Christmas Morning with Sam and Henry

Santa came!  Jonny and Jenny were our house guests over Christmas, and they made sure Santa knew their Salt Lake City address.

Jonny and Jenny celebrated with Sam and Henry before the rest of the Spendlove family arrived at 11 a.m. There were stockings to unpack and presents to unwrap.  Our living room was awash in play dough, coloring books, and Superhero gear.

 One of Sam's favorite gifts was a walkie-talkie.  He and Jonny went to different rooms and talked with each other.

 Henry was Spiderman, armed with a slinky!

Despite all the tech toys and Superhero masks and helmets, old-fashioned paper and crayons held their appeal.

Hang up the Stockings!

Party time!  It was finally Christmas Eve, and the Calders joined the Spendloves to celebrate.  Elizabeth Calder was home from Boston for the holidays, and Vanessa and David Calder had traveled from Washington, D.C.  Jonny and Jenny Spendlove were in town from Miami, and Lisa Flindt's family arrived from Seattle.  We missed Grant Calder's and John Calder's families, but the rest of Scott's and Gretta's tribes were all there!

Gretta baked a ham and rolls, and Scott and Jean brought the fruit and desserts.  Boxes of homemade caramels were stacked on the kitchen island, ready to pass out.

Vanessa Calder had tales to tell about working for Cato Group, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C.  Naomi Flindt responded with stories about Spencer's and her six months in Madison, Wisconsin, where Spencer served an internship and Naomi applied (successfully) for BYU's PhD chemistry program.

Rebekah Flindt is a wonder woman.  She holds down three jobs in addition to majoring in economics at BYU-Idaho.  Michael is finishing his degree in computer science.

The Calder and Spendlove cousins had lots of news to share.  They are good friends who don't see each other often enough. 

 Scott Jr.'s daughter, Phoebe, eyed the pies and cakes.

 We gathered, after dinner, for the program.  Heidi Spendlove accompanied us in singing "Silent Night" and "Away in a Manger."  Some high points of the program were Mia Ebert's violin solo and Sam Spendlove singing "I am a Child of God" in Spanish.

Scott Jr.'s little boy was fascinated with the piano.

Tara Calder led us in singing "Twelve Days of Christmas," complete with actions.  We twirled like dancers, hopped like lords a-leaping, and milked like maids a-milking!  "That's a keeper!  A new tradition!" we agreed.

And of course, there was the Calders' annual performance of "Hang Up the Baby's Stocking."

 Gretta and Scott finished the evening with Scott's rendition of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and Gretta's reading of the Christmas Story from Luke. 

And then dessert!  Tara is a great cook.  She shared her Christmas sugar cookies and macaroons.  We will definitely have to repeat this party next year!

Chez Mike & Heidi

Chez Louis, Chez Antoine.  Stylish restaurants are often named after their owners.  On December 10, 2017, we dined at Mike and Heidi's house, with elegant food and elegant Christmas decorations to rival any fancy restaurant.

There was a pine bow and candle centerpiece, candy-striped napkins, reindeer-emblemed salad plates, and even faux fur place mats!

Mike and Heidi are a great cooking team--Mike prepares unique entrees and sides, as Heidi rivals the Ebert Women (Steve's mother and sisters) in efficiently cleaning up as Mike cooks.  Then Heidi serves her signature homemade desserts.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care....

Camille and family are the perfect guests, who appreciate good food and beautiful decorating.

The pater familias was in his element, surrounded by beloved family.

Camille will soon host Jono, his friends, and their dates at a dinner after the Olympus High Christmas dance.  Camille asked Mike for his roast pork loin, spiced carrots, and baked cauliflower recipes to serve at Jono's fancy dinner, followed by Heidi's cranberry-pear crumble.  That is high praise, from one good cook to another.

It was a special treat to see the treasures Mike and Heidi brought home from India, and to admire Mike's professional-quality photos.

Feliz Navidad!

 Fearsome words:  "Will you be in charge of the Church Christmas party?"  I don't believe in refusing Church assignments, so I accepted this one, extended on November 4 for the December 8, 2017 event. There was Thanksgiving and our trip to Seattle in between, and nine house guests and five Christmas parties at our house(s) soon after. I survived, with a little help from my friends!  Looking back, it was great fun.  One delight was having Jenny and Sam attend the party and pose at the photo booth manned by David.

Dave took pictures all evening and we passed out prints on Sunday.  Our copies record the sweet, diverse people who make up our Church community.  We love the Brintons and their son TJ.  The Brintons have helped us appreciate young people with disabilities and the saintly parents who raise them.

The Moyles are one of the cute, young families moving into our neighborhood to lighten the mix of old-timers.

The Thomases are another fun, active young family.  Their daughters have unique names--Mika, Ember, and Dagney--which Dave has memorized as their home teacher.  I help the dad, Daniel, with his real estate development.

 Annie Poelman, renowned radiologist, is not too dignified to sit on our saddle in full Mexican garb.

Peggy Spute is another dear friend.  She is a former junior high science teacher and single sister who has served as both Primary President and Relief Society President in our Church.

 Sonja Hales and her daughter are newly found cousins.  When I took a genealogy class in our ward several years ago, I told Sonja's mother, Wilma Livsey, that I was going to Ireland to learn about my great-great-grandfather, James Hamilton.  James Hamilton, it turned out, is Wilma's great-great-grandfather, too!

Hong and Julie Mu are our next door neighbors.  They went to medical school in Shanghai and are now researchers at the University of Utah Medical School.  They took us for dim sum one Saturday morning at the restaurant where SLC's Chinese community gathers, and we tend their huge goldfish when they travel back to China.

The highlight of the Christmas party was a live mariachi band.  They wandered from table to table and we sang "Feliz Navidad" with them at the end of the evening.  We ate homemade tamales from one of SLC's mom-and-pop Mexican restaurants, served with Mexican rice made by 10 Church ladies and roasted black beans made entirely by me.  The Relief Society ladies provided a dessert buffet of tres leches cake, flan, key lime pie, and Mexican wedding cakes. 

 Our friends, Wayne and Robyn Petty, supervised the smashing of two pinatas--one for the teenagers and one for the little guys.

Dear Bill Edwards, in his eighties, shared the collection of Mexican fabrics, sombreros, and even a highly embroidered black "gaucho" suit which he assembled during the 1950s, while he was an LDS missionary in Mexico.  We totaled our party guests at 120 and decided it was a success!

Home is the Wanderer....

On December 3, 2018, we held a party to welcome home our wanderers.  Jono was back from his trip to India.  

 Jonny and Jenny were back from a week on the Big Island of Hawaii.

 They shared a condo with a group of friends.

 One highlight of the trip was a hike into the remote Waipio Valley.

It was Christmas in SLC, with ornaments on the tree and statues of the Holy Family arrayed around our Hummel creche.

                                                   

 Jono was very glad we did not cook Indian food to celebrate his arrival.

 Jonny was headed back to Florida that evening, although Jenny will stay in SLC until New Years.

Henry, as Family Baby, was passed from one hug to the next.  He loves Papa, Jenny's father.

 But where was Sam?  In his special cave, made of fuzzy blankets draped over furniture.

 Ezra and Mia have big smiles at every party.

 As does their mom.

 The saddle in our basement is irresistible to the grandkids!

Sam emerged from his cave and shared a wink with us.

And everyone shared a piece of lemon cheesecake.