Navidad part Dos

The Holidays are always busy, and apparently so are the first three months of the new year. I am extremely late in capturing these memories but they are too good to let slip away so here they are. The main Christmas highlight was was Uncle Jarom coming to stay for the Holiday. We picked him up from the airport and went straight for the hub of fun that is downtown Kent. (We really know how to show those Californians a ripping good time!) The lights were beautiful and the kids used all their pent up energy running in the sub freezing temps. Then it was off to the Science Center, where Jarom defied gravity, Joe ate a GIANT sandwich and we discovered Tess is a bit of a puzzle Savant.

Later we took Jarom up to the Space needle and posed for countless pictures. The Kids and I had never done it and they had a cookie decorating station that the girls enjoyed. It was freezing and windy so we didn't spend much time taking in the view.



See the mix of fear and panic and the early stages of hypothermia, that tells me, "Hey Sam, as a parent, you're doing alright, you're doing all right."

Then came Christmas morning!!! The anticipation was high and Betsy is just young enough that it was like her first time. The kids, per tradition, woke up really early and gathered their spoils to show us in our bedroom. Tess was VERY worried that Santa would leave all Uncle Jarom's gifts in LA and was so relieved when he also walked into our room with a stocking full of goods.

Santa brings candy and nonsense mom and dad would never allow.

Later that morning we opened the presents under the tree and there were many favorites. But Uncle Jarom's jewelery was best loved by all the girls and confirmed what we had all suspected about Tess and a small crush on her uncle.

Betsy tried and tried to get this thing to make her dress pink and then blue and then pink and blue again.
Betsy calls this her sleep hat and wears it to bed most nights.Tess has serious musical leanings and this was on the top of her list. We'll see if she picks up any chords. She looks like a natural. And what to get for the kid whose list included an I-phone and a career as an NBA basketball player. The answer is a lot of books. He didn't seem too disappointed.

Next it was off to Ensign ranch to do a little snow camping. Poor Jarom thought this meant condo's. Nope, the amenities included a picnic table, a walking distance port-a-potty, and a wood burning stove. good news though, the first armload of wood is free! We actually loved it and after the first night freezing we managed to find the dry wood and get our cabin to a comfortable temperature at night. Of course this meant me waking up every few hours to stoke that sucker but does anyone ever really plan on sleeping when they camp?
As you can see there was a ton of snow to play around in and the kids were in heaven. All except Betsy who has limited patience for nature. To her it is cold, wet and dirty.

And this is why you marry an Eagle Scout. No matter how ill prepared you come Joe can fix it. Here he is chopping wood into kindling in the falling snow. He also managed to fashion a luggage rack out of twine and old mattress boards. Like a Swiss Army knife he's just one cool trick after another. Ahhh the beloved stove, a source of pure joy. On it we made three loaves worth of grilled cheese sandwiches and dried out the insides of everyones snow boots. On different sides of the stove top of course.
Here Swiss Army Joe played the part of reindeer and ferried kids too and from the sledding hill.
Sleds and Toboggans were in high demand so Betsy improvised.

And sledding fans young and old caught air on the slopes. You rocked that hill Lisa, don't ever change.

Pecan Pie with the cousins. Seating was scarce in the cabins so a stairwell had to do.
Slightly less enthusiastic about the snow and sledding was Grandpa Ellsworth's wife Rosie and her son Armando. I don't blame them and would take the weather in Mexico any day. They were good sports and took turns sweltering in the cabins or freezing in the snow. It was nice to meet them and they came home with us to Kent where we exchanged late gifts and saw more Seattle sights.

Finally came New Years. Growing up, my family had the tradition of going out for Chinese on New Year's eve. I thought we might start this tradition ourselves.

All you can eat cream puffs.

All you can eat crab legs

And a fried baby octopus Betsy named Lilly and took home with her for a pet.
Gunner had other plans for Lilly's siblings. After struggling through the meal Joe and I decided we just won't be able to do that tradition. I swear the Asian cuisine is better in Eugene. After dinner we played games with friends and that is a tradition we will keep. So we ushered in the new year with a stirring round of Guesstures.

We're not gonna take it!

Yes I owe my posterity an update about Christmas, New Years, Valentines day, Talent Shows and Science Fairs and all manner of sports and life in general but for now we'll all settle for this.
There are several things we Ellsworths are fed up with. For instance: yet another day of school off followed by a week of early release and preceded by a snow day. Nine hours of church meetings in one day, warts, rain, flushing your favorite plastic animal down the toilet by accident,unrest in the middle east, relentless telemarketers and surveys, Obama care, not being able to find your skinny jeans, and not being able to find a McDonald's when you need one. Also, falling to the relentless vomiting like so many dominoes, eating pizza from Domino's, homework, unreturned kindergarten crushes, the economy, forgetting to buy milk on a Saturday night, getting your mom's round brush caught in your hair and never seeing the sun. At any rate, we're not letting it get us down, it's pizza, root beer and Twisted Sister until things improve!

