It's all good . . .

I Love to Read - 2015

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am passionate about reading - I love it.  I am always in a book club, and I have a never ending stack of books to read, and as soon as I finish one, it seems to get replaced by one or two more.  I have been a voracious reader my whole life, and I truly love to read almost every genre.   I am usually reading a few books at once -  something with Lily, something with Derek, a novel, a self-help type book (lately that is usually something to help me better understand my children's ADHD), my scriptures, a church book, and an audio book as well.  And somehow, I can keep them all straight too.  Pretty crazy. 

And as usual, I kept track of the books I have read over the past year.  This year, I have had less time to read than usual, and so quite a few of the books I read were audio books (51 of the 105, to be exact).  As always, I kept track of how many pages I read for the year - just for fun. (Does it count if they were an audio book?  Sure.)  My average book was 338 pages and my total pages for the year was 35,450.  If you want to know what I thought about each book, go to www.goodreads.com and friend me, and you can read my reviews for them all.          

** - a book I read with Derek

* - a book I read with Lily

^ - a reread, which means I loved the book enough the first time to read it again

# - an audio book  

1. The Book of Mormon (531) - with the family, and by myself
2. Pearl of Great Price by Joseph Smith Jr., The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints(61)^#
3. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson (Teachings of Presidents of the Church)by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (308)#
4. Throne of Jade (Temeraire #2)by Naomi Novik (398)#
5. The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin(292)
6. Erak's Ransom (Ranger's Apprentice #7)by John Flanagan (373)#
7. Carla Kelly's Christmas Collection by Carla Kelly(288)
8. Miss Davenport's Christmas (Love & Temptation)by Marion Chesney (168)#
9. Missing May by Cynthia Rylant(89)#
10. Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai(272)# 
11. Marian's Christmas Wish by Carla Kelly(298)
12. Sky Raiders (Five Kingdoms #1)by Brandon Mull (432)#
13. His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire #1)by Naomi Novik (356)
14. The Siege of Macindaw (Ranger's Apprentice #6)by John Flanagan (293)#
15. The Dancing Master by Julie Klassen(412)#
16. The Hound of Rowan (The Tapestry #1)by Henry H. Neff (448)
17. The Light Between Oceans by L. Stedman(343)#
18. The Sorcerer of the North (Ranger's Apprentice #5)by John Flanagan (295)#
19. The Buccaneer's Apprentice (The Cassaforte Chronicles #2)by  Briceland (349)
20. A Christmas Guest (Christmas Stories #3)by Anne Perry (208)#
21. The Battle for Skandia (Ranger's Apprentice #4)by John Flanagan (272)#
22. Palace of Mirrors (The Palace Chronicles #2)by Margaret Peterson Haddix (304)#
23. As the Ward Turns by Joni Hilton (152)*^
24. As Wide as the River by Dean Hughes(156)**^
25. Too Many Crooks Spoil the Broth(Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery #1)by Tamar Myers (256)
26. The Glass Maker's Daughter (The Cassaforte Chronicles #1)by  Briceland (336)
27. Just Ella (The Palace Chronicles #1)by Margaret Peterson Haddix (185)#
28. At Home in Mitford (Mitford Years #1)by Jan Karon (413)#
29. Havana Storm (Dirk Pitt #23)by Clive Cussler, Dirk Cussler (452)#
30. The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson(231)
31. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne(316)#
32. Not Just a Witch by Eva Ibbotson(185)
33. Lady Emma's Campaign (Regency Romance) by Jennifer Moore(224)
34. Around the World in Eighty Days(Extraordinary Voyages #11)by Jules Verne (252)#
35. The Icebound Land (Ranger's Apprentice #3)by John Flanagan (266)
36. Devil's Gate (NUMA Files #9)by Clive Cussler (474)#
37. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift(306)*
38. Halley's Gift and Eight Other Extraordinary Tales by Carey V. Azzara(232)
39. The Eye of Heaven (Fargo Adventure #6)by Clive Cussler (389)#
40. Valhalla Rising (Dirk Pitt #16)by Clive Cussler (527)#
41. Little Men: Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys(Little Women #2)by Louisa May Alcott (329)
42. Lord of the Silent (Amelia Peabody #13)by Elizabeth Peters (496)#
43. The Harvester by Gene Stratton-Porter(280)
44. Under Fire (Jack Ryan, Jr. #8)by Grant Blackwood (512)#
45. Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder by Edward M. Hallowell(416)
46. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See(288)#
47. Under the Same Stars by Dean Hughes(152)**
48. The Evertree (Spirit Animals #7)by Marie Lu (192)#
49. Frindle by Andrew Clements(105)*^
50. Summer Campaign by Carla Kelly(288)
51. The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail by Richard Peck(240)
52. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr(531)
53. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy(964)#
54. The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle (The League of Princes #2)by Christopher Healy (477)**
55. Against the Tide (Spirit Animals #5)by Tui T. Sutherland (192)#
56. Rise and Fall (Spirit Animals #6)by Eliot Schrefer (192)#
57. The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley(527)
58. Middlemarch by George Eliot(904)#
59. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde(253)#
60. A Heart Revealed by Josi S. Kilpack(336)
61. The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle #1)(662)#
62. The Forgotten Sisters (Princess Academy #3)by Shannon Hale (324)*
63. The Candy Shop War (The Candy Shop War #1)by Brandon Mull (404)
64. Peter Pan by M. Barrie(176)#
65. The Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie Klassen(460)
66. Watership Down (Watership Down #1)by Richard Adams (478)#
67. Against the Tide by Elizabeth Camden(362)
68. Miss Grimsley's Oxford Career by Carla Kelly(352)
69. The Deeds of the Disturber (Amelia Peabody #5)by Elizabeth Peters (400)#
70. A Memory of Violets: A Novel of London's Flower Sellers by Hazel Gaynor(432)
71. Nurtured by Love: The Classic Approach to Talent Education by Shinichi Suzuki(108)
72. Purses and Poison by Dorothy Howell(258)
73. The Pigeon Pie Mystery by Julia Stuart(336)
74. A Bear Called Paddington (Paddington Bear #1)by Michael Bond (159)*
75. The Burning Bridge (Ranger's Apprentice #2)by John Flanagan (262)
76. The Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis(336)
77. Lion in the Valley (Amelia Peabody #4)by Elizabeth Peters (360)#
78. A Room with a View by M. Forster(240)#
79. Ability Development from Age Zero by Shinichi Suzuki(108)
80. Becoming Lady Lockwood by Jennifer Moore(199)
81. The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming(304)#
82. Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1)by Tahereh Mafi (338)#
83. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust (Flavia de Luce #7)by Alan Bradley (392)
84. Can't Wait to Get to Heaven (Elmwood Springs #3)by Fannie Flagg (384)#
85. The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus #5)by Rick Riordan (528)
86. Eternity (Infinity Ring #8)by Matt de la Pena (192)#
87. Handbags and Homicide (Haley Randolph #1)by Dorothy Howell (291)
88. The Iron Empire (Infinity Ring #7)by James Dashner (192)#
89. New Testament (King James Version) (403)^
90. Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher(698)#
91. Star of Deliverance by Mandy Madson Voisin(320)
92. The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle (The League of Princes #2)by Christopher Healy (477)**
93. The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan(151)#
94. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova(704)#
95. Behind Enemy Lines (Infinity Ring #6)by Jennifer A. Nielsen (192)#
96. Cave of Wonders (Infinity Ring #5)by Matthew J. Kirby (192)#
97. The Counterfeit Heiress (Lady Emily #9)by Tasha Alexander (304)
98. The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus #4)by Rick Riordan (597)#
99. The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom (The League of Princes #1)by Christopher Healy (436)
100. Tom Clancy Support and Defend (The Campus #5)by Mark Greaney  (503)#
101. Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt(360)#
102. The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice #1)by John Flanagan (249)
103. Shipwreck (Island #1) by Gordon Korman(129)**^
104. Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede,  Caroline Stevermer(326)*^
105. Push Not the River by James Conroyd Martin(556)

 And just in case you want to check out what I read the past few years (since I started keeping track), you can see that here: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014

A Very Merry Christmas Celebration

Christmas Eve dawned cold and very snowy, and although I am totally done with snow already, it sure made for a beautiful picture from the window :).  I spent a lot of Christmas Eve making treats for that night, but I did get to spend some time reading and enjoying the view.

