Christmas Booty er Bounty

For lack of anything better and feeling that I should update my blog I post these pictures of the kids Christmas morning. We actually did downsize on the gift giving this year but the kids still seemed happy with their gifts. Cooper got a Game Boy (used--but new for him of course). Spencer lots of movies (which were about 90% of his wishlist) and an alarm clock. Tucker got a new soccer shirt and a "camel pouch" for his backpack (see boys below trying out the pouch). We were completly lazy for the whole two weeks of Winter Break. It was a rude awakening to have to wake up early for seminary, school & work today. I also included a picture of Tucker with his cousin James. They are a year apart in age but eerily alike. Same long curly hair, same chin and in the picture the same pose (without even trying). They are very funny together.

Christmas...Past, Present & Future

Karen sent this questionnaire to me in an e-mail and rather than fill it out and e-mail it on, I thought I would just blog it. Why? Because it just brings so many Christmas memories to mind that I wanted to have saved some place. Plus it gives me a chance to post this funny picture of Cooper with Santa from the Ward Christmas party (classic Cooper expression--or is that Bob??) What Mormon kid doesn’t have memories of a ward Christmas party with Santa coming to visit?? (Ward Christmas parties, that’s a whole other blog by itself!)
Anyway, it’s a little long so if you don’t read it all I won’t hold it against you. (Although I did read all of Karen’s). So Karen, here is my response to your e-mail (I took a few out and added one of my own):

Wrapping paper or gift bag? I love wrapping and have since I was a little girl. I’m not very good with bags—I can never figure out to get the tissue in right. Spencer loves to wrap too (hardly suprising for those who know him).

Real or Artificial tree? Already covered in previous blog.

When do you put up the tree? We always go get the tree the first weekend after Thanksgiving weekend.

When do you take the tree down? Usually a day or two after Christmas. It always looks forlorn without the gifts under it.

Do you like Eggnog? I love eggnog and this year we accidentally discovered Pumpkin Eggnog which we like even more.

Favorite gift you received as a child? I really can’t remember a particular favorite. I CAN remember always having a really difficult time going to sleep in anticipation though.

Do you have a nativity scene? I have two. One is a little miniature mouse set that is really cute but a little worse for the wear since it has been around for about 10 years. The other is an old cardboard one that the Church produced sometime in the 50s that I found in the Ward Primary closet one time when I was tossing out really old stuff that hadn’t been used in years. It is exactly like the one we had when I was a kid and I always loved it. It has three parts to so it is kind of 3D and has beautiful soft tones and wonderful lighting. I think everyone in my family would know which on that is. I took it home because it hadn’t been used in years and years and probably never would. It reminds me of growing up.

Worst Christmas gift ever received? It was one that I totally wanted so much it was practically and ache. I had picked it out of the Sears Christmas catalog and really wanted this Barbie-like doll called Dollikin (something like that). I wanted it instead of a Barbie because the arms & legs moved—Barbie’s legs moved but not like this doll and Barbie’s arms were stiff. That seemed really cool—until I got my wish and found out that the arms and legs were jointed not smooth like Barbie’s. She couldn’t wear a bathing suit or sleeveless shirts or anything. It was the first lesson I think I ever learned about being careful what you wished for without really thinking (researching) first.

Christmas Cards ... Snail mail or E-mail? Snail mail but mine are probably going to be New Year’s cards this year!

Favorite Christmas Movie(s)? It’s a Wonderful Life which I had never seen until I moved to Seattle so I didn't know it was a Christmas classic.

What's your favorite Christmas show(s)? The Grinch (classic—not Jim Carey) and Charlie Brown Christmas

When do you Christmas Shop? Every year I have wonderful intentions of doing it before Thanksgiving (looking all year round) but I never do. I’m a shameful last minute shopper. (Hence mom & dad’s gift not arriving until January this year.)

Have you ever 'recycled' a Christmas present? Yes, I am a shameless regifter. Particularly when working in advertising. We always got these great gifts from vendors and it was easy to wrap them to give to the kid’s teachers (sorry Karen) or co-workers, or a white elephant thing.

Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Lisa’s Swedish Pancakes on Christmas Eve.

