December Sum-Up

Perhaps it is fitting that on the first day of the new year I get to sum up the last month of the old year. 2013 is going to take some getting used to because my brain is still caught up in December 2012. Sorry about the lack of posts, but here is a little sum-up of our family activities:

We got the front yard tidied up and the Christmas lights strung on the house. Owen did all of the stringing up this year. And the kids decided we need a lot more lights up outside for next year.

Bronwyn took over decorating the inside of the house with Christmas. It wouldn't have happened without her.

Bronwyn and Owen had their studio Christmas concert at the Tahitian Noni Auditorium. Here you can see Owen on the back row, maroon shirt, just to the left of the big wreath.

We were lucky to get tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert. I had grand plans to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant, El Farol, before taking TRAX downtown, but a power outage at the strip mall where the restaurant is located nixed that. Arctic Circle won out.

The former ZCMI facade on the new Macy's building at City Creek renewed the traditional candy windows ZCMI was famous for at Christmas. This year they decorated giant Christmas tree ornaments. 

This one is actually a beehive, with candy bees buzzing about.

Probably everyone has taken a picture of the Salt Lake temple from this vantage, but framed by the lit trees proved irresistible to me and my camera.

I also can't resist photographing Mary and Joseph floating on the reflecting pool on the Main Street Plaza. There is something unusually serene about this tableau and its location.

Grinning, but very cold, children on Temple Square. They were patient with my repeated attempts to capture them with the lights. 

The "set" for the Choir concert. Alfie Boe and Tom Brokaw were the featured performers this year and they were amazing. The music was stunning and very moving, as was Tom Brokaw's story-telling of post-WWII Germany and Gail Halvorsen, aka the Candy Bomber. For once, I didn't think the dancers added anything to the performance. I was so grateful my children could be there for that concert.

I'm still mastering the self-photo technique. I have to guess where to aim the camera lens. Since we had over an hour before the concert started when we took our seats, there was plenty of time to fool around with cameras, my iPad, and Game Boys. 

Post concert. Seriously, Mom, do we have to take ANOTHER picture? Yes. Smile please!

We also decorated ginger bread houses. I think we had enough candy for 10 gingerbread houses. It ended up being a two-day process because I forgot the dough had to chill, and then each house had to had to be cooked one at a time. And making royal icing takes forever! But the kids had a great time.

Bronwyn has been bitten by the acting bug in her drama class at school. She was LuAnn in the class play about mannequins in a department store who foil a robbery attempt.

Liam finds me at the end of the school Christmas concert. The kids were all so cute. 

And here is our house in the middle of December. I think it snowed at least every other day during the whole of Christmas break, and you should picture at least twice the amount of snow piled up on everything. And a gigantic icicle coming off the corner of the house there by the bushes. I gotta get a picture of it. 

And this is just a little of what has been happening at our house. We had a family party with my side of the family two days after the supposed end of the world. My mother made survivor buckets of fun goodies and things, including a notepad on which to write our new bucket list before the next end of the world. I'm going to work on mine today. There were several other Christmas concerts to attend or organize or perform in. Christmas Day was lovely and quiet. And we have had a much needed break to rejuvenate. 

Well, some of us. Justin started a new full-time job at a software tech company, which we are all thrilled about. It's a major career change, but change is stretching and good. 

Phew! Bring on 2013!