Bridals and Bowling

One of my college buddies, Aaron, married the beautiful and talented Camille, I was invited to attend the reception. Jack Frost and Mr. Winter joined forces to provide a whole lotta the white stuff, so it was an adventure just driving to the reception, but I think everyone that was able to make it had a great time and was happy to celebrate the occasion with them.We figured it out beforehand, but as luck would have it, Camille and Brea are in the same cohort in BYU's Masters of Public Health program, so Brea (and Alisha who is also in the picture above) were there. That's a very nice coincidence, isn't it? :)Celebrating Aaron's marriage with Camille was cool, because I met him pretty soon after I got back from my mission (yipes, let's not mention exactly how long ago that was) and we've been friends ever since. He's always been very friendly and welcoming to people, and seeing him find a gal like Camille is always a boost to me. Nice guys don't always have to finish last.I don't know how, but I always seem to run into the Jolleys at random places every couple years or so. Granted, it isn't a stretch that they'd be at Aaron and Camille's reception, since Aaron grew up in their ward. But still, I didn't expect it. Just like I didn't expect to see them a couple years ago while hiking. Great people, those Jolleys.Once we'd had enough of the wedding reception gourmet hot chocolate and cookies, we decided to put some of that sugar-fueled energy to good use at Fat Cats. There was a little bit of a wait due to a bowling league, so we played some table hockey and carnival games. Check out our sweet prizes!
Apparently, Brea is my good luck charm. Not sure what it was. Perhaps our singing "Empire State of Mind" or mini-dance parties or just joking and laughing together, but I was bowling like I never have before. By far, the 214 in my first game was the highest I've ever had (previous personal record was 185). Of course, my next games were not quite so fantastic. Brea, however, improved every game. She's got mad skills and made the whole evening very fun, and I can't wait to go out again.

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Pulling Taffy, Legs, and All-Nighters

Pulling Taffy

My grandma's taffy and buttermints are legendary. They're so tasty that we kinda wonder if there's something addictive added to the mix. Well Lindsey and Dave wanted to learn to art of pulling taffy and making buttermints from the master, and she graciously accepted.

It took a little bit, but it looked like they got the hang of it by the end. And with another 40 years of experience, I'm sure they'll be doing it just as well as Grandma. Just look how tasty these ones turned out!Pulling Legs

I drove down to Provo to have lunch at Kneaders with Giules and Brea, and we had a great time catching up and making funny conversation. Our only wish would have been to still have the couches to sit on and more time together before I had to head up to the friend Christmas party.

Pulling All-Nighters

Not all of my Christmas traditions are with my family. My group of friends also have an annual Christmas Party. Usually it's held between Christmas and New Years, since that's when people aren't hustling around with family festivities and shopping. Matt & Megan are excellent hosts and everyone has a good time. One of the best parts of getting together is seeing the new babies and how grown up all the kids are. This year we had two new ones, and they're just as adorable as their parents.

The gift exchange portion is always humorous. This year, I gotta say that Bond brought the most impressive gift: a 3-4 ft tall sailboat model. If I didn't have to fly back to Washington DC, I for sure would have been fighting to get the sailboat, but instead I went for a DVD set of the HBO mini-series "John Adams" and was lucky enough to end up with it. Much easier to pack back to DC. That sailboat sure would have looked great in my new cubicle at Marriott, though...

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Not Shredding. Sledding!

"The family that plays together, stays together."

