Decent December

 Decent -- pure heart, acceptable, virtuous, modest. I would have never guessed those words tied in with the word decent. Okay, maybe acceptable would have fit in my eyes. However, when I think of this December it's been a bit of each of these words in ways.

To begin off the month---we got a LOT of snow in our area. Some areas around us got around 8-10 inches in one storm more than once. We got enough to keep Dale busy on the plow and shovel for quite a few days. It sure is pretty, but then it turned way cold!! We got as low as -10 degrees one morning!! The high was 15 degrees! Brrrr!! At least the snow isn't melting too fast. 

Dale and I started off the month by heading to White Pine Elementary for Grandparent's Day for our two Kindergarteners that attend there. Nora and Arwyn (Andrew & Lindsay's girls) are in the same class, so Dale paired off with Nora and my buddy was Arwyn. We heard them sing a few songs and then they did a little worksheet with us, and we made hand pictures that we were able to bring home. We had a cookie for a treat and were able to meet their teacher and Nora's helpers. Grandparenting really is pretty fun!

After we got done, we were able to take Titan and Eloise, along with Nora and Arwyn back to their house. We played with the kids a bit and then Dale and I took Nora on a Birthday Date to celebrate her 6th birthday. With all of the new snow she wanted to make a snowman with us, have hot chocolate and go to eat at Stonefire Pizza. She was so excited and so cute!! Making the snowman was a bit tricky because the snow was so fluffy, but Dale got the idea to fill a bucket with snow and then add a little water to it to make it heavier and it worked. We got a little Nora snow girl in our backyard smiling at us! Happy Birthday Nora!!

To get me into the spirit of the Christmas season it started first by the snow, then when we started receiving Christmas cards in the mail which helped, but then I got a Christmas card from our Church's First Presidency!! It was signed by all three of them too. I'm guessing it's because I'm serving in the temple on a service mission as I serve in the Youth Center. What a neat surprise!!

Pretty virtuous I'd say!! I've never gotten a Christmas card from our prophet.

I've ushered some pretty uplifting as well as fun shows like Pickleville's Christmas Carol,  Nathan Pacheco's concert, USU's Theater Department's Christmas Carol (which is probably the best one I've ever seen), the Johnson Files Christmas Tour, and Mark McKay at the Eccles theater to get me more into the Christmas spirit.

      

 

Dale and I also went to see the Four Seasons Theater production of "Elf--the Musical"

which was very enjoyable and well done. There's our pure heart and acceptable for the month.

Dale and I were also able to sing "The Messiah" with a Tri-Stake choir in our Stake Center, due to the Logan Tabernacle being closed because of renovation work being done on it. We performed on the two Sundays before Christmas with a full orchestra and a full choir. It was pretty decent and really awesome to be part of it.

We've been to some more USU Men's basketball games and so far, they have a 10-1 record (we lost against Weber State by 3 points). It's been fun watching these guys play though. Before each game they dim the lights, and a lot of people turn on their flashlights on their phones. It looks pretty cool. Then they announce the team. 

Our fans are awesome, and the team is fun to watch. We were able to sit by the Mallory's during one game. They had extra seats around them, so we moved down to watch the second half of the Weber State game. 

USU also ended up winning their season opener game later this month, on the afternoon of New Year's Eve, against Fresno State 67-54. Let's hope they can stay on that high and keep it up.

To help us put our focus on the true meaning of Christmas Dale and I went to the temple to do an endowment session early in the month and then three days before Christmas we went with the Mallory's and did temple sealings. There's no better way to feel peace and love than in the House of the Lord; truly a decent; pure heart, acceptable, virtuous and modest way to add to this special month. 

Dale and I decided to help give the gift of life to others this month by donating blood. This is what I posted on Facebook -- 

My husband and I try to donate our blood whenever we can, but we always try to give the gift of life around Christmas time. I found out when we donated a couple of days ago, that the blood we gave can save 3 people’s lives. This the season of giving. Merry Christmas!

So, we gave, they gave, and I gave my shirt to Dale. Sounds pretty pure in heart to me ;)

The Mallory's invited us to go bowling Christmas Eve day to celebrate Mazin's birthday. Andrew's clan also joined us. It was pretty busy, so we had to wait awhile for two lanes. Instead of waiting, we cut the cake and had ice cream with it before we bowled instead of after. It must have helped because Amie and I scored higher than Dad, Matt, and Jaxson, but Andrew was the overall winner. It was fun to see the kids bowl too. Happy Birthday Mazin!!

For Christmas Eve we had the Mallory's over for our traditional soup, cheese ball, cracker and vegetable tray dinner. We made luminaries for our parents' graves, and snowflakes out of brown lunch sacks, played some games, watched a little Christmas video, sang some songs, and Dale read us a Christmas story. Then we visited the graves of our parents and sang a couple of songs before we all headed home. It was a full fun-loving day. 

