Christmas Album of the Day!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I love Christmas music! I am not ashamed to admit that I listen to it at times other than Christmas. If I'm in the mood, I'll pull it out in the spring or summer. I do, however, get a bit tired of hearing the same songs and artists on the radio for an entire month.

So, for my fellow Christmas music lovers, I am going to try posting a new Christmas album each day of December. Some will be classics, others may be ones you've never heard before. I'll try to accommodate a range of musical styles. These will all be albums I have listened to all the way through, so I'll tell you a bit about the album, and suggest my favorite tracks if you just want to download a few new songs.

*Click on the title and artist to listen to 30-second samples on Amazon.com*

Today's album is:

A Christmas To Remember
by Amy Grant

Track List:
1. A Christmas to Remember
2. Christmas Can't Be Very Far Away
3. Silent Night
4. Christmas Lullaby (as a side-note, parts of the melody in this song remind me of the lullaby in the movie "The Secret of N.I.M.H." which I love!)
5. Highland Cathedral
6. Jingle Bell Rock
7. Mister Santa
8. Til the Season Comes 'Round Again
9. Gabriel's Oboe
10. Welcome to Our World
11. Agnus Dei

Amy Grant has several other Christmas albums which I also enjoy, but for this album she sings more uncommon Christmas songs. It has a mix of up-beat, medium, and slower tempo songs. It is a great one to have on while you work around the house, or just sit to look at your tree!

I really love the majority of songs on this album, so I'll just say that my least favorites are "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Mister Santa" (although kids might like them because they are upbeat).

I think Amy Grant's voice is better suited for the lighter, more hymn-like songs, such as "Welcome to the World" and "Agnus Dei".

"Highland Cathedral" and "Gabriel's Oboe" are instrumentals.

As I mentioned, I LOVE all of the songs on this album (except the two mentioned above). It is one of my favorite new albums!

Thanksgiving Fun!!!

Nick and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving! On Tuesday we got to see Dallan in his school's Thanksgiving program. Even though we couldn't understand half of what the kids were saying, they were so cute and we're glad Dallan invited us to watch him. He has also been dying to have us watch Kung Fu Panda with him, so after the show we got pizza and watched the movie together.

Of course, several of the kids were shouting out their lines and Dallan covered his ears half the time because they were so loud!

The three of us after the show. Doesn't he look handsome in that vest!

Nick and I bought pumpkins to carve for Halloween this year, but never carved them. I decided to use them to make some flower arrangements for Thanksgiving. Nick spent most of the day shut in a room studying and writing a paper for school, but did manage to make it out now and then to play with Dallan. I also stayed up until 3 a.m. working on a baby quilt I want to get made by the end of the year.

Dallan finding a hole and filling it with a flower.


The finished arrangements.

The quilt.

Nick and Dallan playing Kung Fu Panda (Nick is Po, hence the extra padding!)

For Thanksgiving, we went to my sister's house. She made a beautiful turkey and we ate way too much. It was so much fun to play with the kids and visit with everyone. Thanks again, Jenn, for having us!

Nick and Ryan playing together.

Emmy showing Nick Jack the bird.

Some crazy guy mashing potatoes.

Carving (or ripping apart) the turkey!

Our wonderful cooks.

The whole gang around the table.

Owen & Auntie Em

Owen wanted to take a picture of Grandpa all by himself. Not bad for a 21 month old!
Grandpa's being silly as usual :)

Ryan wanted a picture with us sticking our tongues out.

I wanted one with us smiling!

Ryan's turn to take a picture of Dedee eating her pie.

Nick and the twinsies.

Hair Cut

BEFORE:



AFTER:

California: Episode 3

One event we went to that was fun was a San Jose Giants baseball game. We were invited to participate in one of the activities they do between innings. Nick was the only guy in a group of girls. We played musical chairs with these huge blow-up chairs. It was hilarious! It was Nick vs. another of the wives and he was so not going to let her win! I wish I had it on video. The prize was a gift card to the movies which we enjoyed using.

Here are some pictures of a Bocce Ball activity they had. Having only played Bocce Ball on the lawn in the backyard, I was unaware that they actually have official courts, kind of like a bowling alley. We played at Campo di Bocce in Los Gatos. It was beautiful! They have four courts inside and 4 courts outside with tables set up so you can play and dine.

