Merry Christmas!

Well, I fell a bit behind with the 25 posts of Christmas. Instead, I'll just finish with one final post, the best one of them all.

#17 - A Holiday Meme

Courtesy of Chef Messy:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Egg Nog with Sprite, Hot Chocolate with candy cane and whip cream.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Oh, wrapping! I've been tempted to wrap empty boxes just because I love the look of a tree surrounded by surprises. And tags, each of which addresses the recipient in a different manner. For example: "To: The King of the Castle; To: My Main Squeeze; To: THE MAN; To: You From: Me.

3. Coloured lights on tree/house or white?
White. Colored might be okay, as long as it was only one color and it looked spectacular with the other decorations. Definitely not the multi-colored strands.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Normally yes, but not this year. I hear it's quite poisonous, and our little guy puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. Too bad, though. Always nice to have another excuse to get some action, right?

5. When do you put your decorations up?
As soon as possible. We usually do it the day after Thanksgiving, as my mom always made us wait until then, but I think I'll start doing it after Halloween next year. And they stay up until Valentine's Day. I love Christmas decorations!

6. What is your favourite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Sweet potatoes/yams. With marshmallows on top.

7. Favourite Holiday memory as a child?
Every year Dad would "go down to Grandma's to borrow the camera", and every year while he was gone, Santa would come! He'd sneak in, leave a few presents, then hear us peeking around the corner and run off. Then Dad would come home with the camera and we'd all lament that once again he'd missed it.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I think it just gradually dawned on me that hey, there's something funny going on around here.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
We used to do PJs with our family, and will probably start that up again once the kid(s) are older. We also do the traditional Kendell family homemade gift exchange. We usually have our own Christmas before we go up to Idaho, so we open most of our gifts to eachother a few days before Christmas.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
White lights, red ornaments, an ornament (or two) for each year we've been married (see previous posts), and lots of things from Dave's mom.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Love to visit it, dread to live in it. Yeah for Las Vegas! (It's 58 degrees here today)

12. Can you ice skate?
Very, very slowly.

13. Do you remember your favourite gift?
The first year we were married Dave made me a gorgeous plexi-glass case to display my wedding bouquet, our announcement, and a favorite wedding picture. I love it.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
It's tough to say - I love buying (and receiving) gifts, wrapping them, decorating, baking, eating treats, listening to Christmas music, caroling, parties, traditions, family time, and, of course, the religious aspect of Christmas. Even though it's a crazy time of year, I think the best part is the chance to re-focus. It's the perfect holiday - sandwiched between Thanksgiving, when you think about how lucky and blessed you really are, and New Years, when you make resolutions to be a better person. The whole month is just one big feel-good love fest. You're grateful, excited, full of anticipation, in love again with your family, friends, and strangers on the street, and you can forget about awful things for a while and realize that the world is a good place full of good people.

15. What is your favourite Holiday Dessert?
Pumpkin rolls, pumpkin chocolate chip brownies, anything with pumpkin. Except pie.

16. What is your favourite holiday tradition?
We have so many! My family does a traditional Christmas Eve thing in honor of our ancestors where we eat a simple, pioneer-like dinner of beef stew and bread by candlelight. We each light a candle and talk about the things we're grateful for during the past year and the things we hope for during the next year. Then we read the Christmas story from the Bible and "Twas the Night Before Christmas", and we open the homemade gifts we've made for each other.

Dave's family buys a new ornament each year. They also have a big Christmas Eve dinner, and open one present each. Also, in recent years they've begun a fun Christmas and Birthday tradition - the "Grocery Store Gift". The origins of this tradition are sketchy, but had something to do with buying gifts when all the other stores were closed. So each year Janet gets us all a bad full of fun things from the grocery store, like chips, candy, and funny little toys and things. I love it!

17. What tops your tree?
A tin Christmas star from Peru.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving?
OK, I know Christmas is supposed to be all about the giving, but honestly, I love both! I love trying to find just the right thing for each person on my list. Like Chef Messy, I have trouble sticking to holiday budgets. But I must admit, I like getting stuff, too! It's so fun to have someone give you something you wouldn't normally buy for yourself because it's just too frivolous.

19. What is your favourite Christmas Song?
Josh Groban's "Oh, Holy Night", Louis Armstrong's "'Zat You, Santa Clause?" and one particular version of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" that I've lost.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Yum, yum, yum.

21. Do you still send paper Christmas cards?
This will be the first year. Hand made, even!

22. What do you do with the gifts you won't ever use?
Seriously, I don't think I've ever gotten one of these. But if I did I'd try to exchange it, I guess. Without the giver knowing.

23. Who is the hardest person to buy for on your list?
Several people - Kim's husband Ryan. I have no idea what he likes. Shanda, because she already has waaaaaaay too much of the things she likes. And mom and dad. Because they already have just the right amount of the things they like.

24. Do you know anyone who was born on Christmas day?
Nope.

25. How long after Christmas until you take down your decorations and tree?
As long as possible. When the tree is pretty much dead and the neighbors are really starting to talk.

Merry Christmas! Tag Dancing Queen!

#18 - The Fifth Year

This year turned out to be just as crazy as we expected, and then some. Having Gavin has been such a blessing, and such a life-changer! Dave finished his Bachelors in Construction Management, I finished a Masters in Education and Literacy, Dave got a wonderful, exciting job, we moved to a new town where we have wonderful neighbors and friends, and we got to go on several exciting vacations. But having Gavin has by far been the biggest and best thing to happen to us this year. He gets to be more fun every day, and I'm so excited for his first Christmas. We got these ornaments at Disney World, one for each of us, to celebrate this fun and amazing year.

