Christmas Caroling

Tonight I went caroling with the youth from our church.

We all came bundled up in scarves, hats, and gloves. (the gloves in the picture aren't mine, but they sure are cute!) Lists of the carols for us to sing were passed around...and we sang our hearts out :) Whether there was a bit of an echo (different tempos make for a neat effect right?) or we were on tune or not, it was so great to see the smiles on the faces of the wonderful families and sweet widows we sang to. Caroling brings in the Christmas spirit like nothing else! Especially when it's followed by hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and crushed peppermint candies.

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Spiritual Health:

Read Helaman 8-12

Physical Health:

Another day to relax...will make up for it tomorrow.

Com'on it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride...

I'm one of the leaders of the girls' in our church's youth group. The Young Women and the Young Men have had a yearly tradition of driving into the mountains, to a darling little farm, and they hope on horse-drawn sleighs for a magical night under the stars. There were 3 sleighs jingling (yes, the horses even had jingle bells!) down the moon-lit, snow-covered path...we were lucky enough to see a herd of stunning elk...and ended up at a cozy fire where we enjoyed donuts and hot chocolate :) I love our youth! They are so much fun, and this was such a fun wintery activity I got to enjoy with them! (It was a bit too cold, other wise I would've had Adam & Brooks come, but they stayed home where it was nice and cozy warm).

{on the farm they had these sweet dogs running around, and they even joined us the for the ride}

{Sharon, Melissa, me...fellow Young Women leaders...love them!}

On our way up to the mountain we drove by a Maverick gas station...I instantly thought of college up at BYU-Idaho and going their just to get their hot chocolate. It is SOOOOOOOOO good! Who ever thought gas station grub could be so good? ;) They have a creamer station so you can jazz up your drinks with vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, and other sweet flavors. I told the girls that were in my car that we'd get some on our way home. They loved it!!!

So seriously peeps, if you have a Maverick near you, go & get their hot cocoa, it's change your world :)

Out little Drummer Boy & a Cowboy Christmas

"Little Drummer Boy" is one of my favorite Christmas carols, especially Josh Groban's version. So I loved it when Brooks got into the spirit of things and made little version himself...

Rock on little man :)

drum a little... chew a little...

...chew a little...drum a little

We love our little drummer boy!!!

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Last night we went to a Cowboy's Country Christmas party at ourchurch.

Yeehaw! ;)

They handed out festive green & red bandanas to get us a little more cowboyed up :) [made me want to go to the rodeo again]

{Mom, Dad, & Brooks, in his footy-PJs (we're classy, i know)}

What's on the menu? A cowboy's dream of a Christmas dinner!

Cornbread muffins w/ honey, [ridiculously moist] smoked chicken, baked beans, coleslaw, and potato salad...and after hayrides for he kids, there was hot cocoa, cider & donuts. Brooks's favorite was the potato salad :)

{I thought the festive cowboy boot centerpieces on the top right were pretty awesome}

They created this unique little handout...

"35 Things To Do With A Cowboy's Bandana"

Some of my favorites listed were:

- a mask or disguise to hide one's face--like a robber -

- a handkerchief to dry a lady's tears -

- knapsack for clothes like a hobo would use -

- a strainer for muddy water or coffee -

- a swatter to kill a pesky fly -

- a ground covering to keep her dress clean -

We even had some live entertainment,

countrified Christmas carols :)

It was a fun night! And I loved that the planning committee went off the beaten path with the cowboy theme for a Christmas party :)

Upon getting home,

we put our little PJ-wearin' cowboy to bed,

and watched The Office on Hulu: "Classy Christmas" parts 1 & 2.

Oh it was epic. I'd even say up to par with Jim & Pam's wedding...or when they had their baby. And that, my friends, says a lot :)

100 Dresses & Bath time for Brooks

Every year our church puts on a Christmas dinner and service project for the Relief Society sisters (ages 19+) in our ward (group of church members in our area). This year, many of their daughters came too :) The theme was 100 Dresses which stemmed from this book.

