sure: a fire in the fireplace, roasted pine nuts, and lots of people.
My first Christmas memory was my brother and I running up the steep stairs of our little brick Tudor style house and seeing the Christmas tree with 2 dolls under it--a Raggedy Ann and a Raggedy Andy.
We always bought a real tree from a tree lot and decorated it with a mishmash of decorations from things we had made in school or at church over the years. The coolest part were the lights. We had bubble lights that I've never seen on anyone else's tree before or since. They had a bulb at the bottom and a glass stem filled with red, yellow, or green liquid. When the lights were plugged in, bubbles would flow up the glass stem--like a little lava lamp. They were quite mesmerizing to look at and after they had been on for awhile they were warm to hold. We didn't have a lot of presents under the tree beforehand so it was extra spectacular to wake up on Christmas morning and see what seemed like such a huge pile there. Some years there would be unwrapped stuffed animals on top of the presents for each of us and I really loved getting those. We weren't allowed to open presents until after everyone had eaten breakfast which was usually oatmeal (sometimes my mom made it festive by putting red food coloring in it and cinnamon flavor) We were allowed to go through our stockings, though, and those were always the best part. We always got an orange, sometimes a watch, a ring or necklace for the girls, and tons of gourmet candy. Secretly, I wished I could just get some regular Hersheys or Hubba Bubba instead of Belgian truffles but my parents owned a gourmet chocolate store and were therefore chocolate snobs. Nothing less than Cadbury was allowed in our house. For a joke one time my brother and I bought the largest box of cheap grocery store chocolates we could find. We thought we were so funny. When my mom opened it she tried to act pleased until we let her in on our joke. The most memorable stocking stuffer I got was when I was a teenager. I opened an envelope to find 2 tickets to see Yo-Yo-Ma in concert at Symphony Hall.
We usually drew names in our family. My siblings were all quite a bit older than me so most of them had families of their own. If my brother Allen had your name you were in for a real treat because he always went way over budget and always got something from his work, Nordstroms. I got a really nice warm pink coat from him one year. But my favorite was when I was eight. My parents opened the front door and there on our porch was a brand new yellow banana seat bike--my first bike ever!
Every year Allen brought a bunch of nice outfits from--you guessed it--Nordstroms. The ladies in the family would go hog wild with excitement picking out dresses and sometimes fighting over them. When he married his second wife--who worked in the cosmetic department--makeup and perfumes were added to the loot.
I worked really hard one year in 5th grade to make a present for everybody in my family. I put together a book of "holiday poems" that I wrote, complete with illustrations, on colored paper. With the $10 to my name I bought a 24-pack of drinks and gave one with each of my poem packets. I gave one to my teacher too. Like Ralphie presenting the fruit basket to his teacher, I thought I had given the best present ever!!
A couple of Christmases my mom was in the hospital. She had a few health problems. I was around 16 during one of these. My mom was not able to do the Christmas shopping so my Dad took me to the mall and gave me $100 with the charge to buy everyone's present. I was the youngest and my siblings all lived far away with families of their own except for my oldest sister. She moved back home after a divorce and I mostly grew up with her around and her four kids who were just barely younger than me. I remember going to ZCMI and finding a little $10 gift in the clearance section for each person with the money my dad gave me. I really felt at the time that it was a tender mercy that ZCMI had that clearance sale. One of those gifts I remember was a little glass nativity set.
A couple of years we were were the "sub for santa" family of our neighborhood. Those were the most exciting Christmases of all because we got way nicer gifts than we were used to! We opened the door one Christmas Eve to find our porch heaped with beautiful packages. I got my first cabbage patch doll from that experience. He was a boy with curly brown hair and his name was Lester. I would have preferred a girl but I was so elated just to have any cabbage patch doll at all. Another Christmas when I was very young we opened the door to find a box with a very exquisitely handcrafted doll inside just for me!
