Christmas is Coming

We decorated the house and put up our tree. The kids are very excited for Christmas. The first picture is them posing with their Santa hats and Little People nativity set from their Grandma Gunnell. It is the best for families with kids!!

The second pict is all of us dressed up for the ward party, A Night in Bethlehem (Dad is wearing an outfit his dad brought back from Kuwait.) Our family sang Away in a Manger (with harmony even) at the party. It was a great night and felt like being in Bethlehem because of the food, atmosphere and families in costume. It was quite the production and the activities committee pulled it off well. So, the season has gotten off to a great start for us. Now Dad and I are counting down the days until we have our two week break.

State Ensemble Festival

Our eldest and his duet partner went to the state ensemble festival and had a great experience. After having felt nervous for a week he reported that when he got up on the stage he "wasn't nervous at all." Every pianist went away with a certificate and a medal.

Our eldest daughter went too. She was inspired by all the great pianists there and took note of how many duets were played by siblings. Maybe she could get good enough to play with her brother next year!!

Oregon Civil War

Thursday was the Oregon civil war game between U of O and Oregon State. It was extremely tense not only because of the long standing rivalry but because it was the first time that both teams were candidates for the Rose Bowl. The winner gets to go to Pasadena.

We decided that to be true Oregonians we had to pick a team and root them on. It ended up split down the middle with the girls rooting for the ducks (yellow and green) and the boys rooting for the Beavers (orange and black.) We ended up watching the game in Richard's classroom because we don't have ESPN. It was a true football party and the girls are proud to say that our ducks are going to the Rose Bowl.