Egypt

It is obvious to all parents dropping their kids off at school when it is time for Egyptian projects to be due for the sixth graders. There are kids in costumes or holding large projects everywhere!

Alexis being in sixth grade means that this was our year to participate. Prior to Christmas she drew her topic out of the "bag", and ended up with the assignment to do her report and 3D model on the Luxor Temple Complex. Of course, out of all the choices there were to be had, my guess is that one is the largest structure. The Complex is so big! We had to set our creative minds to building a good yet inexpensive model....

Ez helped Alexis finalize her report in the form of a very cool Power Point. Mom helped with the model, which we finally decided would best be built with straws! It was a lot of work, but we had a good time. Alexis was really proud of her creation and was excited that she got to display it in the school library for a while. Projects were due the day the kids came back from vacation at the start of January.



A few weeks later Alexis had Egyptian day, where the kids get dressed up in costume and spend the day learning and doing projects and such about Egpyt. Her costume was made by mom, of course...

Grandma Jane's Gift

The family decided a fun Christmas gift for Grandma Jane would be a girl's night out to see Wicked in San Francisco! We didn't get there until January 22nd, but it was worth the wait. It was a fun night, and we did surprise her with the gift.

We ate dinner at California Pizza Kitchen in Emeryville and made sure to visit the tasty pastry shop close by for delicious cookies.


The show was fantastic, as expected. It was Grandma, Alexis and Lily's second time seeing the show. It was Keri's fourth....and of course we are so glad that there is no close date on the show so that she can find more reasons to go again!

More cuteness

I love when Evie dresses herself! You just never know what she is going to come up with. On this particular day, the only change to her wardrobe from her jammies was the addition of a random hat that is still slightly big. I thought it was really cute!

Evie decided it would be fun to pull out her little drum and play and march around. Of course, the music sounds much better when holding the drumsticks backward!



Oh, to be two and a half and have your mom think *most* of what you do is just too cute!

***Two and a half year old fits excluded!

David turns 10

David got his birthday gift a bit early this year. On the morning of December 26th, we surprised David with tickets for him and Ez to the Emerald Bowl at AT&T Park to watch USC play. They went along with some good friends, so it was a great outing. David was so surprised and thrilled.



The game was great, even through the bit of rain they had. The best part? USC won, of course!

The rest of David's birthday celebration was simple and low key (and on his actual birthday, of course). He requested chocolate cake with chocolate icing, and got a few fun gifts including a cool USC calendar that plays the fight song.

Happy Birthday, David!

Christmas Day photos

Christmas Morning surprise (due to the Band Hero sitting out)

Evie was happy with all things princess in her stocking

Joe

David

Alexis

Lily loved her robe from Grandma Jane

Evie and Keri

Evie

Alexis

David and Ez

David

Christmas Eve photos

A few photos from Christmas Eve

Ez and Joe snacking and playing Cranium Family Edition

Keri and Alexis

The family before dinner

Ez and the crab!

SO big!

Joe thought it was fun

David loved the crab the most out of all the kids

Alexis, David, Joe, Lily, Evie and their new pajamas

Alexis and Grandma Jane

Evie didn't last a whole game of Clue

Ez and Keri

Oh yeah, there was Christmas...

My best of intentions are not very good since it is near the end of February and I am finally getting back to making another entry! No excuses, just having a hard time figuring out how to fit everything I want to do in my day right now!

We really enjoyed our Christmas Eve and Christmas. Christmas Eve was spent nice and relaxed, playing games and visiting with each other. Grandma Jane was here to visit was well. Our family always has our big meal on Christmas Eve, and we decided this year to spend the day enjoying yummy appetizers followed by a smaller but still delicious meal! Snacking all day was yum. It was followed by an equally yummy meal featuring Alaskan King crab legs and shrimp. It was great fun! Dessert might have been even better than dinner--we ate ice cream loaded with toppings from Fenton's!

The rest of the evening was fairly typical as far as Christmas Eve activities go. We read the story of the birth of the Savior from Luke 2 and then the Gift of the Magi. The kids opened their new pajamas and a family game (Clue Harry Potter version). We played the game, which was great fun!

Christmas morning was lots of fun. The kids all got what they hoped for, plus a bit more. WE spent the day playing and laughing and having a good time. Christmas is such a fantastic day! A family favorite was Band Hero, given to us by Grandma Val and Grandpa Brant. We all had fun taking turns and trying it out.

While we are so glad for the fun and excitement and good food that surrounds the Christmas season, we are most grateful for the reason to celebrate in the first place, and that is the birth of our Savior.