Chronological December.

Oh my. If I don't start now, I may get so discouraged about catching up that I never blog again.

Something is better than nothing, right?

I'm just gonna jump right into it with a quick (quick is subjective, here) recap of December (aside from what I've already posted). 

Mainly a pictorial, but you know me, I have to comment every now and again.
Okay, I comment on everything and it always takes me much longer to post than I anticipate.

Mar's first LHS swim meet... more of a scrimmage, but a good way to get back into the swing of swim.

Their team suits had not come in yet, so they were just supposed to wear any suit they had. I had the awesome idea for Mar to wear Lolo's old suit. When I say old, I mean old. This was the suit Shi wore her freshman year of high school. We didn't realize until we were at the meet that the strap was so precariously worn... Mar and I stressed a bit that it might snap at any moment (especially on dives), but it hung in there, thank goodness!

While Bill was in Utah supporting his family after Brian's passing, I decorated for Christmas. By myself. It's not as fun when you do it that way, but I decided to simplify my decorations and found out that I really really liked it. Simplified tree, simplified everything. I didn't even get out a whole entire bin of decor. Guess what? I didn't miss it. And I actually like my tree much better without the boatload of stuff.

I love the natural lighting in my house in December, and couldn't resist snapping a few pics.

"In every season of our lives, in all of the circumstances we may encounter, and in each challenge we may face, Jesus Christ is the light that dispels fear, provides assurance and direction, and engenders enduring peace and joy." (Elder David A. Bednar)

I even simplified my nativity...

...and added only this small water globe to my decor collection.

More swim meets (the team suits finally arrived - yay!)...

...team pics (Becca [middle] swam with Shi; Morgan [right] is the younger sister of another friend that swam with Shi; these three girls are big/little sisters for the season)

This meet was at George Washington HS, where Lolo had her very first high school swim meet as a freshman. I had to grab a quick pic of Mar in {nearly} the same spot:

Throwback to 2010 

(notice the suit Shi is wearing - yep, that same suit that Mar wore at the first meet haha):

We hosted the swim team party. A whole lotto girls came. We loved that the movie Elf was paused at that exact moment... it was like Buddy was there for the party!

We also buried Sister Scharf and hosted a quick going home party.

It was so fun getting to know these cute Sisters as they lived at our home! Sister Palei and Sister Tucker moved into another members home while we were back in Utah for Christmas.

We had a Snow Day the first day of finals. That was a big YIPPEEE for Mar. Because the district was scheduled for half days the rest of the week, instead of adding another day (or having the district go a full day), the teachers had to shorten their tests due to a shortened class period to compensate for the missed day. BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME FOR STUDENTS. I enjoyed the Snow Day too!

I couldn't resist this picture of the beautiful snow and the bright lights around our door.

Because I wanted needed to simplify this year, I hunted down the Star Shower lights for the house. I had to go to 4 (four) Targets to find three units, but it was totally worth not hearing Billy-my-hero complain about putting up house lights by himself. Win-win. I seriously love them! 

(This is the best pic I could get, but they look much cooler than this, I promise.)

Oh, I debated about what to do for the neighbors this year. I felt pinched for time, and had finally decided to purchase a simple gift for each of them, but my scheduled day to do it was the Snow Day (of course). Since there was NO WAY I was going to traverse to the store that day, I whipped up a couple more batches of caramel, then packaged up the candy I had made around Thanksgiving when most of the kids were here. We still had a lot left, and I didn't want it all going to my waste anyway. Another win-win. I had the labels in my file and the boxes in my closet. 

After taking care of all things Christmas prior to heading out of town, we loaded up our car (oh, I forgot to mention... in between all this craziness our car was having issues, so we took it in to the repair shop only to discover it would require a lot o' cash - or credit as the case may be - to fix. It was more than the value of the car, since we like to drive around on-the-cheap haha. We decided that instead of fixing our tired, old, money-pit vehicle, it would be more prudent to invest in a different {hopefully more reliable} one, so we shopped 'til we dropped on the one and only day we had available to find a car.  That's how we roll: one day car shopping. I am praying that the vehicle -- yes, used --  we purchased will be a honey and get us from place to place for many years.)

Our plan was to hit the Star Wars movie (Bill's company was sponsoring a showing), then drive to Laramie, stay in a hotel, then make the drive to Idaho for Jason and Lex's graduation the next day. Unfortunately, when we got to Cheyenne, we discovered that I-80 from Cheyenne to Rawlins was closed, and may stay closed until Saturday. So we did what any desperate parents would do and headed north to Casper, then across Wyoming to Jackson Hole (snow-packed two-lane most the way), then down into Rexburg. Yes, we drove all night. There may or may not have been some tension along the way. But we survived!