Usually, for Christmas we were allowed to pick out one $25 gift. My mom was solely in charge of all the Christmas festivities. She made things fun and exciting. We attended lots of Christmas concerts, the festival of trees, and any other event that was happening in town. My mom was maybe not the most organized person. She hid gifts throughout the year somewhere in her dank closet which I never dared go in. Sometimes she couldn't find a present and she would use her favorite cuss word, "Oh spit, where is that present for so and so?!" One year, when I was a teenager, all the presents were gone under the tree and I still hadn't opened one. When my mom realized this she said, "Oh spit. Somebody find something for Lar." She ended up pulling a tiny package out from the back of the tree. It was a watch that I had wanted earlier that year at the State Fair. I was grateful that I wasn't totally forgotten.
When I was really young we had a Christmas Eve party with my Dad's only brother and his family. We had a big potluck dinner. My mom always made her famous fudge. When it was at our house, Santa would show up. What was awesome was that even the adults had to sit on Santa's lap. Everyone got a unique present. I think my mom helped him by gathering stuff all throughout the year.When it was at my uncle's house in Provo we had a white elephant gift exchange. I still remember the laughs that Uncle Terry's gift brought--a used toilet seat. The drive home from Provo felt like an eternity to me when I was young. I remember looking up into the night sky on Christmas eve and being sure that I saw the lights from Santa's sleigh twinkling in the sky.
A couple of years probably the ones when my mom was sick we had to eat Christmas dinner at a restaurant. It was a real challenge to find a restaurant that was open on Christmas day. My brothers ended up getting some takeout from Alberto's Mexican Restaurant on 33rd south in Salt Lake.
My dad loved Christmas. It was the only time of year that I really saw him in a lighthearted mood. When I was newly married my Dad had a stroke just before Christmas and was in the hospital recovering during the whole holiday. We went with my sister and her kids and sang Christmas songs to him. Christmas music was his favorite and our singing made him a little emotional.
Now that I have my own little family we are creating our own memories and traditions. One of those is to read "The Night Before Christmas." So, with that said, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!
We always had different people living in my home from year to year, relatives or exchange students or whatever. Also my mom's health wasn't too stable and neither was my parents financial situation so our Christmases were a little different each year depending on the situation. Some things were for sure: a fire in the fireplace, roasted pine nuts, and lots of people.
My first Christmas memory was my brother and I running up the steep stairs of our little brick Tudor style house and seeing the Christmas tree with 2 dolls under it--a Raggedy Ann and a Raggedy Andy.
We always bought a real tree from a tree lot and decorated it with a mishmash of decorations from things we had made in school or at church over the years. The coolest part were the lights. We had bubble lights that I've never seen on anyone else's tree before or since. They had a bulb at the bottom and a glass stem filled with red, yellow, or green liquid. When the lights were plugged in, bubbles would flow up the glass stem--like a little lava lamp. They were quite mesmerizing to look at and after they had been on for awhile they were warm to hold. We didn't have a lot of presents under the tree beforehand so it was extra spectacular to wake up on Christmas morning and see what seemed like such a huge pile there. Some years there would be unwrapped stuffed animals on top of the presents for each of us and I really loved getting those. We weren't allowed to open presents until after everyone had eaten breakfast which was usually oatmeal (sometimes my mom made it festive by putting red food coloring in it and cinnamon flavor) We were allowed to go through our stockings, though, and those were always the best part. We always got an orange, sometimes a watch, a ring or necklace for the girls, and tons of gourmet candy. Secretly, I wished I could just get some regular Hersheys or Hubba Bubba instead of Belgian truffles but my parents owned a gourmet chocolate store and were therefore chocolate snobs. Nothing less than Cadbury was allowed in our house. For a joke one time my brother and I bought the largest box of cheap grocery store chocolates we could find. We thought we were so funny. When my mom opened it she tried to act pleased until we let her in on our joke. The most memorable stocking stuffer I got was when I was a teenager. I opened an envelope to find 2 tickets to see Yo-Yo-Ma in concert at Symphony Hall.
