December Things

December was a fun and festive month.  From all the concerts to the parties to all other activities, we had a really good time.
I absolutely loved Christmas music and for me, attending many performances was especially enjoyable.  Ashton's choir performed at the Children's Hospital in Iowa City, and it was wonderful. Tod, Luke, and I took advantage of this opportunity to get some last minute shopping done in Iowa City and then go and hear the choir.  It was one of my favorite days of the whole holiday season!

All three of the girls performed in my friend's Christmas piano recital.  Even though I am teaching them, I still wanted them to have the opportunity to perform for others, so I was grateful for this chance.  It was a great night.  The girls were very nervous so after they "survived" we celebrated with some Whitey's ice cream!

A
shton had an orchestra concert, and she did a really nice job.  I took Regan along for this concert, and we had a good time on our little date together.

Hard to get good pics of my little violinist.

Her fabulous music teachers performing a piece of their own.  So thankful for these teachers!

Jordan had a choir concert at her school too.  It was very entertaining and fun!

 It was neat to see all these athletic little gals dressed up for something different!

Ashton also had a Christmas Choir concert that I was really looking forward too as well. I was going to take the girls and enjoy the performance without the little boys.  About 30 minutes before her concert, the kitchen bench fell over on Regan's toe, breaking it in two places.  Tod ended up taking Regan to the dr., and I took everyone else to the concert...so needless to say I listened from the lobby.  I was a little disappointed and no pictures...but they sounded great!

Ashton, Jordan, and I also sang in the church Christmas choir performance.  A very musical month!!

Regan and I attended a play together for her girls scouts.

These two acted silly one morning before church.

And this little guy continued to be so difficult to get pictures of!  As soon as I get the camera out, he either wants it or runs away!

Tod and I celebrated 14 years of marriage.  Where has the time gone?  I love this guy more and more every year.  He is perfect for me.  Thanks to our fabulous friends, we got to enjoy dinner out and some shopping.

 (Earlier in the day, I had gotten out our wedding pictures to share with the kids along with my wedding dress.  It was fun to look at the pictures together of that happy day.  When I talked to my dad on the phone, we were reminiscing about that time in our lives.  He described it accurately as "raw"...my mom had passed away just 6 months earlier.  And yet, I think for all of us, it was about feeling joy and happiness again and realizing that was possible...a very special day!)

Ashton and Tod snuck away to a movie together.  They have been trying to go for while and finally had the chance.  These two have quite the interesting relationship right now....

We went to a friends home for our annual pizza dinner and gingerbread making.  It was lots of fun...until Cole got to coughing so hard and got sick all over their beautiful living room.  I have rarely been so embarrassed...

And that lead to these next pictures which kind of summed of the next few days but that is for a different post...

Looking back at this post I realize there were many other things we did during December that I did not take pictures of.  I want to remember these things:
-Regan's fun girl scout party
-Going to the care center as a church youth group and performing for the residents- Ashton and her friend Justus played their violins, Jordan and Regan sang and did a poem
- Gingerbread houses for Activity Days
-Our Ward Christmas party is always memorable and fun..a time to enjoy being together
-Lots of indoor soccer and basketball games
-Most of the Christmas shopping done online!
-I subbed a lot during December doing art as well as kindergarten. It was all very enjoyable, and I really loved it all, especially being able to have my own kids in my classes.
-Our neighborhood held their annual luminary and Santa Visit one Sunday evening.  We had friends over for dinner and then walked around the neighborhood.  It was so pleasant and mild for a December evening.
-Regan made gingerbread houses in her 2nd grade classroom and Tod went and helped with Cole's holiday centers in his classroom