Christmas break

We bought season passes for Kelly Canyon at the end of last season when they had their mega sale. So to start off our Christmas break, we took a family trip Monday, December 23 which turned out to be a very wet day. Miriam managed to go on a couple of runs before her feet hurt her too much. Since Kelly's only a 40-minute drive from home, I was able to run her back and meet the family in time for lunch. Rachel's family also have season passes, so we coordinated with them and spent a lot of the day trading kids around into different groups and trying some new-to-some-of-us runs. Winnie thought Pinto was her favorite run, but after going on Ernie's with Kelsey and Hudson, she decided that was her new favorite.

Family ski selfie before I ran Miriam home.

It. Was. So. Wet. Look at the water on my helmet. It snowed the entire time we were there, and it was the wettest snow I've ever been out in. We were all pretty much soaked by the time we got home.

On Christmas Eve we had our traditional German dinner at Grandma Scott's house and read the scriptural account of Christ's birth, sang Christmas songs, lit the German Christmas pyramid and opened pajamas. 

Miriam showing Grandpa something (I forget what) on her phone after dinner.

All the kids piling on Miriam.

Seth playing guitar while we sing Christmas songs.

Miriam and Canyon with the pyramid.

Miriam's pajamas.

Ana's.

Winnie's.

On Christmas morning, we let the girls come down at 7 a.m. There was plenty of room on the couch for their present piles since Rebekah's weren't there. (We sent her a small Christmas package right when she arrived in Nevada.)

Ana's presents on the left, Miriam's in middle, Winnie's on the right, and the family presents on the ottoman.

Headed down Christmas morning.

Checking out their presents.

Miriam playing the "Nightmare Before Christmas" music box Winnie and I picked out for her at the Festival of Trees.

Winnie knitting with the enormous yarn and needles she asked for.

Talking to Rebekah Christmas morning.

The girls putting together the LEGO knock-offs they received. Winnie's kit was the most difficult; it took her about three days of concentrated effort to finish it.

That evening we went back over to Grandma and Grandpa Scott's house to eat leftover schnitzel, red cabbage and potato salad for dinner.

Seth napping on the floor.

Winnie showing Canyon something on her phone.

We had the Hendricks Christmas party the day after Christmas since Seth's cousin Cameron was moving into his house on December 23 and needed some time to work on that. Having the party the day after worked out really well for our schedule since we didn't have anywhere else we needed to be to that day. There was a smaller group this year (Patty, Keith and their family members had no representatives there that day), but it was, as always, fun.

The older grandkids with Santa. Usually Grandpa Dennis plays Santa, and between his weight loss, his clean-shaven face and the fact that he received a pacemaker less than a week before, Seth's cousin's wife Jessica had her dad fill the position instead.

Ana the sheep during the nativity.

Winnie the wise woman. 

Miriam the shepherd.

Seth singing "All Through the Night" as per Grandma Hendricks' request. He had sung it at the Welsh festival in Malad this summer, and Grandma wanted everyone else to hear it since it was a song her mother sang to her when she was a girl.

Winnie whacking the piñata. Nobody had brought a rope, so Uncle Greg brought in the tow rope from his car. Also, the only bat we had was the tiniest foam bat that has ever existed. For the younger kids' piñata, Seth took apart his mic stand and let the kids use the metal bar from it after they'd all had a chance to hit the piñata with the foam bat.

Miriam wearing a piñata on her head and Ana making it talk.

We had some daddy/mommy/daughter dates we needed to finish before the end of the year, so first Seth and I took Winnie to Blast Off! on Saturday, December 28. We played miniature golf (Winnie had I both got a hole-in-one, but Seth still beat us) and laser tag (Winnie won, but, as usual, the guns/vests weren't working correctly) and did some rock climbing before we played games at the arcade.

Winnie climbing one-handed when it proved too easy with two. She's a rock climbing machine.

Trying the claw machine. She didn't win anything.

On Saturday, December 23, Ana spent some of the break working on the skirt for her prom outfit. (She crocheted the top for her senior project, but then she chose to buy fabric and sew the skirt.) Also, Winnie finally finished her LEGO kit.

Sewing her skirt on Saturday, December 23.

Winnie's finished LEGO kit.

The next Monday (December 30), we finished up our dates when Seth took Ana to an escape room in Blackfoot and Miriam and I first played Wii games and then went to lunch at Hokkaido for Miriam's favorite meal out: ramen. We had a coupon for a free dessert, so we had their very-definitely-authentic dessert of tempura Oreos.

At Hokkaido with our fried Oreos.

We took another trip to Kelly's on Tuesday, December 31. Miriam stayed home due to her feet and the driver's ed course she's currently working on online. Seth stayed home because he had come down with a nasty cold. 

Ana and Winnie on the magic carpet. I'm sure the way Winnie is doing it is the right way ...

