WHERE'S THE WHITE STUFF?

This has been a sad year for snow! We hardly have any, even in the mountains!

This is D, S and Little C. The lack of snow didn't stop some of my children from going boarding at Park City this week with some of the cousins. It has been cold enough that the resorts have been able to make snow, so they still had a blast.

Here is S with her cousin B. They had a great time and made some fun memories.

DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

We had to put all the new snow equipment everyone got for Christmas to good use, so we went up the canyon today to ski/snowboard/sled/tube/BBQ/snowmobile/have fun!

The lack of snow this year (check out the hill behind the truck) has been a HUGE disappointment for us. It isn't great conditions for using new snowboards on either, but we did it anyway. We are praying for snow!

There are always issues with the old snowmobiles, so here's a photo of the guys fixing one of them.

Here's a photo of the cute little girls on the huge tube. Princess P had a blast with all her cousins tubing down the hill.

CHRISTMAS IS HERE!

Well, Christmas finally came and went whether we were ready for it or not. I happened to be ready this year, so everything was great!

We went up to the 'Barn' with all the other Gordons in town to celebrate, as per tradition. My sister and her family came for dinner too. That made it extra fun for me!

Here are the actors in our yearly nativity play. There was a lot of laughing (like every year), but the message is too important to be forgotten. Jesus Christ's birth means everything to us.

Santa Claus had come during the night, so the next morning we all had a great time seeing the gifts he had brought. Princess P wanted (and received) the Lalaloopsy Silly Hair doll. We heard about it for 3 months, so she was VERY pleased!

D was happy with his new helmet cam and A loved his new electric shaver (he also got skis he was happy with as well- spoiled little brats).

S got this cute new hat, some new snowboard bindings and a new coat. She was a happy camper as well.

Little C was happy with his new snowboard too. We were all happy! It was a very merry Christmas for all!

After we checked out all our gifts we ran home, showered and went to church. I wish Christmas was on Sunday every year. It brought such a wonderful spirit into our day. I LOVE singing Christmas music ON Christmas! I just love Christmas in general! I'm so sad its over for another year...

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

'TIS THE SEASON FOR BAD ART

Last night I hosted the traditional Art Department Christmas party. As some of you may remember from years past, we bring an original work of art to trade. This year, as an added bonus and inspired by our spring trip to New York, we did a 'bad art' exchange as well.

I didn't get photos taken of the pieces I took to the party, but here are the ones I got to bring home. This is my rockin' bad art piece. One of the guys on the faculty got it at a dollar store. There was some hilarious bad art! I think we've started a fun new tradition!

Here we are, displaying our 'bad art.' I brought the lovely violin on the far left. (Aren't we a good looking faculty!) There was an Andy Warhol-esque version of Justin Bieber, a Bob Ross-esque DI painting, and a yarn and plastic calendar that smelled like old people, to name a few.

This is the good art I got. It is a linocut print and I LOVE it! ©Adam Larsen

HECTIC HOLIDAYS

Why does it seem that things are going so well and I am all ready for Christmas until the week before? Yikes! It's like someone pushed the fast forward button on the time machine! Slow it down! I guess it could be the fact that I went to Maui and lost 5 days...

Monday we did graham cracker houses for Family Home Evening. I didn't want to because I was already so stressed from shopping 'up North' all day and trying to figure out some ward issues, but I did it anyway. I am a die-hard Christmas lover and if my kids want to do a seasonal activity like that, how can I say no?

Here are the builders of the future generation. They were complaining about the warpedness of the graham crackers. I guess that's what we get for buying the store brand... S had her friend S over and he helped Little C since Big C was doing some repairs.

Here they are tasting their creations. S always has to lick everything. What a bunch of goofs.

Last night was the Elementary school program. Here is Princess P singing 'Christmas Cookies' with her classmates from clear across the gym.

Little C always gets stuck behind the tall girls. Not sure how that happens, but it is really consistent. He sang 'Feliz Navidad.'

Here they are afterward with their Lions Club candy canes. It was nice going to watch with just Big C and I. With only the two of us we got pretty good seats thanks to my sister!

BIOGRAPHY FAIR & SANTA

Today was a busy day. Little C has been working on a biography of Jesse Owens for a month or two now and has really enjoyed it. He was an amazing runner, track star, and olympian. He set world records in high school!

In the 1936 olympics in Berlin he won 4 gold medals. Hitler didn't want to congratulate Jesse (since he was African American), so he left the stadium. Interesting info. and Little C did a great job on those homemade gold medals, wouldn't you say?