Favorite Christmas Song? I love O Holy Night AND any Jim Reeve’s Christmas song—which any offspring of Bob Vaden (at least the girls) would tell you is a must have part of Christmas. I was seriously excited when Karen sent us a Jim Reeves Christmas CD. I usually load the CD player with Christmas songs the day after Thanksgiving. I have two other favorite CDs (besides Jim Reeves). One is a Time Life 2-disc compilation of classics like Bing’s White Christmas, Carpenter’s Christmas Song, Perry Como, etc—it even has two Jim Reeve’s songs. My two favorite songs on it are by Roger Whitaker who as a lovely voice and sings Ding Dong Merrily on High and Rocking. I would highly recommend a Christmas album by him. The other is the 1st “A Very Special Christmas” album with songs by the Eurythmics, Stevie Nicks, & Bob Seger. We have one other Very Special Christmas album that is okay (love Lyle Lovett singing Jingle Bell rock) but not as good as the first one.

Travel at Christmas or Stay Home? We stay home. We did make a trip to Idaho one year and I was seriously excited because I thought after years in Seattle without it that there would finally be snow for Christmas. I was so bummed when there wasn’t any! That was before we had kids and after a scary trip to Idaho at Thanksgiving one year we decided that it was a trip best taken anytime other than the winter. The roads can be scary between here and there. We always spend Christmas Eve at Dan & Lisa’s with the whole Chandler clan (that’s where the Swedish pancakes come in) and usually have Oma & Opa with us Christmas day.

Open the Presents Christmas Eve or Morning? The kids have a gift exchange with their cousins (each kid draws a cousin to give to) and we have a white elephant exchange among the adults on Christmas Eve. Our family presents are always opened on Christmas day.

Does Santa wrap or not (I added this question)? When I was growing up, Santa never wrapped (he didn’t have time) so the gifts from Santa were always left under the tree unwrapped. In Dennis’ family he always wrapped. (I guess he had time because there were only 4 kids in Dennis’ family and there were 8 in mine.). So, when we got married we had to compromise. For years, Santa left the gifts for the boys unwrapped and Mrs. Santa wrapped the gifts in the stockings. A few years ago, Santa started wrapping again—mostly so the boys had to wait until we were ready to get out of bed and see what he brought. (They can unwrap Mrs. Santa’s gifts in the stocking while they are waiting.)

Do you decorate outside for Christmas or just inside (or at all?) Inside and outside. In fact, I have put up the outside lights for years because it is not Christmas without them to me. Even when I was 8 months pregnant with Cooper (okay basically 9 months) I put them up—climbing the ladder and everything. Got to have those outside lights!
Favorite Christmas cookie? Frosted sugar cookies—yum, yum. I usually make tons because I love frosting & decorating them and eating them. The kids are good for frosting about 5-8 and they are done—leaving oh, about 100 for me to frost.

Do you believe in Santa? Sheesh—who doesn’t??

If you could have a single Christmas Wish that was just for you and you alone...what would it be? The same as Karen’s “to see all my family at Christmas”—including some that are no longer with us.
Now, this has brought me a bit of the Christmas spirit. Thanks Karen.

The Quest for the "Tree"

Every year for the past 14 years (maybe more) we have trekked down to Centralia for our Christmas tree--except maybe one year when Oma and Opa were sick. We have gone to a tree farm and trooped up and down and around the field until we have found just the right tree. We have actual audio and video evidence of Oma's yearly admonition to "Be sure to cut it close to the ground" so we get the full tree (it's true--it happened every year). For a special photo album that the Chandler brothers (well their wives anyway) made for Oma & Opa one year, my contribution was two pages worth of Christmas Tree trek photos and memories. Some years we were joined by Chandler brothers and family, but most years it has just been us and Oma and Opa. We would get their tree and our tree on a Saturday morning. We would stay in Centralia Saturday night and help them decorate. Then we would come home Sunday and decorate ours that night. Even after Oma & Opa moved to Seattle three years ago, we have continued to go to Centralia. We would drive to Centralia, get our trees, have lunch at the famous Oly Club in downtown Centralia and come back to Seattle to decorate Oma & Opa's tree. Until this year. It wasn't because of the flooding, although that may have affected us had we chosen to go down there. It was soccer tournaments, busy schedules, the cost of gas, the time....we just couldn't do. So instead, we trekked down the road a few blocks to the Boy Scout tree lot next to the local Catholic church, which was the same place we went the year they were sick. We wandered around the parking lot until we found the perfect tree--or a least the best one available. Of course it was much more expensive tree than we usually get being a "city tree", but when you figure in the cost of gas and lunch in Centralia the other way it was pretty much a wash. We still helped Oma & Opa decorate their tree and then actually did ours the same evening. Oma even made chalupa for dinner which is one of our favorites. Many of you have probably been the recipient of my annual Christmas newsletter and photo of the boys. The photo comes from our Christmas tree quest. I did take pictures of the boys this year but it wasn't quite the same. We did have a snowstorm that day so it made it a bit more festive. I am so not into the season this year that I may not even get my letter out. So I share this picture with you 1) because I think it is funny and 2) it still represents the season and memories of the season. Who knows if we will ever make it to Centralia for a tree in the future (Oma is threatening to buy a fake tree). The main point is that we have many wonderful memories of Christmas tree quests that we will share forever. It will be something that will always be talked about. "Remember the year when..." So in the end, I am thankful to have so many wonderful memories of the quest for the tree!