Eating lunch in the warming hut.

We had our usual low-key family New Year's Eve party by playing games, watching shows, eating food and drinking sparkling cider at 10 p.m. before heading to bed. (Hey, it's midnight somewhere when it's 10 p.m. here.) We got to talk to Rebekah a lot during the break: on her usual Monday P days and on Christmas and New Year's. 

During the break, we watched five movies together as a family. Every one of us got to pick whatever movie we wanted. We rolled a die to determine the order. Here's what we ended up with:

• Winnie: Home Alone
• Ana: Sons of Provo
• Andrea: A Christmas Story
• Miri: a few episodes of One Piece, a live-action recreation of an anime
• Seth: Best in Show

And the last activity we had during the break was a little cross-country ski jaunt Miriam, Peach and I took to the Twin Bridges campground on Saturday, January 4. (The others all opted to stay home.) I don't know if anyone is grooming trails out there this year, but if they have, it had been too long since the last time for us to find them. But we were still able to ski the loop by making our own trail.

Miriam, Peach and Andrea skiing.

Christmas performances

Christmas Classic: Saturday, December 14

Miriam competed in five syllabus events: swing, tango, Viennese waltz, rumba and cha cha at this annual competition at Madison Junior High (still the worst-ever venue). She placed in every event except swing (which is hard to place in because everyone, their dogs and their Tamagotchis compete in that event). It was a long day (as always), but a rewarding one. 

Miriam (and her fabulous hair and makeup) before the junior events begin.

Dancing swing with Makio.

Dancing Viennese with Dallin.

Dancing tango with Dallin.

Choir concert: Monday, December 16

Ana sings "Nativity Carol" with the Bonnevaires. I thought it was cool that we could see Ana's face in Mrs. Nix's tablet. Ana didn't like it.

Ana sings "Last Christmas" with her octet during the show.

Singing "Twelve Days of Christmas" with all the choirs and the audience ... with actions! This was "five golden rings."

Band concert: Wednesday, December 18

Miriam playing the glockenspiel with the jazz band during "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." She had a lovely little feature when everyone else went silent and she played the notes for the line "won't you guide my sleigh tonight." The day before, the band students spent the entire day traveling to assisted living facilities and playing Christmas music for the residents.

Miriam plays bongos during "Have a Mambo Christmas." She played percussion in every single song of the concert: for percussion ensemble, jazz band, concert band and symphonic band.

Lincoln Court: Sunday, December 22

Miriam plays a modified drum set during our performance at Lincoln Court. We didn't play music at the facility last year due to all our family's surgeries scheduled before and immediately following Christmas: my rotator cuff surgery, Rebekah's breast reduction, Ana's wisdom teeth removal. But we came back in full force for Christmas 2024. This was the first time we had any percussion with our music, and it turned out to be fabulous.

Seth and Andrea playing uke/guitar and singing with residents in the background enjoying their dinner and (hopefully?) the music.

Ana singing during our show. This was a new addition as well. In the past, we've had duos or groups of us all sing together, but Ana with her newfound love of choir asked if she could sing along to a bunch of songs I've played before from the Reader's Digest Christmas Songbook. This was another great addition to our lineup. Her favorite one to sing was "Blue Christmas."

Winnie and Andrea playing a piano duet.

The five of us singing "Angels We Have Heard on High" a capella. Winnie and Miriam sang the soprano part; I sang alto; Ana sang tenor; Seth sang bass.

Fall miscellany

Snazzy: Sunday, August 25

Miriam wears Seth's hat outside the church after our meetings.

Math and piano: Monday, August 26

Miriam helps Winnie remember some of the math she learned the year before. Winnie was worried she wouldn't know how to do the math she needed to know in middle school. As it turns out, she was bumped from Prealgebra to Algebra I within the first few weeks of school.

Rebekah works on tuning the piano. 

Temple baptisms: Tuesday, August 27

The family poses outside the temple after participating in baptisms for the dead. We went after the girls' first day of school.

Wasp vanquisher: Wednesday, September 11

A giant wasp nest Rebekah found in our crabapple tree in the front yard.

Rebekah posing with the bucket of water that holds the wasp nest. She wore layers of protective clothing and her fencing mask while she encased the nest in a pillowcase. Then Seth helped her ziptie it closed before submerging it in water and weighing it down with rocks. It sat in the bucket for days. Then Seth dumped it onto the driveway. After a few minutes, the wasps starting moving. Apparently you can't drown wasps. So he poured lighter fluid on the whole thing and lit it on fire.

Fur stole: Wednesday, September 18

Seth poses with Toad on his shoulders.

Scripture study: ??? (I for the life of me can't find this in our album, so I don't have the date)

Rebekah reads her scriptures after going on a morning run. She would often use the porch swing as a reading spot, and Toad would often join her.

