Christmas 2025

Christmas was great!  Christmas Eve was full of all the usual traditions that make it my most favorite holiday of the year.  We had a really good dinner that I probably slaved away at but now I can't even remember what we ate.  We went Christmas caroling and had a talent show that was very low on talent but high on entertainment.  We talked about the Savior and it just felt good.  Our family is getting older and being all together is happening less and less, which is okay.  But it sure makes it special when we are together.  We are on the brink of big changes in our family with possible weddings coming (or not) and more missions being served.  Heck, I could be a Grandma in a few years!  So I'm soaking it all in and enjoying what we have, knowing that things are going to get crazier, our family could get bigger, or shrink with missionaries, but I'm here for it all.  

Marcus invited his girlfriend, Audrey, to come for a week so we could meet her.  They had fun exploring Seattle together and her eyes were opened wide to what life looks like living in a house with five boys.  She handled it great!

More Seattle sights

The (un)Talent Show 2025

Ethan and Parker had some good moves

Landon broke an apple in half with his bare hands

Marcus ate a Big Mac in seconds (how is that a talent?)

And Henry giggled his way through a piano solo

Matching jammies and hoodies

Henry got a new bike and a giant panda.  Henry has been obsessed with pandas for two years.  His favorite colors were black and white and he has a whole shelf in his bedroom dedicated to random panda paraphernalia.  About a week before Christmas he declared he no longer likes pandas but Santa decided to ignore him and gave him a giant panda anyway.  The giant panda has now become a landing zone for Henry as he jumps from the top of the stairs to the floor below.  So far he has sustained only one mild injury.  

While Randy napped and I packed and prepped food for another Whistler trip, the boys played football in the front yard, blasting music and looking festive in their matching pajamas that I actually really like.  And they love their Nike hoodies.

I'm glad my boys don't think eating Christmas dinner at McDonald's is depressing like I do.

Henry is less than excited to be my ski buddy

We miraculously got the huge hot tub to ourselves and wished Ethan had joined us but he stayed back home with his injured leg.  We made and epic whirlpool in this hot tub!

The treehouse was finally open so Henry and I got to play on it for awhile.

You know you've got a good brother when he will warm your hands while you ride the gondola after a long day of skiing.

Settlers of Cataan is the new favorite game to play.  Henry even learned how to play and has won a couple times.  

Merry Christmas!

The Greatest Ward Christmas Party There Ever Was

I do NOT have a testimony of ward Christmas parties.  I go every year but I don't like them and I hope to never be in charge of one.  If I do, it will be bad for everyone involved.  This year some ladies got the idea to make the whole gym look like a street in Bethlehem.  The two other wards that use our building all combined resources which really looked like borrowing all the stuff Randy has purchased for his big seminary productions and then everything looked amazing. 

Then someone got the idea to do a shadow nativity and they put Randy in charge. The chaos level in our home jumped to new highs.  Let's just say the whole thing was amazing and if you ask Randy, ours was the best out of all the wards :) even though it wasn't a competition.  

I was an angel and Mary Magdalene, Parker was a wise man, Henry was a camel, and Landon was a Roman soldier.  Randy was the director who barked orders and then apologized for barking.  

You can watch the production here.  It's beautifully done and you will cry.

December Things

Looking back on all the activities in December makes me instantly feel tired and stressed.  There's just so much going on but I love most of it.  We got our family pictures taken on December 17th.  

I created and ordered the Christmas cards the same day and I'm pretty sure this year wins for biggest procrastination but it all worked out so have I learned my lesson?  No.  In my defense, our entire family is rarely together so the struggle is real and I made it work.  Next year will probably be no different.

Henry got an unexpected trip to Build a Bear where he picked out the cutest capybara stuffed animal.  Side note: this happened because Randy was supposed to take Henry with him to watch Landon play in a lacrosse tournament while I was with Parker at his tournament.  Randy and Henry never made it to the tournament but they did get lunch at Din Tai Fung after Build a Bear.  Landon and Parker weren't happy about this and Henry wasn't supposed to tell anyone what really happened.

One of my newest assignments was decorating the chapels in the stake for Christmas, on a budget, with a request that nothing look "cheap or tacky."  Hanging garlands that stay hung was a trial and I spent way too many trips to the church and Hobby Lobby to get this hung before giving up.  The other buildings got fresh poinsettias :)

We had some beautiful sunshine that made my morning run even better.  Running always helps me cope with chaos.

My Pinterest-worthy wrapping job must be documented.  I love velvet ribbon and my boys couldn't care less.  But my tree sure looked fabulous with these gifts underneath it.

The second year of veggie trays for the neighbors was a success.  Delivering them while driving around listening to Christmas music with the car decked out in lights wasn't so great this year.  Sometimes grumpiness can't be overcome.  Better luck next year.

We took the fam to a very expensive Brazilian restaurant, Fogo de Cao.  There was a big football game happening so I felt like I was eating by myself.  It was lame.  Next year we will just eat at McDonald's.

Marcus showed Henry the proper way to eat whip cream from a can

Landon was quite proud of this gift at the annual youth Yankee Swap/White Elephant night.  Too bad his gift got stolen at the last second.  

Marcus and I spent a few hours volunteering at the Giving Machine.  We got a lot of curious people but not too many who donated.  No goats to buy this year :(

A Whistler Thanksgiving

Another Thanksgiving spent at Whistler.  This year was a little different though.  We ate Thanksgiving dinner on Tuesday night and drove up to Whistler on Wednesday (no traffic!) and skied all day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  Ethan flew in first and the three amigos became four.  It was great!  Marcus arrived a couple days later and then we were complete.  The noise level was back to an all-time high, the sounds of pounding feet up and down the stairs and running throughout the house resumed to their usual constant, and the kitchen was always a mess because someone was always eating.  In other words, chaos reigned supreme and I was in my happy place--the eye of the storm.  Thanksgiving dinner was delicious because I ordered brisket from a local BBQ place.  I think I loved it more than anyone else simply because I didn't have to make it.  The pies were good too, and I did make those.

Ethan arrived and suddenly everyone was happy to hang out together

We even put the tree up before we left.  I was at the top of my game this year!

Packing a family of 7 for a five-day ski trip takes mad skills and luckily Randy has those skills.  Too bad I'm not an influencer because North Face should be sponsoring us.  Randy loves their duffels and we have them in every color and a few different sizes as well.

The snow was terrible but we still had fun.  Whistler Village is always fun after the end of a long ski day.  I always get lost and turned around in the Village but Randy leads the way and can somehow always find the Pizza Place and Rocky Mountain Chocolates.  

Henry wins for most improved

check out the base of the mountain with absolutely no snow to be seen

Marcus finally got a new ski coat.  He's been wearing the same one since 8th grade :)

Strolling through the village was so great without snow

The Village always has new stuff to check out

Parker has grown and ended up with a new set of skis as an early Christmas present

French fries and poutine for lunch!

We had our friends over for pie and games

Avalanche Pizza is sooo good!

Views from my run.  It's beautiful and looks just like home :)

hotel life and boys being boys

Ethan in a wheelchair because of course he tore his ACL on the last run of the last day of our trip.  Poor guy.  It was pretty stressful trying to figure out what to do because surgery in WA would've been convenient over the break but all the therapy and follow-up appointments meant the surgery needed to happen in Utah.  Ethan is on the mend now and the worst is behind him. He picked a good season to miss skiing because there isn't much snow anywhere but at Whistler.

Happy Thanksgiving!