Utah has amazing opportunities for outdoor adventures. We chose from the options and went with sledding at Gorgoza Park so that everyone could go (except Grammy and Granpa who stayed home with the twinners, and Megan who had to work) and it wouldn't be super expensive. To be clear, I guess it was actually tubing, but sledding works better for my blogpost title, so I'm sticking to that.The brothers just enjoying spending time up on the perfectly groomed slope and not having to work for the runs, since there's a tow rope. Isn't it great not having to trudge up the snowy hill like when we were little tikes?Adam and Linds are such a great couple. Completely perfect for each other and it amazes me that people as great as these can find each other in this world and everything works out for them to get together. I know they aren't perfect people, but somehow they are perfect together.Being in Utah is so relaxing to me. None of the cares of work and hectic East coast life. Plus, knowing that I'll be starting a new job at Marriott the second week in January makes everything particularly chill.The soon-to-be newest Smyth family. Jordyn and Peter are excellent together, and another couple that I love watching interact. Can't wait to have them both out in Philly to see them more often. I missed most of their courtship since I was already in the DC area, so it'll be great to get to know her more and have another Smyth on the other side of the country with me.Dave is a character. Always has been and always will be. This kid is in-the-know on funny and he makes me laugh all the time. He brought laughter this time by accidentally grabbing two right handed gloves. Bwahahahaha!This Smyth family is a riot. Gunner is such a combination of Adam and Linds (that's a good thing, in case you weren't sure lol).This is my mountain man fashion. Think we'll see it on the catwalks in Paris and/or Milan anytime soon? Nope, neither do I.

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I'll Take "Rhymes with Grief Bliggum" for 400, Alex

Carly is one of my wackier friends. Turns out her family is just as wacky. Maybe that's why we get along so well; similar familial backgrounds. And/or maybe it's due to our being allowed to watch hilarious TV shows in our adolescence, such as the Simpsons.

Carly and her brother invited some friends and me over to play Simpsons Jeopardy, and we had a grand old time remembering classic characters, funny lines, and outrageous storylines.

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Bump... Set... Reunion!

In college, we played a lot of volleyball. Indoor for intramurals (shout out to "Flashes of Brilliance") and at Kiwanis Park on the grass were our main spots. Well it's been a couple years, and it was time for a little volleyball reunion.

Cramer reserved the gym at my old stake center, and we all met there. We played for a couple hours, and I gotta say it was not a pretty sight early on.

S-L-O-P-P-Y.

But the silver lining was that we got better as we went. By the last game, there were actually some good rallies with decent bump/set/spike sequences. Not a lot, but some, and that's good enough for me.

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Merry Christmas, One and All

I love Christmas with my family. We have so much fun together and we end up smiling and laughing through the entire day. This year we were lucky enough to have Adam and Linds (plus the kiddos, of course) and Nana Bets in town, so it was a packed house and that made for even more good times. Summer loved here teddy bear.Of course, Gunner is always a hoot to watch when he's opening presents. He's plenty old enough to understand what's going on and he's used to being the center of attention, so he hams it up a little bit, but his joy is genuine on most of his gifts. Also, I kinda love when he gets a gift that he doesn't know what to do with or isn't extremely excited about, because he has no poker face and his confusion/displeasure is readily apparent. Clearly, he's happy about the PS3.Dave is in the middle of making a career change from engineering to medicine, so his gifts this year were mostly geared in that direction. All kinds of goodies that I can't pronounce and he'll be putting to use soon as he tests the healing waters.Dad is a gamer. He loves bringing us together to play, and he's usually pretty dominant (especially in Trivial Pursuit and games along those lines). Now he's got another game that we can (and did) all play together and have fun as a family. Gotta love the Wii.Pete and Jordyn arrived a little late, as they'd started their day down at Jordyn's parents' house, but they wasted no time catching up. I think this is right after they opened their bookmarks from Gunner (which we all loved, due to their personalized embroidery and pictures). Aren't they a cute couple!Zoey and Grammy were also having a good time with opening presents, though I suspect that Grammy would have been completely satisfied to have the babies being born earlier this year as her Christmas present. Come to think of it, I think all of us would accept that and ask for nothing more. Welcome to the family, girls, and I hope you enjoyed your first Christmas!Zoey (pictured here) and Summer only have one Aunt, and they adore Megan. She holds them and cuddles with them and they're absolutely tickled pink with all of it. Here we see the gals laughing in the mirror and being fascinated with how utterly cute they are together.Linds has always had style, and I think we all envy that. I mean, who else in our family could pull off the Ali G sunglasses as she shows here. Note: if I mysteriously vanish in the next little bit, it's probably because Linds killed me for posting this pic. hahaha Totally kidding, just FYI.Maybe one of the more popular gifts received by anyone this Christmas was Gunner's pack of NERF guns. Everybody played with them, and there were battles raging all day. Who said that NERF guns were just for kids? Or maybe all of us are just Toys R Us kids and don't want to grow up...Here is the bookmark that Gunner gave me, and it's a great gift. Linds and Adam may have helped a little bit, but Gunner picked the items to be put on the bookmark and even did some of the stitching, if I'm not mistaken. The birthday cake on mine is because my birthday is in December. So great!Can't wait until next December for more holiday hijinks and spending the day opening presents and playing with my family. Who knows what wonderful gifts will be made and given to loved ones.