Homecoming parade: Friday, September 20

Miriam tosses candy from the ballroom float. She had to choose between riding on the band float or the ballroom float.

Ana waves from the Miss Bonneville float. She had to choose between riding on the choir float or the pageant float.

Biker gang: Friday, September 20

Andrea and Seth pose with their bikes after riding several miles through town mostly on bike paths during their date.

Sleeping on the job: Sunday, September 22

Andrea, Ana and Miriam take a selfie in front of a sleeping Seth in the foyer after church. 

Garage swamp: Sunday, September 29

The menagerie of Crocs in the garage.

Two black cats: Tuesday, October 8

Toad pouncing on a little bird in the front yard. The cardboard cutout of the black cat was part of our Halloween decorations, and it tricked us many times as we looked out our bedroom window and thought it was a real cat.

Mouser: Thursday, October 10

Rebekah holds up the dead mouse Toad left in the back yard.

Fairview Fall Carnival: Saturday, October 12

Winnie and Miriam pose next to a camel that was part of the petting zoo at the Fairview Fall Carnival. Since we didn't make it to the carnival last year (we were at Lagoon), Andrea took Winnie and Miriam tagged along this year. Winnie ended up choosing to spend most of the tickets on raffle items rather than games, but it paid off because we won a basket of Melaleuca products, a date night package with tickets to Idaho Falls Arts Council show and a gift card to McKenzie River Pizza, and two crocheted sea turtles.

Trying out a new look: Sunday, October 13

Rebekah's glamorous makeup (Ana's attempt at doing drag makeup) in a flattering .5 shot.

Kitty snuggles: Wednesday, October 16

Toad cuddles with Ana on the porch swing.

Getting dolled up: Monday, October 21

Ana trying out makeup looks for the Miss Bonneville pageant.

Gravity Factory date: Saturday, October 26

Winnie and Seth pose with the treat they got after jumping at Gravity Factory in Rexburg during their daddy-daughter date.

Cinching in and the Museum of Idaho: Saturday, November 2

Winnie really yanks the strings of the corset we got for Ana from Bindlandia. I think Ana wants it for Renaissance fairs? 

Winnie and Ana play with a simulator at the Museum of Idaho's space exhibit.

The lovely face Winnie pulled for her astronaut pic.

The girls using a simulator to sort through space garbagte.

Rebekah in the rocket simulator. She designed and then flew her rocket and scored the highest of any of our girls.

The girls writing on the Museum's wall of feelings.

Murder mystery party: Mo, November 2

Winnie dressed up as Juan Iron, a golfer with a drinking problem, before her murder mystery party with friends. (The bottle, by the way, has beer of the root variety.) Although Winnie initially didn't want to dress up as a boy, she later embraced the character and won best costume

Math homework: Monday, November 4

Winnie and Seth pose with the treat they got after jumping at Gravity Factory in Rexburg during their daddy-daughter date.

Exhibit night and a concert: Thursday, November 14

Winnie poses at Praxium with her Ancient Egypt artifact and a zombie escape project. Once a trimester, students at Praxium get to spend an evening showing off what they've been learning about with their cross-curriculum projects. After showing off her exhibit, Winnie went straight to Rocky Mountain for her first trimester band concert (which was covered in another post), and then our family went to ...

... a concert at the Colonial featuring Postmodern Jukebox, a group of musicians who take popular songs and perform them in different musical styles. We're all fans of the group, so it was an amazing concert. We bought the tickets before we knew when Rebekah would be leaving on her mission, but it worked out perfectly for the six of us to go.

Girls on a couch: Friday, November 15

Winnie and Miri on the couch in the living room. I think I took the picture because they were cutely cuddling, but I'm not sure why Winnie chose to pull that face. 

Pizza Pie Cafe: Monday, November 18

Everyone in the family (minus Miriam who had come earlier with friends) at Pizza Pie Cafe during a ballroom fund raiser. Rebekah, as a proper home MTC-going missionary, wore her dress and tag to the restaurant.

D&D: Sunday, November 24

Seth and the girls play Dungeons and Dragons one last time with all of them before Rebekah leaves for the MTC.

Arts and crafts: Monday, November 25

Rebekah installs her art project on the wall of the shop before going to the MTC. She found the jaw bones while hunting in Island Park and brought them home to clean and bleach.

She stained the plaque, attached the jaw bones and added the decorative yarn and flowers.

Stick it: Tuesday, November 26

Winnie reaches to remove the giant sticker I placed on her back. The sticker had information about donating to St. Jude's or something like that; it came in the mail with some return address labels. Winnie had previously stuck it to my back, but I sneakily removed it and put it on hers. She didn't realize it until we were in Provo for lunch before dropping Rebekah off at the MTC.