Christmas

We have traveled every Christmas we have lived in Texas. Last year (before Covid) we decided to change that and visit family at other times of the year. It is hard to haul presents and deal with bad weather and all that. It was kinda nice to have cancelled our own plans before covid had a chance to cancel them for us. 

Our big surprise for this year was a... 

PIANO!!

Aaron got an unexpected bonus at work, and we decided it was time to go for a real piano. The kids have both been taking lessons and really liking it and making good progress. And Aaron and I play too. Really, why didn't we have a piano already? It's because there are many good reasons to stick with a keyboard and not get a real piano--pianos are heavy, pianos are expensive, pianos are loud, pianos can go out of tune. But a real piano is also 

WONDERFUL!!

Keyboards just aren't the same. 

Anyway, so we were trying to keep it a secret from the kids. But there isn't a piano store on every block here in Texas like there seems to be in Utah. So we had to go to San Antonio to shop. We drop the kids off with their conveniently located cousins and told them we were running some "errands." 

At the piano store, we told the guy that we wanted a nice used piano. He said, cool but why don't you just play some of these new pianos first. So we did. Then he took us to the used pianos, and they were all horrible except for one that had already been sold. So we ended up buying a new piano--a Kawai K-200 upright in black ebony. 

The thing is, I'd been overestimating how much a used piano would cost. So because of a Christmas sale we got a new piano for the price I'd thought we would need to pay for a good used piano. I'm not sure if I should feel good about this, like I got a good deal. 

So the piano was delivered on December 23rd, and I took to the kids to the library while Aaron oversaw it being moved into our study. We had covered the study doors with wrapping paper and told the kids all the presents were in there and don't look or you'll RUIN CHRISTMAS! They were sad because it mean they couldn't play Minecraft for two whole days (our computer is in there) but they survived. And best of all they had no idea we were hiding a giant piano!

  They had no idea what it was when they saw it because we had disguised it with random boxes stacked up underneath. So sneaky. And I took a video of them opening it, but I'm not sure how to upload it here. It was a fun Christmas surprise. 

We have since moved the piano back into the study because being in the same room as a piano that is being played drowns out all rational thought. Plus, our piano is out of tune and can't be tuned until the week of January 18th. 

We also had a lovely Christmas eve dinner together with some amazing cinnamon rolls that we made together. The kids still don't love Christmas rice. Scotty refused to try even one bite. More for me. 

I got some new knives from Aaron's parents...which I promptly cut myself with! Nice and sharp! Aaron got 25 lbs of cracked wheat which was awesome because he forgot he had asked for it and was like what could this really heavy package possibly be?? And my mom made Aaron and I aprons, so now we won't have to fight over the less "girly" of my two aprons. Annie also got roller blades which means Scotty got roller blades because Annie finally let him use hers which have been too small for the last three years. 

It was a great Christmas!

After Christmas I went to visit Amanda. This was the first year we've ever been together on her birthday. It's a really, really good thing to live within two hours of your best friend. 

Thanksgiving

 We had the Brimleys and the San Antonio Dennises come for Thanksgiving this year. A lovely time was had by all--this is a real winner group of people. The Brimleys had just recovered from Brad having covid--no one else got it--so they were glad to be out of quarantine. 

I finished a table remodel just in time for Thanksgiving. Aaron and I had been shopping for a new table for several months. And we couldn't find anything we liked a lot better than the table we already had and which Joe and Anya gave us for free when we first moved to Texas. So I got brave and redid this one hundred year old table. I think it cost about $130. The picture underneath is a before. It was in great shape, very sturdy, but I hardly had to sand it because the stain was so worn down. We still need to get new chairs--the old ones aren't worth the price of fixing--but I think it turned out nicely! And Annie and I felt so fancy decorating the table for Thanksgiving.

The morning of Thanksgiving we had a Turkey Trot 5k. Back in September, Williams said he was going to run a half marathon and that there was a 10k/5k in San Antonio the first weekend of December, and we should all run it together. Somehow, this sounded fun to me. So I started training for a 5k. William said you don't need to train for a 5k...like you should just go out and run one no problem. I knew that would not be the case for me. I found a couch to 5k program and followed it, and it made me happy! I can see why people could like running. It felt like an accomplishment. One nice benefit of starting to run is that you burn a lot more calories, so you are hungrier. Excellent side effect for Thanksgiving! The 5k we were going to run in San Antonio got canceled, so we made up our own little course and did it by ourselves. 

Here are the runners. I was grateful that Aaron and Heather ran with us even though they didn't train and probably didn't have very much fun. It made me feel supported and loved.

And the kids played on the park while we were running back and forth on the trail.

After the run, we went back home and finished preparing the food. And the Brimleys came. And we ate to our hearts' content. Aaron took special care of the turkey this year, and we finally defrosted it enough. And we had so much pie! It was awesome. 

Aaron pondering the turkey:

So nice to be surrounded by yummy food and people you love during the holidays.

Annie's Birthday

 Annie turned 11 years old in 2020. So since she'll be turning 12 this year, she is officially a youth, a Young Woman as of today. Can you believe it? Little baby Annie?? 

Annie has been a delight since the day she was born. I really don't know what our family would do without her. 

Annie really liked the cake I made her this year even though the frosting dripped absolutely everywhere. It was fancy because we cooked it in a bundt pan. And I bought some real flowers to put on it. Annie's a sucker for flowers. She requested a shop broom and a survival kit as presents, and that's what she got. She wanted the broom to sweep the driveway. Watch out, Cinderella! There's a new girl in town! And she takes the survival kit in her fanny pack (which she refuses to wear around her waist even though I said it looks cool) to The Land every week.