I Love Scrabble!

It's true, I really do love Scrabble. I have since I was a young girl and played it with my mom and sisters. My fondest memories of growing up are of being gathered around a table with family members to play a game--not always Scrabble. Playing board games or card games has always been a thing we like to do as a family when we get together. In fact that is one of the biggest things I miss about not being close to my family. Dennis likes to tease me about Scrabble, particularly about the fact that in my family it isn't cut throat--we actually help each other! I have been playing Scrabble lately on a fairly regular basis with two very dear friends of mine, Peg on the right, of Lucy & Ethel fame and my half-marathon inspiration; and Michelle on the right, a wonderful, genuine loving person whom I adore (okay, truth be known I adore them both--and not just because they play Scrabble). This picture is from this past Tuesday (12/4) when we squeezed in one quick game at 6:30pm after Cooper's basketball game. Peg and Michelle both have two kids, a boy and a girl each and all our kids get along really great together and have fun. The kids often come too when we get together. It's a great time. The picture on the right is the final results of our game. As you can see we did a great job of covering the whole board and had some cool words. At one point early on, I will admit that I had to show my tiles to Michelle and Peg because they were so funny. I had all vowels and a blank. Not ideal for making any whopping high score! Despite that, I did end up with the winning score in the end that night. I think it was because I was wearing my 'E' & 'L' Scrabble earrings myself. And yes I do have a pair of Scrabble earrings. Another friend who makes jewelry made them out of actual wooden Scrabble tiles. Why 'E' and 'L" you might wonder? Lucy and Ethel of course! Peg has a matching set. Also, those up on acceptable two letter words will know that "el" is acceptable but "le" is not. In fact many Scrabble experts will tell you that knowing the acceptable two letter words is the key to high scores. Za and qi were recently added to that list--and yes, I guess the fact that I know that makes me a bit of a Scrabble nerd! But I think that means I am in good company.

Seattle Half

The Seattle Half Marathon that is. Some of you know that I have been training for this for a few months (some of you may not). Today was the auspicious day of the big event. I had been anticipating this day with a certain amount of excitement and dread. What if I couldn't finish? What if I was so pathetic I finished last? These top two photos where taken at the finish at Memorial Stadium at the Seattle Center and as you can see from the photo on the left, I didn't finish last. In fact I did quite respectable for myself. My goal was to finish in two hours and thirty minutes. My actual time was 2:27:37:9! It was an amazing thing to participate in. There are over 14000 participants in all the different races. You can either walk or run the Half or walk or run the whole Marathon. The runners of the Half Marathon started from the Seattle Center at 7:30am. My friend Peg and I were somewhere in the middle of the pack (I think) when the horn sounded. It was kind of anti-climatic because we didn't move for a minute or two. It was exciting when we started off though. You run down 5th Avenue which is a major street in downtown Seattle until you come to the I-90 Express Lanes. At one point 5th Ave starts to rise and it was incredible to see just how many people were in front of us. You run on I-90 until just before it starts to cross Lake Washington. (The Marathoners actually run all the way across the Lake and back as part of their route.) You get off and start running on Lake Washington Boulevard which is right along the lake and home to amazing houses (not that you really notice them). I was still running with Peg which was pretty amazing considering how much taller she is than me. That all changed though when we were confronted with the first slight hill. Peg "loves hills" and I really didn't do much pre-training on them. That is where I started to fall behind her. Not that I minded. I really didn't think we would be together as long as we were. Just to digress for a moment to tell you about Peg, she was my elementary school auction co-chair two years ago. After a series of "escapades", we decided that we were a bit like Lucy & Ethel. It varied who was Lucy and who was Ethel (it depended on who had the hair-brained idea.) She is fun, full of life, caring, kind, and many other wonderful things AND she loves to play Scrabble! How can you not love a person who loves to play Scrabble! She is the one who when she found out that running a marathon was on my "list" said "Maybe you should try running a half-marathon first" and then said she would do one with me. That's the kind of friend she is. We even purchased matching tops when we picked up our packets before the race. The picture on the right is just after I finished the race (that's why my mouth is hanging open I guess). She was waiting there to give me a big hug!

