A Whole Lotta Drama

I am trying to keep up with the blog. Not very effectively. 

In the past month we've had kids in two different theatrical performances.

Grace's 5th grade class put on A Midsummer Nights Dream. She played Snug and a very convincing lion. Unfortunately (and par for the course with me), I left my camera at home that day. You'll have to take my word for it. She was awesome!

Jessie's after-school theater group put on their performances the last week in November. It was a musical tribute to the silent film era: "When 'Silents" Was Golden". She played Mary Pickford ("America's Sweetheart", as she had a habit of reminding us). Mike and I attended the opening night performance, along with my mom, my niece, and Mike's dad. Other than some technical difficulties with the lighting board, it was fantastic. Mike and I couldn't make it to the second performance, but the word on the street is that it was even better! Mike's parents, my brother and his family, and a bunch of Jessie's friends were there to represent that night. Jess did a great job. 

That girl likes to perform. I really don't know where she gets it.

Here she is, opening night, doing her "damsel in distress" on the railroad tracks scene:

MVI 6088 from Angie Melton on Vimeo.

A clip of the finale, just as my battery was dying:

MVI 6092 from Angie Melton on Vimeo.

In other dramatic news...

I have been helping to plan the ward Christmas party (again) this year. This kind of thing makes me stressed. I was not born with a gift for party planning. But with a lot of qualified help I am hoping that it will come together again this year. With all that goes into these things, I almost feel like we should be working for Disneyland or something, ...creating elaborate worlds.   

The theme this year is "Christmas in Paradise" aka: a luau. 

Imagine: A grass tiki hut juice bar (picture little umbrella drinks while people arrive and mingle), deluxe luau food (thanks to Kris Kemp and crew), live ukulele music, Santa in a Hawaiian shirt & Bermudas, handing out candy leis to all the good little girls and boys, various Polynesian dances from the YM, the YW and the Primary, and a reverent video presentation about the birth of Christ from the point of view of those in the New World, to round out the evening. In my basement I have cardboard tiki totem poles, spears & surfboards. We have inflatable flamingos (not Polynesian, but whatever...),  fishing nets, pool noodle palm trees, giant tissue paper flowers, and even Polynesian nativity sets (don't ask)....etc.

This all goes down tomorrow. I will let you know how the evening of magic turns out.    

Break a leg!

A Vote for No Change, Followed by A Change in the Weather, and the Making of Champions

**Disclaimer - before you start reading - this is a mega-post, and all over the map. But it's good stuff!**

Mike worked hard this past Election Day as a poll manager. Ahead of the election he had several training sessions, spent hours prepping the voting roles, and set-up the night before. On election day he was at the poling place from 6 AM until 9 PM.   Everyone should have the experience of working an election. It is such a fundamental and important way of serving in a free society where we all have a moral duty to help carry the load of governance, helping people to exercise their agency.  We take so much for granted.

The night before Election Day. More prep work.

 Speaking of Election Day...I know I am not the only one who found it hard to sleep Tuesday night. The presidential election was a big disappointment for approximately half of the country (at least among those who bothered to vote), myself included. Not the kind of disappointment that goes away the next day. The kind that fills you with foreboding. Life goes on...but down a path I hoped it wouldn't go. Still, I am an optimist. I believe all things work together for the (eventual) best. So, onward (not so much "Forward") - remembering to pray for our leaders.

Bringing us to Thursday...when the weather looked like this...

70-ish degrees. One last mowing.

Only to wake up Friday to this...

30-ish degrees. The first snowmen of the season.

And then on to Saturday, which looked like this...

Holy smokes, what a day! Noble's team played their championship game in whiteout conditions with over a foot of fresh snow on the ground.  

I am telling you, this was the best day of football ever! 

Sidelines lined with huddled die-hard fans trying to stay warm, dads working to shovel the yard lines before the game just so the players and refs would know where they were (Mike was soaked with sweat after that), hot chocolate,  players slogging through deep snow every play (sometimes the snow did the tackling), fumbles, face-masks packed with snow after a tackle, warming the game ball over propane heaters to try to keep it flexible, cold feet, and a championship shut-out to show for it at the end of the 4th. 

Bingham - 19.  Bountiful -0.

Chillin' on the sidelines. (Beth was awesome! 8 months pregnant - in a snow storm...to watch a football game. Love her.)