Christmas Part Uno

So the Holidays begin early and so does the fun around here. We got some frigid temps and a decent amount of snow which made the days before Thanksgiving a wash for schools and employers alike. This is a fun ride Joe rigged up on a snow day and even the neighbor kids couldn't resist.In addition to snow we have had some fun outings. Betsy performed at her preschool. Did I say performed? What I meant was, she stood still and staring as her friend belted out the words to Jingle Bells and We Wish you a Merry Christmas. Still cute though. Gunner ran his 2nd annual Christmas Rush here in Kent. His P.E. teacher, arguably the best P.E. teacher ever to exist, is crazy for fitness events and always has over 80 kids run this thing. Gunner improved his time this year by over a minute and inspired Joe and I to try our hands at a 5K St Patrick's Day Run perhaps . . . . We also cut the family tree. This is a tradition I hate. We can never agree, it takes us hours and then the sun is setting and we finally scramble and pick something bad. Well THIS year, since we couldn't agree, I got huffy and stomped off only to find a tiny secret hamlet of perfect trees at Pfaff's U-Cut. If no one finds the spot we should be insured good trees for the next few Christmases. Pray that they don't, this tradition can not afford any more set backs! This picture says, "Mom, I've completely skidded out my undies, I'm cold and I was promised Hot Cocoa!"

Finally, we had the annual Church Christmas Dinner. To be fair to both factions at church, the Old people just want it quiet and reverent and the young families are just that, young families. No it's not right to allow the sequel to 'Lord of the Flies' to happen at the Ward Christmas Party. But you also can't make it so darn boring that your youngest, who is being forced to sit on your lap in a full body arm harness, says she prefers sacrament meeting on Sunday to this! To spite the Fogies, who originally wanted this to be a no-kids-allowed- party, My kids ran between empty place settings stealing cherry tomatoes to salt and eat.

Don't worry, Sister X, I"ll make sure my kids put the decorative Holly back into the centerpiece. You on the other hand, didn't listen when your mom told you if you keep doing that with your eyes, they'll stay like that, and are in real danger! Merry Christmas so far . . .

Thanksgiving 2010

For this Thanksgiving, we headed to Eugene, Oregon to not only enjoy the general vibrancy in the air at having the #1 college football team in the nation for the first time ever! But also to be with family.
Betsy and Grady

The male cousins got to enjoy death first hand when the males went trapping. Don't we all feel safer with Gunner behind the barrel of a hand gun?

Thanksgiving means pie and Hallelujah for Coconut Cream!

At the Smiths we're always trying to beat the record for most human bodies on a tractor at once.

Now that's a handsome group!

Surprise!

I got a wild idea to surprise my oldest two and take them to Disneyland just before Thanksgiving. It seemed like a nice distraction from some of the stresses earlier this fall. It was, as anyone who has been to Disneyland can imagine, terrific! My sister Jessica also took her oldest two and the fun began . . .
At the Airport, upon hearing the news.

The boys waiting to board 'Space Mountain,' arguably their favorite ride. Henry had a cell phone so we were able to let the boys roam free on their own and they loved it.
The girls, on the other hand, were all about filling their autograph books and this was a gem of a meet and greet.
In California Adventure, the new light and water show, 'World of Color' was dazzling and the pre-show dinner at Aeriel's Grotto was perfect. After surviving on string cheese, granola bars and packaged nuts for several days, the vegetables and over all warmth of the food was just what the doctor ordered. This is a white chocolate film strip that was part of the desert sampler. Amazing!

Darth Vader and his Sith apprentice had to be dealt with though . . .
This was an awesome find! The Apprentice's workshop showed the kids how to animate, voice over and etc. It was so cool and why yes, I am the fairest in the land after all. I just had to ask.

We went to almost every show, 3-D movie or parade the parks had to offer and 'It's Tough to be a Bug' was one of our most favorite.

With the upcoming release of Tron, part of California Adventure was turned into 'Tron City' in the evenings. A bit too Rave-Like for the 7-11 year olds it was more of a brief stop than an event for our group. We did however, love the flashing Hula hoops, the laser man show and playing not yet released Wii games.

She's a classy broad and underneath, has a heart of gold.

To cap it all off, our last night, just before closing, we watched the Christmas parade and at the Fireworks finale it snowed, not real snow but the effect was truly magical!