PS If you didn't notice, there are no pictures of Adam in this post. That's because he was behind a video camera all day, capturing the precious moments live. Such a good dad and it warms my heart to see him joining me in documenting our family history and especially getting his little ones on film so they'll be able to look back on it in the future.

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Christmas Eve with the Cravens

Some traditions are timeless and I will weep if they ever change too much. One such tradition is our Christmas Eve with the Cravens. We allow for some evolution when necessary, but we resist drastic changes. Here is a quick run-down.

• Potato soup for dinner -- Note: used to be clam chowder, but switched when allergies were discovered.
• Each person saying one thing they're thankful for that year, and then lighting their candle on the previous person's candle.
• Acting out the Nativity with full costumes -- Note: there has been some experimentation with this. Mostly out of Luke chapter 2, but we've tried using the Book of Mormon and a musical version in recent years.
• Family talent show -- The talents change from year to year, but I'm always impressed with how many skills and the great variety in our families.
• Christmas carols played with hand bells -- Professional technique for quieting the bells.
• Slush drink, syrup-drenched cranberry cake, and assorted candies -- Delicious; certainly not nutritious.
• Claymation and Charlie Brown Christmas videos -- Personal favorite is the Carol of the Bells. And Bryce's "I lost mine" is spot on.

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The Great DC Snow of 2009

DC struggles when mother nature decides to drop 3-4 inches of snow. The schools are closed, the metro runs fewer trains and at much longer intervals, and the federal government goes into melt down mode. So imagine what happens when the skies open up and 16-22 inches float down and blanket the nation's capital. Snowpocalypse 2009!So what do you do when the roads are undriveable and you just can't stand being cooped up inside any longer? You go for a walk and see how beautiful everything is when covered in snow, of course! Fortunately, I live within walking distance of one of my favorite monuments:We didn't have sleds, but we did get to see some families and friends playing in a small park. Not quite like sledding in Utah, but you work with what you've got, right? These kids didn't seem to mind that they weren't in the Rockies, and I can't blame them. It was excellent sledding snow.Gotta do a little posing to record that we were out walking around and enjoying being snowed-in. Jess was a good sport about coming over before it was too deep and I gave her a ride home afterwards. My Subaru does a fine job in the white stuff (and it does even better after it's been plowed just a little).This was only part-way through the storm, as you can see. Just past the ankles, but it got up considerably higher before the clouds had left their joyous mess.

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Zoolights

One of my favorite things about the Washington DC area is that it has a free zoo available to all. The National Zoo is a Smithsonian and runs different events during the year to increase traffic and on occasion patrons can pay for special events.This year, my friend Claire and I went to see the Zoolights, which is basically holiday lights in the zoo and you can go at night and see some of the animals. We got a package that included some fun treats, like hot chocolate and gingerbread cookies (which I like to show who's boss).There weren't a ton of animals awake, but we did get to see some really good ones. The sloth was quite cute, and he/she was really easy to take a picture of since he/she was 100% motionless. I gotta be honest, the sloth kind of looked like a Muppet to me, with super-soft fur and its silly face.Most of the holiday lights were setups like these. Lots of trees were decorated, and they had a big light show that was timed and had accompanying music. But the primary use of lights were in animal shapes like elephants, tigers, lions, crabs, eagles in flight, monkeys, etc.
One of our favorite animals at the zoo was the panda bear. The National Zoo has had one panda bear on loan from some other zoo for a while, and I believe that the contract is running out, so that one will be sent back to China. If you'd like to watch the remaining pandas live, you can go to this page.

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