Early December

December started with a treat: meeting Sharon Eubank: a hero of humanitarian service.  She asked my name when signing my book, and I told her I had the worst name in the world.  She laughed and then wrote, "To Karen, who redeems the name in spades."  The take home message from her book was we do the most in the places we live, and to give services the local populations actually want--not what we think they want.  Kristen added on the way home that she hopes people don't take her message as doing enough just locally.  There is much to be done in the world and the people in that gigantic living room had the resources and time to help address need.

Meanwhile, Kate and Walker went on a 12-hour bus trip to Disneyland.  Kate was crushed not to race but is still barely walking well so even Disney was a stretch.  She said it was the time of her life and she will be a loyal cross country kid through high school.

I took Owen to his indoor soccer practice and walked the neighborhood with Roxy (as always).  This house gave me a chuckle (it was snowy and my camera lens blurry):

Owen, Brady and I read the elves back to life by the fire.

This picture represents the fact that contractors have been in our home every single day since we moved in. #newbuildlife

I threw the first big gathering at my house with Anna's bridal shower.  Kristen saved me with food ideas and pans, and I made baked french toast with so many fruit toppings plus yogurt parfaits.  I trusted myself enough to make flower arrangements and found plenty of ideas for games on Etsy.  Emily came over and helped me prep.  It went beautifully and was so fun celebrating my youngest sibling.

I wish I had pictures from the event decor but I did get a few from an attendee.

SNOW!  We did not realize this was the only snow we'd really get in December but Owen was great to capitalize on it.  It melted within 2 hours.  Turns out snow cannot handle temps in the 50s.

Nate Bargetze at the Delta Center!  Every time I buy tickets here, I know exactly what I'm getting.  However, it is still somehow shocking when I'm walking to the tippy top of the venue to see just how bad the seats are where I bought.  The good news: it was still a wildly fun night and we laughed just as hard as the cackling women behind us.  Collective laughter is synergy!

Utah does an exceptional job with lights.  Walking the dog, driving into my neighborhood, and quick runs to the grocery were delightful experiences with all these lights!

On my weekly Grandma Nufer visit, I heard the backstory on each of her international trinkets.

Gingerbread houses with my Young Women 2s!  

Owen and Brady made their own houses downstairs:

The best part of the holidays for us was reading by the fire most nights.

We got London, Blake, Rach, and Walker to ourselves one Sunday night while Cory and Kristen were gone.  Brady and I learned "Imposter," and I was so dreadfully bad at it.  The good news is we can all laugh hard no matter what.

Our first ski/snowboard day of the season!  Not a lot of snow, so warm, but so fun anyway.

Owen's friend Max joined us for a BYU game that night.  We did not know what a hard core Cougar fan he was until we heard him chanting every chant, doing all the arm motions with the fans, and singing at the top of his lungs.  He is a PARTY.

Owen can't stop talking about how he bought his own Cougar Tail and ate nearly the whole thing!

100 points that night!

Edwards family Christmas Dinner: I ended up making this salad a dozen times in December.

Ashley and Bryson came prepared with a dozen Christmas games.

So fun.  So funny.  So many accusations of cheating aimed at Zac and Cory.  I loved how competitive we could all be with marshmallows.

Mom Edwards was the queen of this game.

The sticky hand game was the biggest hit.

The game that looked so easy but made you feel so dumb: placing the Christmas balls in opposite bins at the same time.

Even the lawyer struggled.

Dad Edwards is game for everything, including the hip thrust game.

The girls were TERRIBLE at this, and Blake, Zac, and Walker were great.

Opening Christmas jams!  Owen's were hemmed by our dear seamstress Helen, who gave me a tour of all her sewing Christmas creations and gifted a few of them as well.  I love the people I meet here with such diverse stories and experiences.  It is a happy surprise.