11 January 2010 Pre-Christmas Festivities

Pre-Christmas Festivities

Kirk returned from his jaunt to snowy Québec just in time repack his suitcase and start heading northeast again. With barely adequate room for oxygen intake, we urged our at-capacity vehicle up I-15 to the urban duck pond better known as Orem, Utah, home to Brad & Sharon Monson. Happily, we arrived in time to help decorate the tree, minus a few ornaments that we rendered irreparable.

The kids were supercharged with Christmas-induced excitement, which heightened the following day when they caught sight of their 5 cousins. I could say that the next couple of days were filled primarily with ear-shattering squeals and brain-numbing thumps (up and down and up and down and up and down the stairs), but there were additional high points as well. Here are some of my favorites.

Sharon’s Southern roots. We feasted on a wonderfully scrumptious breakfast—eggs with sass!

  Sunday roast. In the Gospel of Kirk, this equates with contentment and family unity.

  Biting winter air and twinkling lights. We visited Temple Square’s multi-chromatic display of Christmas illumination.

 Christmas carols and plenty of presents. It was so perfect of Sharon to schedule our own MoTab caroler for a few favorite songs just before the wrapping paper began to fly!

  

 Happy Anniversary at Los Hermanos. We celebrated Brad and Sharon’s 5^th wedding anniversary at one of our favorite places.

  Mucus, not slime. An unexpected window of free time allowed us to enjoy “The Princess and the Frog” with Kirk’s sister, Kristina. We entered with low expectations but exited in an aura of pleasant surprise. All of that Southern cookin’ and talkin’ filled Kirk with wistful memories of Mississippi.

Mooorrre cousins?!  Yes, my child: this is what it is to be Mormon. We spent a couple of loud but happy hours with Kirk’s Nordfelt relatives. (Thanks to Deb and Allen for being our gracious hosts.) Lauren enchanted baby Cortney with her own impromptu mix of Crybaby Rock Songs.

Downtime with the Goofs. Kirk didn’t realize that my brother David was once an enthusiastic follower of “Goof Troop” until David sat our kids down to “A Goofy Movie.” Thanks to David and Heidi for sleeping space, clementines, and Cap’n Crunch. Heidi, we’re sorry that we made you cook us breakfast on your birthday!  :{

Nighttime munchies. One thing that I like about my aunt Eileen is that she’s not frightened by spontenaity. When you only give her a few minutes’ notice that you’re dropping by for hot chocolate, she says, “Sure.” I was so relieved that we were able to deliver Maya Doggy’s Christmas present in person. Kirk was right when he urged me to buy the sparsely-toothed dog a small candy cane bone.

Little Fatty. We like Asher, our first Bayles cousin. At least, we like him right now. He’s nice and plump, and you just can’t help but love that what-are-you-doing-to-me expression that he wears all the time. Maybe the expression is actually a warning, something like the-angels-are-taking-note-on-my-behalf-and-I’ll-get-you-someday. Either way, he’s great. But, Andrew, you’re going to need to shed a few pounds before you’ll fit into his sleepers.

All in all, we had a great visit to Utah. I am grateful for the new Monson tradition (twice makes it so) of gathering for the holidays, and I feel blessed that we were all there. Thanks for making it a priority!