Merry Christmas!

We had a great Christmas, except for the death of my camera on Christmas Eve. I won't dwell on it, though. Tifanie has an extra one she's letting me borrow until I figure out which kind I want and can save up enough to buy it.

Anyway, we spent Christmas Eve with Brad's family at their annual gift exchange. 30 people came and it was a blast as usual. Brad's two cousins with their families, his brother & family, his sister Alicia who just moved back from Hawaii (welcome back, Alicia!), his parents, my parents, the missionaries, it was a lively group! I didn't get any pictures like I wanted to, but I'll survive. Once again, Pat brought the most fought after gift. He made two fencing swords out of stainless steel rods with metal spoons for the hand guards and bolts and washers on the handles. Genius! Jonathan ended up with them, because as Ben said, "Uncle Jon's family always gets the good presents!"

Christmas morning, the kids were up at 5:15 to open their stockings. We told them they couldn't wake us up until 7:00, and they were very prompt! Here are some gift opening shots:

The kids gave Brad a "boom-box" because he wanted a radio to listen to when he's out working in the yard. Brad found these mugs with the girls' initials on them. They were a big hit!


Ben got this great treasure chest. He is quite a treasure collector, so he'll be able to fit alot of treasure in this!


Brad LOVES See's candy, and was very happy to open this box.


Jillian gave Nate a "real" wallet. He's very happy not to have to use his old velcro one anymore.


I got Smartwool socks! Three pairs! The only thing I asked for this year. I can't wait to try them out next time we go kayaking. I've got high hopes for warm toes.


I made each of the kids a fleece blanket. This is Kylie's.

Ben has geckoes on it, Jillian's is covered with peace signs and flowers, and Nathan's is brown/red plaid.


Even Matzo got in on the action. Kylie gave him a tug-of-war toy, which he loves, except he can't figure out why the two tennis balls are connected by an annoying rope and keeps trying to chew them apart.

Here's my newest Christmas ornament, in honor of the Fantastic Four.

I also got this awesome Cocoa-Latte maker. It heats and whips the milk to a delicious froth. I've been over-indulging in steamed almond-flavored milk!

Christmas evening, we went over to my parents' for a delicious dinner and opened more presents. Nate and my Dad played their annual pool tournament.

Here's Tif and some of the kids waiting to open gifts.

We had a great two days with family. I love Christmas!

R.I.P. (Rest in Pieces)

December 24 at approximately 6:00 PM, a Canon Powershot A710 camera was the victim of a drive-over. The camera, property of Mrs. Jenny Van Aken from Bainbridge Island, was being transported to a Christmas Eve celebration and was inadvertently dropped in the owner's driveway as she entered her vehicle. The camera was first reported missing when Mrs. Van Aken arrived at her destination. She searched her vehicle and couldn't find the camera, but assumed that in the bustle of loading packages into the car, she must have forgotten it at home. When the Van Akens returned home later that evening, Mrs. Van Aken searched for the camera, but still couldn't find it. Perplexed, Mrs. Van Aken wondered if her husband had hidden the camera, attempting to surprise her with a new one as a Christmas gift.

On Christmas morning, when the camera was still missing, Mrs. Van Aken called a family member nearby to ask if she could borrow a camera. Her husband, Brad Van Aken, offered to pick up the camera, and upon backing out of the garage, saw the camera in the driveway. He brought the camera into the house, where it was discovered that it had been driven over the night before. Upon questioning, the driver of the vehicle, 16 year-old Nathan Van Aken recalls, "Yeah, remember when I was backing out last night and I said I thought I drove over something?"

Mrs. Van Aken remembers her camera fondly saying, "It's been a good camera. I've taken it halfway around the world, and on all my kayaking outings. I was just beginning to discover its potential. I'll miss it. Except for the way it ate through AA batteries."

Mrs. Van Aken states that she will thoroughly research new cameras before she commits to buying another. She will most likely be found surfing eBay and Craigslist in the coming weeks.

Fun in the Snow

Since it hasn't snowed here yet and Brad has the week off, we decided to take a trip up to Snoqualmie to get our snow fix. The past few years we've gone sledding at the Hyak Sno-Park and that was supposed to be our destination today. We invited several friends and were very excited to go. Until last night, when Brooke checked the website and saw that the snow park was closed "due to lack of snow". Uh-oh. We checked again this morning, and it was still closed. Bummer! But fortunately, we have friends who have a cabin right at the summit and they said we could come up and use their private sledding hill. We were a little apprehensive since we had a big group, but it turned out to be so much fun. The best part was making "trains", which they don't let you do at the snow park.

Everyone had a great time, even Nate. It was wonderful to see him enjoying himself with the family. There was no bickering, just lots of laughter. Even on the car ride home, which is truly a Christmas miracle!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

'Tis the Season...

For band concerts!

Jillian had her first concert Monday. It was just her band class of about 20 kids: trombones, trumpets, bass clarinets and a saxophone. Later in the year they have a concert with the whole 5th grade band, but for the first one the teacher likes them to have time to play solos or in small groups if they want to. I was very impressed with the progress Jillian has made in just 3 1/2 months. All that practicing pays off, I guess! Kylie thought she video-taped Jillian's small group performance, but for some reason, it didn't work. She played "Baa Baa Black Sheep" with the four other girls in the class. Most of the large group pieces were Christmas songs. It's definitely a cool experience to hear "Up on the Housetop", "Jingle Bells" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" played by a bunch of brass instruments!

Kylie's concert was Thursday night. It's really difficult to take good pictures at the concerts. The lighting isn't good, and Kylie sits in the middle-back of the band. My little camera's video capability isn't that great either, so you'll just have to believe me that they sounded wonderful. The band director admitted that he didn't choose many Christmas songs this year because he's planning a big "Chrismas-Kwanza-Hanukkah" concert next year. I was a little disappointed, especially since we won't have a child at Woodward next year, but they played their selections well, and "Nutcracker Suite" was one of them, so I guess that's kind of a Christmas song.

Then on Friday night, we went to the ultimate "band concert", the Seattle Symphony to see/hear Handel's Messiah. I'd never seen the whole thing before and it was amazing! I love the chorus, especially "For unto us a Child is Born", "Every Valley Shall be Exalted", and the "Hallelujah Chorus". I got chills during all of them. Benyroya Hall is a beautiful building. During the intermission, Brad and I walked up to the very top balcony and peered over the railing, quite a dizzy-ing experience.

I love Christmas music!

Need More Hours in Your Day?

Get a sick kid and the day seems much longer! You can't go the places you were going to go, or do the things you were supposed to do, unless they're things you can do at home.

Actually, it's kind of a blessing in disguise. Ben woke up yesterday with a sore throat and promptly threw up. No school for him. Instantly, two hours were freed up. I was supposed to volunteer in his class, and he was supposed to get a flu shot after school. Both were cancelled. I have several projects I've been working on that I've been worried about finishing, but suddenly I had more time to get them done. Then this morning, a repeat of yesterday. So my temple trip was cancelled and now I'm staying home today. I am disappointed, because I really do love going to the temple. But there are lots of things I still need to do (like update my blog...) and now I'll be home to do them. I'm just hoping I don't get sick...

Inspiration

I feel like I passed a huge test last night. As the 2nd counselor in the Relief Society presidency, I'm in charge of the Relief Society activies. Last night was my first one. It was the Christmas Program. Talk about pressure!

Since the new presidency was just called at the end of October, we felt like we didn't have enough time to plan something big and complicated, which was fine with me. I prefer simple. I wanted to do something that would focus on Christ, that would share the Christmas spirit, would involve several sisters, and would be simple. Good music, especially Christmas music, always helps me feel the Spirit, and we have several musically talented sisters in our ward. But I felt like we needed to have something more than just musical numbers, so I thought it would be nice for some sisters to share a special Christmas memory. I had no idea who to ask, and inspiration took over. I love how that happens!

The four musical numbers and the four sisters who shared stories brought exactly the spirit I was hoping for. We were uplited, inspired, touched, and brought closer together. The decorations were another inspiration; my trusty assistant, Carlyn, felt like she should ask a certain sister to be in charge of the decorations and they were perfect. She set the small stage with a cozy setting: a Christmas tree decorated with pictures of Christ, an old-fashioned record player on a table next to it, and a rocking chair, surrounded with pointsettias and lights. For the center-pieces on the tables, I asked a few sisters to bring a nativity. Simple, easy, perfect!

