Random December

 I want a cat.

Jon will not let me get a cat.

Instead, I have to snuggle Marley's cat:

Good thing I have lots of friends with cats!

Another random and slightly disturbing Elijah drawing:

Montano's Christmas lights this year were FANTASTIC:

Said lights included a Rudolph that she may have found on the side of the road.

Rudolph did not survive one of our windstorms:

But the story doesn't end there! We had just returned from a long trip in the van. Elijah, of course, needed to pee. And instead of going inside like a normal human, he drops his pants right in the front yard and proceeds to relieve himself. All over Rudolph. 

Montano was absolutely not impressed. Despite the fact that it rained and snowed and was full of bright, sanitizing sunshine over the course of the winter, Rudolph was NOT allowed to return to her house. Ever. Which, of course, means that Jon sees it as a challenge. Let the games begin.

Seth and the bros driving to school on the last day before winter break!

Emily says she really loves these rides with the boys.

We tried our best to get Aaron and Luke on the same indoor soccer team.

We failed.

But they did get to play each other in the semifinals!

I can't remember who won, but based on Aaron's face I'm going with Aaron's team.

Also, we gave Elijah eggnog for the first time and waited for his reaction. He took a sip, pulled a face, and said, "Is this bad...?" Then after a brief pause, "No! It's GOOD!" I guess I've just never gotten past the "is this bad" phase of drinking eggnog!

Alivia & Catherine helped host at the Community Christmas!

We had our first Community Christmas program, spearheaded by my good friend. It was a bit crazy getting everything ready (music, website, nativities, setup, etc.), but it came together beautifully. Hopefully we can make this an annual tradition!

I also somehow got put on the committee for our ward Christmas party. Clearly these people know nothing about me and my sad decorating skills! I did a lot of whining, a lot of feeling overwhelmed and confused. But in the end it turned out beautifully and it went a long way to helping me feel more like a part of the ward. Still a bit of a struggle, though.