Weekend Highlights

Some of the many attempts to get the ever elusive "Perfect Christmas Card Photo"

Not quite what I was looking for but pretty close!

Can you tell that they're freezing? The outside picture was not a good idea.

Spencer, are you going somewhere?

Yeah. Two out of four.

Rachel looks good. The other kids. . .not so much.

Courtney's really trying to smile. What's with the closed eyes, kids?

I will post the actual Christmas card picture after I get the Christmas cards in the mail. I went to pick them up today at Walgreens but they're having a problem downloading them from Snapfish. Just my luck!

Highlights from the weekend:

• Paul and Kerri actually went on a Friday night date to Rachel's winter chorus concert with ice cream afterward.
• Rachel played her very first basketball game on Saturday (they lost.) Rachel made a steal and a terrific assist. She didn't have much opportunity to play. Everyone else on her team has been playing together for three years so she has a steep learning curve and needs to gain confidence but she's doing really well, especially for her first year! She said, "It was so much harder than practice," a good thing to learn at the beginning of the season.
• I went to Rachel's Christmas piano recital (NOTICE: It was actually called a CHRISTMAS recital! Thank you to her teacher who remembers the reason for the season) Rachel played "Ding Dong Merrily on High" beautifully.
• Courtney developed strep and a double ear infection and had to be held by Mommy and only Mommy all day on Saturday. This made my planned Christmas shopping day go out the window but it was a blessing for me because I had a migraine. Now I'm getting stressed out. . . I'm sure I will get everything done before Christmas, right?!?!
• Spencer played with his long-lost friend Eric who was visiting from Brazil on Friday. They had a great time together! We just wish he didn't live on the other side of the world!
• Caitlin kept inventing fake illnesses because she wanted to have the grape flavored chewable Tylenol tablets just like Courtney. (examples: My eye hurts, my tummy hurts, my neck hurts, I think my ear might hurt.) She wasn't successful because she didn't act one bit sick!
• Rachel cracked us up the other night in this conversation with Paul about basketball: "Do you play quarters or halfs?" Rachel: "No, I play center." She wants you to know she actually played forward during the game.
• Rachel also made us laugh when she was carrying feverish Courtney and said, "Courtney's so heavy when she's hot." Apparently, when she's of normal temperature, Courtney's much lighter!
• Courtney snored very loudly on my lap during Relief Society. People kept turning around and looking at me funny. The lesson was excellent so I guarantee it wasn't me even though I didn't get any sleep Saturday night (or Sunday either.) Okay, I might have "rested my eyes" a few times but I definitely did not snore.
• We were very late to church because I was attempting to take our Christmas card photo. . . and, shockingly, it took longer than I expected. At least this year, everyone is smiling. Last year, I was satisfied when everyone looked at the camera, even if they were eating snow at the time (yes, I photo edited that out.)
• I held a very looooong choir rehearsal Sunday night in preparation for the Christmas presentation. Despite some aggravating hair-pulling moments, I think it's going to be beautiful.