New Years Eve 2011

As we've done for several years in a row, we spent New Year's Eve with my sister, Misti, and her family. When we showed up, though, we were surprised to find that Gaylee and her family we're going to be participating as well. Misti's family lives in an apartment in Gaylee's basement. So, all we had to do was head up the stairs, and we were in Gaylee's house, where all the snacks and drinks were laid out.

We spent a good half hour grazing from the snacks table and talking before we finally felt that it would be wise to move away from the snacks before we made our Christmas weight gain look like child's play in comparison. Interestingly, the conversation turned to fitness and weight loss, it was New Year's after all.

Speaking of fitness, Gaylee's family got the new Kinect for the Xbox, and the kids were having a great time all night long playing games with that. Kinect is one of those devices that has a camera on it to capture your movements. So instead of sitting onthe couch playing games with a controller, you have to stand up and jump around, because your body is the controller. When you play, it looks something like this:


It was a lot of fun, and all of us joined in at one point or another. It was enough to wear a person out as well. I think that was mainly due to all the jumping required in the game we were playing.


I took a lot more pictures, but they were mostly just motion blur, because people were jumping, ducking, and sliding like crazy.

It was weird how quickly the time passed. I guess we were having fun, but all of a sudden, it was ten minutes to midnight, and we had to kick the kids off the video games so we could turn the TV on to the Times Square ball drop.

We got out the box of New Year's party hats and horns, and, once the kids had horns in their hands, chaos ensued.




The clock counted down, and we screamed along with it. Then, for five minutes, we all shouted and had a great time.




Fireworks went off outside, and we even had a fountain of our own to contribute to the pyrotechnics. Then, as is the case at a New Year's party where kids are invited, it wound down fast. These kids needed to get to bed. A few minutes later, we were in the car and on our way home. The streets were as busy as if it were 5:00 pm instead of after midnight, but, at least on our trip home, there were no drunks weaving in and out of their lanes looking for someone to crash into. Our trip home was safe and uneventful.

We said goodbye to 2011, and welcomed 2012, a year that is sure to bring all sorts of new excitement, fun, challenges, and joy to keep our lives interesting and worthwhile.

YouTube Sensation

My kids watch YouTube a lot. Mostly to see videos that other people have made of themselves playing video games that the kids are interested in. Now I can't think of anything duller than watching someone else play a video game, especially when your choices are to watch that or to play the game yourself, but the kids seem to like it.

So much so that Katy came to me this morning and asked if she could make a video on YouTube.

"I know how to get all the Moshlings on Moshi Cupcakes, and I want to make a video to show people how to do it. I've been practicing on it all morning. Can we do that?"

Well, I wasn't too enthused, but since she was, I figured I'd humor her. Besides, it sounded so cute to hear her say that she'd been practicing at her computer game all morning so that she could perform it on camera. I sat for fifteen minutes shooting her making cupcakes so that everyone who wanted to know how to get all the Moshlings on Moshi Cupcakes could find out. And now check it out:



By the way, I don't really recommend watching all fifteen minutes of this video unless you really like boredom.

This Day In History

Today, my friend Derek and I went out and saw Moneyball. I was really interested in this film because it was about the Oakland A's from 2002, the time that I was working in news in Sacramento. I remember the events from the movie playing out on News10 night after night. And the movie turned out really well. You didn't have to be a sports fan to like it. I sat next to a self-proclaimed sports hater, and he enjoyed it just as much as I did. I'm not even a fan of baseball, but I really enjoyed this one, probably a lot of it had to do with it's connection to home, but I'm sure it wasn't all of it. It was just a good movie.

Another Shot

Morgan had been so gung ho about coming back to skate again when we were finishing up last week, that, using my last day off of work, we headed back to the South Jordan rink on the day after Christmas.

It was much more crowded than usual. I suspect that part of the reason was that we got there later, when the skate rental shack had opened. The other part had to be that Christmas was the day before, and everyone wanted to do something fun with their families.