We went to Kevin's parent's for Christmas dinner, and it was such a great night.  We had a delicious ham dinner, and then followed it up with a fun musical evening.  We started with playing carols on the chimes, with Arthur conducting the music, of course :).

After our concert on the chimes, we moved to the piano, where Derek played the piece he had been practicing for the past few months.  Lily had also prepared a Christmas song, as well as a duet with her Grandma Valerie.  It was so much fun!  And then we sang Christmas carols around the piano while Arthur conducted.  It was such a perfect activity!  I loved every minute of it.

After the music, came presents from Grandma and Grandpa.  Arthur got a fantastic keyboard, complete with a microphone.  He was in heaven!!

Lily got some really fun things as well - a Harry Potter coloring book, a cute little jewelry box, and an awesome sewing kit so she can have sewing lessons with Grandma Valerie.

But the best present of all, was Derek's.  He got a Legend of Zelda quilt from his grandma that she had been working on for months.  He thought it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen, and was completely ecstatic.

They also got new pajamas, which they loved.  When we got back to my parent's house, they put on their new jammies and got ready for bed.  They looked so cute!

Before they went to bed, we did take the time to read our last scripture of our nightly advent - the Christmas story in Luke 2 and in Matthew.  It was a peaceful and wonderful end to our celebration, with our family focussed on our Savior and the true meaning of Christmas.  Once the kids were in bed, Kevin, my mom, and I put out all the presents and then filled the stockings.  I love looking at the Christmas tree and stockings out on Christmas Eve - it is magical.

The next morning, the kids slept in until almost 7am, which was awesome.  They were so excited, I could barely take their picture before they ran into the living room to check out their stockings.

Before the kids came out, I got a cute picture of my parents with the tree.  I am really glad we had this chance to spend Christmas with them, since I know we probably won't ever have the opportunity again.

I love watching the kids open their stockings.  They love each and every little thing they get, and their faces show pure joy.  My parents enjoyed their stockings too.  And Kevin is so good about filling my stocking - he knows how much it means to me.

Arthur and Kevin got light-up bubble lightsabers in their stockings, and so they had to have a battle so Arthur could "defeat" his daddy.  They hadn't even taken them out of the packages yet :).

Then it breakfast, and finally, present time.  The kids didn't get much - we tried to keep things simple, but they loved what they got :).  Arthur really loved opening presents, and so Kevin and I had him help us open all of our presents, so he would leave everyone else's alone.

Once present opening was over, the kids all had to build their new lego sets.  Christmas isn't Christmas without new Legos.

The rest of the day was pretty low key, with yummy appetizers and other finger food, as well as visits from both of my sisters' families that live in Twin.  And just to prove I was there for it all, I had to get a selfie with Arthur.  I hope that all of you had a wonderful celebration as well.

 

Merry Christmas 2015

Merry Christmas from the Brown family!  We hope that you have a wonderful holiday as you celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Last Bit Before Christmas

The last few days before Christmas were busy, in spite of there being no school.  Monday was Derek's birthday, and Kevin took the kids to see Star Wars Episode VII, and later we had his celebration.  After cake and presents, we drove to a live nativity in town, which was really fantastic.  The kids loved it.

On Tuesday, we took the kids to have free breakfast at Chick-fil-A.  Kevin and I take Arthur all the time, but Lily and Derek are always in school, and so they miss out.  Since they aren't having the promotion next year, it was one of our very last chances to go, and we all loved it.

And then there was the snow.  It seems like it has been freezing cold and snowing off and on since Thanksgiving, and I am already tired of it.  I know, I should be used to it, but I am done.  I went out to shovel the walk, and Arthur came and joined me.  He decided that he wanted to give it a try, and he did surprisingly well, in spite of his size :).

Arthur is such a silly guy.  One night at dinner, he put his napkin on his head and decided that it made a good hat.  

And then, there was the early Christmas present for Kevin and I - a new iPhone.  Ours were over three years old, and they were completely dying.  We got lucky and got a deal where they were $200 off, and so we finally got our new phones.  I am already in love with mine :).

