Christmas Day 2009

Santa was good to us this year. Here is what he brought...

The children all slept downstairs while we had visitors here (Brett's parents and grandmother), so we locked them down until we were ready to get them Christmas morning.

Here they are excited to see what Santa brought them.

Here is Brett rocking out on his new guitar - we still need to get him some lessons.

My father-in-law surprised my mother-in-law with a ring. She normally buys her own present and wraps it for herself. She puts it under the tree with his name on it. This Christmas, she got her own present, however...

It was a beautiful, snowy day. We had big, wet flakes of snow fall.

Lists

For Christmas the children wrote wish lists. Here are their lists for Christmas of 2009!

Claire's list

Caleb's list

Eli's list

Emily's list

I wanted to keep it so I could remember how they wrote and spelled.

A Big Splash

Caleb decided to participate in the swim team again this year. He is still "testing the waters" for which events he wants to really focus on. It is fun to go and watch, and I am amazed at how little he is. This is the High School Swim team. The junior high students are allowed to participate. Most of them swim junior varsity, and some even swim a varsity event now and then and letter (in 7th or 8th grade). It is very exciting!

Where's Caleb? If you divide this picture in thirds (vertically) he would be on the line dividing the first third from the second third. All you can see of him is the top of his head and the back of his swim parka. He is directly in front of the tall, dark-haired boy with his had on his back.

He has really enjoyed this year, and plans to continue. He has learned a lot and enjoys being in the water.

Caleb diving in for the 200 medley relay (he swims the butterfly).

(just a fun picture of Caleb diving in)

Being on the swim team has been very rewarding. Caleb has made some good friends, some stronger muscles, and fabulous memories.

Here Caleb is cheering on his friend who is swimming the 500. That is 20 lengths of the pool.

Caleb is swimming the 200 freestyle relay here.

He has attempted the 200 Individual Medley (50 butterfly, 50 back stroke, 50 breast stroke, 50 freestyle). He will probably do the 100 butterfly and the 200 IM next year. We'll see what else happens.

Here he is swimming the butterfly in the 200 medley relay (four different boys, four different strokes).

Team Eli

Forget Team Jacob or Team Edward, I am all for Team Eli, and this is why...

(this is a totally unrelated picture, but it is Eli all the same)

Once upon a time, there was a bus load of children being transported home after a long day of school. Eli, a highly excitable young boy, decided to lightly bite his friend Josh. The mentioned bite was all in fun, and did not hurt Josh physically, but there was a deep emotional injury that would arise. For Eli said that he was a vampire, and because of the bite, Josh would be turning into a vampire very soon.

That afternoon, Eli's family was not at home, due to various activities. When they arrived home, there were at least five messages from Josh. In each message, Josh was pleading with Eli to return his calls.

The next day, after school, the phone started ringing again. Josh wanted to talk to Eli, and they were allowed to talk. Of course, Eli's mother knew nothing of the "vampire bite," and Eli was not in close proximity to his mother while talking on the phone with Josh.

A couple of days went by with frequent phone calls from Josh, and Eli walking around with a mischievous grin. Sometime during this process, Eli's mother found out what was going on. Eli confessed to biting his friend and told of the story about his friend turning into a vampire. Eli also confessed that his friend was really concerned that he was turning into a vampire. The reason Josh was calling so often was to find out some of the symptoms of the vampire transformation. Josh would ask Eli if headaches, cramps, feeling a little sick, a sore throat, and various other winter-time ailments were symptoms of the change. Eli of course played along and told him they were all part of changing.

After several days of this charade, Eli's mother answered the telephone when Josh called. She spilled the beans. She told Josh that her son, Eli, was not a vampire and that he had been teasing Josh. She also told Josh that he had no need to worry, he was not turning into a vampire. Then she handed the phone to Eli and made him apologize, which he gladly did. Eli told Josh sorry about ten times and reassured him that he would not be turning into a vampire.

However, as Eli was getting ready to hang up, his mother heard him say, "I am not a vampire, I really am a werwolf." His mother glared at him with the look of death, and Eli quickly told his friend Josh that he was just kidding.

