Fiddle Faddle

The girls quite enjoyed decorating “Rita” Monday morning. They took a few glory rides around my computer lab singing Jingle Bells. It was all quite festive. “Baaar-ty” is back with his foggy shenanigans. We had an entire week of deep inversion, including some gorgeous hoar frost. The pine trees looked like the frosted Christmas tree we had for quite a few years growing up. Josie stayed later on Tuesday with me decorating the computer lab! It looks very festive now. Josie dressed up as her elf, Sugar Cookie, for school on Wednesday. She is a cutest elf around these parts. 

Evelyn and Josie had a fun Activity Days this week. They went Christmas caroling around a retirement community. Then got to make hot chocolate or cider with Sister FIfe’s Keurig. The older kids did not have an activity because of a temple trip on Saturday. 

Friday I drove myself to see Dr Walker, without clearance. I got limited clearance at that visit, was told to start small like driving around my neighborhood. Yeh, I was tired of being Ms Daisy. I can now add increments of 25% of weight on my right leg every 5 days. I hope that by the 20th I can walk with just one crutch and no crutches by Christmas. Yay! I went to Kohls after my appointment for a few Christmas errands. I tried using a wheelchair, that was a disaster, so my armpits got tortured instead. I was pooped after 30 minutes of shopping for what I came for. James called and Miekka texted during my Dr appointment. James had a crazy idea to drive up to our home for family photos early Saturday morning. I love crazy! The kids got their chores done at home AND tidied the loft. The girls left a message after making an Elf house with cardboard boxes and doll accessories. 

The girls and I went to the mall that afternoon so Mia could find a gift for Lia. We had a fun time cruising the mall with “Rita” zooming me about. The girls had to run to keep up. A new cute Korean store opened up, it was so cute and fun. Evelyn said no mall visit is complete without a treat so the girls got a pretzel to share. We got home with about 30 minutes to get Josie ready for her fiddle recital. The Lances arrived just in time for us all to leave for the performance. Everett had to stay home, his tummy was not feeling well and he ran a low-grade fever. Josie’s concert was at the Tower theater (aka the White Tower according to Miekka) in Melba. We arrived in time to practice her solo piece. Josie’s teachers are so talented, Emma (mom) and Eliza and Rachel all teach her depending on who is available at the time. I’ve seen her skills grow exponentially over just 8 weeks of lessons. Unfortunately, two thirds of the students could not attend the concert due to illness. Josie was the only fiddle student! She did her best. We loved how caring the Beck’s were onstage, even slowing down the tempo mid-song so Josie could play her best. Josie was very excited to have Jacob there to watch her fiddling. That is a dream of hers come true! We went to the only appropriate restaurant still open for dinner in Melba. Our choices were the bar or pizza. Pizza please. The menu was quite varied with some mediterranean vibes, Indian flavors, and the traditional toppings. We ordered several different pizzas, the best was a tandoori pizza. That was the bomb. It was really nice to sit with James and Miekka. I was so exhausted it was hard to speak in complete sentences. Lia stayed the night with us holed up in Mia’s room. The Lances stayed at a hotel. While resting in bed I planned next week’s menu AND ordered groceries for pick up the next day. It is very handy, though I still prefer to shop in person. 

I was very happy “Barty” was alive and well Saturday morning. Jacob and Miekka chose Wilson Ponds for the location. Amelia came along with her camera to capture frozen beauty at the ponds. It was freezing with a capital “F,” beauty comes with a price. We had a fun time trying out different spots. I love my nephews and niece, they are amazing friends with each other. I quite enjoyed watching their family dynamics play out. Jacob got his dapper mission suit on once family photos were over for some missionary photos. We went back to my home to warm up with hot cocoa or cider. I must say I love our new quick boil electric water pot, it is fast and fun to use. Lia and Mia went to get fancy drinks at Moxie Java as a last hang out before the Lances headed home. Justin picked up our new microwave while we were doing photos. I am grateful we still had our old microwave in the garage. Nothing beats the convenience of a microwave over the stove like we’re used to. He was busy measuring and prepping the space to hang up the new appliance. I still feel disappointed that our microwave even broke, it was only 4 years old. To repair it was just as much as a new appliance. Jacob and Josie had a quick impromptu music session to Rubber Dolly, Josie’s favorite song. The Lances headed home around 12:30, Jacob had a group date planned that evening around 6:30 pm. Justin needed some tools to hang the microwave up, Amelia and I picked them up during a Walmart trip. 

Saturday evening was the annual Ward Christmas party. Sara was in charge of planning the event, she out did herself. Someone donated table decor (from a recent event), a large screen print of the Nativity hung on the stage, and festive music played from the PA system. Dinner was delicious of smoked brisket, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, and rolls. Halfway through dinner a cute talent show started. Mostly, Sara made her kids perform something, Josie played “Rubber Dolly” and Evelyn sang “O Holy Night.” Josie dropped her music halfway, we just ended it there instead of starting over. Evelyn sang like an angel, lots of folks complimented her on bringing the spirit to the event. Santa and Mrs Claus came right at the end! It was the same Santa we met last year at a pancake breakfast in Melba. Josie asked for a reindeer stuffy, then backtracked and said she didn’t know yet. Santa advised her to decide quickly or else shoe would get gift remnants. Ha ha. Evelyn asked Santa for a tiny baking kit and miniature kitchen knives. 

Choir is going pretty well. The youth choir is a bit sketchy, Linda changed the song last week because the arrangement was too upbeat. I agreed! They are now singing Mary, Did You Know. We might have a hand-chosen group instead of all the youth. Sunday afternoon Evelyn wanted to write out Santa letters. We had a fun moment writing out letters. Amelia asked for a mini fridge, Phillip wants bagels (not bay gulls) and a Lego, Everett asked for a magic trick, Evelyn wants the mini baking kit plus beef and cheese, and Josie was undecided. Justin did not want to join so I told Santa he wanted an emergency shart kit. I asked for matching Tupperware and bar soap for my hair. We caught up on our 25 Days of Christ. This year I am having us sing a song that correlates with the story, scripture, and ornament. It was nice to keep the tradition in a different way. The Nelves dropped off Lego ornament kits after dinner. We had fun designing our own ornaments! Phillip named his Mr Bond, when the Lego levers are moved he becomes Mr James Bond. Everett created Mr Wiggle Beard. Amelia and I did our best with the leftover pieces.