Christmas morning Dale and I read the account of Christ's birth in Luke 2 and then put our baby Jesus in the manger and opened our gifts. 

Dale got me some air buds, a Food Saver, and a bath brush to wash your back with. I gave Dale some shirts and an inflatable fishing vest since he's been fishing more. 

The Mallory's had our name for Christmas, and they gave us a booster speaker which will come in handy for parties on the porch, lessons, and in the house and a nice wooden cutting board. We also got a big checkers game from Andrews family that we'll take with us to play with the kids when we go camping, and for the yard. 

Where Christmas fell on a Sunday Dale, and I sang with the choir as part of the Christmas program. It was nice and I think our little choir did alright. I know I was touched from the songs that were sung. 

After Church we went to Andrew and Lindsay's house for Christmas dinner. The Mallory's joined us as well. It was a tasty feast of ham, sliced turkey breast, salads, sweet potatoes, rolls, spaghetti squash, and pies with ice cream. 

We visited, played some games and found out that Andrew's pretty flexible! He touched his nose on the ground to pick up a cereal box that had been cut with about an inch lip on it. We were all in awe!! Way to go Andrew! 

Amie came in first by walking the farthest with 4 books on her head, and  Kennlyn came in 2nd place with 3. Talk about poise!

To top off the day we saw a beautiful sunset in the evening out their back windows.

Dale met up with Amie, Jaxson, Mazin, Langston, Kennlyn & her friend, at Cherry Peak Resort, and went skiing for a half day for after Christmas fun. It was a beautiful day to be on the mountain. 

The next day he hit the slopes at Beaver Mountain for a day of skiing there with Andrew. We've had some pretty good snow fall lately and the snow has been perfect for skiing. 

Andrew even taught Titan how to run the snow blower so that he can help keep the driveway clear when he's gone on his work tour. Pretty impressive at 11 years old!! Maybe this could give him some brownie points with mom?

For our Christmas gift to the kids, we paid for a couple of nights stay at the Cystal Inn & Suites in Salt Lake. Day 1:  After we all got checked into the hotel, we kicked off our stay by joining together for an early dinner at a Himalayan Restuarant. It was a hit with our adult table! The kids, Garrett and Dad's table seemed to like it as well. Thanks for the suggestion, Garrett and Zandra.

After our tummies were full, we headed over to the Tracy Aviary for a Light Walk event they were hosting. It was pretty cool and had a big lighted tunnel that you could walk through. 

There was also a pond that had some swans swimming in it and light displays were all over the place. Really pretty. The weather wasn't way cold, so it made it nice to be outside.

Then, after we got back to the hotel, we warmed up with hot chocolate and played games by the fireplace in a more secluded part of the dining area at the hotel. It was a fun day. Time well spent. 

Day 2: The hotel provided a tasty breakast, and I even got mine brought to me in bed, thanks to a loving husband who knew I didn't sleep very well that night. After breakfast those that wanted to, hit the pool for some hot tubbing and water fun. Dale and I dried off some by sitting in the dry sauna. 

After we started to look like raisins, we got cleaned up and went to lunch at Costa Vida at the Gateway Plaza. June was the entertainment for the kids we waited for our food. She loved all the loving too. 

The Clark Planetarium was next on the to do list. We all learned something new about our universe and had fun with the hands-on exhibits. We watched a "Let it Snow" lightshow in the Dome Theater which was pretty cool too. 

From there we went to Dave & Busters to eat and play on the arcade games. We all got in the action in one way or another. Thanks Amie, for the suggestion, I think all had fun!

            

We got back to the hotel and those that wanted, joined us again for hot chocolate and games by the fireplace. Thanks Garrett & Zandra for providing the "How well do you Know me" game. We learned quite a bit about each other!   

Day 3: We were treated to another tasty breakfast and then we checked out of the hotel. Garrett's crew and the Hassell's headed for home, but Andrew's crew, the Mallory's and Dale and I headed over to City Creek to get some more Christmas feels before the end of the year. 

Andrew's crew stayed at City Creek to get in some after Christmas deals. The Mallory's, Dale and I walked over to see what was going on with the Salt Lake Temple renovation and while we were walking around the grounds there was an organ recital going on in the Tabernacle, so we stopped in to catch the last half of it. It also helped warm us up.

Boy can that organ fill up the building with music!! 

The temple is just covered with scaffolding so we couldn't see much of it, but a lot is going on and some of the buildings that had been by the temple are gone now. Temple square is going to look a lot different when it's all done. 

We headed over to the Family History Center and had fun finding that some of our ancestors were past Presidents of the U.S.A. (Dwight D. Eisenhower), celebrities (Elvis Presley), from a royal line (Pincress Diana), and famous actors (John Wayne). We also had some fun with one of the displays as we traveled the world.

We decided to go check out the Christmas displays in the Grand America while we were traveling the world. They had window displays showing Christmas around the world. They were really good and the feel of the elegance the hotel holds made it even better. We also saw a HUGE gingerbread house that was awesome. Hard to believe it was all made from scratch!