Let There Be Light

This is the light fixture that was in Caleb's room. It has had some problems with producing light. We tried the simple things like flipping the switch to the on position and replacing the light bulb with a bulb we knew worked, and still we had no light. Caleb has a lamp in his room, and he would use the lamp for light while he was in there. However, he would still flip the light switch on every time he entered the room. One evening he flipped the switch, and he did not flip it to the off position. That night his light started flickering in the middle of the night (not a pleasant thing to wake up to). We decided that it was a wiring thing, so I decided to get a new light and replace it.

This is what I got.
Now Caleb has a light that works, and we are all happier with that (he can walk in and flip the switch, I can walk by his room and flip the switch to shut it off rather than walk into his room to turn off the lamp - which has three different bulbs and switches on it).

Christmas Eve Pranks

Three years ago, Brett's parents came out to visit for Christmas. If I remember correctly, Christmas Eve was a Sunday, so on the way home from church, Joyce was saying something to the effect of, "Let's all draw names and then do something nice for that person (service)." The boys interrupted her and said, I know, we draw names and then do something nice - in a snotty, mocking voice, and in the middle of what their grandma was saying, she changed it and said, "No! We draw names and then pull a prank on that person."

This is what we got that day.

Christmas Eve Pranks – Grandma Asay was telling the children a story on the way home from church about drawing names and doing something nice for the person whose name they got. The children kind of belly ached about it, so she changed it to playing a practical joke. The children jumped right on that and decide that would be fun. The rules were that the prank had to be pulled by bedtime and it wouldn’t hurt them. Emily had grandma Asay. She came right home and drew a picture of grandma. Then she said, “Merry Christmas” to grandma and hit her in the face with a pillow. Here are some of the trouble makers hiding after pulling a prank. Eli had grandpa Asay and grandma suggested making up grandpa while he napped.

Here is the prank they pulled (sorry Grandpa Asay)…

The next prank was one played on Emily. Caleb tied her up outside and then took a picture:

Grandma Asay had Caleb, and she was going to wrap up some sticks and rocks and give it to him for his Christmas Eve pajamas. Instead, we wrapped up his pajamas from last year. He didn’t recognize it, so he was excited and went to the other room to put them on. All of the adults were laughing, and he couldn’t figure out why. When we told him that he had last year’s pajamas on he kind of grumbled about it and wanted to change, but we made him pose with everyone so that we could remember the prank. Then grandma gave him his new pajamas, and he was happier. (The funny thing is that he didn't like them the year before, and when he opened them he said, "Thanks grandma, you really outdid yourself.)

Brett had Eli and when we sat down for cookies and eggnog, Brett put a pickle and a rock in his eggnog. Eli laughed and so did we. Grandpa had Claire and didn’t pull a prank. Claire had me and I had Brett, so I made 2 signs that said, “Kiss Me!” and had Claire tape them to our backs. The children didn’t think that was quite fair, but it worked. It worked out really well and the kids had fun.

On to this year... Since we knew Brett's parents and his grandmother were coming, the children were excited to do the "traditional" pranks (it is only a tradition when we celebrate with grandma & grandpa Asay). So we drew names. This first one wasn't really a "planned" prank, but it was fun. Grandma & grandpa wanted to play a game called "Oonga Boonga" and the children had to be initiated into the club. Grandma would do a dance, and the child would have to repeat it.

Here is grandma initiating one of the children.

While the child was standing up, grandpa slipped a wet towel under their bottom, and they sat on it.

Claire sitting on the wet towel.

Emily sitting on the wet towel.

Eli very skeptical of what is going on - he didn't end up sitting on the wet towel.

When it was Caleb's turn, he was very skeptical, also. I told him to play along, and he did. Instead of slipping a wet towel under Caleb's bottom, Brett had a different plan..

Brett enjoying his slyness.

Grandma's wet bottom.

Brett slid in behind (no pun intended) his mother and slipped a sopping wet paper towel on her chair. She had no idea it was there, and she plopped down. It took a few seconds for the water to soak in and register, and she jumped up. We all got a good laugh...

or at least most of us did (thanks for being such a good sport - mom).

