Playing Catch Up

When the holidays are over, I'm done with them. You have until January 2, maybe the next weekend, then please, let's put it all away. I love every minute up until then. But then I reach a serious limit.

As a result, I just now downloaded all my Christmas pictures from my camera. I posted a few times, but put them back in the appropriate months. If you are a grandparent or otherwise, crazily interested you can see our holiday decor, meeting Santa, Christmas Day, Andrew's little tragedy, going sledding, being tuckered out from the holidays, a cousin's baptism, a new niece's blessing and football party extraordinaire.

Cousin Fun

Our niece was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We were so happy to be able to join them for the special day.

Matching cousins (both 8-years-old)

Father and sons

Christmas busy!

We have been oh so Christmas busy this month. Here's a little of what we've been doing.

A few weeks ago we went to Temple Square in Salt Lake City to see the lights, listen to the nativity, see the Christus statue and watch Luke 2. Such a wonderful tradition. Just dress warm!





The "uncle daddies" (hubby and his brother) went to the BYU/Utah game, even celebrated a bit on the field with all the fans after a great overtime win.


Dawn had her ballroom dance recital. Okay, mostly we got video, but here is a terrible photo just to prove it.

And then we took out two oldest to the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert with Natalie Cole and David McCullough. It was wonderful, the Choir being the best part as usual. Due to the a new terror threat, Matt couldn't take his camera with a scary detachable lens (gasp!) into the Conference Center. So we only got this picture outside at considerable risk due to the absolutely freezing temperatures.


I hope you have been happy Christmas busy too!

Rachel turns 8!

Rachel turned 8 at the end of July. She had a fabulous birthday.

All she wanted (okay not ALL, but all she got) was an American Girl doll. Josefina was her choice and Josefina she got. She has loved her, and her hair, a lot ever since.

She even decorated her own cake.

And look how fancy inside.


And then, Rachel was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a beautiful baptism, filled with testimony and the Spirit. I'm so proud of sweet Rachel and her choice to be baptized by her father.

Getting to Know Paris, Idaho

I grew up in a small town in Idaho with only 700 people, Paris, Idaho.



I love this town. I have such great memories of growing up and they center in Paris. Though I wouldn't choose to live there (not many economic opportunities), I love to visit.


Last week I took Matt's family there for a little reunion. I thought I'd take the chance to tell you a little about my hometown (and surrounding areas). You can also see a few posts that include Paris and Bear Lake here and here.


Paris, Idaho was first settled by Mormon Pioneers in 1863. Before that it was the occasional home to various Native Americans and trappers who started the mountain man rendezvous on the shores of Bear Lake, about 7 miles to the south of Paris.

Bear Lake is 20 by 8 mile lake that is a beautiful blue color due to the limestone sediment that floats in the water (better pictures in the sunlight). It happens to be great for playing and wave runnering.




In Paris, the early pioneers built this beautiful Tabernacle in 1888 where the Latter-day Saints met and still do.



Every small town has its own canyon. Paris Canyon is home to a large spring (and picnic area) that supplies the city with its water.




Bloomington Lake is a high mountain lake in a neighboring canyon. At 8200 feet elevation, it has snow surrounding it most years. The water is frigid, though very tough people have been known to brave it. Though the exact depth is unknown, sonar shows some places to be as deep as 160 feet.


The lake is accessed by a .6 mile hike surrounded by hills full of wildflowers and neon blue dragonflies.



Traveling even more south, you come to St. Charles and its accompanying canyon. In St. Charles canyon, you can visit Minnetonka Cave and its 1/3 mile long tour with 444 steps each direction. It is a chilly 40 degrees year round, which is the average yearly temperature of the surrounding area.


Last, but not least, Bear Lake is home to many hunters. Whether you like to shoot for your dinner or just for sport, you will find plenty to keep you happy. If you are very lucky, you may meet some mighty hunters and their downed clay pigeons that roam the area.

Thanks for visiting. Come back again soon.

Best of January, Week 3 - Draper, Utah Temple Open House

Winning the Best of January, Week 3 is the Draper, Utah Temple Open House.



We took our family to the Draper Temple Open House. It was so wonderful. The building itself was gorgeous, full of beautiful fabrics in blues, greens and golds, pretty art glass and glittering lights. The baptistry was so pretty, the Bride's dressing room beautiful, the murals on the instruction rooms were breathtaking and the Celestial room was inspiring. (I'm out of adjectives, I used up every beautiful one I could think of.)






But even more wonderful than the decoration was the Spirit. It is so peaceful and happy there, full of light and love. It is definitely the best part of the week.