Back to the race. Once you reach the end of Lake Washington Boulevard the course starts to climb. Which seems rather unfair because at this point you are somewhere between 5 to 8 miles into the race. At one point there is this long uphill stretch. I had to walk. It was just too tiring to run. Once I got to the top though I started running again and managed to run most of the rest of the way. You run through the Arboretum which is a beautiful natural area and then onto this road that is winds along the side of a hill. Then it's pretty much a downhill 3 mile jaunt from there. But right about that time I thought I wasn't going to make it because I could feel myself running out of gas and my feet hurt. Thank goodness for jelly bellies made from power drinks! They kind of tasted like aspirin to me but they got me through. Just when you think you have seen your last hill, they throw you a last one about 2/10s of a mile before the finish! I had to walk that one too. But again once I got to the top I was able to run the last bit into Memorial Stadium (adrenaline I think). You can see from the top picture that there are people along the side and sitting the stadium cheering on (as they are all along the course). I almost cried I was so excited! It is an amazing thing to think you did something like this especially at the age of 45! There was Peg to greet me and right behind her came Dennis. This last picture is one Dennis took at home. He took another one first which I will save but not publish. It's not particularly attractive but it really captures how I felt at that point--tired.

Not too tired to do it again though. Peg and I (and maybe Dennis this time) will be running the Whidbey Island half-marathon in April. This time I get to be Ethel because I promised Peg if she ran the Seattle with me that I would run the Whidbey with her. Lucy & Ethel all over again!

Do two half-marathons in the course of 6 months equal a full marathon?? I think so and I will get to cross another thing off my "list"!

Confessions of a Soccer Mom

The regular soccer season finished last weekend. The season lasts 8-9 weekends in the Fall. This year we got lucky and never has super bad, cold weather. We did have some rain but who can't live with that in Seattle!? Cooper's team, the Cougars (yes, a hard name to bear in a Husky household) are still pretty much playing at the "herd" stage of soccer, which is all the players on the field cluster around the ball. Once in awhile some one will break away from the herd with the ball and depending on how alert the goalie is will score a goal. This year you did see an occasional attempt at passing. Cooper loved playing goalie (as did most of the boys) and was alert most of the time. His team finished pretty well--although at this age they still don't "officially" keep score but you know every boy on both teams knows who won the game in the end.
Spencer had a new coach and alot of players were new this year. The new coach continued the great groundwork laid by the previous coach and the team continued to play as a team and are fun to watch. Spencer isn't the most agressive kid on the field but towards the end of the season did start to use his superior height (compared to almost all other kids his age) to his advantage. (I love the picture on the right because it looks like he is about ready to sit down.) He was generally the tallest kid on the field (but not necessarily the biggest) all season long. He's not much into sports but seems to enjoy soccer. His team is in the city tournament which starts after Thanksgiving and is double elimination. You want them to do well in the tournament but there is a secret part of you that wants it all to end well before Christmas!
Tucker loves soccer almost as much as he loves sleeping. His team got lucky and won two games this year. They actually have some pretty good raw talent on their team but it has never been harnessed to work together as a team. Being on the high school team really helped Tucker improve his game. The team scored about 10 goals all season long and Tucker scored 5 of them (and he played defense on the high school team so didn't score one goal all season long). He was the "Corner Kick" guy. Any time there was a corner kick no matter where he was on the field, he was the guy who kicked it. His team is also in the city tournament but we don't have to worry about even coming close to Christmas. If they win even one game it will be a miracle.
So you might wonder what are my "confessions"? I have to admit that I don't totally understand the game. Like when are they "offsides" and why? It seems to me that being in front of the defenders is a good thing but apparently not always.
I have a hard time just sitting and watching--my feet have been known to involuntarily kick the ball. Sometimes I spend more time socializing with the grown-ups than watching the game.
I'm secretly glad when the season is over because the longer it goes, the colder it gets. That's why it doesn't make me so sad that Tucker's team won't do so well in the city tournament. Spencer's team however gives me cause for concern.
I think the trophies they give to the kids at end of the season are stupid--trophies are so meaningless now because everyone gets them regardless of a winning or losing season. (I'm sure the trophy making business loves it though.) One of my favorite lines from "The Incredibles" is "I'm going to make it so that everyone is special because when everyone is special then no is." (something like that). Luckily the trophy thing goes away as the kids get older and Cooper is the only one still getting trophies.
I like being the "bad mom" who brings twinkies, ding dongs or other bad stuff as snacks for after the game. Everyone wants to be so PC with the healthy snacks that I love going against the grain. Although I do have to admit that I tried to buy healthy stuff for Cooper's team this year.
I completely forgot the weekend I had snacks for Spencer's soccer team. When the game was over I just left the field and went to the car before the boys walked off. Luckily there was another boy missing that week so all the boys thought it was his mom who forgot. (I told Spencer he could them at practice the next week that it was me who was the lame mom.)
Soccer is a fun sport to watch and a great sport to play for most kids regardless of their athletic ability. It is fun to watch my boys play.
This year we stepped into a new arena--basketball for the first time. Cooper is trying it this year. It is the most hilarious thing to watch! The nice thing? The games are indoors and only last about 30 minutes. Gotta love that. I will post some pictures later on.

