December Randoms

I have never taken my wedding ring to any other jeweler than Philip & Co, where we bought it.  I had been needing to fix a crack in the ring, plus I wanted to see how I could change my band (that I had designed a few years back, and never liked) by taking out the little diamonds and embedding them into my original setting.  Well....when they completed it and texted us a picture, it was NOT what I had asked them to do.  Instead of embedding the diamonds, they put them in little crowns on the side of my diamond.  It totally changed the look and I was frustrated that they didn't tell me before they went ahead with it.  It took me a few days to digest the change and I felt guilty for changing my original setting so much, but it's grown on me and I like it.  I figure...it's pretty silly to complain about a diamond ring anyway.

 

Me...in action with my signs.  This was the Saturday where I did 20 signs in one day.  Whew!

 

One of my favorite things to do at Christmas time is to make Beth's Grandma's famous coffee cake.  YUMMMMMY

This is me, one day in December...trying to pretend it's winter when it was really 70 degrees!  That's a California winter for you!

Good ol' Elfie.  He was back this year and one night he had a party with the barbies!

Pey had her first facial at Eden's birthday party at the "Skin and Wax Bar" in Kingsburg.

Signs!

I am not very good at prepping for the holidays as far as signs go.  This is my fifth Christmas at Trinkets and I still wasn't good at being totally prepared.  So it makes for a crazy, hectic sign-making season!!  My house is a bomb and my mind is frazzled.  But a lot of people are happy gift-givers because of the signs!  Thank goodness Lindy still was able to make and sell signs from Texas, I could have never done them all.  This is only a couple photos of the madness.

Jordyn and her friend Nataly wanted to learn to make signs so they actually got an order from one of the aides at school.  It was a sign for her grand daughter and they let me help them make it.  It turned out really cute!  They charged $20 for this sign, and she ended up ordering one more family sign for $25.

Disneyland!

Our Disneyland passes expire on January 24th, so we wanted to try to fit in a trip to Disneyland so we could see it all decked out with the Christmas lights and décor.  Kind of felt crazy to carve out two days during the busy Christmas season, but it was really nice to have a little family trip.  I was able to enjoy my kids without making signs (as I had non-stop been doing).  The kids got out of school earlier than most schools so we thought it wouldn't be too busy...but we were wrong!  It was still fun and the girls really had fun together and seemed to bond extra during this trip.

The most challenging part was Jordyn's cough.  We hardly slept because of her coughing but she stayed in really good spirits and the second night the Mucinex cough syrup really helped.
This is before my favorite ride, Star Tours.

Lexi FINALLY decided to go on Space Mountain and she loved it! (just as we all imagined...she even said "after we go on the ride, I don't want you guys to say 'I TOLD you you'd love it'")

We tried to get the girls to do the Jedi Training Academy...but they were happy to just be spectators.

On Monday afternoon, Tucker had to leave to drive down to Riverside for a work related dinner and it was perfect timing for my cousin Michael and his kids to meet us at Disneyland for a few hours  It's always fun to spend cousin time together and the kids got along fabulously! 

Jordyn BEGGED for this EWOK backpack.  But we didn't think it was worth $59.

Lexi started melting down from exhaustion.

Peyton and Lexi went on the coaster "California Screamin" for the first time and that because the entire family FAVORITE!  Peyton was in the front row of the coaster with her hands straight up in the air the entire time! Guess our kids love the thrill rides!

Christmas and Clay School

The Clay kids all participate in choir and music classes, so at Christmas time the concert is a big deal and a wonderful show.  Jordyn played her flute, as well.  It was a beautiful show and I love that they keep it to an hour...just enough to enjoy...but not dragged out enough to get bored!

The last day before Christmas break, all the kids had Christmas parties...so I got to Clay and began the rotation between their parties.  I'm thankful the kids have fabulous teachers and a safe environment in which to learn.

Harmony Fall 2013

The day after we returned from Utah was our first Harmony performance.  I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be in Harmony with my mom!  And I love the chance to do service for these sweet people who are in convalescent and retirement homes.  It's very humbling.

 

Utah Trip Sunday - Temple Square and Tiffany

We don't take our kids "sight seeing" in Utah much because we spend all our time having fun with family.  But this time, we carved out a few hours to run down there and walk around Temple Square.  We were so glad Tiffany, Eliza and Solomon met us there!

Solly wouldn't part from Lexi, he loves her!

Pey has a red face from crying "I don't want to say goodbye to them!!". She's very sensitive.

Peyton's Idea for Pa

We always go into the Wood Connection when I visit Utah.  I love to get craft supplies there since there is no place in California with the same sort of things. Peyton ran up to me with a wooden "P" and "A" and said "Mom!  Can I get these for Pa for his birthday and paint them in Utes colors!!??".
So cute!

Thanksgiving in Utah - Saturday Neal's Surprise 70th Birthday!

Last year, we began discussing Neal's 70th birthday.  Jeannine did some delegating and planning over the course of the year and we ended up pulling off a nice Hawaiian Luau on behalf of Neal - and it was a surprise!  Since Neal has lived in the same area his entire life, he knows lots of people!  Jeannine stuck to his closest friends, siblings and immediate family.  There were about 80 people who attended and it was a fun evening.  Tucker and Neal went to a Utes football game, which made it perfect as we set up at the church.  The grandkids put together a little show in honor of Neal and it was a sweet, simple show.