As we were putting on our skates, Marin's friend Cloie walked in and rented skates. Marin did the talent show with Cloie last year, but Cloie didn't have a talent for skating yet. Nonetheless, Marin and Katy dragged her around the ice, doing their best to help her pick it up as quickly as possible. Unlike Morgan, Cloie already knew how to roller skate, so it was easier for her.


Cloie didn't last long though. Probably because she didn't even bring a coat, just that hoodie, and it was cold, as you can see in this picture of Morgan. Look at how rosy his cheeks are!


But the sunset is pretty, right? Don't let the rosy cheeks distract you from the fey beauty of the scene.

I also came up with a plan to counteract the cold. Instead of having Shantell waiting at home with hot cocoa prepared, we had her prepare it before hand, and send it with us in a thermos with some cups. So, as we chilled on the ice, we could stop and reheat with a cup of hot chocolate.


After Cloie left, Katy and Marin, the two most competent skaters had themselves a good time together.


And Morgan, still learning his way around the blades, kept practicing and grew in ability.


He really did excellent, and soon, I predict, you won't be able to tell the difference between the skill level of any of the three of them.







When we finished, we stood beside the fire pits at the shopping center, while each of us arduously unlaced and removed our skating boots.


And, of course, at the end of every ice skating trip, we had to make a rushed trip to the bathroom. The library, our go to potty stop, was closed because of the holiday, so the kids had to hold it, dancing, until we made it to a 7-11 down the street. Thank heaven for 7-11.

Christmas Day

The day began with a Christmas miracle...the kids stayed in bed until 8:30, that's later than even their normal reveille on school days. What kid wakes up later than usual on Christmas day? My kids, I guess.

They lined up in the hallway for a picture before I waved the green flag to start the race to the living room.


They ran in and dug into their stockings, pulling out presents like Lego sets and Pillow Pets...


Candy and earrings...


Stuffed animals and, what the heck? An orange? Why would Santa give us an orange? We don't want that, we want more candy!


It was only after looking through their stockings and discovering that each of them got a new video game that they realized that they got their number one wish, a Playstation 3. They wanted it bad enough that they agreed to accept it as a joint present. All three of them agreeing is a monumental thing, almost in the same company as many mid-east peace treaties, and it worked for them, because the game system was waiting in the middle of the room for them to start playing with.


Once all the stockings had been emptied, we started making breakfast, and the kids played with the toys they'd received. Morgan assembled Legos.


Marin played Barbies.


And Katy snuggled her Pillow Pet, a big hippo that yawned every time she squeezed the right spot on its nose.

We ate Christmas breakfast, one of my favorite activities of the day, then showered and dressed for church. It started at 11:00 am, so we didn't have time to open presents until after. It gave us a nice opportunity to let the Santa presents set in before moving on to the rest.


After church, we ripped our way through a few rolls of wrapping paper.

This was Katy's favorite present, a set of Squinkeys, which are basically little toys that come inside plastic bubbles like the toys you can buy from a gumball machine. Not sure why the kids like them so much, but when Katy opened the present, she held it over her head in a sort of victory dance, saying, "Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah," through it all.


The kids also received robes, slippers, and stuffed animals from Shantell and I, and I think it was one of the preferred presents of the day. They seemed prepared to wear them all nonstop for the rest of their Christmas break (and that is another week, in case you didn't know).


We were pleased with each and every gift that we received, as well as the ones that we gave. We got the things we wanted, even if the thing we wanted was simply to see the smile on the face of the person we were giving a gift to.


Once we were done, the kids went through one present after the other, opening them, assembling them, asking for help with them, until the living room was the biggest mess it had been since...well, I guess since last Christmas. I think We're gonna need a bulldozer to clear all this garbage out come tomorrow.

Christmas Eve At Home

A little while ago, Marin was messing around on the website that Shantell uses for recipes, and found one touted as "The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies." She was entranced, I guess, and asked Shantell if she could make them again and again. This week, Shantell finally bought her a bag of chocolate chips, and told her she could make them for Santa.

Marin copied the recipe down by hand, and started asking to make them four days before Christmas.


