Pop Pop's Big Party

(In an effort to catch up on blogging the important happenings of the last 8 months, I have stolen this post directly from my favorite SIL.  Thanks, Liz!)

A couple of weeks ago one of our favorite people turned 60.

So of course, a big party had to be planned.

We invited lots of old friends (and no I don't mean everyone who was invited was old), family and neighbors.

We ate lots of cookies, hot chocolate and treats...

There was a lot of catching up, and fun to be had...

 And even some who were hiding away because it was too loud with all of those people...

We even took some family pictures...

 Although it appeared to be impossible to get a picture with all the kids smiling... none of them seemed to have a hard time pulling a funny face...

The original 6

 Pop pop and Nana with all 5 grand-kids...

 Notice anything different about this last picture?

Happy 60th birthday Pop pop!!!

Christmas from Heaven

I have never had the opportunity to go to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert.  Tickets can be hard to get, especially if you are from Utah.  This year, however, my darling friend managed to get four, so Mona, Esther, Ashley and I all got to go and enjoy not only the concert, but the beautiful lights of temple square.  It was phenomenal. 

It was a very, very cold night, and it was quite a miracle we made it at all, I am sure glad we did!  David Bowie sang with the choir (AMAZING!) and then Tom Brokaw shared the story of the Candy Bomber.  

““From little things come big things,” Gail Halvorsen remembered his father saying. As a twenty-seven-year-old American pilot, Halvorsen’s job was to airdrop much-needed food and supplies to the people of West Berlin in the aftermath of World War II. But it was his simple gift of two sticks of gum that launched an extraordinary humanitarian endeavor and earned him the nickname “The Candy Bomber.” Each day hundreds of small white parachutes delivered treats to the children of West Germany, bringing the spirit of Christmas to a world in need of peace and hope."

He told the story in much more detail that than little excerpt, at the end pieces of candy tied to small white, parachutes rained down from the ceiling.  It was incredible.

The candy bomber himself was there, appearing right at the end.  It was a beautiful message and a powerful presentation.

 After the program we dried our eyes, composed ourselves, and wandered around temple square.

 And then we ate ice cream -  Of course!

It was a perfect way to celebrate the season!

All Aboard the Polar Express

Once upon a time Lacey, Steve, Ivy and Violet were all set to go on the Polar Express with Nana and Pop Pop.  Then Nana and Pop Pop couldn't go, and Lacey invited Madison to come along - with the stipulation that I come so that there would be an equal number of adults to munchkins.  

We wore pajamas, sang Christmas carols with the elves, ate delicious cookies and drank hot chocolate so hot that it could burn a hole through your tongue.  We even met SANTA! I asked him for a boyfriend.  We'll see if he is able to pull  it off.  He gave us each a bell and I am happy to report I can still hear mine. 

Miss Madison had my camera most of the time, so I don't have many pictures.  And since Lacey has taken a hiatus from blogging I can't steal her pictures.  So while these pictures may not show it, we had a wonderful time! It was such a fun and festive outing!  Thanks Lace & Steve!

Turkey Trot

This is my cute friend, Kallie.  We have been talking about doing a 5K together for ages.  It has taken us over a year to actually coordinate schedules and get signed up for one.  We finally settled on the Turkey Trot.  Partly because it worked for our schedules, and partly because it is called the Turkey Trot (and that is just cool).

I haven't done any races in quite some time, and we didn't prepare for this one as well as we probably should have.  I was especially worried when I realized that the first section was up quite a steep incline.

But we survived, and had fun doing it! 

Once Upon A Time

I have ALWAYS wanted to participate in a murder mystery dinner.  In all honesty, I have always wanted to host a murder mystery dinner.  However, I got invited to one before I had the chance to host my own.  

It was a fairy tale themed mystery dinner.  We were there to discover who had killed Goldilocks. I was given the information on my character (Cinderella) the week before and instructed to dress the part.  I was pretty impressed with the Cinderella-ish bun I managed to pull off.  

I wasn't given much information.  I knew that I was very hung up on not having to work, and had recently fought with Prince Charming (Scott).  I later learned that I had been heard crying the night before because my shoes didn't fit.

I started wondering about halfway through the night if I was the murderer, but I figured I would have been told in advance if that was the case.  So I brushed it off and tried to figure out who else could possibly be to blame. 

I was wrong - they don't tell you if you are the murderer.  It was me!  I was the murderer!  I wasn't actually Cinderella, I was Goldilocks who had killed Cinderella before stealing her identity.   Glad I was in tune enough to know who I really was. 

It was so much fun!  I will DEFINITELY be hosting a murder mystery of my own one of these days.  Anyone interested?

Fortuitous

Chinese food is not my favorite, so I very rarely have fortune cookies.  I randomly had two fortune cookies within a week of each other.  Keeping my fingers crossed that some truth is hidden within their sugary goodness! 

Walking With Pumpkins

One of the highlights of autumn in Cache Valley is the Pumpkin Walk.  Locals use pumpkins and other squash to create scenes out of books, movies, etc.   It may sound interesting, but it is pretty impressive! 

This year we were supposed to go with a bunch of people, but the rain scared most of them away.  We weren't so easily deterred. 

It gave us the chance to wear our super cool new hats as well.

And the rain was actually helpful for us because it kept the crowds small which made it much easier to enjoy the Pumpkin Walk.

You would think I would have pictures of the pumpkins, but I don't!  Not because they weren't impressive, but because the dark made it hard to get pictures of the scenes.  Though as you can tell we didn't have a hard time getting pictures of us.

If you ever have the chance to visit the pumpkin walk, you should do it!  I promise you won't be disappointed!