Noble on a tackle.

White-washing.

Noble - gunner on kick-off team.

Super fans - Cousin Hal and Grandma Sullivan. Casey and Helen and their posse were troopers!

Celebrating another touchdown.

Noble in pursuit.

Post game with Coach.

More dedicated fans - some from out of town. Thanks to everybody who came! We had a blast!

CHAMPIONS

Brothers

Time to bring it down...

***Now, I know when we started down this road I was hesitant about football. I worried, and wondered about the wisdom of Noble's choice. In retrospect, would we do this football thing again? Was it worth it to let Noble fulfill this dream? Absolutely. Everything about this season and this experience was meant to be. Amazing things happen when you let kids choose and grow. I am just glad I was along for the ride. (It has been So much FUN!)

Thank you, Noble. You are a champion. 

Pictures Worth Thousands of Words

There was a time when I thought that having a few little kids was overwhelming. Then I had more. And some of them grew into teenagers. And now I say to my stressed-out 27 year old self ... "Oh girl, if you only knew what was to come..." (And when I am 50 I will say that to my 37 year old self, and so on. Life is a revelation.)
I know you hear this a lot from me here...but I continue to be AMAZED at how much more can be jammed into a family calendar! It's like a hidden dimension ...or a black hole where somehow an infinite amount of stuff can be compacted into a finite space. Mind-blowing.
Mike and I calculated that this past week (actually, this last month) has set new records for our family.  We are learning more every day how to let go, laugh at ourselves, shrug off the small stuff, hang on for dear life, and TRY to savor the moments speeding past us at increasing speed. Could it be that just as the universe is expanding at an ever-increasing rate, we actually experience time passing faster as well? Or is it just the result of growing older? I really think having six kids was part of my plan in life because I needed to learn to swim against the tide of social expectation a little, and to RELAX.
Anyway...here are a few glimpses from life around here over the past week and a half.

Sully - fudgesicle face / moppy hair. I wish he would stay like this forever.

The kids rigged up a 37th birthday balloon drop for Mike - delivered a day late. Consequently, the drama of the moment was somewhat diminished...but the thought was what counted. 

Noble started football tryouts this week (AND somehow managed scout camp at Maple Dell as well). Here he is on  the first day they practiced with pads. He also recently got contact lenses so he could play... I didn't realize how much I had missed his face sans glasses. He looks so grown-up to me now. He turned 12 on the 27th of July (that totally blindsided us) and was ordained this last Sunday to the priesthood. That was such an amazing experience for me. I won't ever forget it. 

Grace wears this outfit whenever we go to the library...complete with accessory glasses. So - while Noble is breaking free from frames, Grace is embracing the look (at least for an hour every-other-week for our regular library visit).  She has been our go-to gal for babysitting lately -as we have been running shuttle services all over creation for the older kids. What would I do without her?

Jessie has the County Fair show this week. She showed her 2-Handed horse, Dolli, on Monday night - where she won several blue ribbons and a spot on the team going to state. Today and tomorrow she is showing with Russell (the infamous). Here she is today with a few friends from the 'hood who stopped by to show support. Jessie looks so old...and beautiful.
She's also done some community service recently. Earlier this week, giving some riding lessons for my sis-in-law's YW group. And last week a horse training demonstration at a boy's summer ranch up by Oakley with my dad. She is quite a girl.

I realize Tillman is the only kid at our house that somehow escaped being photographed this week.  We'll get you next week, T.

Also this past week: a Sampson family reunion here in SoJo / Big Cottonwood Canyon. (That was awesome.)  Girls camp. Birthdays for Mike and Noble (which we barely had time to acknowledge). Another RS service project/activity organized & completed. A new calling for Mike (more later).  Mike started teaching two new Econ. classes in addition to his day job.  And today Mike took Tillman and Sully to spend the last night of scout camp with Noble. With all this - the dirt pile has been on hiatus. I know you were all wondering about the dirt pile.

Somehow we are making things work. Thanks to "the village" (Mike hates it when I used that term - doesn't want to give Hillary Clinton that kind of credit). But really, we would NOT be able to do it all without the help people give. Thank you grandparents, church and scout leaders, aunts and uncles, friends and neighbors!  We are all in it together.

Must...Keep...Up...

