End of the Year

Instagram has a Top Nine of the Year feature that takes your nine most liked pictures from the year and puts them in a collage.  I have created one for the past couple of years, just for fun.  Here's the Top Nine from 2019.

Top: Katherine at 49; Kent & Katherine on Memorial Day; Mother's Day

Middle: Braided Easter bread; Hiking the Narrows; Easter

Bottom: Canoeing; Kent in a tie!; Kent at 62

Reenactment

I've been looking for something to read to Brandt. We quite like The Princess Bride movie and I loved the book when I read it, so I picked up a copy at the library. At the beginning of both the book and the movie, a sick kid is being read the book by his father/grandfather. This week, Brandt hasn't felt well, so he's been lying around watching a lot of TV.

In a reenactment of the text and movie, I told Brandt I would read to him. He's been snuggled up next to me as I've read the exciting tale of romance, adventure, sword fighting, a fire swamp, ROUS, perfect kisses, revenge, and true love.  The Princess Bride is the best.  Brandt has been reading ahead when I've had other things I've needed to do. I hope he feels better soon and I hope he continues to allow me to read aloud to him.

National Card Playing Day

Brandt announced this morning, "Today is National Card Playing Day."  I love playing cards, Mikayla and Mom love playing cards, Christopher loves playing cards.  I sent them all a text and said, "Come over and play cards." 

Mikayla and Mom came over shortly thereafter.  Mom brought fixings for lunch, and we talked and laughed while we ate.  Mikayla also read the rules of a new card game from Italy.  Our (Kent and mine) niece, Makenna (Seth's wife), served a mission in Italy. When I first met her, we talked about how I'm Italian, and she said, "Oh! We should play Briscola together."  I'd never even heard of Briscola, which is probably sad.

I mentioned this to Mikayla and she ordered a pack of cards, which is different from regular face cards. Mikayla, Mom, and I got together today to try to figure out how to play. I'm not sure we really got it, but we played. Mom didn't love it, Mikayla and I sort of got it.  The Pugmires asked if we had played Scopa which they play all the time. We'll have to try that next. 

A Gang or Friendly Fun

The Bradfords and the Oylers came over to play with Blythe and Brandt. They wound up playing all together in the basement. There was much shrieking filtering up through the floorboards, shrieking from boys and girls alike.

This is not a good picture.

Sam is a complete blur.  

If I didn't tell you who that was standing above Blythe, you'd never know.

And speaking of standing above, how is it that Emma is only half the size of Jarom?

He's a monster!

She's a shrimp!

That contrast is pretty amusing.

Christmas Day

We're out of focus.

We had a lovely Christmas day.  The children let us sleep until 7:00am, which I know was hard for them, but nice for us.  They were impatient with excitement.  I can't blame them.  I remember what it was like when I was their age.  Although money has been tight, we were able to get the kids both MP3 players, an item they have both been requesting for months.  

I made crepes for breakfast, figured out how to download songs to the MP3 players, and let the kids have at the downloading.  We lounged around a bit, then headed over to Grandma Sue's house to be with family, play games, and eat a lot of food.  It was fun to be together, again, and laugh and play (and scream).  It was so great to have Bryan and his kids again.  All the cousins had a marvelous time together, and I was so happy that Donovan, Vica, Mila, and Nico were able to enjoy good fun with their cousins.  We have missed them.  While the children ran around (literally), the adults played cards and talked and connected.  We always miss Grandpa De, on Christmas especially, but feel so blessed to live near enough to each other that we can be together regularly.  It was a happy Christmas!

While I didn't take any pictures at my mom's house, Kal did, on my phone.  I discovered 44 photos taken at Kal's eye level of all sorts of things--the floor, doors, feet, other small children.  Almost none of them are in focus.  But just for silliness, I'll include those that are actually are in focus.

While not exactly in focus, I love Kal's little feet in the bottom of this shot.

Neither of these are in focus, but I love that Kal thought to take pictures of people.

Nico is clearly engaged in a bit of mischief!

Christmas Eve

Today is the for real Christmas Eve, and we gathered this morning to be with the DeMartinis for breakfast and cousin gift exchange.  I made the children help wrap presents while I finished up breakfast contribution food prep.  They are getting very good at wrapping.  We didn't do much different than most past years.  We ate a delicious breakfast--eggs, bacon, sausage, quiche, sweet breads, fruit, juice, chocolate milk--and followed it up with gift exchange.  We were delighted to have Bryan and his kids with us, a first in many, many years.  We also watched the Church's new video, The Christ Child.  It is incredibly beautiful and made us all cry.  We've watched it several times, and every time, I cry.

All the grandchildren, though all aren't happy.

Kal clearly does not want to be in the picture, and Nico is only interested in the gun.