We were to read the book before hand (they provided a few copies that were passed around), and then we each brought one dress to donate.

Have you ever read The Hundred Dresses?? It's a lovely childrens book written in the 1940's. I highly recommend it. Here's a little synopsis I found on goodreads.com:

Wanda wore the same blue dress to school every day. It was always clean but sometimes it looked as though it had been washed and never ironed. Peggy started the game of the dresses when suddenly one day Wanda said, 'I have a hundred dresses at home--all lined up in my closet.' After that is was fun to stop Wanda on the way to school and ask, 'How many dresses did you say you have?' 'A hundred,' she would answer.

I don't want to give away the ending...but here are some of the tender lessons I learned/was reminded of from this book:

* It's what on the inside that counts *

* The sad side-effects of bullying *

* Your happiness depends on you *

* A good imagination can go a long way *

* Forgiveness heals the heart *

{just HALF of the donated dresses}

It was so touching to see all of the dresses, of all sizes (for women, teenagers, & little girls) hung up. I loved imagining all of the different women & girls who will love and appreciate those dresses...every girl deserves to feel beautiful in a dress of her very own. Don't you think? :)

After dinner, a sweet woman retold the story (in summary) and got us thinking about how all of Wanda's "dresses" may have looked...which led perfectly into a fashion show of dresses from every era! There was a 20's flapper dress, an 80's barbie-style dress, a 50's poodle skirt w/ saddle shoes (I want a pair BAD...maybe these, and at only $18! woot woot!) okay back to the fashion show...a 60's hand-sewn prom dress, and other gorgeous vintage dresses with fur, sequins, high & low waistlines, and shoulder pads(oh the shoulder pads)!! The majority of the dresses are owned by one woman (lucky lady:) who collects vintage pieces as a hobby. love it! The women and girls were all naturals on the cat-walk.

{this was HER prom dress!}

{The models...aren't they lovely?}

They even had some stunning pieces on display.

{I'm dieing over that vintage nighty in the upper-left!}

A great night, with wonderful women.

PS - do you know what made the night EXTRA sweet?? 3 words:

peppermint candy icecream.

(topped with fudge & crushed candy cane)

Oh it was divine. It got me thinking of my adorable Mother and how she'd always tell me & my sisters that it was her grandmother's very favorite kind of ice cream. I love it all the more.

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Yesterday also entailed a bath (2 actually) for Brooks. The steam helps his soar little throat...but he is such a trooper, even though he's not feeling 100% he still manages to give me those smiles I adore so much. He is quite the water-baby :)

{Do you like the Alfalfa-do I gave him?? Ridiculously cute, that boy is}

Youth Conference

Adam & I were lucky enough to be able to be on our ward's Youth Conference Committee. We've been so excited for the past few months...going to planning meetings, and working with some awesome people to coordinate a retreat for our Youth that they wouldn't forget and that would hopefully change them for the better. Adam and I were in charge of planning some fun games for a few hours each day...the kids were such a blast!!

The Youth Conference was held at a cabin up at Bear Lake. It was beautiful!! Even though it was a bit rainy and overcast almost the whole time, I was happy (reminds me of home -- Vancovuer, WA). Before heading out, the kids were divided into 5 teams (each with a leader) for a RoAd RaLLeY! It was a scavenger hunt that the kids thought was just supposed to pump up the energy and get them some prizes ;) but what they didn't know was that there were undercover actors planted along their way that were all in need of something...one was a homeless man in need of food & money...another was a woman at a cemetery mourning her young daughter that passed away, she just needed someone to talk to...another was a woman in a grocery store who dropped all her oranges. Even though helping these people was inconvenient for the youth (i mean, they were in it to win it!) and it would've slowed them down, every group did awesome and helped them out! We actually videotaped the actors after, asking them how the kids interacted with them, and they were all very positive :) Back at the cabin, the kids saw the video of the actors, and then we showed them a video of the Good Samaritan...teaching them that service usually never fits with our schedules, but it we'll be blessed for it!!