Except I think I'm probably not.
Quick update.
Wait.
I don't have time.
All you need to know is that it's nut-so over here. I've had some serious thoughts about going radical and pulling out of the rat-race, loading up the family and heading out. Somewhere......where the phone doesn't ring, the calendar is not triple booked, and I have a second to breath and get my bearings...and NOT miss my childrens' childhood because we're too busy. Do you know where that place is? Call me if you do.
I'm hoping to get some catch-up posts up next week...if I can find time after our trip / the big wedding this weekend. That's a big 'IF'.

If you feel as crazed as me, I'm pulling for you. Cross your fingers for me, would you? I've found myself saying things like: "How am I going to survive this phase of my life?" and "I'm going to run away!" For reals. A little melodramatic maybe...but listen, when you are running 24 hours a day (50 things going at once) non-stop with no end in sight you can get a little bit goofy.

Time is precious.
Gotta go.

Mike says I should explain...

We have had a lot of questions about the Tacoma incident after my brief reference in the last post. I was trying to gloss over it a bit for Mike's sake (he was pretty disgusted for about 24 hours). But now that we're a few days out, and Mike has had a few good laughs, we decided a public retelling was OK.

Actually, no one actually witnessed what happened (except Jupiter, and he's not talking) - so this is our best guess at how events transpired.

Jupiter the Space Donkey - lone attestant to the destruction -

 looking down the rock wall at the aftermath.

He's thinking, "What in the...?"

Mike had helped me off with the kids for the first day of school before pulling out of the garage to go to work. He noticed that pen ink had leaked on his sunglasses case. So he decided to run in and rinse it off, leaving the truck in neutral. (Mike traces the whole ordeal back to leaving the lid of his pen at work the day before. How narrow is the knife's edge upon which the events of our lives sometimes balance. ha ha ha.) He was standing there at the kitchen sink rinsing, when he heard the dog going nuts outside, which began, of course, to irritate him. So he walked out yelling for the dog to be quiet, & noticed that his truck was NOT where he left it.

First reaction, "Someone has stolen my truck!"

Next instinct: look at what the dog is barking at in the back yard -----------truck wedged in the back fence. Now start putting the pieces together: truck in neutral, large rock retaining wall, smashed shrubbery, tire tracks in the grass, demolished fence.

A few moments of stunned immobility.

He said his first thought was a sinking, "I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS! What am I going to do?" He said his next thought was, "I hope none of the neighbors saw that." (I think it's hilarious that he thought that...because I KNOW I would have thought the same thing - even though it's silly. *digression* When I was like 8 I drove my family van in neutral down the hill of the church parking lot and hit another car. And even at that young age, I distinctly remember trying to distance myself from the disaster - and act as if I was totally uninvolved. I kept trying to shush my sister who was yelling for help out the window, because I was embarrassed that she was drawing attention to us. Oh my goodness, that is a funny memory...)

At this point he called me (and freaked me out because it took him FOREVER to spit  out what had happened - I  thought it must be something awful) - and started trying to figure out how to get the truck out of the backyard. In case you've never been to our house, the backyard slopes down & there's basically a boulder retaining wall all the way around it. It's hard even to get the lawn mower back there and out again...much less an automobile. 

When I got home he tried rock-crawling up the most gradual & shallowest spot on the wall. No good. The only other thing to do was to go and ask the neighbor if we could drive through her yard. Mike sheepishly rang the doorbell at 8:30 AM and asked if he could drive over her lawn. She responded, "I would rather you didn't." And then he explained that thing was, his truck was stuck in the back yard unless he did. She started to laugh and said she'd let him drive through their yard if she could come see the carnage.

We were sure we'd have to make a claim on our home owners insurance in addition to a claim on our auto insurance to fix the fence & the dent in the truck.

But it turns out PVC is an incredibly forgiving material. All of the downed fence panels were intact, even the posts were relatively unscathed. It took Mike an hour on Saturday to fix the fence. Then he was able to buff out all of the scuffing on his truck. In disbelief, he kept repeating to me yesterday that he was just as shocked about how easily he was able to fix the damage as he was at discovering the accident in the first place.

We still have a dent to repair...and honestly, it's pretty minor. I also have a bunch of broken limbs on a bush in the back yard.

But I'm not complaining. 

It's another good story for Mike to tuck away for telling at parties.

Like the time he got stuck at the mushroom convention, wearing just his boxer shorts. Only this time he doesn't have a cool t-shirt to show for it.