For a late lunch we went to Bruges Waffles, Fritz & Bistro and weren't disappointed other than we had to eat it in the car because they don't have dine in eating and it was too cold to eat outside.

Then we headed home with some great memories and a full tummy! Merry Christmas kids! We missed Nate and Diana, but Diana was working Christmas Eve and Day. They spent some time with Diana's family, which was nice.

We got home and had more snow to keep Dale busy plowing us and some neighbors out. It sure is pretty though.

Dale got invited to go fishing with some of his Alaska fishing buddies at Bear Lake. Marlo Stevens took over his boat and luckily it was a good day to be on the water. They ended up catching around 20 fish. Dale caught 11 cutthroats and mackinaw. He ended up smoking them and they are tasty!! 

To bring in the New Year, we went to the USU vs Fresno State game at the Spectrum in the late afternoon and then met Mike & Kathy Bullen at the El Toro Restaurant for a late lunch/early dinner. Then we had some couples from our neighborhood, the Burtenshaw's, Allen's, Olsons, and Bullens over for finger foods, visiting and games. 

They were a fun group, and it was good to get to know the Olsons and Burtenshaw's a bit better. We had horns and hand poppers for everyone to bring in the new year. Some of our neighbors provided fireworks for our area outside. Happy New Year!! Let's hope 2023 treats us well.

Nate and Diana have been building up their clientele in their office as well as increasing their staff. 

The weather hasn't been too kind to them on their days off, so they've had to hit the rock climbing gym and do inside activities most of the time. They were able to get away the end of the month, but their fun starts in the new year.

With all of the snow, Amie has been busy with her job scheduling and teaching ski lessons at Cherry Peak. The kids are also starting into their winter sports. 

They did have some family fun and made gingerbread houses as a family to get into the Christmas spirit. Not bad for some beginners.

Andrew and Lindsay hosted a birthday dinner at their house for Andrew, Langston, and Nora. The Hassell's, Mallory's and Garrett's crew and well as Dale and I were there. It was a great to be together. 

Lindsay made shirts for Garrett and Andrew to wear for the Christmas season. I'd say they look pretty good. Lindsay's Lazy Lou Handmade business is getting off to a good start, just from the family purchases. 

With the new snow and Nora's upcoming surgery on her foot Andrew got out their side by side and hooked up a toboggan to a rope and pulled Nora around on it out in their backyard. She was in heaven! She loves playing in the snow! Lindsay posted this on Facebook: "This is why I love this man! Nora has a major surgery tomorrow and won't be able to walk for weeks. The kids are at school and he's outside making Nora the happiest little girl one last time before she can't play in the snow again for a while. I love them!!

She said that Andrew wins the "Dad of the Year" award. I could agree, he truly loves his kids.

Andrew got to take Nora in for her surgery on her foot. She was a trooper and came out a bit drowsy, but smiling. What a girl! 

You may notice in some of the pictures by the end of the month she's doing incredibly well and getting around. She's a determined gal.

  

Arwyn had her dance recital, and I was able to go watch her. She's such a tiny thing, but she sure did shine on the stage! it was fun seeing what she's learned. 

I joined up with Andrew, Lindsay, Nora and Arwyn and went to lunch at Wendy's after the recital to celebrate with her.

Way to go Arwyn, we love you!

Dale and I were also invited to go to Jorie's Gymnastics Show. On our way through the canyon to Ogden I took this picture in the canyon. It was so pretty with the snow and frost on the trees.

We met up with Jason and Danica for dinner at Roosters and then went to the show. Jorie's been doing this for 1 year and she was looking good!! So fun to watch her shine. We love being able to share in the successes of our grandkids.

Garrett, Zandra and the kids took advantage of the snow and went sledding by their house with some friends on a nice day when the sun was out. They also got in some time on the slopes of Snow Basin.

We had Jorie and Luke sleep over at our house while Garrett and Zandra celebrated their wedding anniversary. They went out to dinner, stayed at a hotel and then went skiing at Beaver Mountain for the day. Then they stayed a night with us, and we played games and visited. Happy 11th Anniversary G&Z!!

Danica's kept busy doing more orders of her wooden family ornaments even without doing any advertising, which goes to show how word of mouth spreads.

She's also thoroughly enjoying having June in her life. They take her almost everywhere with them and she's a true Jazz fan along with her dad and mom. 

      

Like I said earlier we've had a lot of snow (our top four ski resorts have the most snow in the nation). Utah really does have the greatest snow on earth! 

We've seen temps dip as low as 2 degrees more than once in our area with a high at 16 degrees.

We've had some rain, and inversion at times, but it's all good because we need the water!! 

So mixed in with all of the family fun we've had this month, I'd definitely call this month decent!

In fact, I guess I could call this year decent! Bring on 2023!!