More Christmas Eve fun

"Open, open, open!"

Genuine thank-you hugs

Ironhide Transformer and Barbie Horse--winners!

When we got back from our DC venture, we had a late dinner, read Luke Chapter 2, and let the kids open one gift, the presents they'd picked out for each other. They were very eager to get to bed after this! Unfortunately they were so EXCITED that they hardly slept the whole night.

National Christmas Tree

On Christmas Eve we took the Metro into Washington D.C. and saw the National Christmas tree. I loved this picture that Jason took, with the Washington Monument in the background.

There were a lot of people there--I guess folks had the same idea we had!

Merry Christmas!

Joy To The World!

Live Nativity at Washington DC Temple

Inside the Washington DC Temple's Visitor Center

We have had an amazing Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, but for now I thought these nice pictures from our temple visit last week would be best! Here's hoping you've had a wonderful day filled with great memories and time with loved ones.

"What I've Done"

Wade and I were messing around with iTunes today. We found some snippets (is that a word?) from the Transformers movie soundtrack. If you don't recognize the song sung at the end of the movie, that's OK. Just sit back and enjoy watching Wade sing his heart out for 30 seconds. :) I love it that he sings pretty much the same note the whole time!

An enchanted year

After reading Derrick and Tommy's blogs recapping the year, I've been thinking a lot about mine, and the best way I can describe it is that I lived out the Enchanted movie, only in reverse. Instead of being pushed into the "real world" like Giselle, I was gently nudged into Fairy Tale Land, where all my dreams come true. The main characters were:
Prince Charming (my freakin' genius hubby): Jason
Official "Christmas Day every day" sidekicks: Rhiannon and Wade
Royal (or should I say "loyal") family and friends: all of you
Evil villains: none, unless you count the computer calling out to me, "Come blog and leave the daily grind work for the fairy tale elves to do!"
Other important items in Fairy Tale Land:
Transportation modes: walking on air, the mini-van, Jason's date night car, and 1st-class seats on airplanes
Fairy tale destinations: too many to list, but the East Coast and Central Europe in general
My castle: half the year in Ridgecrest and half the year in Springfield

2007 really has been a dream for me. I am mindful of it and so thankful to Heavenly Father for the blessings He has showered on me and on our family.

Lava lamps, lights, and great one-liners

Tonight we drove to the Washington DC Temple to enjoy the beautiful Christmas displays there. Lights were everywhere. The Visitor's Center was awesome, too. We spent most of our time inside there because it was so cold. (Saying the wind was brisk would be an understatement, more like biting!) But it was neat to see it all and realize the hard work and time spent putting it all together. The live nativity scene outdoors was amazing, too.
Last night we went to another church party. Rhiannon picked a lava lamp in the white elephant gift exchange, and the kids are quite smitten with it! :)
And, finally, great one-liners:
Rhiannon: I can't believe anyone would want to give that away! (speaking of the lava lamp)
Wade: You need to hold my hand or the wind will blow me away and you will never see me again! (before we left the temple visitor's center to go outside one last time.)
Check out lots of new photos on our flickr site, too!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jvrwfotos

Lots of grandmas and grandpas

Yesterday Wade's preschool group made a visit to a nursing home. They've been learning about sharing and service this month, and so they shared "themselves" with lots of grandmas and grandpas by putting on a sweet Nativity play, singing songs, and handing out cards and hugs. You can't tell by the picture, but the room was packed.


Wade said his favorite part was singing songs. Here they are singing "Jingle Bells." He did a wonderful job as the angel and particularly enjoyed holding that star as high as he possibly could.

Merry Christmas!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Well, it's not Utah or Kansas, but it IS snowing today! We expect to get 1-3 inches and will have straight sunshine tomorrow, so I don't expect the kids will be building any snowmen. But for desert dwellers like us, it's cool all the same. It's snowing steadily, so we can try out our snowboots and stomp around a bit! The first thing Wade equated the snow to was, of course, a movie reference. "Hey, it's like in Chronicles of Narnia!" We plan on walking to pick Rhiannon up from school this afternoon so she can get a chance to experience it, too. Hot cocoa and some warm muffins ought to round out the day, or at least put the kids in better spirits if our "snowy walk" ends up being a bummer. :)

Merry Christmas!

The Optimist vs. The Pessimist

Our neighbor's tree, at approx. 10:30am today

"How do you eat an elephant? My glass is definitely half empty right now. WHY am I doing this? Evil oak tree!" These were my initial thoughts as I raked this morning, with leaves raining down on me. Our neighbors are NOT evil, but I was cursing their big oak tree which has just begun to shed its leaves. I have a feeling that the leaves from that tree will be more than all "our" tree leaves put together. But, ya know, half an hour into it, my attitude finally changed. Here were my positive thoughts: Hey, I may be shedding a few Thanksgiving ounces by doing this! I've got to be giving SOMEONE some laughs as I rake and leaves rain down on the parts I've "finished." So, I guess I'll laugh, too! I love my hubby! I love my i-Pod! I'm going to rock out while I rake!

Here were a few of the songs I listened to that got me moving:
1) Sk8er Boi (Avril Lavigne)
2) You Can't Always Get What You Want (Rolling Stones) (ha-ha!)
3) Under Pressure (version by The Used/My Chemical Romance)
4) Now We Are Free (Gladiator soundtrack)
5) A Little Respect (Erasure)
6) The Middle (Jimmy Eat World)
7) Compliment (Collective Soul)

A visit from Santa

Last night we started December off right with a Christmas party at church. We had a ham dinner, a long but fun white elephant exchange game, singing, and a visit from Santa at the very end. We had a wonderful time!

Rhiannon gives Santa a smile. Not too many other kids put their arms around him, though. :)

"I think he was one of Santa's helpers, Mom," she said.

Wade was SOOOOO excited for his turn with Santa. The line was long, and we had to wait a while, but Wade kept jumping up and down and saying, "I get to see Santa! I get to see Santa!"

Wade thought Santa was the real deal. When I asked him what he asked Santa for Christmas, he said something like, "Well, you'll just have to wait and see what he brings me on Christmas, Mom!".....