Great grandma Asay had Caleb, and she could not think of anything to do, so grandma came up with an idea to wrap up grandma great's dentures and give them to Caleb. They got grandpa to make a "presentation" about a family heirloom that was his father's and he was supposed to pass it on to the oldest "Asay" grandson. During this "presentation," Caleb is almost getting emotional to think that he is receiving an heirloom, he is thinking how cool it will be, and he is thinking about what he might tell his friends... Little did he know he was being pranked. (As a side note, I started feeling bad for Caleb while grandpa was giving his little speech because I could tell that Caleb was really starting to feel some emotion about the whole thing.)

Grandpa Asay giving his speech.

Presentation of the heirloom.

A close-up of the "heirloom."

Needless to say, Caleb was not impressed, he was grossed out, and he thought they were really his great grandfather's dentures. He was ready to throw them out. Some of the others tried to touch them, but we stopped them and told them that they were grandma great's teeth.

Grandpa Asay had Emily, and he had grandma help him with his prank. Every year they give the children pajamas for Christmas. This year, Emily's pajamas would not go on.

Emily showing that her pajamas will not open.

The stitch in the back that grandma put in.

Caleb pranked grandpa. Grandma had got pajamas for grandpa, too. Caleb took them, wet them down, and then put them in the freezer. They pre-wrapped a box, so that all they had to do was put the pajamas in and tape a flap down.

Grandpa Asay with his frozen pajamas.

There were other pranks like bugs in beds, being tied up while napping, calls from the "missionaries" asking to bring a big family over for Christmas Eve, calls from Santa Claus, chocolate covered garlic cloves, snow balls down shirts, old books wrapped up for presents, etc.

It was very fun and something the children looked forward to. It is also something that makes memories, and that is what it is all about.

Small Town Living

There are some advantages to living in a small town. I have come across a couple of them this past weekend.

First, on Friday, I took a program into a local printing shop to be printed for the dance recital. I gave them my phone number, and they were going to call when they were done. As it happened, I didn't hear the phone because I was vacuuming or doing laundry (or something else domestic), and I got the message after the shop was closed. The owner had left his cell phone number, so I called him back.

In trying to set up a time to get the programs, he told me that I might be able to come to his house and pick them up. Then he found out that one of the dancers was at a local pizza shop, and asked if it was alright if he stopped by the pizza shop and had her bring them to the show. I told him that would be great. I still have to run in and pay for them.

Benefits of a small town #2: We got some Christmas cards addressed like this. They had our old address crossed out, and we got them in our current residence. I guess when your name is not very common, they can find you.

Peter Pan

This year, instead of doing the Nutcracker, the children's dance company did Peter Pan. They had two shows. In the first show Caleb was Peter Pan, Eli was a lost boy and a pirate, Emily was a mermaid, and Claire was a faerie.

They all did an excellent job. In the scene in the bedroom, Caleb, as Peter Pan, almost made me cry because it was simple and beautiful. He did a great job connecting with his counterparts, Wendy and Tinkerbell. They nailed it. It was also the first time I had seen it.

During the second show Claire was a faerie again, Emily was the mermaid princess, Eli was Captain Hook and a lost boy, and Caleb was a Native.

Again, they all did fabulously. Emily was so regal in her dancing. She really took her role seriously. Claire was beautiful. She is a little leader when she is on the stage. Caleb had a ton of energy in his dance jumping around. Eli, well, he plays his part. He made a grand entrance by hobbling on the stage, and he made a grand exit by being killed by Peter Pan, dying, falling to the ground, losing his hook, quickly grabbing his hook, and dragging his dying self off the stage.

I love to watch these four perform. They do very well, and they seem to enjoy it.

BOO-HOO! BOO

Brett announced some of his travel plans, and our Boo was not very happy about it. She made sure to let him know how she felt about it.

Here she is holding her "love" note.

Brett was not very happy about it either.

Fortunately, Brett's plans were such that he made it home on her birthday and took her out for dinner. Hopefully he will make it to her concert, and he should be at her recital.

Not BAAAAAd

My grandpa sent this to me. I thought it was very fun.