Deciduous December

A log of our family activities in the month that went by too quickly.

December 1-18: Matt's latter half of a block of night shifts. I admit this went by slowly compared to the rest of the month, and I'm sooo glad that it went by indeed and he'll never have to do that many nights in a row again. He is also exactly half way through intern year and done with most of the more trying rotations for the year. Pop! Pop! (for you Community fans)

Dec 1st: enjoying the Christmas lights

Dec 3rd: Alex's piano recital. You're only obligated to watch if you are his aunt, uncle, or grandparent. But he did do a really good job. His teacher said he attempted and mastered a song that no other kid at his level would try.

Dec 10th: Sarah's ballet performance of Amahl and the Night Visitors

Dec 11th: dressing up for church

Dec 15th: getting dressed at all on a day that isn't Sunday. And look! Their hair is done--it's surely a December to remember. I even wiped off the snot crusties.

Dec 17th: Matt and I go on a date to the Union Woodshop restaurant. It is famous because Kid Rock likes it and Matt saw it on the Food Network during a night shift and had to try the food. So we celebrated him being done with nights (even though he had one more left) and called it our anniversary date as well, because we never had one and nine years deserves at least a dinner, right?

Ready for a story?  They told us it was a two hour wait, but Matt was not deterred--oh, and our babysitter was nothing short of angelic. To kill time, we walked the streets of Clarkston, which was a fun little town and it was snowing, which made it a perfect Christmas activity. It got pretty cold after about 20 minutes so we decided to huddle in with the other people waiting just inside the door of the restaurant. We saw a little tiny table literally right by the door that was also right next to another table crammed with a family that was spilling out in the direction of the tiny two top. The hostess called for a name on the list. They came over with their martinis in hand, glanced at the table, turned their noses up, and told the hostess that they would keep waiting for a better table. Matt seized the moment and asked the hostess about it. She said that was like the 3rd couple to turn it down and if we wanted it, we could have it. And that is how we cut our wait down by 1 hour and 40 minutes. It pays to not be snobbish every once in a while. It is also a good thing we are the size we are, because there wouldn't have been room if we were more rotund.

Anyway, here a picture of Matt on our snowy walk.

The one he took would have been great but for the stray snowflake seeking the spotlight.

This was Matt's plate. It is even more fattening than it looks. But hey, it's name is The Porker, so it lives true. It is also definitely Food Network-worthy.

December 21st: We made blanket capes

December 23rd: Decorated gingerbread cookies to hang on the tree. Only one actually ended up on the tree. The rest were eaten right then and there.

Dec 24th: Bekah's birthday (we'll cover that later)

Dec 25th: Christmas also gets its own post (soon, I hope)

December 26th: Matt took Alex with another father/son duo from a family whom we all love (so much that we spent Christmas with them) to an Air Museum that had all sorts of flying things and even roller coasters. They also had a flight simulator that Matt informs me is one his wish list for when we are out of debt. So, in like, 1000 years. But apparently they had a ton of fun and I was a little dumbfounded as to why I was left out, but I'm glad they had a good day.

Dec 31st: No picture, but we spent it with another fun family--eating fajitas, playing games, and being extremely entertained by the escalating level of noise as the night wore on. Our kids went to bed after 1am so it is a good thing they changed church to a later hour for the new year. 

Now that we have transitioned to my least favorite month, I'm glad we had so much fun last year. The memories will get me through the bleak winter. Happy New Year!