We spent quite a bit of time at Christopher and Tysen's playing with cousins, then came home for some Christmas Eve prep.  We invited Richard and Gonzalo Jaramillo (in our ward and recently displaced by the fire) to join us for dinner.  Gonzalo is a talker and recounted several very inspiring stories about his conversion and family history.  When we had finished dinner, we watched A Christmas Story which neither Richard nor Gonzalo had seen.  We convinced the children to go to bed at a reasonable hour, then Kent and I finished up Christmas wrapping.  For having not very much money, I think we did okay with gifts.  We, too, went to bed at a reasonable hour so Santa could come.

All in readiness.

This picture was taken at 11:11pm, as we were turning out lights to go to bed.

Our tree looks puny because it is.

We're economizing in all sorts of ways.

Christmas Extravaganza

Every year I've been going to spin during the winter, Amy Woffinden, the Monday/Friday instructor, has had a Christmas "Extravaganza." She plays Christmas music, she brings a treat, usually oranges and a chocolate, and we do a white elephant gift exchange.

Today was the extravaganza, and in its honor, I wore my Christmas tree headband as I spun. I took a big bag of kettle korn popcorn, and brought it home again because I didn't want anything else more, and no one took it from me.  Here's to silly early morning exercise.

Pic Collages

I discovered very silly pic collages on the phone today.  Someone has been busy without me knowing it!

 

Before and After

"Awww" indeed!

Sunday Selfies

Here are December Sunday selfies.

Always so many selfies.

December 8th

December 15th 

December 22nd 

"Christmas Eve"

It's not actually Christmas Eve, but we gathered this evening with the Barri, as we do on Christmas Eve, because actual Christmas Eve isn't going to work.  So we had early Christmas Eve.

It was a very busy day, right from the get-go.  The final installment of Star Wars came out yesterday, and Brandt has been dying to see it.  Me too, quite frankly.  While we couldn't go last night because of our adults-only Christmas dinner, I promised Brandt we would go first thing this morning.  We caught an 10:30 showing, and Mikayla joined us because Guy doesn't want to see it.  It was very exciting, fast paced, crammed with all sorts of information that was hard to catch.  We'll need to see it again, eventually.  Our review: thumbs up.

A great many things have been put off or crossed off my list of normal Christmas to-dos, and pie making was one of them.  I haven't had the time nor financial resources to spend a day making pie (last year we made 52!), so we just haven't.  But as we are going to Salt Lake for Christmas Eve, I felt like I should make a pie for David and Sharon, and Lee and Cammie.  And of course, if I was going to be making one for both of them, I had a short list of about three or four others who needed a pie, too.  So as soon as the movie was over, we dashed home, Mikayla and Mom came over, and we made pie.  We only made 15.  I know.  Fifteen is still a lot of pie, but not dozens and dozens.  We were quick and efficient; it only took an hour and a half.

Our Barrus Family Christmas Eve gathering was delightful as always.  We ate well, we played well at our white elephant gift exchange, we sang well during the nativity.  It was a delight to be together and to catch up with what everyone was doing.  And I love to see Brandt and Blythe interacting with their cousins, big and small.  We miss Grandpa and Grandma Barrus when we are at these sorts of gatherings.  We know they loved their family and being with everyone, and their absence is keenly felt.  Family is a wonderful thing, especially this time of year! 

  

Adults Only Dinner Party

This evening, Kent and I had dinner with all my siblings and mom. It was especially fantastic tonight because ALL my siblings were there. Bryan came because Melissa is out of town, working in her capacity as a traveling nurse.  It's been a really long time since all of us were together, all at the same time, and it made us all happy.  We ate delicious food, we laughed and laughed, and we didn't worry about the children at all. It was so wonderful to have us all together. It's been far too long.

I was in charge of dessert.

It being Christmas, I made a gingerbread cake which we ate with caramel sauce and whipped cream.

Both delicious and beautiful!

Class Christmas Party

We've had another "last" today. It was Blythe's class Christmas party, her last one of elementary school. I had signed up to help with minute-to-win-it games, and Barbara Lepinski was going to help. She had a last minute work thing, so Kent came with me.

We had the kids play three different games. They had to put a cookie on their forehead and work it down into their mouths; they had to move cottonball "snowballs" from one bowl to another with a spoon in their mouths, without using their hands; and they built red Solo cup pyramids.

The kids competed against each other to be fastest at building and unbuilding the pyramids, and to see which team of two could move the most "snowballs" in a minute.

Other stations were sugar cookie decorating, craft making, and Christmas bingo. I meant to take pictures of Blythe doing other things, but I forgot and only took pictures of her at our station. Here's to sixth grade fun!

Blythe was able to get the cookie into her mouth.

Eventually.

Look at that concentration!

Blythe stacked and unstacked her tower in 1:30.