Captain Jack and a Play on Words

As requested Aunt C, here are the pictures from Halloween. As you can see, Cooper took on a little Jack Sparrow persona. Getting him to agree to the "eye liner" (washable Crayola marker) was quite a task but I think it really completes the outfit. The fencing sword was some promotional thing that Dennis got from work. (How it goes with AAA is a mystery at this point) The shirt is one of Dennis' and the jacket is one of mine with 3/4 length sleeves. The hat with attached hair is of course what makes the whole ensemble work. I suppose he could be Captain Hook (if we had a hook) but that's a different generation and I don't recall that he wore eyeliner, but I could be mistaken there. (I may not have been paying close attention to a detail like that as a kid.) He and I were the only ones to go trick-or-treating together as both Tucker and Spencer wanted to go with friends. I guess that is what happens when you start getting teens & pre-teens. We only went down the street two blocks on both sides and up one block past the house. That is as much as he wanted to do. Which is certainly fine by me as it was plenty of candy. But had I lived in a neighborhood this size I would have been out till that pillow case was full! (Pillowcases being the preferred trick-or-treat bag of children all ages). We did take a little neighbor boy with us who had a skeleton costume with a rubber skeleton head. He was quite comical as he went up and down the steps to the houses. I am not quite sure he could see all that well. After a while I had to carry his bag. (He had been out before we started so his was half full when we began). I was sure he was going to take a tumble down one of the longer sets of stairs, skewer himself on the fencing sword and well...But, luckily we got him home in one piece with his bag full (not a pillowcase--he's not yet wise in the ways of maximizing candy capacity). I will let you figure out the costumes of the other two boys for yourselves. Both boys came up with the ideas themselves--although Spencer may have gotten the suggestion from a girl at school. Spencer went trick-or-treating with three girls from his school. His only complaint was his mask got sweaty. I'm not exactly sure how full his pillowcase was when he got home because he squirreled it away into his room immediately. He is very protective of his candy hoard. He did not wear his costume to school (no masks allowed) but he did have fun wearing it out in the neighborhood. Although the net result of the plastic mask for this pubescent boy (not pre-pubesecent because his puberty is in full swing) was a serious rash around the nose. His skin is SO sensitive. Tucker's costume inspiration came while he and I were at JoAnn Fabrics looking for foam for a shark head (ala SNLs land shark) he was imagining he could construct. Since the foam was a bit spendy and I wasn't exactly sure on how he was planning to construct the shark head, he came up with this idea. I think it speaks for itself. The ego of a teenaged boy (at least mine) knows no bounds. He did say it garnered extra candy when it was explained, but I think that was probably only when the person handing out the candy was a guy. He came home sans candy because he gave it all to one of his friends he was out with. I guess he figured he could mooch off his brothers or eat the mounds of candy that I purchased forgetting that we never really get that many trick-or-treaters. That would be 4 according to Dennis who was manning the door while Cooper and I were out. He could have given each kid a full bag of bite-sized candy and still had one left over. As it is the giant tupperware bowl is still half-full of candy. Ah don't you just love Halloween!