Dear Friends and Family,

This was the week of Christmas concerts and now we are done.  Loved them but am done heading out every night to some event.  Monday, Allison's choir performed a the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake.  Spencer stayed home with Taylor so it was just me and the girls.  It felt so laid back and easy and just thoroughly enjoyable.  Afterwards we walked for a few minutes through one of the visitor centers.  They had some new displays we hadn't seen before.
Then on Wednesday Allison had her choir concert at the school.  So we all headed over for that hence why she wasn't upset the boys weren't there on Monday.  She was one of their narrators for their mini-play they did and she rocked it.  Microphone squealing and going out on her didn't even phase her.  Neither did Robyn wearing some humongous sunglasses and making faces at her.

Then on Thursday Robyn had her kindergarten concert.  They have been working for months on their Christmas songs and I have heard many of them at top volume as I drive car pool.  I was just grinning for that whole concert at their energy and enthusiasm as they sang and did the actions for each song.  It was one of my favorite moments of the year.

Have I mentioned that Robyn is on the tall side? Robyn and her carpool friends - Myra, Libby and of course Luke - they wore noses when they sang the snowman song

Today we had our last concert with Spencer playing the guitar at a local care center.  I can actually recognize and sing-along with him now which is nice.
And then to round out the week we had new nights of adult only events back to back.  Friday was Jeremy's work party.  Spencer was our babysitter as we went on our annual shopping spree followed by dinner and visiting.  Jeremy got a new camera toy he is having fun with and I got some much needed shoes (after 19 years of living in Utah I finally bought some snow boots.  I have been using my Grandma's which didn't fit very well.  But then again I think shuffling while shoveling snow might have saved me numerous falls).

Saturday night Jason, Kelly and cousins did family photos with Jeremy and then graciously stayed with our kids while we went out.  For Jeremy's birthday I had bought tickets for us to go see Blue Man Group - something he has wanted to do for several years.  They were weird, interesting and highly entertaining.


So it was truly a party week.  Plus to keep me smiling all week long it was a week of numerous loving gestures.  A friend brought our family dinner, just because.  Little treats and kind notes were dropped off.  Favors done.  Just one of those weeks where you count your blessings and are glad to have your family and friends.

Other odds and ends.  This week was bitterly cold.  I would drive the kids to school and it would be 15 degrees outside.  The warmth and smog has returned now though so we are getting up to 30 and 40 degrees during the day which feels much better.

Robyn came home from kindergarten telling me about the awesome game they play at recess.  It is called Girls and Boys and they take turns chasing each other.  If they get caught they loose a life.  I asked how many lives they have and she said, "oh, around 14.  No one ever runs out".  When I told her that game was around when I was a kid too, she was flabbergasted.  They thought they had just invented it!

Allison was telling me about her night at the mall with her two friends.  How they were given the big brother's cell phone so they could go shop on their own.  How Forever 21 is such an awesome store.  How they got diner together at Arby's.  All I could do was look at her and think, "where did my little girl go?!". 

Spencer came home from Young Men's with a distended belly and a big smile.  When I asked what they did, he replied "we deep fat fried stuff".  Yep, they made corn dogs, onion rings, french fries, stuffed jalapeno's.  Talk about an activity right up Spencer's alley.  He thought he was so cool.  The next day, he skipped breakfast and ate only a pear for lunch.

Love to you all and hope you are enjoying this holiday season, Heather