Bear Hugs for Christmas

Bear Hugs for Christmas has become my new Christmas Tradition!
Every year for the last 20 years the Utah Jazz Bear has taken well
deserving children to a Walmart to shop. As the years have gone
by the number of kids have grown which means the number of
volunteers have grown as well. Last year there was one volunteer
per child, this year there were two volunteers per child. I got to the
location at 6:20 and ran into many of my friends from my single's
wards. While we were standing in line to be paired with our child I
turned to see Mark Eaten walk in. I knew that if I didn't get a picture
with him mom would never let me live it down. So I walked up to him,
kinked my neck back and said " Hi I don't mean to bother you but
my mom is a huge fan and it would be so great if I could have my
picture with you, would that be OK?" Of course he said yes and I
now have the picture as proof! We had breakfast in the gym with a
little performance from some of the dancers from High School
Musical and then loaded our large buses (8 total). The Bear gets on
top of a firetruck and leads the buses down the streets with a
police escort all the way to the Walmart. The police escort makes
it so we have a straight drive right to the Walmart, and the kids all
feel pretty special by it. I have to admit I felt pretty warm and tingly
as well! Last year we drove in a blizzard, but this year we were lucky
enough that the big snow storm had not started yet. I was paired up
with Carter who I had never met and we had a little guy named Danecio
who had received a robot jacket the day before from Santa and wore
the hood (which covers his face completely ) most of the day. To
watch his face and see him hiding his excitement was precious.
He couldn't believe that he actually got to get toys that he wanted and
someone else was paying for it. As we were walking out the door to
return to our bus we were able to get a picture with the Jazz Bear.
When we were leaving the Walmart the storm had finally started but
it didn't matter for me or the kids! What a day of such fun, and Christmas
spirit. Each year I feel something that brings me back the next year, even
at 6:30 in the morning on a Saturday!

Me and Mark Eaten


Me, the Bear, Carter and Danecio trying to get his hood on


Me, Bear, Danecio (at the bottom) and Carter

Temple Square Bells Concert

Me Michael and Nicole in the
Tabernacle after the "Bells
on Temple Square Concert"
just before Thanksgiving.
My friend Devin gave us
free tickets to the concert.
I forgot to tell Nicole that
it was in the Tabernacle
not the Conference Center.
Nicole and Michael were
already a little behind
and ran all the way to
the conference center and then
had to run from their to the Tabernacle. Nicole did it
all barefoot. Sorry Nicole won't mess up
like that again! At least we all got to see the concert!

The Tempest

Last month I won 2 tickets at work to see the ballet "The Tempest" at the Capitol Theater in downtown Salt Lake City. I started going through the list of people who would like to go with me, and after watching Katelyn Dance one night when she didn't think we saw her I knew I should take her. We parked and walked to the theater and I could tell she was excited when she kept saying "can I see the theater yet" Once inside she was mesmerized. We got her cushion and were escorted to our seats at 2nd row and waited the 20 minutes for the show to start. The ballet started and I was waiting for her first words and they finally came "That's a boy!" I think she had thought that all ballet dancers were girls. She immediately fell in love with the lead couple Miranda and Ferdinand, because they were just like a prince and a princess. We both laughed over the jester, butler and Native. During intermission we went to check out the front and ended up getting her a ballerina hippo for her birthday. For the second half of the ballet Baley the hippo ballerina danced in her lap. Once over we made our way outside to the car. We went shopping and realized after that we had not taken any pictures at the theater like we wanted. Katelyn even wanted to go back and take them but were so far away. So we took these pictures in the car with the program. The first is a picture of Miranda in the program and other performers. The second is of the program, but notice her crooked glasses. The third is Baley the Ballerina Hippo. And of course the fourth is of the 3 of us all together.

Thoughts on Fall....

*Crispy Leaves
*Smells of Canning
*Bright Oranges, Reds & Yellows
*Thanksgiving is Coming
*Christmas Around the Corner
*Crisp Fall Air
*One Extra Hour of Sleep
*Holiday Decorations
*Trips Home for the Holidays
*Turkey, Rolls, & STUFFING
*Mulled Cider Candles
*Leaf Houses

halloTHANKSmus2

Here is my Thanksgiving village, I've always been fascinated by villages and started collecting and painting the houses in my Christmas village about 12 years ago. While I was purchasing Christmas pieces for the village, I found that stores also sold Halloween villages and a few years later Thanksgiving villages. Decorations for each season go up fast at my place, and the first up always is the Village!