 On Wednesday night, the kids had their traditional slumber party by the Christmas tree.  Arthur isn't quite old enough to do it yet, but Lily and Derek loved it.  It is magical to fall asleep next to a lit Christmas tree.

You can see by the giant smile on Derek's face how truly excited he was.

It was the last of our Christmas preparations before Christmas Eve, and the perfect way to get us all in the mood for the fun awaiting us. 

Derek's Birthday Celebration

Derek's birthday celebration started at school the Thursday before his birthday.  With his birthday being on the 21st, it means that he almost never gets to celebrate it at school, and so I try and make sure and bring something in before they get out for Christmas break.  This year, since the food had to be store bought, I made donut reindeer - that counts as store bought, right?  Derek loved them, the kids in his class loved them, and they were super easy to make :).

On his actual birthday, Kevin took Derek and Lily to go and see the new Star Wars movie, which Derek loved!  They even saw it in 3D.

We continued the celebrations that night with his favorite dinner, bow tie pasta with basil cream sauce.  And then for dessert, cupcakes with special Poke-balls on them, since he loves Pokemon.  Lily made all the cupcake decorations for him, which was so sweet.

They were pretty cute, and it meant that I didn't have to create Poke-balls on all the cupcakes in frosting :).  Derek loved them!

Then it was time for presents.  Derek had been anxiously awaiting this birthday, because I had told him that he could get a guitar when he turned ten. 

Not only did he get his guitar, but he got Keith Urban guitar music and Legend of Zelda piano music.  And he was super excited to get his Slammin' Sluggers MLB game that he has been begging for.

After we finished the celebration with my parents, we headed over to Kevin's parents so that Derek could celebrate with his other Grandma and Grandpa too.  They gave him a remote control BB-8 droid from Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie, and he was in heaven!

Derek had a fantastic birthday, and he was so happy with it all.  I am so glad he had a wonderful day, as he truly deserved nothing less.

A Decade with Derek

My sweet Derek turns ten today, and I can't believe how the years have flown.  I am so grateful to have this tender hearted, smart, and funny boy as my son.

Derek's excitement about things is infectious.  He loves to tell people about his favorite things, whether it is sports, or video games, or John Bytheway talks.  He has a strong testimony of the gospel, and I love when it is his turn to teach the Family Home Evening lesson - they are always wonderful.  He plays the piano beautifully, can't wait to learn the guitar, and reads voraciously.  He loves to give hugs, play with his sister and brother, and spend special time with Kevin and I.  He is such a wonderful part of our family, and I don't need what we would do without him.

Derek's Favorites

Food: Bowtie Pasta with Basil Cream Sauce    

Dessert: ice cream

Color: green (after being red for many years, he decided to change it)

Season: summer

Movie: Star Wars the Force Awakens

TV Show: Pokemon, Pj Masks, Paw Patrol, sand Super Mario Bros

Game: Sushi Go!

Video Game: Super Smash Brothers Melee/Brawl/3DS and Mario party 9

Video Game to Watch: Madden 12 and Legend of Zelda 

Sport to Play: baseball/football/basketball/volleyball/golf/soccer

Sport to Watch: baseball, football, and basketball

Thing To Do: play sports

Thing To Do at School: math

Place to Be: Legoland

Place to Visit: Idaho          

Vacation: Wyoming (to see the Taylor's)

Toy: Legos

Chapter Book: The Hero's Guide series (The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, etc)

Picture Book: Pokemon 

Singer: Keith Urban

Song: Somewhere In My Car

Thing to Do with Mom: read and sing songs

Thing to Do with Dad: read and play video games 

Thing to Do with Lily: read and play pretend

Thing to Do with Arthur: read a book and play pretend 

Scripture Story: Captain Moroni     

Wants to be when he grows up: police officer/singer/baseball pitcher for New York Mets (He used to want to be a doctor.)