#19 - The Fourth Ornament

Last year's Christmas marked the end of another big year for the Lee family, but we were more concerned with the much bigger things that would be happening the following year, so our ornaments reflected that. In the months following Christmas of 2005 we both graduated, Dave started work as a project engineer, and most importantly - we had our first baby! I got Dave this little construction man, who is the least photogenic of our collection, but very cute in person. Dave's mom got us the snowman family, and Gavin was born ten days later.

#20 - The Third Ornament

The third year we were married was definitely exciting - we lucked into some stand-by plane tickets and wound up flying first class to Venice, where we rented a car and spent six weeks driving around Europe. Needless to say this was an unforgettable experience. We bought this cute little manger scene in Venice just before we headed home.

#21 - The Second Ornament

The second year we were married Dave bought me a set of these cute little guys from Williams and Sonoma, my favorite store to browse in and imagine that if I could only own everything in this store, I might actually cook something. There are three, all doing their baking thing. I don't actually bake much, but aren't they cute?

#22 - The First Ornament

We were married the same year as the Olympics came to Salt Lake, although not until the following August. We were so excited to have such a major event come to our little corner of the world that we did what any good, Olympic-loving pair with no money to buy tickets to events would do - we went away. Way away, to Coeur d'Alene to hang out with Dave's dad for the week and avoid any traffic or terrorist events the Olympics might bring. But we did stop by Olympic Park on the way home, which was lots of fun. Our first Christmas ornament as a family commemorates that event.

#23 - Christmas Ornaments

Dave's family has the lovely Christmas tradition of buying a new ornament every year. We've kept up with it, and it makes decorating the tree so much fun! Each ornament brings back great memories of another wonderful year. Our Christmas star marks our pre-marriage relationship. We were friends all through high school, then dated for a few months before Dave left on a two-year mission to Peru. That's where he picked up this tin tree topper. He came home and a year later we got married. OK, that's the short version. If you want to hear the gory details you'll have to ask ME, not HIM, because I'm sure he'll exaggerate and get them wrong! :) Anyway, the star reminds him of the good old days in Peru, and reminds me how glad I am he's not there anymore.

#24 - Christmas Music

I'd listen to Christmas music year round if it wouldn't drive my family nuts. (Except for that horrible song about the Christmas shoes.) Our current favorites are:

Gavin loves the Brian Setzer - it's great dancing music! And thanks to my dad, Dave is now completely hooked on Jimmy Buffett. I like him, too, but his Christmas music is a nice break from "I'd Like To Be A Jellyfish". Of course we've got all the classics, too, from Handel's Messiah to Louis Armstrong's, "'Zat You, Santa Clause?" But could anyone tell me who sings "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year", and the best album to get if I want that song, and all the other good ones?

#25 - Chubbycanos

Coleen has extended an invitation for 25 posts of Christmas, and I've accepted. Don't worry if you're late- go ahead and join us! And if you don't know her, so what? Who doesn't like to make new friends, especially at Christmas time?


One of my favorite Christmas things is our Peruvian Chulucano nativity scene, which I've affectionately dubbed our "Chubby-canos". Dave spent two years in Peru, so we were both excited when his mom presented us with these the first Christmas we were married. The lighting isn't great, but aren't they cute?

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year....

We'll post more on the Disney trip later, but we really wanted to say...

Merry Christmas!!!!

This is by far my favorite time of year. How could it not be? You get to decorate, listen to great music, make and eat lots of tasty treats, shop till you drop (or, in my case, until your baby or husband beg for mercy), and get presents, presents, presents! Of course it's the giving, not the getting, that matters most, right? Right. Actually, I really do love shopping for presents. It's fun trying to find just the right thing. And I love decorating - we usually keep our tree up from Thanksgiving until Valentine's Day. Unfortunately we got rid of our XM radio so I can't enjoy the 24-hour Christmas Only station, but our library has a load of good Christmas stuff, so my iPod is an adequate substitute. And best of all, it's Gavin's first Christmas, and I think he's the perfect age for enjoying it. He's loving the presents and decorations, if not the Santa hat.

We did have to laugh a bit when we went shopping for a tree. We only wanted a small one to put on a table so Gavin wouldn't eat it, pull it over, or tear the ornaments off. Normally we get a full-size tree in Provo for $40-$50. We found a nice small one here and asked about the price - $75!!!! Yeah, right! We immediately started walking away and hadn't gotten ten steps when the salesman came running up behind us. "I'm not stalking you, really, but I talked to the owner and she says you can have it for $40." A bit steep for a tiny tree, but at nearly half-price, we took it. It just kills me that they don't post prices at these places, just size you up and try to guess how big of a sucker you are. But we have a cute tree now!

We're following Dave's family tradition of getting a new ornament every year, and we found some really cute ones on our trip to DisneyWorld. I'll take close-ups and post them later. Now we're working feverishly to be ready for my family's tradition, a home-made gift exchange on Christmas Eve. I'm determined not to wind up giving a half-completed gift, as I have done more often than not. On that note, Gav just dropped off for a nap, so I'd better get crafting!

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life For Me!

If you haven't been on the new, improved "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride at Disney World or Disney Land, it's pretty cool. They overdo it a bit with Captain Jack Sparrow!!! popping up in every bit of dialogue and around every corner, but since he totally makes the movie, what the heck. Here we have our own crew of budding pirates:

Gavin's still undecided. He's not really into any career that requires him to wear a hat, but if Uncle Logan has anything to say about it, he'll come around and join the crew of the Black Pearl eventually. More pics to come!

(For funny pirate jokes, check out this site.)