Recap.

Reynolds Rundown 2010

Daman is totally, completely, utterly, absolutely, done with school. Hail the Master of Marriage and Family Therapy!! He defended his thesis beautifully in October and is happily enjoying the life of working full-time. He does play therapy with children who have been sexually abused. I don’t think anyone in the world is as well-suited to their career as Daman is to his—he brings a lot of hope and happiness to those kids. He has battled horrible headaches this year, but we have found a wonderful chiropractor which seems to be helping. 2011 is looking good! His favorite book this year was As the Crow Flies by Jeffrey Archer.

Morgen is . . tired. In January I was called to be the Early Morning Seminary teacher for our youth. I have a class of 26 high school students that show up bright and early at 6am every day before school to feast on the scriptures. This has been challenging, insightful, and exhausting. I am grateful for the experience and I am grateful for naps. I am trying to write steadily, both essays and children’s stories, which I find a very enjoyable outlet. You can find them at www.timeformo.blogspot.com. One of my favorite books this year was The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. I sobbed at the end, shoulders shaking and all.

Isaac (almost 7) is growing up quickly. He loved kindergarten last year, but this year we decided he needed some more time at home, so we are homeschooling. It has been really wonderful for our family. I love not having to wake the girls up to pick him up, and he loves that “school” only takes an hour and a half a day. He also loves the unlimited reading time. This past summer we invested in a pool membership and it was one of the best investments of my life. He was a fish and never got tired of the diving board. His favorite book this year was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Lucy (almost 4) is a handful. Just yesterday she managed to break a huge picture frame, throw a ceramic pot in defiance of a nap, and carve some lovely art into my dresser with a paper clip. But, when not in destruction mode, she is delightful. She flits about the house dancing and twirling in her own little world. At least once a day, she asks us, “Mom/Dad, do you know that I love you?” So glad she is willing to remind us. Her favorite book series this year was definitely Angelina Ballerina.

Emma (almost 2) is beyond adorable. She talks and sings all day. She could have a real career as a parrot, mimicking everything anyone says around her. It is delightful to hear her copying the wild conversations between her big brother and sister. One thing she loves is Wicked: The Musical. She asks for it every time we are in the car. She also loves to dance and tromp around in Lucy’s sparkle shoes. Her big blue eyes and bouncing curls attract a lot of attention, as does her screaming and occasional whack on the head. Her favorite book this year was a Seek-and-Find Princess Book that has slowly been reduced to only four pages.

(In other top news, we sold the Wii to buy a family pet, which at first was a snake until it escaped, and now is a cat that mostly stays under our bed and lets Emma sits on him when he does come out—it is perfect) MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!!!

This was our family newsletter this year. 2010 was a bit bumpy and involved some challenging changes, but we survived and sang alot along the way. 2011 looks very promising and so far so good!!

Washington in Pictures

Getting to know sweet, cuddly Hank.

"Where's Goldie???" Grandma Kiki read this over. . and over. . . and over again.

And when Grandma wasn't available, Emma handled it on her own.

Sometimes even Grandpas need to hear a story.

Mama MaShay schmoozing sick little Hanky. . so sad!

Isaac read this entire book to Hank, and he was captivated. I loved this moment.

And Lucy loved this moment. She loved any moment where she could be close to Uncle Jason. . . he is sooooo cute!

Grandpa telling "I Know an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly" with enthusiastic support from Emma. She was at his elbow the entire time, announcing with great dramatic flair each animal and its corresponding noise. It was a hoot.

So was Grandma. A hoot that is. Always.

Us, pretending to be asleep when everyone else got home. This joke never gets old.

Isaac basking in Hank's adoration. He played and read to him so much. This kid needs a brother!

Snuggletime with Chief, Dad, and Emma. . . awwwwww.

I'm not sure when this picture was taken, but I know it captures how we all felt when it was time to leave. I just wanted to put my head down and cry and stay just a little longer. We are so grateful that we got to spend this time with Mom, Dad, Cody, Jessica, MaShay, Jason, and Hank. We loved it!!!

**Thank you MaShay for taking pictures and sending them to us, so we don't forget what anyone looks like**

Over the hills and to the airport and over more hills to grandmother's house we go. . . .

We had a really WONDERFUL trip to be with Ma and Pa Reynolds in Washington for Christmas. Thank goodness MaShay was there with her camera, or any visual record might have been lost forever. We flew out early Christmas morning, hoping that half of the US population wouldn't have the same idea. They didn't. It wasn't deserted, but it wasn't madness either. The kids did great, and not only in my opinion, there were several impressed passengers that took note of my awesome children. Thanks, their father is a professional. They got to fly in their pajamas because I figured that as long as they were in the pajamas, it was still Christmas morning when we saw Grandma and Grandpa. It was a loooong day of travelling, but it was worth it just to see Lucy run and hug Papa's knees with total adoration. He got lots of those.
Let's see, I'll summarize some high points:

*Snow. Lots of it. We hitched up a sled behind Grandpa's truck and he pulled us all over their nice flat 5 acre yard. It was awesome. We took turns and then we played a game where Grandpa pulled around real slow-like and we tried to jump on it, and then jump on whoever had jumped on it first. Morgen biffed it so many times, once bouncing quite impressively off the tube. When we weren't trying to stay on the intertube we were trying to capture the voles hiding in the snow. Daman and Cody built an impressive snow cave and we even went horseback riding in the snow. It was beatuiful.
*Jazzercise. Lots of it. Kris gave Morgen a card good for 12 Jazzercize classes. It was a really an awesome present and really increased appreciation for Shakira and her hip-shaking joy.
*Horseback riding with Grandpa
*A whole playroom upstairs for the kids. We'd go for hours without seeing each other. . it was awesome. We had no idea how cramped we'd been feeling in our little apartment until we had some space around us.
*Striker, the boxer and his little annoying sidekick Stella. A few days before we left Shad and Siri came back (they've been living with Mom and Dad) and brought their dogs with them. Striker is a beefy boxer that ran laps with Isaac up and down the stairs. They wore each other out nicely. Stella is a chihuahua with a serious inferiority complex, and sharp teeth. Everyone but Siri hates her.
*Isaac got a date with Grandma and Grandpa. According to him, it was "the best day of his life." McDonald's for dinner and a movie--what a high point.
*Dress up, dress up, and more dress up
*Where's Goldie? was read at least fifty times. Emma just carried it around with her practically. She did take her turn reading once in awhile to Grandpa. She would just sit by herself and read books and sing. What a doll. She completely charmed her grandmother.
*Snowshoeing with Jess. I've always wanted to do it and we got to go out one morning and stomp around her family's farm. It was great. We had lots of good talks and it was really nice to get to know her better
*We only played Rook once! Weird. The time change really took its toll on our kids, and we hated staying up late because we knew they'd be up at 3am. But it was worth it when we came home because it took them an equally long time to start getting up before 8:30. Sweet.

Overall, we just had a fabulous time. We got to have a double date with Mom and Dad to a cool restaurant in Ellensburg. We relaxed and enjoyed and breathed a collective sigh for the space, the release, and the happiness that came from being with Mom and Dad for awhile. It was much needed, and so appreciated. Thank you Mom and Dad!!!! Pictures to follow. . . .

Excuse my Christmas lameness. . .

Honestly, this is the only picture I have from our Christmas "morning." But, hey, our Pioneer ancestors got by with only two portaits a lifetime, so I think I am doing just fine. Christmas morning was grand. I'll recap:

Morgen: Got popcorn and a Barnes and Noble giftcard from Daman, which rock
Daman: Received some very super cool and creative awesome wood blocks to help him remember us in his office (hey, when you write the blog you have complete power over the adjectives) He can't really put pictures of us up because it distracts his clients and then all the men in his office would come by just to check out his wife. So, we improvised.
Isaac: More legos. More joy. And a cool civil war playset from Lucy.
Lucy: Pictured above hugging the unicorn Isaac gave her--very awesome find. That is honestly all she wanted for Christmas: a unicorn.
Emma: A pony from Lucy, and a white cat that is now her best friend.

So, it was a really successful morning. And then we got to go see "Tangled" with Grandma and Melodi and had a ready-made Wegman's Christmas dinner. And for dessert?. . . . . finding out that Grandma Lulu is taking us all on a DISNEY CRUISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All our dreams are coming true.

Christmas Eve #1

Since we were flying out to Washington bright and early Christmas morning, we had several different Christmas celebrations. We pretended that the night before Christmas eve was Christmas eve so we could have Christmas morning on Christmas eve because on the real Christmas morning we'd be getting up at four to get on a plane. . . follow that?

The kids got to each open one present, and they opened one from Grandma Lama--how lucky are they. Two Christmas Eves and three Grandmas. What a life! Above: Lucy flitting about in her fairy outfit from Miss Eliana/Grandma Lama.

How does Isaac spell happiness?. . . . .L-E-G-O-S

How do you spell even more happiness?. . . .L-E-G-O P-E-O-P-L-E

A wonderful Christmas. . and we were just getting started.

Fun with Emma. . .

Eyes don't come much bigger and cuter than these.

Having soo much fun at the chilly wolftrap singalong! It was freezing! We only lasted through "Jingle Bells"

Cuddling with the new bunnies at Oak Shade Farm, where we get our Christmas tree and farm fix.

Saying goodbye to your gingerbread house.

Chilling with mommy--I love you!!

Oak Shade Regulars

Does going somewhere two years in a row make it a tradition? Then we have one. We love this Christmas tree farm and plan on going back every Christmas. We were able to go on a Wednesday which gave us run of the place. The owners are the sweetest couple. He worked at the Natural History Museum for 30 years and is such a fascinating fellow. . . and of course, they have bunnies.

This was the most important part of the experience for Lucy. She got to hold them as long as she wanted--which was a really long time. They were only a week old! Just outside of the frame is Isaac basking in the unlimited free cider and cookies. . another key to the tradition's success.

Lucy sat here most of the time. These little fuzzballs were only a few days old. She was in heaven

The Junior Lumberjack at work

"C'mon Emma, let's show these boys how to cut down a tree."

Check out this beauty!

We have recently decided to put down some roots here and one big benefit ist that Oak Shade Farm will be a part of our Christmas for many years to come. See you next year!!

Farewell to Gingertown

We had a wonderful time building a village of sugary cottages and workshops, but rather than face the constant snitching of stale candy, we decided to say goodbye to it properly. . . with brute force.

Wolf Trap Singalong (with a side of hypothermia)

It is the first Sunday in December, so anybody who is anybody is in the same place: The Wolftrap Singalong!! Every year the President's Marine Band puts on a free Christmas concert with various choirs from the area. They play a few tunes, but then the fun begins and the entire crowd joins in and belts out the best tunes of the season. And it ends with everyone lighting candles and singing "Silent Night" as they leave. Last year was our first time and it was such fun. It is also outside. In December. And it is cold. This year, we were more prepared. The kids were in layers, snowsuits, hats and gloves. We had a monster blanket and loads of Christmas cheer. Just look at our excitement on the drive over:

Unfortunately, that is where the pictures end. Because I was too busy trying to hug my freezing children as close to my body as possible to take their picture as they were weeping because of the biting cold. The cold mocked our snowsuits. It was miserable. We made it to "Jingle Bells" and then surrendered. It was fun while it lasted!