A Healthy Part of a Packed Weekend

My brother, Casey called earlier in the week and asked if a we wanted to do a little rock climbing this weekend. He agreed to take Noble a little while ago - for his birthday (he turned 11 last week).  You can't pass up a chance to be instructed by the best. Casey used to climb for Salt Lake County Mountain Search and Rescue. Now he puts his skills to use teaching the next generation.

 

Casey and Mike - getting ready to repel down after rigging up the rope for Noble.

Noble getting near the top.

 ...meanwhile, down the trail a ways...

 Casey, a professional mason, made it an all-rock birthday with this personalized slate. (When a guy loves rocks, it shows.)

Noble loved it. Thanks Casey!

Also, on the docket this weekend: two full days of horse competition for Jessie (she has the sun burn to prove it). She finished off her regular show season, and is planning to go to state next month with her new horse (go Jess!). Unfortunately, I didn't get to see much of her competition (& with everything else going on, we didn't even get any pictures) because of the baby & because, as usual, we are over-booked this weekend. We are prepping for a crowd to come over tomorrow after Abner's blessing at church.  One of Mike's brothers flew in last night (the rest are due in this week for a family reunion). We hung out with their family today for lunch. There's the yard work. Mike was just offered a new role at work.  Also, some old girl friends are in town this week, so we got together for dinner tonight over here, while Mike and his bro. took our boys to an RSL game.

It is so non-stop around here. I'm pretty tired.

Survey Says...(Naming our Baby)

Mike's crossword of all the members of our family plus a couple of front runners for the new baby. We have a few other names in the running besides these.

Jupiter, Pluto & Slick are our pets' names - just to be clear. Although Slick would make a great kid name too. Ha ha ha.

It's tough to name children. I've always thought of it as a heavy responsibility. And since this is our last - it seems like we have to get it right. No redo's or additional chances. 

Everyone who knows us knows that our kids names are all family names, and we would like to keep that going. (It makes it easier when you get the inevitable weird look after someone hears their name - to be able to say, "It's my grandpa's name." They can't really argue.)

Here's the thing about naming children: everyone has strong opinions. I don't exclude myself. I've been known to shake my head a little at some names that parents use (I'll be honest right now. My big pet peeve is "unique" name spelling. ugh.). Mike's grandma Searle once said "to each their own" in reference to naming children, and I've tried to make that my philosophy. Every parent has the prerogative to name their children & I think most parents try to do their best with that responsibility. And who's to say what the "best" names are?

We have about a month to go before baby comes. We really need to get on the ball about what we are going to name him. We have a few finalists - but we're a little bit stuck. I kind of dodge the topic with people when they ask what names we have picked out - because sometimes I'm afraid of hearing every one's opinion. The worst is getting a negative response to one of your favorite names...because it wouldn't be on your list in the first place if you didn't really like it. It's almost like being put on warning: "If you DO name your child that, I will think it is SO lame." My resolution for etiquette when in the future someone tells me the names they are considering for their baby: compliment the ones I like, or find something neutral to say.
Parents need all the positive they can get. And a baby is a miracle no matter what crazy name their parents give them. Right?

You Never Count Your Money When You're Sittin' At The Table...

In the past several weeks we've had an education in the high stakes world of buying/selling in real estate. More than once I've felt like I was in a poker game calling out my opponent's bluff, making my own blind bets. Tomorrow we will find out if our biggest gamble will pay off. The bidding ends tonight on the house that sits at the top of our list. We just had our realtor up our bid... because we're not the cool customers we wish we were. The process of bidding on foreclosed properties is harrowing. We have no idea what the other bids are - or even if there ARE other bids. So, there's a possibility we're just bidding against ourselves, ratcheting up the stakes for no reason.

It's a big psychological game.

I'm not so good at psychological games. If you put me on Survivor Island, I'd walk off (or swim, as the case may be) before anyone had a chance to vote me off. 

Is there a diagnosis for this?

Now I know how I might react in the event of a major crisis:

stunned inaction.

I admit it. I would be a crappy paramedic - or any profession where the stakes are relatively high and the environment is chaotic...wait a second, that's MY job. Great.

I'm totally discombobulated.