Our Roadshow

"Every member in Utah liked Sundays a lot
But the Nursery leader, Sister Grinch, did not!

For she hated Sundays! The whole weekend season!
Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason. . ."


Back in October our Stake had a roadshow. Our ward's was awesome. Matt was asked to do the scenery. Right now it is in our playroom awaiting some down-sizing. I think it turned out brilliantly and wanted to share it with you.

The show was about Sister Grinch, the grouchy nursery leader who tried to cancel Sunday. To read the whole great script, written by our talented neighbor Lisa Elzey, click here.

How Sister Grinch Stole Sunday

HOW SISTER GRINCH STOLE SUNDAY
by Lisa Elzey
(Our Ward's Roadshow offering)

NARRATOR
Good Evn’ing friends, we welcome the young and the old
The Cedar Hills Sixth Ward has a tale to be told

It’s a tale full of DRAMA, for that’s what we drew
An AIRPORT was another requirement too

REALITY TV is the last on the list
We’ve included them all or at least just the gist

Our story begins on the “island” of Utah

(Survivor music chimes in...)

What happens in Utah midst the Saturday hoopla

But our show’s not Apprentice, nor Gabby Gourmet
Nor American Idol or Project Runway
It’s simply titled “How Sister Grinch Stole Sunday”

It starts in an Airport with a delayed airplane
So grandpa decided to break the mundane

GRANDPA
Here’s one of my favorite stories to tell
It’s written in my journal, but I know it well

(Curtain opens)

GRANDPA
Every member in Utah liked Sundays a lot
But the Nursery leader, Sister Grinch, did not!

For she hated Sundays! The whole weekend season!
Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason.

It could be, perhaps, that her shoes were too tight.
It could be that she thought she knew just what’s right.

But I think that the most likely reason of all...
Well, I’ll let you observe and then you make the call...
GRINCH
“Now they’re cleaning their houses...”

GRANDPA
She snarled with a sneer.

GRINCH
“For Saturday’s special! Sunday’s practically here!”

GRANDPA
She glanced at her lesson her mind quickly numbing

GRINCH
“I must find some way to keep Sunday from coming!”

For, tomorrow, I know all the tot girls and boys
Will have gross runny noses and wipe them on toys

A three hour block...Oh the noise, noise, noise, noise!
There’s one thing I hate, All the noise, noise, noise, noise

And they’ll shriek squeaks and squeals, racing round stomping heels
They’ll color in hymnbooks and eat Cherri-o meals!

Then the grown-ups will chat about yesterday’s game

ELDER 1 & 2
“Man, get your head in the game!”

GRINCH
I’ll hear them complain

Then two brothers start punching, though all can see them
As their dad takes them out they’ll yell,

BROTHER 1 & 2
“Carpe Diem!”

GRINCH
The cell phones at church that get signals somehow
When they don’t all you hear is:

YOUTH 1
“Can you hear me now?”



GRINCH
Then they all, young and old, will open a feast.
And they'll feast! And they'll feast! And they'll FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST!

They'll feast on cheer’ios, fruit snacks, day old PBJ’s
On goldfish and saltines and loud Frito-lays

And then they'll do something I hate most of all!
When three hours is over the tall and the small,

Will re-package their crayons, their Barbies and clothes
They’ll elbow the Bishop who has started to doze

They’ll pack up their quads and their last minute lessons
Finish thinking about their last chatting sessions

They’ll leave church hand in hand as they walk out the door
Reminded...

SISTER SO-AND-SO
...the home teachers are coming at 4.

GRINCH
Then as they walk home, for their houses are near
They’ll open their mouths as they grin ear to ear
And a singing is sung that I don’t care to hear
And they’ll sing and they’ll sing and they’ll sing sing sing sing!

We Love Sunday
(Prelude)
Sunday, Sunday, We love Sunday
Welcome Sunday! Come this way

Families singing, church bells ringing
Smiles and helping hands we’ll be bringing
A great Sunday is in our grasp
So long as we have hands to clasp

Sunday, Sunday, We love Sunday
Welcome Sunday! Come this way
(Fades out)

GRANDPA
(Overlapping with the singing) And the more the Sister Grinch thought of this After Church Sing,
The more the Sister Grinch thought,

GRINCH
"I must stop this whole thing!

(Record scratching sound effect and music cuts out)

Why for so many years I've put up with it now!
I must stop Sunday from coming! But how?"

GRANDPA
Then she got an idea! An awful idea!
Sister Grinch got a wonderful, awful idea!

GRINCH
"I know just what to do!"

