Friday, December 5th, was the first of the December birthdays we get to celebrate. Danny turned 21! He is officially an adult...although I'm pretty sure no Southwick male (born or married in) is actually ever really an adult. In true Southwick male fashion, Danny was reluctant to do anything big. He went to work then at least met Jeff and I for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (the temptation of a peppermint cheesecake was too much for him to refuse) before going back to our house to work on his truck. Thankfully, he did agree to have a family dinner/dessert on Sunday, December 7th. I honestly can't believe the little red headed boy I met thirteen years ago is 21. He has grown into such a faith-filled, determined young man. He has always loved fiercely and is loyal to the end. He has been our biggest parenting adventure, yet through it all our love and admiration for him has only grown. Happy birthday Danny!
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| Jacob holding him down for birthday spankings. |
Saturday, December 6th, Jonas and I attended Nolan, Camden, and Lincoln's Christmas piano recital. I am so impressed with these boys, Jonas included. It takes a lot of work and dedication to learn to play an instrument. I know they don't always like the practices or the lessons, but it was so cool to hear them play. They even did a trio to Angels We Have Heard on High. I love listening to Christmas music so tonight was a holiday treat...and then we grabbed a real treat from Chick-fil-A (peppermint shakes).
We chose to watch the First Presidency Devotional on Monday, December 8th (since we had celebrated Danny's birthday the night before). As is tradition, Jonas and I baked up and decorated some sugar cookies. Our cookie decorating skills are improving every year! It helps that we found the right icing recipe (and they taste much better too!). I love that Jonas gets into this. He wants to learn and do it all himself. I will coach him (with my limited knowledge) and he just does it. We created some pretty (& delicious) cookies then enjoyed listening to the sounds and messages of the season. I am grateful for these little moments that remind us of the real meaning of the season.
Wednesday, December 10th, Audrey finished her last final! Achieving a 4 year university degree is no small feat; unfortunately, UVU doesn't offer a winter commencement so she won't be able to experiencing all the pomp and circumstance until the Spring. However, we wanted to celebrate her "graduating" so Dallin arranged for us to meet up with her parents for a celebratory dinner. Jonas, of course, got to tag along. He was surprised when Dallin told us to meet them at a sushi place. Dallin doesn't like sushi, but, as Jonas noted, he must really love Audrey because she does. It was fun to catch up with her parents and enjoy a night celebrating Audrey.
Thursday, December 11th, we attended A Christmas Carol. This is a tradition I look forward to each year. I love the story of Scrooge. I know he's an extreme example of disregard for others, but I think we all have moments where we step into Scrooge's shoes. We have moments when we might be short with others or choose to judge with our limited knowledge. Dickens' classic tale illustrates the virtue of kindness and the miraculous way it can affect lives. I love that, in a way, it points us to Christ. It reminds us of His mission on this earth - to love us all back home. This year, I grabbed Jonas from school then we grabbed an early dinner before seeing the production at the new Hale Center Theater in Pleasant Grove (affectionately called The Ruth theater). We usually watch this at the HCT in Sandy, but with The Ruth opening closer to us, we opted to go there. It was a new cast but the same story. There were slight changes in the interpretation of the story or how to present it on stage, but the same meaning. We all really enjoyed the reminder to be a little kinder and to look beyond ourselves. After all, Christmas is all about His love and the love He wants us to share with others.
That weekend (Friday, December 12th - Saturday, December 13th), Jeff and I hosted our first Christmas Cousins Sleepover. We invited all of our grandkids to join us Friday evening until Saturday mid-morning for games, treats, and fun. It was a little bit of an undertaking to manage Carter, Everly, and Beau (Ava is still too young to join us), but it was so worth it! They arrived around dinner time and I had picked up Chick-fil-A for all of us. After dinner, we went to "elf school". We all got elf hats and learned how to decorate a tree, wrangle a reindeer, throw a snowball, and make a stocking (not necessarily in that order). The kids had a blast! The games (snowball toss and reindeer ring toss) went quick. They had fun, but were ready to move on to the next activity. They actually spent the most time on making the stockings. I was a little surprised by that. I thought for sure they'd be impatient with that, but they were all invested, including Jonas. He bounced between being one of the kids and a mini-adult. He helped a lot with the kiddos, but he was also excited to participate in the activities. The "tree" decorating was of course a messy favorite. I'm pretty sure Carter ate more frosting than tree. Everly was careful as to how she decorated (as was Jonas). Beau just wanted to eat the mini M&Ms. Once all the chaos was mostly cleaned up, we got the kids ready for bed and turned on the cute animated show, Prep & Landing, on Disney+. Beau was obviously not one to sit still and watch a show, but Carter and Everly did. Beau and I played in the toy room until it was time to put him down. However, all the kids got a second wind at about the time we were ready to turn off the lights. They raced each other around the kitchen and living room until they couldn't run any more. And Beau was right there with them! His little legs were pumping so hard that I was certain they would fall off. Jeff and I just sat back and allowed the chaos to ensue. We smiled at each other and both marveled at the blessing of family. This is what life is all about. That night, Jingle, our elf, brought the kids some treats and a book to put with their stockings.
The next morning, the kiddos woke up and had waffles for breakfast before they headed out to the shop to play with all the boxes. Yup...boxes! We were celebrating Carter's birthday later that afternoon. He chose to do a "snowball" theme, which required all of us to collect boxes so he could build a couple of forts for their snowball fight. Jonas was in heaven! He was so excited to get out there and start building. I'm pretty sure the boxes will stick around at least until after the holiday break. They played for a little while before it was time to grab some lunch and get ready for Carter's party. Carter had several friends join him to celebrating. It was pure chaos...and the kids LOVED it! Laurin organized a couple of games before the ultimate snowball fight. Even the bigger boys were getting involved. For his dessert, Carter chose to have donuts and hot cocoa. I can't believe he'll be 5 years old! Time is moving too fast!
Tuesday, December 16th, Beau and I met up with my niece, Kaia, and her daughter, Zavia. This was a little Christmas/birthday date because Kaia's birthday is on the 30th. We haven't had many opportunities to hang out because of our busy worlds so I'm glad we made this work. Zavia is only a week older than Beau. It was fun to watch them interact. Zavia was a little more cautious, but Beau was ready for all the hugs! I loved catching up with Kaia and witnessing the woman she is becoming.
The next week was Jonas's final week before Christmas break. It was a pretty agonizing week for him to endure. However, there were still some fun highlights. Tuesday (December 16th) night Dallin and Audrey invited him over to help make gingerbread houses. He was so excited to score the invite! I'm grateful for older siblings who continue to include him. He teamed up with Dallin while Audrey grabbed her cousin, Nina, for a partner, and her other cousins, Greta and Ellie, rounded out the group. Of course none of them took pictures of the process, but here's a pic of the final products. Jonas and Dallin did the one with the red and yellow candies. They were going for a farm barn type theme. Greta and Ellie did the middle house and Audrey and Nina did the house on the right. Jonas loved the process...and now he wants to add "gingerbread house making" to our holiday traditions. Oh boy!
Wednesday, December 17th, all the 5th graders at Taylor got to attend the Woodbury's Junior Achievement Biz Town field trip. Jonas so excited! His class had been preparing for this field trip off and on for the past several weeks. Jonas had to be interviewed by his teacher then he was offered a "job" at one of several businesses. He got to be the CFO of US Synthetic, a Utah based company that specializes in making diamond drill bits for large scale oil drilling. However, in Biz Town it was the supply company for all the other businesses. Neither of us honestly knew what to expect, but it did not disappoint! Jonas had a blast! I got to be the "business consultant" for US Synthetic so I got to see him work. He was a hard worker and a great team player. He stepped into other jobs to help as needed. He wanted to be busy doing whatever he could. He helped apply for a loan, managed the payroll, paid back the loan, kept up to date on the accounts payable and receivable, negotiated with other businesses, delivered and restocked items, etc. When he was on "break", he got to visit the "town". He had to deposit a check, buy things from retailers, and participate in community activities. We had no sooner completed our day at Biz Town and he was already begging to go back.