I'm learning a lot in my new calling. One thing is that when you're striving to help your sisters feel the Spirit, it will happen despite doubts or feelings of inadequacy. It was my turn to give the presidency message last Sunday, and I was very nervous. I've never taught a class for adults before, only young women and children. I knew what topic I was going to speak on, Hope, I just wasn't sure about how to present my message. After praying and thinking and reading some conference talks about hope, I wrote down my thoughts and trusted that it would all come out how it should. And it did. One of the thoughts I came across in studying for my lesson is that hope is expectation based on experience. So now I can have hope that my next activity, or my next lesson, will turn out well as long as I strive to help my sisters feel the Lord's Spirit.

Voyage #9 -- Fletcher Bay to Point White Dock...and Back!

What was I thinking? On the map it looked like such a short jaunt. I didn't want to believe the forecast for 8 to 16 mph South to Southwest winds, especially since the chance of rain on Monday was only 20%. No pictures from this outing, it took all my strength and focus to keep paddling. It took us 1 1/2 hours to get down to the Point White Dock, in a gusty head-wind and choppy waves the whole way. Of course when we turned around to go back, the wind died down and didn't give us the nice push back we were expecting. The return trip took about an hour, and we only rested for a minute at the dock. We were all pretty wet and it was cold, so I voted to keep moving. My arms are still sore!

Green Friday

There's almost nothing that could induce me to wake up extra early the day after Thanksgiving to rush around in a crowded shopping mall or big-box store fighting for mega-deals. Maybe I would do it if the stores offered to pay me to shop, maybe. But probably not.

Instead, we've created our own day-after tradition that involves sleeping in a little, rushing around to pack lunches and find all the warm snow clothes and sleds, piling into the van and heading up to the mountains to cut our Christmas tree.

It's much more fulfilling than finding the best deal on the latest electronic device. I'd even argue that it's the best deal around. For a $5.00 permit fee, we can cut any size and type tree we want. Compare that to $8.00/foot that the local tree farm charges, and we saved $67.00 on a 9 foot tree, or 93%. I don't think any stores around here had sales that good!

And we got to spend a beautiful day in the mountains playing in the snow with good friends. Can't buy that!

A Great Date!

Brad took the day off the day before Thanksgiving and asked if I wanted to do something together.

"Like what?" I asked. "We could go kayaking," he suggested.

He didn't have to say anything more! As soon as the girls got on the bus at 8:05, I started gathering my gear.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "Getting ready to go," I said. "I didn't know you wanted to go so early!" he laughed.

It had been a while since I'd been able to get out on the water, and I was eager to go! We started at Dock Street, and paddled around Little Manzanita, one of my favorite spots.

Even though it was a bit windy, Little Manzanita is secluded and the water is almost always calm. We had a very nice time together, and Brad was able to see why I love kayaking so much.

Raking Leaves

I love it that my kids still enjoy raking and playing in leaves. Jillian enjoys it so much, every year she asks if she can have a friend over to play in the leaves with her. I didn't get any pictures of Jillian and her friend Chloe, but they spent at least an hour burying themselves and jumping in them.

Mini Vacation

Brad had a few extra vacation days he had to take before the end of the year, so we decided to go on a mini-vacation together. After researching several places, we ended up staying in Seattle at the Camlin. Thanks to good friends, we got a screaming deal! It was like having our own little apartment in the heart of downtown, right across the street from the Paramount Theater, two blocks from Barnes & Noble, Old Navy, and Pacific Place.

We spent the days relaxing, reading, shopping, and seeing a movie (2012...don't waste your money, or time!), and the evenings eating fabulous food and listening to great music!

Monday evening Nathan and Brooke braved the howling wind and pouring rain to join us at Etta's for some amazing seafood (I had the salmon in the picture, if you click on the link) and triple coconut cream pie...yum!