We usually drew names in our family. My siblings were all quite a bit older than me so most of them had families of their own. If my brother Allen had your name you were in for a real treat because he always went way over budget and always got something from his work, Nordstroms. I got a really nice warm pink coat from him one year. But my favorite was when I was eight. My parents opened the front door and there on our porch was a brand new yellow banana seat bike--my first bike ever!
Every year Allen brought a bunch of nice outfits from--you guessed it--Nordstroms. The ladies in the family would go hog wild with excitement picking out dresses and sometimes fighting over them. When he married his second wife--who worked in the cosmetic department--makeup and perfumes were added to the loot.
I worked really hard one year in 5th grade to make a present for everybody in my family. I put together a book of "holiday poems" that I wrote, complete with illustrations, on colored paper. With the $10 to my name I bought a 24-pack of drinks and gave one with each of my poem packets. I gave one to my teacher too. Like Ralphie presenting the fruit basket to his teacher, I thought I had given the best present ever!!
A couple of Christmases my mom was in the hospital. She had a few health problems. I was around 16 during one of these. My mom was not able to do the Christmas shopping so my Dad took me to the mall and gave me $100 with the charge to buy everyone's present. I was the youngest and my siblings all lived far away with families of their own except for my oldest sister. She moved back home after a divorce and I mostly grew up with her around and her four kids who were just barely younger than me. I remember going to ZCMI and finding a little $10 gift in the clearance section for each person with the money my dad gave me. I really felt at the time that it was a tender mercy that ZCMI had that clearance sale. One of those gifts I remember was a little glass nativity set.
A couple of years we were were the "sub for santa" family of our neighborhood. Those were the most exciting Christmases of all because we got way nicer gifts than we were used to! We opened the door one Christmas Eve to find our porch heaped with beautiful packages. I got my first cabbage patch doll from that experience. He was a boy with curly brown hair and his name was Lester. I would have preferred a girl but I was so elated just to have any cabbage patch doll at all. Another Christmas when I was very young we opened the door to find a box with a very exquisitely handcrafted doll inside just for me!
Usually, for Christmas we were allowed to pick out one $25 gift. My mom was solely in charge of all the Christmas festivities. She made things fun and exciting. We attended lots of Christmas concerts, the festival of trees, and any other event that was happening in town. My mom was maybe not the most organized person. She hid gifts throughout the year somewhere in her dank closet which I never dared go in. Sometimes she couldn't find a present and she would use her favorite cuss word, "Oh spit, where is that present for so and so?!" One year, when I was a teenager, all the presents were gone under the tree and I still hadn't opened one. When my mom realized this she said, "Oh spit. Somebody find something for Lar." She ended up pulling a tiny package out from the back of the tree. It was a watch that I had wanted earlier that year at the State Fair. I was grateful that I wasn't totally forgotten.
When I was really young we had a Christmas Eve party with my Dad's only brother and his family. We had a big potluck dinner. My mom always made her famous fudge. When it was at our house, Santa would show up. What was awesome was that even the adults had to sit on Santa's lap. Everyone got a unique present. I think my mom helped him by gathering stuff all throughout the year.When it was at my uncle's house in Provo we had a white elephant gift exchange. I still remember the laughs that Uncle Terry's gift brought--a used toilet seat. The drive home from Provo felt like an eternity to me when I was young. I remember looking up into the night sky on Christmas eve and being sure that I saw the lights from Santa's sleigh twinkling in the sky.
A couple of years probably the ones when my mom was sick we had to eat Christmas dinner at a restaurant. It was a real challenge to find a restaurant that was open on Christmas day. My brothers ended up getting some takeout from Alberto's Mexican Restaurant on 33rd south in Salt Lake.
My dad loved Christmas. It was the only time of year that I really saw him in a lighthearted mood. When I was newly married my Dad had a stroke just before Christmas and was in the hospital recovering during the whole holiday. We went with my sister and her kids and sang Christmas songs to him. Christmas music was his favorite and our singing made him a little emotional.
Now that I have my own little family we are creating our own memories and traditions. One of those is to read "The Night Before Christmas." So, with that said, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!
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