I told her she had to wait until Christmas Eve, or else there would probably not be any cookies left for Santa (I know myself well enough). As soon as we got home from the family get-together at Gaylee's house, she got out the stuff, and started mixing it up. She baked about two dozen, ruining several of them by putting walnuts in at Shantell's insistance. Marin claimed to like walnuts in cookies, but I know that can't be true. She put some on a plate, and even garnished it with ribbons to make it pretty for Santa.


Once the kitchen was clear, Shantell started putting together her traditional Christmas Eve dinner of hoagie sandwiches and clam chowder. The kids love that meal. One year, Shantell tried to make it simple on herself, and change the tradition to ordering in pizza on Christmas Eve, and the kids actually complained about having pizza. They insisted on the hoagies and clam chowder.


After dinner, we sat down in the living room, and talked about the real meaning of Christmas, why we give presents, and watched a movie about the birth of Jesus. Then the kids were allowed to open one present. It's the same present every year: Pajamas. They love it, and pulled a goofy pose for the picture of them wearing their new jammies.


After that, they put out their stockings, and headed to bed. Amazingly, they went to sleep without any yelling from the parents. I guess they've finally figured out that the quicker you get to sleep, the quicker morning comes.

Christmas Eve Breakfast And Gift Exchange

Giant, out of control, overpopulated family get-togethers are a Page family tradition. Take a look at this picture from 1993.


So, even though this year's Christmas get-together for the Utah half of our clan pales in comparison to that mass of humanity present in 1993, we still felt right at home with more than a dozen kids underfoot, and nearly as many adults trying to minimize the property damage.


First of all was breakfast, which has been the tradition for probably three years. Which, as I've said in recent posts, is perfect for me, because I absolutely love breakfast foods. Gaylee has this breakfast quiche (or maybe it's just called breakfast casserole) which is to die for. A bed of hashbrowns, covered with eggs, sausage, and cheese that makes my mouth water. Fruit, juice, cinnamon rolls, and muffins rounded out the meal, and we all ate to our heart's content...er, our stomach's content anyway.


Then it was time for the gift exchange. The kids went first. Katy and Marin got combo gifts from Ben's kids. Each of them got their own brush, lip balm, tissues, these weird peel away soap sheets, and modeling clay.


And Morgan got a remote control car from his cousin Max.


After the preliminary bout of the kids exchange ended, it was time for the main event: the adult white elephant exchange.

Gaylee's third oldest child, Sophia, was included in this exchange for the first time this year. She seemed to be excited about it (not sure why, since she could wind up with a gag gift or something, instead of something she would want, but I guess graduating to adulthood, even if doing so is a pyrrhic victory, makes kids feel validated).

After much deviousness, underhanded tricks, and even some self-sacrifice, the event wound to a close. Shantell and I wound up with a quesadilla maker (something our kids would appreciate greatly), and a waffle iron that Shantell had lusted after. Most of all, though, we had fun, which I've found is always what matters most with the white elephant exchange.

Temple Square Christmas Lights

After leaving Great-Grandma's house in Spanish Fork, we headed north on I-15 to Salt Lake. Our plan was to visit the Christmas lights on Temple Square. After a 45 minute drive to Salt Lake City, followed by about 30 minutes of circling in search of a parking spot, however, we were considering a change of plans.

On our second loop of the area, we saw a spot and pulled in. Sadly, the spot we ended up in was one we'd seen at the very beginning of our first loop, but we were already past it when we noticed it. We could have saved an awful lot of time.

The lights were as expected, very pretty and very crowded.


We spent a lot of our time trying to find and then waiting in line for the bathroom.


My night photography skills aren't what I'd like them to be. These pictures don't do any justice to what the lights looked like. The flash takes all the brilliance out of the lights to make people's faces bright enough to see.


But without a flash, things are substantially worse. I know, because I tried that too. Yikes!


We had a good time, but it was really cold. After an hour or so outside, our faces started feeling chapped and stiffened. We ran back to the car, where at least there was a heater, and I watched for a gas station where I could pick us up a cup of hot chocolate.