We have a bunch of unknowns before us, as we wait to find out where we're going, but knowing we have less than 2 weeks to move. I'm dealing with the emotions of leaving, the nervousness of arriving somewhere else (but where?). I compulsively think through the possibilities for each of the houses we've made offers on. My anxious thoughts wake me up early every morning and I lay there trying to figure out the un-figurable. Finances are up in the air. Add in the demands of a busy family that don't stop for us to get our bearings. Help.

I called my mom and my sister, Kay, yesterday to beg for their help. And to whine. I need their superior organizational skillz, and one of those 'Get-a-hold-of-yourself!!!' smacks to the face. (Holly, I really wish you were here.)

I realize I sound like a wuss. I know I'll survive...but...

Hang-on Tight

A recent refrigerator Noble-ism.

No kidding: All systems are go. We officially went under contract on the house a few days ago. Our deadline to close is May 19. It's crazy-town around here. I know I've got to get on the ball with moving logistics ASAP, but our priority has been FINDING a place to go. We put a couple of offers out on short sales today. There is a possibility we could end up homeless for a few weeks if our closing dates don't line up. (Mom & Dad....) Anyway, I'm definitely more up-beat today than yesterday (because finally we found some houses that could work).
Tomorrow is a big day with the NPA 5K. Right now I need to turn my mind to that, and get that under our belts. Next week we'll start planning the move in earnest.

The News of the Day & Where do We Go From Here?

We've had a lot on our minds.
Our big race is this Saturday. Things seem to be in hand. But we had a near-miss this weekend. My brother-in-law (the one timing our race) survived his second car vs. bike accident in a year - with only a little road rash. His beloved bike (which rode in the ambulance and stayed in the hospital room with Roy) was also largely unscathed. He's very happy about that.

Mike's brother and his family are stuck in London with all those unfortunate travelers grounded by volcanic ash, waiting for a train to Hungary. Then they'll be coming back home to the States from their 4 month teaching stint in Vienna. Mike talked to them Sunday. They have it better than most, staying with friends in London, travel insurance covering the train, etc. All in all, I thought it sounded like a cool adventure. Enjoy the rest of your time Jim, Tami & boys!

Back on the home front...
We had our first house showing on Friday evening. (That's a funny story by itself.) I didn't think much of it until our realtor informed us this morning that they were making an offer. So....
We're hitting the pavement tomorrow to try and find a place.

That was unexpected.

Here Goes Nothin'

This graphic has nothing to do with the subject of this post...but... I discovered it on my desktop one day... it made me laugh. Kids rule.
Ok, here we go again... Back in the saddle... Round 2.

Pick your euphemism.

Our house is for sale again.

I'm not sure how we'll manage the process with everything else going on...but you do what you have to do, right? I might have lost a little REM sleep last night over it - I feel a little wasted today. We're looking for .5 acre +, a big enough house with at least the potential of becoming something cool, good feng shwei...all that. Preferably in SoJo - the land of our nativity. Adding to my emotional state, our dream house came on the market a few days ago too (thanks Mom for drawing my attention to that info). We've loved this house for years. (My sibs will recognize it as the Holtkamp's place.). Unfortunately, though it's dropped 50% in price, it still taunts us from a couple of hundred G's outside our range. Oh well.

Back in reality: there are some good things out there. We are optimistic. (Even if we hate this process.)

Updates on Stuff

Last night: Easter Eggs

Can you believe it's snowing again today? And is supposed to continue till the weekend? I think it was almost 70 degrees yesterday (albeit windy like you wouldn't believe). I went out running this morning...tried to convince Mike-L to go with me, but he wimped out. Just kidding. Mainly it was because we have a 19 month-old who doesn't babysit himself. Couldn't find my iPod (Which of you kids horked my iPod!?)...but that's OK...sometimes I like to just hear what's happening around me (even if I go slower).

Things are gearing up for the second annual NPA (our kids' school) 5K in a few weeks. I'm in charge of finish line/race course again this year - which is fine with me. I think that's the funnest place to be at a race. The race raised a lot of cash for the school last year, and I think overall, was a big success. Anyway, my sister, Beth and her husband started up a race-timing business this year and have volunteered to donate their time, equipment and expertise for our race (woohoo!). We just had to buy the magnetic timing chips. This makes my job this year about 100 times easier. Still I've got some logistics to take care of - and that's been occupying some time lately.

I've also been working on garden planning for this season. I've got my seeds ordered and the garden mapped out...I just need to get out there one of these days.

