I Could Get Used To This Kind Of Coping

If you remember, one of the holiday coping tips I posted last week suggested that you "try something new" for the holidays. Our "something new" was a few days at a condo in Midway, and we had a blast! With college finals in full swing, Bruce and I were on out own the first night of our stay. We went to Park City for dinner at this joint:
It had yummy food and an open kitchen where we could see our dinner being made. Then we took a few pictures of the sights along Main Street. There were lots of neato window displays filled with things like Moon Boots and toques, but since it was only 5 degrees outside we didn't stick around long.The next night Bruce and Shannon went diving at the Homestead Crater while Ben and I swam and snorkeled in the 90 degree water. We sometimes snap a photo of ourselves with this picture of Peter. Mostly because we miss him with us when we have adventures. Maybe we'll make a book of all of these pictures to give him when he gets home.We braved the cold temperatures again on Friday when Brian and Lindsey went ice skating with us in Midway. Everyone skates better than me! Bruce was the most fashionable guy around with his Olympic coat and a Santa hat. We kept warm with a series of challenges- who could glide the farthest, skate in a circle or skate on one foot. This was a fun getaway for the holidays!

Barn Christmas

Tonight is the Barn Christmas Party. Every year I make a slideshow/movie of the pictures I've taken at horse shows during the year, so that everyone can reminisce and laugh at the good times we've had. We choose to ignore all of the bad times! This year's movie is almost 50 minutes long. I've burned a CD of all of the pictures for each of my barn friends as a Christmas gift. I think they look amazing with the barn Christmas picture on the labels!Shannon made horse tacos again this year- made from all horse-friendly ingredients! They were wildly popular last year!

Christmas Photo Shoot

I took some Christmas pictures of a cute family in my ward- too bad there was no snow! You never know how kids are going to act, but their little girl was super easy to get good smiles from. Thank goodness.

LM Got His Rebuking On!

So, the last you saw Little Missionary, he was in this predicament:Thinking quickly, he whipped out his Book of Mormon and rebuked those nasty Ninjas!Then, he asked them what they knew about the Mormon church and would they like to know more?Way to go, Little Missionary!

Love The Lights!

I love Christmas lights! The barn always puts on an impressive display at Christmastime:In Layton, (or "Lay-Un", if you're a local), the city park is full of animals and Christmas scenes- all lit up for the holidays!

Love Those Ward Nativitys

Our ward Christmas brunch was yesterday. Lots and lots of people came- all the tables were full- and that makes the Bishop happy! Our ward is full of great participators! Keeping with tradition, Bro. W. wore his Christmas sweater:After we ate, there was a nice Nativity program where the Christmas story was read and the ward sang Christmas songs together. There were the usual angels and shepherds:
Our King Herod wore real chain mail and swung around a real sword. That's right. Beat that!
Bruce, one of his counselors and a member of the Stake Presidency were the Wise Men. Bruce made the other 2 feel bad by memorizing his lines. That's my over-achiever!Here's the whole cast:Then the Primary sang, "Angels We Have Heard On High." They were SO enthusiastic on the "Glorias!!" Loved it. :) It was a great ward party.

Timberrrrr!

What would Christmas be without the tree? This year's tree decorating was a little iffy, with the tree threatening to fall over several times. I guess it's time to get a new tree stand! We missed Lindsey, but she was creating Christmas tree magic at her parent's house!It's always nice to see those loved decorations! Xena even made an appearance to oserve us from a comfortable reclining position.If you'll notice, Brian was in rare picture-taking form: