Drive-by Nativity

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas traditions!  The Young Women and Young Men have been pulling together this drive-by nativity for the last few years and it's always a joy to see them.  The costuming and the sets are fantastic.  But I think they really excel at setting the mood for what we are really celebrating this season.  Cambrie was a Roman soldier again collecting taxes in the form of food donations.  McKenzie was part of the angel bell choir again.  I love seeing my girls interact with other youth at these activities.  I love seeing them smile up there even more.

 

Bouldering

Kelton's first bouldering season has come to an end.  He was able to climb at five comps this year and has gotten better and better with each one.  He's done some things that I know I can't do at all.  He's learned a lot of new skills and tried some moves I don't think he even knew existed before this started.  We began to recognize the other boys in our region and Kelton is starting to make friends with them.  It is a great, supportive community.  These boys all want each other to do well and cheer for every top and ask for tips on how to make other moves work.  I'm glad this kid is loving this new sport of his.

 

Fourth Grade Elves

The Fourth Graders at Meridian decided to earn money so that they could sponsor kids for Christmas from another school in the district.  They've been doing chores, donating birthday money and various other things to help out.  Once the teachers collected all of the money they divided it up based on what kids we had and what they needed.  Then we all went shopping!  Picture the majority of the fourth grade running around Target in control of their own carts and own lists.  It was wild.  Luckily there was parental supervision, which is why I got to go have fun with them!  Kelton had a bunch of his friends in his group, Liam, Andrew, Kai and Collin.  They are great kids and I'm glad we were teamed up with them.  

We had an eight year old boy who needed everything from underwear to winter clothes.  We loaded up our cart and checked off the boxes.  We had $.73 to spare.  Once everyone was gathered we realized we had an impressive amount of presents to wrap, over $2000 worth.  These kids were amazing.  We wrapped the presents the next day in class.  I'm grateful for their tender hearts.

Indian Wells 70.3

Jeremy and Chuck decided awhile ago to do Indian Wells 70.3, mainly so Chuck could ride his new bike.  At the last minute I decided to join them because I need my New Zealand 70.3 World Championship slot.  It was a whirlwind weekend.  We arrived Saturday afternoon with just enough to go from the airport, to athlete check-in, build our bikes, drop off our bikes and bags, then eat dinner and head to bed.  We had no time for delays.  Luckily the things we needed to trouble-shoot were minimal, we needed new tubes, a pump, and a few tube extenders.  Nothing too insane.  It was a little crazy setting up our bikes in the parking lot but we made it work.  We didn't have a chance to do any more course recon than when we dropped off our gear bags.  The lake looked pretty, but we knew it was going to be cold in the morning especially with our wet wetsuits (we had to decontaminate them the night before).  Then it was dark and all we could do was go back to the hotel and rest.  We stayed a the Indian Wells Resort which was originally built by Lucy Balle and Desi Arnaz.  Their pictures, as well as those of other Hollywood elite were everywhere.  It was a great place to stay.  

Race morning came early as always.  We had plenty of time in transition, but it beats being stuck on the bus and panicking.  My goal for the day was placing in the top two or three of my age group to secure my slot.  Jeremy was racing on a broken foot so he just hoped not to injure himself more.  Chuck really wanted to kill his bike split. Here we go!  The water was just as cold as I feared.  I ended up panicking and had to stop twice to reset before continuing on.  My transition was awful because my fingers were numb, but the bike was so fun.  All of us love the bike course, especially the section where we rode through a race track.  Jeremy may or may not have made motorcar racing noises as he took the turns.  The run was difficult because it was through and on a golf course (of which there are hundreds in Palm Springs).  I hadn't run since Kona so I had no idea what to expect.  Jeremy still had that broken foot.  He ended up walking a good portion of it but when I saw him moving I was just thrilled he didn't have to stop.  I ended up pacing with a local athlete which meant I had a ton of on-course cheering going on.  I was grateful to have him because it kept me honest.  I crossed that finish line only 30 seconds ahead of the girl behind me, so it was close.  But I took first in my age group!  It is my first AG win since New Zealand years ago and it felt so good.  I also ended up 7th age group female, and 22nd overall female including the pros.  It was a PR kind of day and perfect way to end the season.  The guys also had fantastic races but they didn't get a chance to enjoy their success.  As soon as they crossed the finish line we went to pick up our gear, headed back to the hotel and they left for the airport.  

I had to catch a flight out the next day so I could attend the awards ceremony.  I have to admit, there is something pretty remarkable about being the top woman on that podium.  I want more of that!

Annette's splits: Swim 29:30, T1 3:44, Bike 2:31:46, T2 2:03, Run 1:36:19, Overall 4:43:22

Jeremy's splits: Swim 38:29, T1 4:31, Bike 2:23:24, T2 2:23, Run 1:57:34, Overall 5:06:21

Chuck's splits: Swim 44:19, T1 9:10, Bike 2:26:58, T2 4:02, Run 1:50:56, Overall 5:15:25

Broomfield Tree Lighting

Kelton joined the school choir this year and they were able to perform for the mayor at the Broomfield Tree Lighting Ceremony.  It was such a festive atmosphere. There were hay rides, cocoa, lights, and a bunch of local choirs.  The kids looked so cute up there on stage and did such a great job performing.  I was really proud of Kelton for wanting to participate in something that has required so much time and effort.  

I'm lucky to be this kid's mom.

Dear Santa

It's been awhile since we've written to Santa Claus at the North Pole.  When Daxton asked I jumped on the opportunity and help him get it in the mail.  I love, love, love kids and Christmas magic.

 

South Jordan Christmas

We won't be traveling back out to Utah for Christmas so we crammed in Christmas celebrations with our Thanksgiving celebrations.  One of those activities was a trip to the Giving Machines.  Bruce and Leesa gave each kid $20 so that they could use that money to buy a gift for an organization in need.  We ended up buying school supplies, diapers, legal help, goats and chickens this year.  We love this tradition and I loved seeing my kids so happy about choosing something for someone else.

The kids had been eyeing the presents under the tree as soon as we arrived.  It was finally time to open them!  I decided to video the event since I hardly have any home videos.  Throughout the videos I would just click the shutter button to capture some still shots.  I couldn't help but laugh at my girls in the background who were having a blast being the most entertaining  backup characters ever.  They were making faces, signing, and just being goofy during all of the present opening.

Bruce and Leesa nailed the gifts this year and the kids were all so happy.  Let the holidays begin!