That evening, I got to go to my neighbor's annual Christmas Cookie Exchange. This is the one holiday activity that I don't have to plan. I simply get to enjoy being surrounded by sugar and super sweet women whom I respect and admire. It's always a fun night to catch up with everyone and enjoy a little holiday treat.
Friday, December 19th, Jonas had his Christmas piano recital. Earlier this month, he had a pretty rough piano practice. Nothing his fingers did seemed to land right on the keys. He became frustrated so he played the pieces faster thus increasing the finger fumbles. It was not a great morning. As we waited for the bus, he expressed his frustration then admitted that he has felt more anxiety regarding the upcoming recital than he has for any previous recital. I'm not sure if it's because of the pieces he is playing or if it's because he's more aware of the imperfections of those pieces. Whatever the reason, he has not been excited about this recital so I told him that we didn't have to go. I made a parental decision to let the recital go in hopes that the piano playing would continue. I don't need him to perform in a recital. I just want him to know how to play...and I would ideally love for him to enjoy playing. The rest of the month was a little easier during practices. He no longer felt the pressure to perfect the pieces (even if he was doing so as he practiced them)...and he did enjoy playing them. I kept encouraging him to consider going to the recital. When it came time to decide, he agreed to go. He said he was doing it for the refreshments afterwards, but I think he was proud of the pieces he had learned and were ready to show them off. He did great! Were there some finger fumbles? Yes, but it didn't stop him. I was super proud of him..and I think he felt proud too.
Saturday, December 20th, we attended Adaline's birthday party. She had a pirate and mermaid theme. It was so cute! Addie dressed like a mermaid and participated in several games. Krystle outdid herself with the fun activities, colorful decorations, and yummy snacks. I think that is the final birthday of the month for us.
That evening, Jeff and I had a little impromptu date. This month is always so busy! Our usual Friday or Saturday evenings are full of festive activities. I don't regret that; I just want some time to spend with my husband. Between the birthday party and an emergency plumbing job, we almost didn't go out. However, Jeff insisted. We decided to just go to one of our favorite Mexican seafood restaurants in downtown Payson. Now our "downtown" is literally two small blocks. It's nothing to get super excited about, but it's quaint and it was all decked out for the holidays. The small shops had window displays and there was a giant Christmas tree. After we ate, we decided to walk the two little blocks and enjoy the holiday atmosphere. We popped into another new store that had the yummiest foccacia bread and artisan made oils. On top of that, they had the creamiest gelato! We grabbed some delicious goodness and finished our walk. I just enjoyed being with my husband and enjoying a small town Christmas night.
On Christmas Adam (December 23rd), Jonas and I decided to have a little pre-Christmas fun. Several of his friends have been sick so you have been slightly bored just hanging out at the house. He's alternated between finding something to play on his own and watching movies. We have kind of been stuck at the house since a crazy flu has been spreading around here. It has even infected the Irons household so much that they will not be physically present with us on Christmas Eve, which is a bummer. I spent the morning doing some final prep for our Christmas Eve dinner then we decided to go out to Cafe Zupas for lunch then to see the new animated movie from Angel Studios, David. It was a cute movie. That evening, we met up with Dallin, Audrey, Daniel, and Brad to go ice skating. Jeff didn't come because he had a crazy day at work and had gotten home from an emergency job the night before around 2:00 a.m. so he was exhausted. Again, another slight disappointment even though we both understood why he wasn't feeling up to it. Still, the boys had fun racing around the rink. It has been a full holiday season! We have enjoyed all the traditions and celebrations (and yummy treats). Now on to the main event!
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