Most excited about for this next year: Starting Webelos

Most Looking Forward to in the Future: going to BYU 

A Concert in Salt Lake

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to go to Utah for the Tabernacle Choir concert.  My sister had tickets that she couldn't use, and she gave them to us.  We were so excited to get to go, and we were excited to get to visit our friends, the Jones' too.  They are like family to us, and we drove to their house in Ogden on Saturday afternoon when Lily finished her swim meet.  Kevin watched the first half of the BYU football game with Brent, and I got to spend the afternoon talking to Marilyn.  I also tok some pictures for them - including some of their son Jordan and his sweet little family.

Once we left their house, we headed to downtown Salt Lake City to check into our hotel.  We stayed at Little America, one of our favorite places, and we immediately went to the coffee shop for dinner.  After all these years, I finally got the hot turkey sandwich, and it was AMAZING!  How have I never eaten it before??

After dinner we headed to the train so we could go see the lights at Temple Square.  Arthur was so happy to be on the train.

Unfortunately, just like two years ago when we went, we happened to be there on the last Saturday before Christmas, and so it was so crowded.  Everything was crowded - the train, the restaurant, and especially Temple Square.  Because of that, it took a little longer to get there than we thought it would.  It's all good though - we got one family selfie with the temple before Lily and I had to head to the concert.

Even though it was crowded, the lights were still as gorgeous as ever.

Lily and I got to the Conference Center for the Christmas Concert just in time for the doors to open.  (We had a little adventure because I forgot to send my camera back to the hotel with Kevin, however, a nice security guard let me take it in as long as I promised not to take it out of my bag.)  We were in the upper balcony, and it was really fun to see the concert from that point of view.  And truly, the concert was amazing - we loved the guest singer, Laura Osnes, and they even had four singers on loan from the Metropolitan Opera who were also fabulous :).  I am so glad I got to share it with my sweet girl.

While Lily and I were at the concert, Kevin took the boys to see the lights, as well as to City Creek Mall.  They went to see the musical lighted fountain, the nativity, and all the Charlie Brown Christmas themed candy windows.  Arthur was especially happy to catch a choir performance by a local high school.

Then they went back to the hotel so that Kevin could watch football while the boys watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

The concert got out about 9:30, and so Lily and I got one last chance to see the lights before we caught the train back to Little America.

As we were headed back through Temple Square, we stopped to watch a group of sister missionaries who were singing Christmas carols.  It was so fun :).

The next morning, we had breakfast at our hotel, and then headed back to Ogden to spend more time with the Jones and go to church with them.  It was the perfect end to a very wonderful family trip, and even though it was a quick one, we had a great time :).

Swimming in the Winter

Lily enjoyed swim team so much this summer, that when they started a fall session in November, she really wanted to do it.  She has had a wonderful few months, and has progressively  improved with each of her three swim meets.  Since they don't have another team to compete against, they just do timed trials.  She made a goal to improve her times he meet, and she did!  We are so proud of her!

Christmas Week 3 - Secret Santa, Star Wars, and More

We started off the third week of Christmas with the kids all dressed in their  Christmas outfits for church.  Since we knew we would be miss being at our ward the Sunday before Christmas, I had them dress up this week :).  They looked fantastic!  I love my sweet kids!

I also took pictures of my parents looking great :).

Our Sunday mornings are at times an adventure, but there are a few things that I just love.  To say that Derek loves to read the paper each morning is putting it lightly :).  He loves to pour over the sports page, but on Sunday mornings, he goes through each and every ad - sometimes circling his favorite things in them.

And sometimes we are serenaded by Kevin on the piano and Arthur singing and conducting the music.  It is awesome!

On Sunday evening, my parents were watching some of the Christmas Music and the Spoken Word episodes, and Arthur decided to join them.  He curled up on their bed and watched the "music show," so very happy.  He fell asleep right there.

On Monday morning, Kevin went out to run some errands and remembered that the Costa Vida was opening up, and that the first 100 people in line, would get a free meal a month.  Well, he was number 87, and so free food is coming our way.  We had him bring home lunch for us all, and they ended up giving him all the food for free.  Pretty awesome, and it was delicious!

On Monday night, Arthur conducted the music for family home evening - as usual.  He does it every week, usually sings along full voice, even if he doesn't know the words.  It's pretty adorable.