While we were planning our get away, Brad realized David Wilcox would be performing at the Triple Door on Tuesday evening. A few years ago, our friends Charles and Elisa took us to his show and we really enjoyed it. So we were excited to get to see him again. Ralph and Stephanie joined us for more delicious food (the Triple Door serves food from Wild Ginger, the BEST Thai restaurant ever, sorry Sawadty's!) and a great show.

Peppino D'Agostino opened; he is an amazing guitar player. I really loved this song:



Here's a great one from David Wilcox, too.



It was like having another life for a few days. We were a world away and didn't have to deal with things like the power going out Monday night and the kids not waking up in time to catch the bus Tuesday morning, or Kylie thinking she forgot an important paper at home, or any of the other crazy things that go on in daily life. Brad's parents stayed at our house with the kids and spoiled them with KFC, Domino's Pizza, Little Debbies, and lots of soda, so I think the kids enjoyed us being gone, too!

Family Communication

It doesn't matter if your family lives hundreds of miles apart, or on the same small Island. Communication is always a challenge! Especially around the holidays. Here's a conversation I had with my youngest sister this afternoon:

Tif: What are you guys doing for Thanksgiving?
Me: Going to Mom's. Aren't you?
Tif: No, we're going to Tad's parents'.
Me: What? Mom told me last month everyone was going to her house!
Tif: Well, we're all getting together for Dad's birthday on the 29th, so we thought we'd go to Tad's parents' for Thanksgiving. They were supposed to be in Utah, but they changed their plans.
Me: What about Corey?
Tif: I think they're going to Olympia.
Me: Huh.

I haven't talked to my mom yet, but I can hear the conversation before we even have it. It will go something like this:

Me: So, Mom, when did the Thanksgiving plans change?
Mom: I thought I told you! I know I talked to Tif. And Corey. I know I talked to Corey. I thought I talked to you, too.
Me: Nope. I just heard about it from Tif today...

Looks like I'm buying a turkey after all.

Voyage #8 -- Fletcher Bay to Manzanita

After a few weeks off due to bad weather and vacations, we took advantage of the beautiful day yesterday to complete the "Battle Point" section of our kayaking adventure. As I sit watching the rain pour down and the wind gust this afternoon, I'm even more glad we were able to make it out yesterday!

I finally found a kayak. It was on Craigslist, and ended up being right in Poulsbo, about 20 minutes from my house. The woman selling it was an older lady who didn't use it much anymore. When she bought it about 8 years ago, she and two friends all bought the same kind of boat and took them on their camping trips together. They even kayaked around Bainbridge Island together! She was so happy to hear I will use it for exactly the same things! It was meant to be. It handles really well. I'm very happy to have my own boat!

We started at Fletcher Landing (click on the link for an interesting history of this "controversial" access spot).

In highschool, Brad and his friends would water ski right out here and gas up the boat at the marina in the picture.

First we paddled around in Fletcher Bay. It's a small bay, and most of the homes are more "mature". I love how each bay has it's own characteristics. Fletcher Bay is very tranquil spot.

Outside of the bay, the water felt like mud: very thick and hard to paddle through. We couldn't figure out why because we thought we were going in the same direction as the tide, and there was no wind. The only thing we could guess was that the currents must split somewhere close to here and we were actually going against the current.

A beautiful home on the shores of Battle Point:

Once we got closer to Battle Point (the strip of land in the picture below is the actual "point") the current changed and paddling became much easier.

This marker indicates the Point. I wish I would have gotten a better picture of the actual beach. It looks like it would be a great place to play in the summer. Too bad it's privately owned!

You can kind of see the beach in this picture, behind this...whatever it is...an old billboard? a gallows? (there's a rope tied on the end) anyone know what it really is?

Hey, Katie G...recognize this place? Does it look the same? A few more kayaks in the yard, maybe?

Our friends used to live here. I'll never forget their generosity one Christmas when we were building our house. They went on vacation during Christmas break and let us stay here, greatly reducing our stress at a very critical time in the house-building process!

We ended another successful kayaking adventure at Manzanita Bay. I'm learning so much more about this beautiful Island I live on. Another plus is that when I'm driving, I can orient myself much better now that I've seen parts of the Island from the "water side".