When the two youngest got home from school that afternoon we went to our friendly neighborhood supermarket- Kent's to visit Santa and get a treat. Here is Little C. He wants snow pants for Christmas.

Here is Princess P with Santa. She was reluctant to sit on his knee, but candy always helps win her over. (We need to watch out for stranger dangers with her). She wants a Lalaloopsy doll. Bring on CHRISTMAS! We LOVE it!

LAST MINUTE MAUI

Big C came home from work last Tuesday and said, 'I don't really have any work the rest of the week and J is going to be gone. Let's go to Hawaii or something.' So we booked a trip that night and left early, early Thursday morning for Maui. What's even more strange is that our good friends that went with us to Hawaii last time, came with us again!

Here I am the first day, fresh off the plane (that's why I'm still in jeans). Leave it to Big C to find a beach first thing that was covered in kiteboarders (see them behind me?). He has a nose for the extreme. He never did get to try it though. The day we had it scheduled, the wind was gone. So sad.

The next day we got up early and drove the road to Hana. It is a skinny, winding road around the southeast part of the island. One lane, so you had to be careful no one was coming the other way before you crossed the bridges. It was an adventure in itself!

At a two-laned point we stopped and Friend C found a coconut. Having seen the coconut presentation at the Polynesian Culture Center nine years before, we were able to husk it and crack it open with the help of the guard rail's I-beam. It was yummy!

We stopped later, at a black sand beach and couldn't get over the black sand's contrast against the blue of the water. You couldn't swim here, unfortunately, because of jelly fish/man-o-wars, but it was gorgeous!

We went on a hike up to see a 400 ft. waterfall. This AMAZING banyan tree was on the way. It has to be the coolest tree I have ever seen!!

There were guavas on the trail the whole way up. Everyone ate them but me. I just couldn't do it. They are slimy with seeds. I do love the flavor though. Guava juice is one of my favorites.

On the way up to the waterfall we hiked through a bamboo forest! It was VERY cool!

We made it to the waterfall and then it started to pour on us. We came back very wet and muddy, but had such a great time!

Snorkeling was another favorite of the trip. We found a place where we saw so many turtles we lost track of how many there were. And the fish were gorgeous, very bright and not afraid of us at all.

It rained a good deal while we were there, but we didn't mind. We were in MAUI! No matter what the temperature was, it was warmer than home! We were just happy to be there. This was a rain forest we visited in the rain!

We had lots of good things to eat. I am not a seafood fan, but had good stuff anyway. This is at Bubba Gumps.

Lahaina was my favorite little town. It had an old Main Street with all the buildings turned into shops and eating places. We just had a great time! Last minute trips are the BEST!

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CHRISTMAS LISTS

My kids still make their lists for Santa and since we are such an art family, they usually do the illustrated version. Sometimes,even in color!

Here is Princess P's list for this year. Isn't it cute! I just love her drawings!

This is Little C's list. I guess he changed his mind about the iPod, which it good, cuz I doubt he's getting one.

Here's D's list. He's 17 and still illustrates his too!

A on the other hand, makes a list of everything and anything he wants regardless of price. D added up everything on the list and it came to $5,980. What a stinker! We need to work on his materialism issues...

WHITE WEATHER

We finally got some snow to go with our chilly weather! (4 or 5 inches on Friday night, Saturday morning). The kids from the 'hood were out playing all night and day.

This is Little C (in the blue and red) with his buddies. They played snow soccer almost all morning Saturday. Wish I had that kind of energy. Big C and S went skiing/snowboarding and said the powder was amazing but they did hit a few rocks. S's knee is feeling good. It's the first time she's been on her board since her ACL repair. She's relieved. D has been boarding at Park City 3 times already. Bring on the winter! The Gordons are ready to go!

DARE & ARROW OF LIGHT

Little C reached a couple of milestones yesterday. First of all, the 5th grade graduated from the DARE program. They all got a certificate, a t-shirt, and some knowledge about the detrimental effects of alcohol, tobacco and drugs.

This is his class (Little C has an arrow pointing at his head).

That night he finally received his Arrow of Light award. He earned it over 3 months ago, but there were a couple other boys coming up, so they waited until they were all ready. Here he his pinning me with the 'Mom pin.'

'Crossing the bridge' into the Boy Scout program. I am proud of Little C and his achievements. Scouting isn't his favorite thing, but he does a great job anyway.