Hazel had a basketball tournament on her birthday, so we spread out our celebrations over the weekend and did things unconventionally. That meant that when Gemma was invited to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium with her friend Imogene on December 1, we sent her. She had a great outing. Her favorite animals to see were the sting rays, the otters, and the tiger shark. It was super weird for her to be out until after 11 pm.
Hazel's friends were amazingly flexible and were on standby on her birthday, ready to hang out either right after school or later that evening, depending on what time her basketball game ended up happening. They found out timing only the day before and all showed up at our house Friday evening for pizza and games.
Saturday morning was more of the tournament, and then the basketball team decorated a float and participated in the city Holiday Parade Saturday night.
We celebrated Hazel as a family on Sunday evening, with steak and potatoes, and this beautiful mango cake that Jack made for her. Fifteen! I can't hardly believe it.
Jack had a busy Sunday with a quorum presidency meeting before church, playing the organ in Sacrament Meeting, and participating second hour in the temple and priesthood preparation meeting for the incoming youth. It was a lot for one day!
Gemma had a piano recital. She played Raspberry Rag and Hedwig's Theme from Harry Potter. She took a magnificent bow at the end. I love seeing her get more comfortable performing.
I went on a field trip wtih Gemma's class to plant trees at Brushy Peak. It was hard work! It was inspiring to see Gemma's team give big effort the whole day. Gemma's favorite part was scraping clear the area where they would start a new planting.
Hazel is busy with basketball all the time. Every single weekday she has either practice or a game, and we were surprised to learn that many Saturdays and most of the holiday break were also filled with basketball expectations. She hustles hard on the court, putting in great effort on defense. Todd likes to work the scoreboard and her supportive friend Nate has often volunteered to work the shot clock.
We went to a production of The Sound of Music at the Hillbarn Theater in Foster City. It was very well done. We enjoyed it very much. The singing was impressive! Erika joined us.
Hazel had an orchestra concert. They played plenty of holiday music. It was lots of fun!
Hazel and Jack worked hard on a couple violin/piano Christmas duets. They performed O Come, O Come Emmanuel in Sacrament Meeting (it was so beautiful) and I Saw Three Ships at a stake Youth Music Festival.
My game night friends got together twice in one week. We celebrated Katie's birthday with a Christmas movie and lunch at The Press. Then we had a gift exchange Christmas party at our regular monthly evening gathering and played several fun games.
Hazel had another three day basketball tournament. She also played the organ for Sacrament Meeting.
The kids' last day of school was December 21st. We celebrated Winter Solstice on their first day off. We dried orange slices and made garlands out of them. We collected leaves and made lanterns. Gemma and I soaked up the sun with our books in the backyard and Ginger came over to snuggle. We left the lights off as the sun went down and ate dinner by candlelight. And now we are appreciative of every extra minute of daylight we get each day.
We went up to the temple Saturday morning. Todd took Hazel and Jack in to perform baptisms and confirmations for some family names my mom has found while Gemma and I explored the grounds and the visitor's center. Gemma is excited for her turn to attend in a year.
We decorated sugar cookies and gave some of the prettiest ones to our 12 Days of Christmas recipient. She is a recent widow. The kids say it has taken out some of the fun knowing she'll never get to the door in time to catch them, but I definitely felt impressions from God that we should serve her.
We took the kids to a couple of nursing homes on Christmas Eve to play music for them. Gemma had three songs prepared, including Carol of the Bells. Jack worked hard to quickly learn Sleigh Ride. And Hazel surprised us all by strumming guitar while she sang Phil Wickhams' version of Angels We Have Heard on High. It was a sweet way to spend the afternoon.
We watched The Christ Child and How the Grinch Stole Christmas before sending the kids off to their sibling sleepover in Hazel's room. They got a moderate amount of sleep before Christmas morning. Gemma's main gifts were violin lessons and a digital camera. Hazel got tickets to a college women's basketball game and new earbuds. Jack got tickets to do an escape room and a fidget toy and a bonsai growing kit, since his last bonsai has passed away.
That afternoon we drove up to Bear Valley. We settled in for a night of games and movies but also went for a long walk around the neighborhood. Todd couldn't resist when he saw a kiddie kayak still on the beach and tried taking it out. It could not hold his weight and he ended up with a cold, wet tush.
The sunset was majestic. Hazel took this picture. She has such an eye for beauty.
The next two days, Todd and the kids went skiing while I stayed back to read, take walks, and enjoy my solitude. Todd was worried the skiing wouldn't be good because we haven't had much snow yet this year, but everyone had a great time and there were no lines at the lifts. A birthday miracle?
That sign next to my kids says the trail is only groomed partway down and only experienced skiers should use that trail. Did that stop them? Nah. Todd takes precautions like that like a dare. That is one of the reasons skiing with him was too stressful for me.
I enjoyed my strolls, crunching ice on the edges of the road as I listened to podcasts and Marco Polo'd Chrissy and Suzanne. Day one I went high for the vistas, and on day two I circled the partially frozen lake.
We drove home Thursday morning in time for Hazel to join her team on the bus to their games in Napa. She had a fun day with them. I think that's only the second game Todd didn't attend. He has been incredibly supportive.
Friday afternoon we went to St. Mary's College to watch the women's basketball team play San Jose State. It was such a fun game that Todd bought tickets for another one before the day was through. They were making three-pointers like it was nothing. Todd enjoyed whispering with Hazel about all the good moves the players were making, helping her hone her own knowledge of the game.
Jack and Gemma have been rat-sitting for the Zoerhoff's again. It keeps them busy and they get paid well. I think they're kind of gross, though. The primary kids were invited to sing a song "like a mouse" last Sunday and started scratching the chair backs while singing in soft, squeaky voices. It gave me the heebie-jeebies and I had to step out into the hall!
Todd and I signed up to chaperone the regional New Year's Eve dance, so we drove the carpool out to Concord as well. We spent all week teasing Hazel about how we were going to embarrass her with our sweet dance moves, so we were both pretty disappointed when we got assigned to work in a game room where we couldn't even hear the music. We spent the night watching teenagers (mostly boys) playing ping pong and corn hole. Even Hazel told us she felt like we had been majorly ripped off.
Luckily, New Year's Eve was really on Sunday, so we got a do-over with our family. We watched our year's home videos and pictures throughout the day and had crackers, cheese, and ham with sparkling cider for dinner, and a new game - Blank Slate - that was a big hit. The kids had another sibling sleepover (although they went to sleep at 11) and Todd and I went to bed at 10:30, slammed from the night before. It was a nice day and a sweet capstone to a good year.
