For Auld Lang Syne!

Lisa and her family were home in Seattle.  Mike was partying with Heidi and the Bastians in Axtell, Utah.  The Christmas holidays were all but over.  The stragglers--Jonny and Jenny, the Eberts, and Dave and I--met at Camille's house on New Year's Eve for one last holiday bash.  As the TV showed the glass ball falling in Times Square, New York, we toasted each other, hoping for one more year, happy and all together.

Earlier in the evening we ate Camille's good pasta dinner and then explored the "photo booth", with funny hats, gloves, glasses, and masks assembled by Annelise.

The Jonny Spendlove family showed their true character.  Whatever Daddy does, the little boys follow.

 Henry couldn't get enough of those boxing gloves.

Annelise was golden and silky, in her new Christmas jacket and a mask.  Mia was a tough character with a bandit's bandana, a stern look, and an aggressive hand sign (does she know that's the peace sign?).

 So excited!

 Spencer was a bad hombre and Naomi was his lady.

 Dave and I portrayed ourselves in five years--totally befuddled oldsters.

 Rebekah dealt Michael a devilish, knock-out blow.

 And Ezra was a force to be reckoned with, even with only one eye showing!

We whiled away the hours till midnight with chocolate chip cookies and mulitiple games of "Code Names."

Henry's Reading Cards

When Mike and Jonny were little, I taught them to read with large cards, which they practiced every day.  The family tale is that Mike could read words before he could speak them, as in hanging out his tongue, as a baby, to show that he knew what "tongue" meant.  Flash forward to Jonny, now grown up and intent on teaching his own son, Henry, age two, to read.  The first requirement is getting Henry's big brother, Sam, to sit next to him.  Henry adores Sam and will copy anything Sam does.  Sam is already a fluent reader.

 Henry was not a patient learner, in late December, 2017, while I watched.

 "What's that, Henry?" Jonny asked, showing him the "daddy" card.  After a false start or two, Henry said, "daddy!"

 "Car" is a favorite word for Henry.  He not only said the word but made big "vroom, vroom" sounds.

 After he read eight words, Henry got his treat.  He stood on the coffee table as Jonny, Sam, and I sang, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow."  Henry then fell backward into Jonny's arms.

Lesson complete.

Out of the Best Books

"No recipes!" Dave pleads, when I enlist him to help with a dinner party.  Mike, by contrast, is a cookbook person.  On December 28, 2018, Mike and Heidi treated Lisa's family and Dave and me to a gourmet meal.  Mike's dishes were chosen from "Plenty," by the acclaimed chef, Yotam Ottolengi, as well as from other cookbooks in Mike's collection.

The meal tasted Middle Eastern, with chicken and rice, roast sweet potatoes, and baked cauliflower, each with distinctive spices and sauces.  Heidi was the dessert chef--her pies, cakes, crisps, cookies, and ice cream are family legends.

We also love Heidi's faux fur placemats, along with her red Christmas cups and reindeer-patterned salad plates.

 Spencer and Naomi

 Bryce

 Kirsten and Alyssa

 Michael and Rebekah

 Dave and Lisa

Did the party really happen if there are no photographs of it?  I take no chances that any great event will cease to exist in my family's minds.

Cliff and Carol's Tribe

Five parties in four days at Dave's and my house(s).  I was, alas, not up to taking lots of pictures at the fifth party--the dinner on December 27, 2017, for the Spendloves, Dave's extended family.  We had a great time, with some forty people representing each of the four children in Dave's family.  Alan came with Shauna, Janice came with Mark (just back from Afghanistan), and Nancy and Darrell joined us, as well (recently back from their mission in Nauvoo).  After a potluck that, amazingly, had all the food groups (we usually have either all desserts, all entrees, or all salads), we played a game of writing down something distinctive that happened this year and having the group guess who the author was.

Janice's distinction was that she and each of her children had added a family member this year.  Janice married Mark, Daniel married Chelsea, Ben married Brittany, Joshua and Ashley had baby Coen, and Charlotte and Tony had baby Maverick.

 Maverick and Tony

 Janice and Mark

Meghan, who is married to Nancy and Darrell's son, Jared, is a sunny presence at family parties--always attending, always delighted to greet her aunts and uncles and cousins.  There's no distinction between in-laws and "real family" for Meghan.

What a treat to have Jonny home!  Jonny with the tough shell and tender heart.  Jonny who tells it like it is but nurtures his little boys like a mother robin.

 And what a treat to have Steve--the "cool" guy who we all turn to for advice on how to navigate the corporate swamp, and who also does the dishes.

 Ezra, who amazed us all this holiday by eating meat.  Ezra has refused, for years, to eat "those dirty animals."

 Jenny, still smiling.

Naomi with Heidi, stylishly dressed in a fur hat from her collection and jasper beads from the Christmas table.

Almost as satisfying as seeing Mike and Heidi cuddle is seeing cousins love each other.

Gimmee S'More

Snowmobiling, roasting marshmallows, chili, and board games.  Our trip to the cabin is one of our favorite Christmas events.  After overcoming many hurdles--little snow this winter, last-minute repairs on the snowmobiles--there we were, on December 26, 2017, hiking to the "Spend Love Nest," as Grandpa Cliff's sign still proclaims.  It was a sparkling, warm, blue-sky day, marred only by the death of Oakley, the Eberts' beloved dog, just as we left for the canyons.  In our hearts, many of us dedicated that beautiful day to Oakley.

The Spendloves are always up for a good board game.  The gamers munched on chili and chips, and sipped cocoa, all ferried in on the snowmobiles.

There was lots of time for hugs and talking.  Sisters Alyssa and Kirsten haven't seen each other since September, when Kirsten left for BYU.

 Lisa loved being with her children, home from school.  Spencer and Naomi attend BYU-Provo, and Rebekah attends BYU-Idaho with her husband, Mike.

I can never see enough of Mike cuddling with Heidi.  After all those long years of Mike searching and searching for The Right One, it is a delight to see him finally get the babying he loves and deserves.

Steve, ever imperturbable, read the paper as Ezra and Annelise enjoyed just being near their dad.  Steve has been traveling for work nearly every week.

Jenny is a trooper.  She is expecting #3 in July and has been feeling miserable.  One would never know it from her big smiles.

Mia was feeling blue about Oakley, and Camille comforted her.

 Who is hiding on the stairs?

Jonny was the roast-master.  He stoked the fire and set out the implements, including four-pronged marshmallow roasters for the truly skilled.

 The little kids gathered round.

Everybody ate s'mores, made of graham crackers, chocolate bars, peanut butter cups, and oozing marshmallows squished in the middle.  Ymmm!

 The pro showed his handiwork.

Annelise

 Mike and Sam

 Sophia

 Finally, the day was over.  Jonny, Jenny, and their little boys waited in the snow as the snowmobiles got unpacked and the SUVs loaded for the ride home.

And Alyssa wore the latest in snow garb--a snowflake-patterned blanket draped around her shoulders.