Jim Gaffigan

When we heard that Jim Gaffigan would be touring in Phoenix, we jumped on our phones and got front row tickets right away. It seems crazy that we were right there, and that we could have seen boogers up his nose if he'd had any. A few years ago, we wouldn't have been able to do that. Medical school and residency were tough on many levels, but mostly financially. And although we're being wise, most of the time, we do like to spoil ourselves once in a while. After all, this is why we worked so hard for so many years: so that we could live our dreams. Money doesn't buy happiness, but it sure creates a lot of fun memories. Jim Gaffigan was hilarious! My cheeks were super sore from laughing so hard all night. Afterwards, we walked over to our favorite sushi place. They have purple rice and it tastes sooooo good! It was a fun, relaxing date, and very much needed. Thanks, hubby, for working so hard for us. I love you to the moon and back!

Ugly sweater party

I was totally lame and didn't take any pictures at the Ugly Sweater Party we wet to, but as always, it was super fun. We spent all of dinner time talking with the Lafitagas, who are from Hawaii. They're the most chill and fun people I've ever met. And props to the Jolleys for putting this party together. They're the most fun and social people I've ever met.

Last year, I had brought hairy-belly fanny packs, and that was tough to beat, I thought. I mean, how hilarious are those??? So this year, I had to scratch my head to get something really good. I don't think it could beat last year's gift, but I tried. And getting something non-sexual and non-political was no easy task. So I got... a pimple popper! That's right, it's a soft plastic thingy that you put liquid into, and there are holes for you to squeeze the pimple. I also got some face masks to go with the theme. But someone out there set the bar really high and got a live lobster. Wow. How did they ever think of that? Oh, and in order to steal gifts, you had to compete against another couple. I had to hoola hoop (and lost) and play ping pong (and won). And William had to spell a word using his body. He was terrible and should have lost, but he cheated and won. I felt bad... these were all church friends. And he cheated. I think he thought he was being funny. But I was kinda embarrassed for him. Oh, well. Life goes on. And by the way, Ryan Reynolds has the same ugly sweater as me. Haha. And he's making this face on the picture because he friends told him it was an Ugly Sweater Party (it wasn't)!

The Nutcracker

I had been looking forward to this day for a long time: taking my little girl to The Nutcracker. There were many different productions of the Nutcracker playing around Phoenix, so I kind of randomly picked one and got us front seats. I thought it was beautiful and loved every second of it. But it was obvious that Kendall got kind of bored with it by the second act. I was a little disappointed, honestly, that she didn't enjoy it as much as I would have hoped. But then again, I guess that's why she's not a ballerina. I hope she'll grow into appreciating it, and I can take both her and Alexis to go see The Nutcracker every year. I have a feeling Alexis will be a dancer, so maybe she'll enjoy it more than Kendall. We'll see...

The busiest day, ever!

I had been dreading December 15th for nearly 6 weeks. It seemed that everything was scheduled on that day, and although we did a lot, we also missed a lot.

First, we missed Kendall's dance recital. Her class had been learning a routine for weeks now, and they had worked very hard. Kendall was excited to perform it in front of an audience. But it was sandwiched between her cheer competition and tumbling performance, so it made more sense to do 2 things and miss 1 than the other way around.

Second, we missed Snow and Santa in Layton Lakes. It was all morning, and since we were gone all morning, the snow melted.

And lastly, we missed the ward's Christmas party. I was at night, but my parents were here, so... more on that later.

We woke up at 6 AM to make it on time to Kendall's cheer competition. Last year, they didn't open the gates until 8:15 AM and the girls practiced outside. But this year, they let everyone in at 7:30 AM, which I was grateful for, because it is still chilly in the morning.

Kendall and her team did amazing and won 1st place in the Cheer portion of the competition. Out of the 6 teams, only one didn't get a trophy, or the spirit stick, and I was relieved that it wasn't Haley Elementary. I am so proud of my little cheerleader. She is a natural and will be doing this for a long time, I'm sure. It's where her passion lies. 

Kendall's friend, Berkley, is in both her cheer team and tumbling class. A lot of Kendall's church friends are in that tumbling class, because Rindy (a friend from church) is teaching it. Rindy was a cheerleader all through high school and even cheered for Arizona State. Since then, she has taught multiple groups of cheerleaders from junior high to high school levels. Kendall's gymnastics skills have progressed so much since she started this class, and she's becoming quite the diverse athlete.

The timing wasn't great, but I signed up to take a cake decorating class with Leilani a long time ago. Then I learned that my parents would be flying in during that class. So I sent William and the kids to go get them. I felt bad, but this had been planned for months. The class was super fun and educational. And my cake even turned out pretty good.

That night, we ate at The Olive Garden and waited over an hour to eat. It's frustrating, but that always seems to be the case with The Olive Garden.

Piano recital

The kids had their second ever piano recital. They did amazingly great! Taylor did let his nerves get in the way of memorizing his song, and he was a little embarrassed, but I reassured him that he did great and that it was just his nerves, like mine, that made him forget the notes. I am so proud of my little pianists. It is a great skill to have, and a skill I am grateful my parents encouraged me to pursue. To this day, I love to sit down at the piano and play.

Wedding dress

Once in a while, Kendall asks me if she can wear my wedding dress, and I oblige, because I kinda love it. Alexis wanted to join in the fun and tried it on, too. My baby girls are getting so big! But they're still so little, too. There's a lot more growing to do before they fit into this dress.

Crystal, our Elf

Crystal is back! He came back with a bang, then another bang, then quickly ran out of ideas. Maybe the bangs should be spread out next year. Food for thought.
Even though Day 1 went as smoothly as butter, day 2 was tough. I managed to wake up both Logan and Kendall and slurred my way out of their room without answering too many questions. If they have doubts about Crystal, that'd be why.
Every other night went great until the one when they slept under the Christmas tree and I set up Crystal on the piano bench with the scriptures. Logan apparently told Kendall that he had seen me put 2 things on the piano. When I approached him, he repeated the same thing to me, and I answered by saying that I had put 2 envelopes on the piano in order to remember to mail them the following day and that it was dark and I wasn't even sure if Crystal was already there or not. Big, fat lie. I hate lying. But I love seeing their excitement as they discover Crystal in the morning. Is it bad to lie in order to keep the magic alive longer? I'm pretty sure by that night, he had serious doubts about how real Crystal is, but he never spoke of it again.
On the flip side, the kids were all amazed that Crystal had turned the tv on. And when the YouTube video was over (after 60 minutes), the tv went to the next video, and they all totally believed that Crystal had pushed a button on the remote control.
One night, before bedtime, Papa picked up Crystal to set him up for the next day, and they noticed he went missing from the piano. I told them he probably left already to go to the North Pole and tell Santa about how nice/naughty they had been that day. They totally believe it!
So... who knows how much longer they'll believe in the whole Santa/Elf thing. But for now, I sorta enjoy playing naughty with Crystal and eating Santa's cookies.