We were so so happy to celebrate with these two awesome people:

This was my first BYU-I graduation I've attended, and let me tell ya, it's different than any other. I loved it. Every talk reminded the graduates to keep Jesus Christ and the gospel at the center of their lives. Elder Cook shared a personal experience about two people he knew, one he called "Rich," the other he called "Faithful." He talked about how worldly success, power, prestige, and money cannot and will not ever do more for you than being faithful and true to the gospel. Ahhhh... my sentiments exactly. Yes, it's important to be self-reliant, but too many (including in the church) put too much emphasis on their status, their house, their car, their workout facility, their kids' athletic, academic, or social accomplishments, their clothes, their shoes, their purses (for women haha). What a waste of time, money, and energy, I say.

It was so sweet of the grandparents to make the trek for the big night. They are the best.

Afterwards we celebrated at Applebees with the rest of Rexburg.

We drove down to Bountiful the next day to catch the end of the BYU/UTAH game. Bill was disappointed as he listened via scratchy radio transmission to the first half. By the end of the game all I could say was, "Thank goodness they made a comeback and it wasn't a blow-out!" I thought that was a good and appropriate attitude to take (not to mention my belief that we won't be playing sports in heaven anyway haha).

Sunday morning Bill, Mar and I headed to Music and the Spoken Word with the Tabernacle Choir.

It. Was. Awesome.

A huge thank you to Grandmamita who suggested it!

Later that day we made the long drive out to Utah County to see the progress on Austin and Britt's house.

That evening we headed to Temple Square to see the lights. Mar has NEVER been to see the lights (at least that she can remember, and it's probably been at least 13 to 16 years for us). Now was the time.

Monday morning we were heading to Mar's fave store (Bill and I hate it) Hot Topic in Salt Lake, and, again per Grandmamita's suggestion, stopped by the Church History Museum to see a short movie about Joseph Smith. Once there, we became a bit absorbed in the museum. I had occasionally taken my older children there when we lived in Utah years ago, but Mar had never been (such a deprived child!). This was the printing press the first Book of Mormon was printed on...

They had some recently acquired items of interest, including the clothes Hyrum Smith was wearing when he was martyred. We also enjoyed pointing out that Lolo is serving in some of the same areas of the early missions of the Church... and we LOVED the art contest entries/winners(?) on display upstairs. It was the best hour+ of the day, and I certainly plan to go back when we have more time to peruse.

That evening we had the Goldsberry annual progressive dinner. It was decided this year to have each home make something from a different country. We started at Marty's house - Mexico.

Of course Grandmamita and I did England... complete with a proper tea, scones, English Cottage Pie, Yorkshire pudding, and trifle. I think we did a mighty fine job of representing {wink}.

Rob, Sookie, and Evie did Fiji, since Evie had recently completed a report for school on that country (how perfect is that?).

Matt and Lia did the land of Hot Chocolandia. I want to live there haha.

Games...

Music... (this was the piano I learned to play on... "play" is subjective there)

...and the cutest little Santa ever.

Christmas Eve we spent celebrating with the Syddalls.

We all loved their new pup Hank. Next time we see him, we won't be able to hold him.

A brave few souls tried the pantyhose tug-of-war game...

It was definitely good for some laughs and memories.

Bill and I planned the {Billats} candy bar game... I think it was a success.

The kids all opened a gift from Grandma and Grandpa Santa, then we gave pictures to Robyn and the boys and Bill's parents.

There may or may not have been some tears shed.

Back out to Bountiful where we opened our Christmas jammies...

...and Santa came.

Too cute not to post haha.

There's a long story behind those two Tungsten rings {wink}.

Best moment of the day... chatting it up with Sister Syddall in jolly old England.

She did a great British accent for us, but I still have to get it from Mar, since I inadvertently STOPPED recording at the just right time, dang phone (and phone operator).

Ready for Christmas Day dinner at Grandmamita's.

Britt, Austin and Scarlett came out later that evening and brought me some of my favorite Christmas presents ever... photobooks of Wonderful Sweet Scarlett and a cell phone case with her picture. Ahhhh.... so adorable! I didn't get any other pics that night, but let it be said we played a few rousing games of Tenzi.

We were heading back to CO the following day, but we stopped by Grandma and Grandpa Syddall's for a couple of hours on our way out. They spoiled us with sweet gifts, but the best gift was being together.

Another couple "too cute not to post" pictures of Bill. What can I say, I love him.

We stopped by the cemetery on our way out to visit Brian's grave.

Bill thought his parents might stop by later that day, so he made a little trail and cleared the snow so they could have easier access. A huge thank you to thoughtful fellow-cemetery visitors who bring snow shovels to make paths for others.

Once we were home, we pulled out the pups Christmas gifts. Jack-o immediately tore into his toys and has proceeded to leave threads and stuffing everywhere. I love their British sweaters, don't you? Ava's is a bit tight, but I'm a pro at stretching post wash, so hopefully that will make it a bit more comfortable for her.

It's been quite a year.
Quick and slow at the same time. Happy and sad at the same time. Hard and easy at the same time.

Tonight we will be celebrating with Jason and Lex. Did you know they have moved in with us until they can find gainful employment? I'm sooooooo excited to have them here!

2016, be good to me! {Please?}