Christmas Pigs

Either last year or the year before, for Christmas, Pam sent Mom and I this little stuffed pig that snorts "O Christmas Tree", then squeals at the end. It's one of our favorite Christmas ornaments now, and we fight over who gets to take it to work and who gets to keep it at home. So I thought I'd let you all in on our joy. I recorded the snorts and put some pic's with it. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Lights in Yuba City, CA

A full week later than usual, I finally got the Christmas lights up around our house. (Not without some difficulty, however, having gotten halfway through the job before realizing I had to start all over again due to non-functioning strands of lights and one particularly long stretch that somehow had female plugs on both ends. How does THAT happen?) Anyway, it all turned out well in the end as you can see below.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Melody bought the Christmas tree and her timing was impeccable. She showed up just as they were unloading a new shipment. I'm grateful for her taking on this responsibility. I'm afraid we've been a little lost since they closed the Christmas Tree farm where we used to cut our own for so many years. It was a sad thing, and we haven't come up with another place yet. But the one she picked looks tremendous even before decorating, so we're excited!

Christmas Lights in Gilbert, AZ

Rob and I spent a good portion of the day putting up Christmas lights on their castle, er, house. It was pretty fun. They have a Spanish tile roof, so it was a little more interesting than usual. Later this evening we all went to In-N-Out for dinner, then visited the street of lights here in Gilbert. Below you see some of the sights we saw. Pretty incredible stuff.

Kim with Lucy and Grant;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;A BIG Nativity Scene
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Santa Trying to Get In Without a Chimney;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Neatly trimmed House and Lawn;;;;;;;;


Christmas with Sponge-Bob Square-Pants;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;A Harley-Davidson Christmas
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Santa From Afar;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Santa Up Close
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Santa at the Beach (for Michelle);;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Reindeer Flying Across the Street
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Video #1;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Video #2
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Playing on the Tower

There's this really cool tower at the Phoenix Zoo. It's about two stories tall and looks out over the large area where they have giraffes, zebras, ostriches, and antelopes. Up near the top there are these walkways for the kids to play on, and Lucy & Grant made the most of them.

At the Zoo

Rob and Kim has to work today, but Mom and I went with Pam and the kids to the zoo. It was really a very nice day and there were hardly any people at the zoo so we had a blast!

Grandma and Lucy on the "outback trail.";;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Lucy riding the Ibex
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It's much harder to get a good picture of Grant;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;He just doesn't stay still long enough
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Molly, Lucy, and Grant on the Turtle

Grant's favorite - the Giraffes;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;For some reason he kept calling the Ostrich a Flamingo

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A little black bird nesting in a Saguaro;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Big Horn Sheep on the mountain
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The Tiger, of course;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;And finally, the Flamingos
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Random Thoughts on the Passing Scene

1) Saturday's local newspaper ran this headline on the bottom half of the first page: "75 percent of American youth do not qualify for military - lack of education, obesity, prison record make 1 in 4 ineligible" Since when does 1 in 4 equal 75 percent? Apparently the writer is one of the 1 in 4. (or 75 percent. Whatever)

2) The best program on TV right now is "Diners Drive-Ins, and Dives" bar none. Great food and good humor. What's not to like? The runner up is "Antiques Roadshow." Pretty interesting stuff - and the Feedback Booth at the end is a hoot.

3) There's a new History Channel program called "WWII in HD." It gives much credit to the leaders of the free world, the American people, and the soldiers who fought. Why isn't the same effort in the media being made for our current military actions to stop like-minded despots? Do they really not see?

The Big Three Holidays

Today in Sacrament meeting John Evans (a former bishop of the ward) spoke about redefining how we celebrate the Big Three Holidays that come at this time of the year. (No, he wasn't talking about Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas like I thought he would - but Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years).

His focus was on ways we could make Christ the center and focus of what we do, and how we celebrate each of those occasions. It was really very good. He offered suggestions ranging from getting off the couch (where we might be watching football) and helping clean up, to spending less yet giving more of ourselves, to starting the new year with a commitment to become a better disciple of Christ. Essentially, trying to honor those holy days by thinking more of others than ourselves.

Also, just before he spoke we had 6 of the 9 men who have served as bishops living in our ward sing "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" under the direction of Aunt Joanne. Uncle Richie and I participated. It was really very enjoyable for us. I'm not so sure about the congregation - but we had a good time.