And for our Family Home Evening activity, Lily, Derek and I made marshmallow snowmen with my mom.  

It was pretty fun, and we used one to give away for the Twelve Days of Christmas that we did for a good friend of my mom, Sister Thompson.  Her husband died this fall, and it is her first Christmas without him, and so we thought we would do something fun for her each night until Christmas.  The best part was watching Lily or Derek sneak up to her front porch each night and try and sneak back to the car without being caught :).

Later on in the week, both my little nieces, Gracie and Lizzie, were having their special kindergarten Christmas program.  They both asked me to fix their hair for them, which was really fun, and totally brought back memories of fixing my nieces Melanie and Madeline's hair for them when they were little.  I brought out the curling iron and put little braids in their hair, and they loved it.

On Thursday morning, I took treats to Derek's class for his birthday, and then hurried home to take my mom and Arthur to my nephew, Caleb's, band concert.  It was fun to be there for him, especially because both of his parents were working.  And Arthur loved it, but I had to take him out at one point because he kept yelling "But where are the dancers?  They need dancers!  And where are the singers?"  I guess he has watched the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert one too many times - now he thinks there should be singers and dancers with every orchestra :). Caleb did a great job!

Friday was Star Wars day.  On Thursday, Kevin had started watching all the old movies.  He started with Episode IV, then Episode V, next I, II, and III.  Arthur watched with him, and loved it.  He finished watching Episode III at about 2am, and so he got some sleep before he finished things off with Episode VI in the morning on Friday.

On Friday morning, Kevin and I had tickets to go with his dad to see Episode VII - The Force Awakens.  It was so exciting!

We had about fifteen minutes left of Return of the Jedi when we had to leave to get to the theater, and so Kevin watched the ending on his phone while we waited for the next movie :).  And the movie was excellent.  I was a little nervous, because I really loved the story that was created by the Star Wars books, but they did a wonderful job with it, and I can't wait to see the next one!

When I got home from the movie, I had the best surprise waiting for me.  Every year, for five straight years, I was in an ornament exchange with my friends in Colorado.  I was so sad to miss it this year - in fact, I have really been missing my Colorado friends so much this past month.  I don't think I realized how many traditions I had built with them.  Well, I opened my package, and it was full of this year's ornaments.  They had sent them to me, even though I wasn't there for it.  It really meant the world to me, and I loved it!

It was a wonderful week, and we finished things off with a quick trip to Salt Lake City, but that deserves its very own post :). 

Christmas Week 2 - Music and More

This week started out so wonderfully - with the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.  It is one of my very favorite parts of the Christmas season.  The music was beautiful, the talks were wonderfully uplifting, and we watched it all together.  And we had pizzookies for dessert, which made it even better :).

On Tuesday night, Lily had her big Christmas choir concert.  She looked gorgeous in her choir dress, and way too grown up.  

Her cousin, Austin, performed in one of the choirs, and he did great.  Her choir went last, and I loved getting to finally see her perform.  She was in heaven, and not at all nervous.  Her choir was the special audition choir, and they sounded wonderful.

Here is a video of her performance, if you would like to see it.

  

Aside from the rest of our normal life stuff, we did get to do a few more fun things.  One of which was going swimming for Pack Meeting.  They invited the whole family to come, but I think we were the only family that all got into the pool.  Arthur was so happy, and so was Derek.  And it just so happened that the timing was exactly when Lily was in her swim team practice, which was awesome.  

We had a few other fun things, like Kevin and I going on a double date with Holly and Stuart.  The kids and I watched a Christmas movie with my parents one evening.  And Lily is forever rearranging my mom's Little People nativity.  This time she arranged it to be when the Angel Gabriel was telling Mary that she was going to have a baby.

One very exciting thing that happened this weekend, was when Derek finally won at Mario Party.  After playing this game for years, he was ready to give up, but he told me that Lily told him that if he worked hard enough, some day he could do it.  And he did!  He was so happy, and he really wanted me to take a picture so that he could always remember when he was the "Superstar."

It has been a great week, but one of my favorite moments, was when Lily and Derek were sitting in the living room and looking at the tree with my dad.  He suggested that they lay down and look at the tree from underneath.  They thought it was awesome!