GRANDPA
She laughed for a bit

GRINCH
I’ll get my old homemaking scrap-booking kit!

I’ll make a cute flyer with pantookas and bows
Stamps and lace, for with scrapbooking ANYTHING goes!

The flyer will tell them that Sunday’s are done
It’s been cancelled!

GRANDPA
She wrote.

GRINCH
“That will ruin their fun!”

GRANDPA
Then she got something she hadn’t used in years
Her specialty scrapbooking curvy-edged shears

And she cut and she shaped, she made them look stunning

GRINCH
This fancy flyer will stop Sunday from coming!


GRINCH
I’ll stick them on front doors of the houses so quaint
Using tape that when pulled off the door rips off paint!...A Bonus!

GRANDPA
She laughed

GRINCH
What a Great Grinchy trick!
I might even say that my plan is quite SICK!

ENSEMBLE
You’re a Mean One, Sister Grinch! (RAP) 1:36

You're a mean one Sister Grinch
And You really are a Grump.

You're as sneaky as a weasel,
You're as frumpy as a lump

You are never a team player
You’d be fired by Mr. Trump

When rolling down the neighborhood

You're a long crooked street
with an extra speed bump

You're a trickster Sister Grinch.
You have got an evil plan

You-like to spoil happy endings
Step on every crack you can

You just want to spoil Sundays
On the weekend put a ban

Com-pared to you we think we must say

Idol’s Simon Cowell is the World's Nicest Man!

PRIMARY KIDS
You're a mean one, Sister Grinch
You really are a heel
You're as cuddly as a cactus
You're as charming as an eel
Sister Grinch, Sister Grinch

You're a mean one, Sister Grinch
You really are a heel
You're as cuddly as a cactus
You're as charming as an eel
Sister Grinch, Sister Grinch

(Music fades out, ad libs, That’s right...Cedar Hills 6th in the house...etc.)

GRANDPA
So she gathered the flyers and went to each door
But Sister Grinch wasn’t happy, she wanted more

She crafted calendars with each Sunday crossed out
Ward Bulletins giving the announcement more clout

And hand outs in colorful creative papers
With magnets on back to stick-on frigermerators

Emails from the ward website telling all stay home
Make the Young Women leaders have call trees by phone

GRINCH
Then everyone here will know Sunday’s are GONE!

GRANDPA
Then when she was finished with her cancelling work
She heard a loud voice that yelled,

BROTHER or SISTER WHATCHACALIT
“Boy, she’s a...

GRANDPA
Jerking around she heard a voice with a coo
It was Cindy-Lou Who, whose family was new
And everyone knew, that those Who’s loved the U.

(All gasp)

CINDY-LOU
Sister Grinch, Why? Why have you cancelled our Sundays now? Why?

For you’re my fav’rite teacher, but from Nurs’ry I grew
I love going on Sundays so that I can see you!

GRANDPA
And what happened then? Well, in Utah they say
That Sister Grinch’s unkindness went clean away

And then the true meaning of Sunday came through
It wasn’t about wishing the noise would subdue
GRANDPA
Or last minute lessons or the brothers who shove
It was being together in kindness and love

Sister Grinch then apologized and in the end
Everyone in the state was her very best friend!

Even the U-lovin’ Whos, who everyone knew
Although they would lose they refused to wear blue

She’d help families in church who had noisy tots
By bringing church quiet books and small lollipops

Kids that drew in the hymnbooks got an eraser
If a child ran away, she’d help the mom chase her

She loved to see all from the tall to the small
For kindness breeds kindness as a type of cure-all

She became known for her kindness wherever she went
And she, she herself, Sister Grinch was finally content.

That’s the end of the story my sweet little dears
And our delayed plane’s now not delayed it appears

(GRANDMA enters wearing a costume item that associates her with SISTER GRINCH. It is the same actor as SISTER GRINCH and is apparent that GRANDMA was SISTER GRINCH in the story)

GRANDCHILD 1
There you are Grandma! Grandpa if you wouldn’t mind?
Tell her the story of Sister Grinch who’s unkind?

GRANDMA
Oh I know that story. It’s a wise one and true.
I’m so glad he told that sweet story to you

But the plane is boarding, we must be on our way
I’ll have Grandpa tell me the tale some other day

(The children run off and Grandpa puts his arm around Grandma and they exit. Curtain)

END

Charity is blessed (and so are we)

Getting all dressed up.

In my dress.

The blessers

All the Curtis guests

The sparse, but dedicated, Matthews guests

All SEVEN of us!

Let's be done, shall we?