In other news: we're talking a lot about whether to put the house back on the market this year.

*Big Exhale*

Every time we put this topic on the shelf for a while it seems to resurface. We've been out looking at houses here and there, but then we just can't bring ourselves to put the house up for sale. It was such an ordeal last summer, all for not. Do we really want to deal with that again? It gets harder to think about moving the longer we're here...but if we're ever going to make the change now might be best. In case you were wondering, law school appears to be on the back burner again. Mike took the LSAT again a while ago...and did better, but, in terms of feasibility right now, it would be really difficult.

Anyway, I'm kind of tired of trying to decide, so if anyone knows what we're supposed to do, let me know. :)

...Like a Pollo With it's Head Cut Off...

...that's me (Mike will have to correct my Spanish if I used the wrong word for chicken).

You cannot believe how complicated it is to try and leave 5 kids, 3 pets, a house, church callings, job, volunteer demands at the kids' school, etc. for a week. Well, maybe you can believe it...and you're also thinking "That is why parents with young kids should NEVER leave town on their own." Still I have to say, taking 5 kids with us to the backwaters of southern Mexico would be even MORE complicated (& scary). By the way, thanks so much to all who will be helping out with it all so we can go.

Before next week I have a list about a mile long to get through, including a birthday party for a six year old boy - the obligatory Star Wars themed party that somehow we have avoided till now. I just couldn't refuse him...he has always been such a good sport about having kind of an unfortunately timed birthday (i.e. right after Christmas when I'm all partied/gifted out). He's put up with years of kind of lame, last minute birthday recognition...and I've been promising him this one for more than a year. (You're awesome, Tillman.) Today he and I took some time and transformed a basketball pinata into the Death Star (to be destroyed in a triumphant battle on Saturday by eight enthusiastic 5-6 year old boys).

I don't know how much it actually looks like the Death Star...but close enough.

My favorite part was listening to him repeatedly use the correct Spanish pronunciation of the word "pinata", emphasizing the "t".

Anyway, hopefully I can get through the next few days without forgetting anything critical. I may not be posting for a little while. Until then...(I just thought of the song they always sing at the end of the Lawrence Welk Show - you know what I mean.)Auf wiedersehen!

A Very Merry Christmas and A Botched Good Deed

Merry Christmas all!
We decided to make the holiday a little more interesting this year by taking in an injured bird intending to nurse it back to health. The afternoon before Christmas Eve the kids and I rescued a dove from the clutches of our cat Pluto, who's lately had a taste for wild birds (she can't help herself when the evergreen in our front yard is the winter residence of every bird within 10 miles). Typically we find out that she's been hunting when we find a pile of feathers at our door in the garage. This time we caught her in the act...and the bird was still alive. With kids crying for me to save the bird, what could I do? I could tell that she was badly injured, but I just couldn't walk away and let the cat kill her. I found a shoe box, gently put the bird in and carried the box upstairs to my bathtub. We gave her food, tried to clean her up & I gave her water from an eye-dropper.

When I told Mike over the phone what I'd done he was very doubtful, but nice. The dove actually seemed to be doing better over the next 24 hours - and I was beginning to wonder what to do with her long-term until she could fly again.

Christmas Eve...

We went to Mike's parents' to have Christmas Eve dinner and open some gifts with them. We had a good time and awesome food over there (as usual). It was great to see everyone. Two of Mike's brothers, Tim and Gary, were in town.

Afterward we headed over to the Sullivans' for the annual nativity. It's always a highlight at Christmas. This year my mom was calling our production a "journey to Bethlehem."

The cast suiting up.

I seriously LOVE my niece's face in this one.

Shepherds in their fields.

Meanwhile...

We returned home Christmas Eve to find that the dove had died. I felt really bad knowing that I had only managed to prolong its suffering...poor thing. Mike was very sweet and refrained from telling me, "I told you so." The kids soon shook off their sorrow because it was Christmas Eve after all...and the bird had gone to a better place.

Christmas morning brought all the usual excitement, and kids begging us to get out of bed so they could go see what Santa brought.

We made our way through lots of wrapping paper. And then our parents and lovely grandmothers paid a visit to see the kids in the morning. We are so happy to have both of them here this year. We finished out the day at the Sullivans with a big Christmas dinner. All in all it was a wonderful Christmas. We have so much to be grateful for... especially Christmases like this when our kids are young.