Sadly, there were none along our route back to the freeway, and by the time we found a place to get some, we were warm enough that we no longer needed it.

A Visit To Great-Grandma's House

We went out to see the kids' great-grandmother in Spanish Fork this afternoon. Unfortunately, we don't get out there as often as we should, which is too bad, because the kids really enjoy playing with their cousins, Haley and Brody.

While the grown-ups sat around being boring and talking and stuff, the kids headed outside. The weather was cold, but not too cold to handle, and there was a swing and a set of railroad tracks out there. How could they resist.


I couldn't get a good picture (it always managed to snap just as Katy's back turned to me), but Katy spent many long minutes with the other girls twisting up in the ropes, then letting them spin her relentlessly until I would have been sick, but she seemed to be just fine.


Morgan and Brody wandered along the tracks, kicking rocks and talking about their favorite Legos. While the girls ran down the tracks, trying to step on each railroad tie without stepping on the rocks in between them.


Shantell was really nervous to hear that the kids were up around the tracks. Her parents had instilled a healthy fear of the train tracks during all their visits to Grandma's house as a youngster. A train did pass by while the kids were out. I was there standing behind them to make sure that they stayed clear. They were a little amazed at the noise that the train could make. Hopefully, after standing beside the tracks as a train passed, they now have a healthy fear of trains as well.


The kids had a good time, and want us to make sure that we don't wait until next Christmas to see their cousin's again.

Morgan's First Time

I've talked about the free ice rink at the South Jordan City Hall before several times. Every year, starting in December, they freeze their fountain over, and make a skating rink out of it.

I've taken Marin and Katy there a few times before, and they both really enjoy skating there. Somehow, Morgan has never been able to come along with us when we go. We finally remedied that this afternoon. We all got bundled up, found the skates that fit, and drove out. Shantell, who is very pregnant, was not interested in coming if she couldn't skate, so she remained behind to make us all hot cocoa for when we returned.


The girls picked up right where they left off last year. Like riding a bicycle, they hadn't forgotten how it goes, and they zipped around the ice with ease.

Morgan couldn't remember how it went, because he'd never done it before. The only time we'd ever gone roller skating before he didn't do well, and hated it, as well. So, he was starting completely from scratch.


He clung to the railing as if his life depended on it. And, unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot of railing. It doesn't stretch all the way around the rink, instead it's only there in a few small stretches. So, he was stuck skating twenty or thirty feet, then turning around and skating back across that same small patch of ice.


I tried to teach him how it worked as best as I could, but my instruction didn't seem to be helping him. It especially wasn't helping him get over his fear of falling on his backside. I grabbed his arm, and tried to support him in a trip or two around the open ice, and I think that helped a little. What really helped Morgan, however, was a folding chair.


Another family had come to skate, but the skate rental shack didn't open until 5:30. Only one of their kids had his own skates, the rest had no means of enjoying the ice. But they found a way. The boy with the skates, put his little brothers on a folding chair, and pushed them around the ice. Once they'd grown tired of this, they suggested to Morgan that if he supported himself on the folding chair, he could get out on the open ice and let go of the rail for once.

Pretty quickly, Morgan was among us experienced skaters. I assumed that it wasn't actually doing him any good, only giving him a bigger space to do what was basically the same thing he was doing when he was clinging to the side rail. But when I decided it was time to go home (because I was frozen all the way through), I asked the kids to come to the center of the ice to take a picture before we left. Marin and Katy skated in and sat down below the big Christmas tree with ease. Morgan stood leaning on his chair with about fifteen feet of open ice between him and the spot where the girls were waiting to take the picture. He straightened up, let go of the chair, and skated his way to the center. He didn't fall. He didn't lean on anything. He did it all on his own.

"Wow, Morgan," I said, "Look at you!"

It wasn't graceful or pretty, but he did it...and he was pretty proud of himself too. The smile on his face was pretty big.


We took the picture, and I herded the kids to the car. Morgan didn't want to leave, and begged me to let him come back again soon, so I suppose the sequel to this story is coming soon.