Oh, and on our way to the cabin we stopped by the Salomon Center in Ogden for some awesome activities...we're talking indoor sky diving (iFly) & indoor surfing/bodyboarding (iSurf)! The kids had a riot!!

* Here's Adam showing us how it's done in the iSurf ...he's not a skateboarder/snowboarder like some of the other boys, so it took him a little bit to get the hang of it...but that didn't stop him! *
* Michael (one of the youth) was way good at the iSurf!! *
* Mitch in the iFly wind tunnel...their 1st time in the instructor keeps them pretty low to the ground and helps them get a feel for how everything works *
* Brooke on her 2nd round, going way up there! *

* Adam & I waited at Smith's to interview some of the actors from the scavenger hunt...it was sunny...and their was a SNOWCONE SHACK...perfect ;) *
* Our good friend Chris & Adam outside with the guys...surrounding the BBQ *
* I was the instigator of the late Friday night..."let's play another game guys!!" here's us getting ready for another round of SPOONS...i love our youth *

Saturday morning we got up, filled out bellies with a huge breakfast, and headed to Minnetonka Cave. It was a bit rainy, but we were prepared!! Garbage bags anyone??
* Brooke & Hannah sporting our awesome rain gear *
* Our little hike to the cave...gorgeous *
* Minnetonka Cave! *
* They gave each formation pretty creative names, which made the tour pretty interesting! This one was Kermit's castle :) *
* these were my favorite rocks ... they're called Popcorn Rocks *

When we reached the very end of the cave, the tour guide (who just happened to be LDS) had everyone hold onto the "Iron Rod" and he would turn out the lights while he hiked back a ways...it was DARK...thank goodness for that Iron Rod! ;)
* Adam holding on the Iron Rod ;) *

Back at the cabin, we had everyone play a really fun game!! It's called "Who Did What." It's a great way to see how well you know people, and it helps getting to know them better too :) It was a hit!!
* Zach, 2nd from the right, trying to hide behind his paper cause he couldn't keep a straight face, haha!! *
* The leaders had some great unique stories!! *

After lunch, we headed out for what was called the "Burden Hike." We expected it to turn out really great...

it turned out even better.

* Here's the hill the youth had to climb up...they were given buckets at the bottom, and told not to let the buckets touch the ground *

* Along the trail, 5 leaders were ready with a shovel to scoop dirt & large (we're talkin' some 30 lbs.) rocks (burdens) into their buckets, while telling them what the burden was...some said "you lied to your parents," others said, "you gave into peer pressure & started drugs" *

* The youth were really struggling toward the top...the buckets were full of "burdens" *

* but near the top, our awesome Bishop Howard waited for them...he was there to help them carry their bucket to the top *

* After the Bishop explained to them that this hike is a lot like life, and we don't need to carry our "burdens" the whole way up, HE helped them get rid of their "burdens" & lightened their load *
* Mitch, who has Asperger's syndrome & is pretty small for his age, was carried up by a leader...everyone was so touched by this Christ-like act of kindness *

* And this was another awesome thing that happened, the last kid (the biggest and strongest) up the hill was James...the leaders filled his buckets to their max...he was struggling...but his brother, Michael, & sister, Hannah, came down to help him the rest of the way...Family is always there for you :) *

* Here are most of the men (Adam, Dave, Chris, & Chris) who filled the kids' buckets with "burdens" *

We had a solid testimony meeting at the top of the hill...I tell you, Youth Conference builds up the leaders as much as the Youth!! :)

* Shepard View Ward Youth Conference 2009 *

Again, we felt so blessed to be a part of such a fun & uplifting experience with our ward...it gave us another confirmation that this is where we're supposed to be :)