A view of the courts and patio outside. Our team was the court on the right.

Of course there are measuring tapes handy to see which ball is closest.

This was my award-winning toss. The rest were no where near this close!

Later that month was Doug's Court of Honor. We worked very hard building a fence at a Alum Rock Park to earn his Eagle. It was a fun night to share with friends and fellow scouts.

The proud Eagle Scout.

Some of Doug's projects on display.

Badges and uniforms.

California: Episode 2

Part of the fun of doing summer law internships is the trips and activities they do. The big trip in this firm was a boat ride around San Francisco Bay and dinner. Here are pictures of the event.

A pretty nice shot of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The whole gang in the limo we rode in--fun, but crowded!
That's us clear at the end.

Nick and me sporting our headsets for the tour. It was SO windy and cold that I thought my ears would fall off. I was glad we thought to take jackets and wear long pants.

A classic view of San Fran.

Grandpa Hassinger often tells stories about digging fox holes under the Golden Gate Bridge while he was in the Army during WWII. Maybe that's the very spot!

Nick and the bridge.

Seeing the sail boats reminded me of my first trip to San Francisco with Dad & Dedee. We spent a day or two sailing with one of dad's cousins. It was cold, but very fun. If you haven't been sailing, I say go for it whenever you get the chance!

Alcatraz

More SF skyline

U.S. flag, CA state flag, SF port flag

We ate at a restaurant/bakery on the bay. They are known for their breads and you can actually take tours and watch them make the bread. They had all sorts of silly-shaped breads.

Eek! A bread lobster!

More fun from our summer:

California: Episode 1

Nick flew straight from Virginia to California, and I went home to go to a family reunion and pick up a car for us to have out there. My mom was nice enough to drive with me, so that I didn't have to drive alone. We had a great time. The drive actually went quickly and we got to talk and listen to music together!

Of course, our road trip wouldn't have been complete without Bunny. He thought Nevada was actually quite pretty--silly Bunny!

Mom and me at the Jepsen's house. Not looking too pretty after the long drive, but happy to be there!

Nick's family has a tradition of making signs for those who come to visit, or come back from a trip. They are very creative--they included a dino for Price, and a snake in mom's name 'cuz she's scared of them!

We had a wonderful trip. We relaxed, shopped a bit, and went to see fireworks on the 4th. I wish I had pictures, but I think they're all on mom's camera. Before we knew it, it was time for mom to fly back, and Nick and I to move over to the neighbor's house for the rest of the summer.

I include this picture to show what a cute mom I have. While we were gone for the summer, she babysat the giraffes for us. (Yes, I have always bonded with my stuffed animals. I treat them like real people, and will probably have one until I am a very old lady!) When she was making 'dog bone' pillows for girls camp, she made miniature sized ones for the giraffes. Not wanting Bunny to feel left out, she made one for him. She came up to Provo before Nick and I got home, made sure our house was clean, and left a really cute welcome home sign and note for Bunny, along with his very own pillow. He was a very happy bunny! The animals still sleep with their pillows and think they are wonderful! (Next they want mini sleeping bags!)

Okay, back to California:

This is the house Nick and I lived in. It was nice to be close to Nick's family as well as Nick's work. It was a little strange to be in someone else's house and using their things, but they were so kind and generous to us. The only down side was no air conditioning :( We survived, though!

While we were at the house, we got to tend their two cats, Bob and Misty. Neither of us are cat people, so we weren't sure how it would go, but we ended up liking them a lot. Once they warmed up to us and we got to know some of their quirks, we ended up enjoying their company (especially me since Nick was working all day).

Nick spending some rare time with Bob
(he usually only came home to eat).

Here is Misty. Isn't she a pretty cat?

Misty was definitely our favorite. It was actually sad to leave her at the end of the summer. By the time we left, she was wanting to sleep downstairs with us so she wouldn't be so lonely upstairs.

Here is what you would see if you looked in the backyard most afternoons. There was Bob the cat, Scary cat (a stray that hung around a lot), and Casper, the neighbor's cat, lounging in the grass.