Birthday

My birthday is on December 27th and I love it. People always lament my birthday being so close to Christmas and I scratch my head at that. I think it is spectacular.

I welcomed in my birthday at 12:01 by eating chips and my dad's famous clam dip (don't hate, it's delicious) while watching "You've Got Mail" wrapped in my heated snuggie, given to me by one Katie Carlson. I know... best birthday starter ever, right?

I fell asleep after the movie and had a dream that Sara Bareilles and I were best friends and that we went to 7 Peaks Waterpark together.

I proceeded to sleep in and wake up at my leisure. Then I read a book for about an hour. I got ready for the day then my sister and I drove downtown for the following activities:

• 1st- explored the Salt Lake City Library, which is basically the 2nd coolest building in Salt Lake.

• 2nd- went to Blue Lemon for lunch. Delicious. 

• 3rd- spent some time in the 1st coolest building in Salt Lake. 

Kath and I went home and met the rest of the family for ice cream cake and presents.

I got snuggle this one:

I received hugs and kisses and a "Appy birrtday, Lizzie! I lub you!" from this one:

My parents and I went to eat this:

On my way back down to Provo, I stopped by here for some birthday shopping:

Then got home and received another birthday present from several of my closest friends in Provo. They had all pitched in to get me something. When I opened it up, I was absolutely speechless.

They are paying for me to go to Seattle in April to see my absolute favorite band of all time. I still can't believe it... best surprise ever. I just stared at the ticket, dumbfounded. Note that only days before on my Bucket List I had listed going to a Coldplay concert as my number one item. Thoughtfulness abounds.

I then took time to answer the many birthday texts and the 150+ facebook messages from friends and listened to my Grandpa Jones singing happy birthday on my voicemail probably 4 times.

I ended my birthday by watching this (which I absolutely love and don't care what you all say):

I couldn't have planned a better way to celebrate... and to this next year of life I say BRING IT.

My Bucket List

On Christmas Eve, I decided to write a Bucket List. It is as follows:

1. go to a Coldplay concert
2. go on a last first date
3. have a successful and happy marriage
4. raise happy and faithful children
5. go on another mission (maybe more like 6)
6. participate in a flash mob
7. witness a flash mob
8. write a song
9. run a half marathon
10. record a song
11. go birdwatching
12. paint an abstract painting
13. become conversent in a third language, maybe fourth
14. own a very nice camera
15. visit New York City
16. see Switzerland
17. spend an entire day watching Disney movies
18. kiss mu husband in Venice
19. go to the Ellen show
20. write a book
21. see at least one World Cup game in person
22. go back to London
23. see Lion King on Broadway at least 6 more times
24. do Humanitarian work in Africa
25. have an impressive home library, preferably round
26. ride a Vespa as an old lady
27. make a quilt
28. significantly bless someone's life financially
29. grow my hair really long
30. cut my hair really short
31. go to Harry Potter world and try butterbeer
32. find something really spectacular at a flea market
33. pay for a stranger's groceries
34. have a Harry Potter marathon
35. take a really random road trip
36. mud wrestle
37. get a Masters Degree
38. build a treehouse
39. have a house with a huge yard
40. go to the Macy's Day Parade
41. Christmas movie marathon
42. decorate my house with on obscene amount of Christmas lights
43. go to a March Madness championship game
44. go to New Zealand
45. buy a dress from Anthropologie
46. see the Northern Lights
47. sit inside the Rome temple
48. stay in the Grand America hotel
49. read all the books I own
50. finally receive my Hogwarts acceptance letter 

Suggestions for other items?

Christmas wrap-up

Well, mission accomplished. I wanted to make this year special and I am pleased to admit that this has been one of the best Christmases I can remember. I don't want to do a post for each of these things so I'll just wrap up Christmas with one big post of favorites. 

My good friend Michelle got tickets to the Tabernacle Choir concert on Sunday morning.  She, Randi and I went up to Salt Lake Saturday night and stayed in a hotel for cheap. We went to Gateway, went to dinner, watched movies, went to the hot tub, had a great time. Then early we got up to go to the concert. It was one of my favorites. I loved going on Sunday because we got to watch them practice and then perform Music and the Spoken Word and then they gave us a mini-concert of several of their other numbers. We also got to watch the choir sing "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" to the guest performers as a thank you. It was so touching. Nathan Gunn and Jane Seymour were the guests this year and they were fantastic. We thought Nathan Gunn looked like superman. 

Kathy helped arrange a sub-for-santa for several families with the help of her ward this year so she asked me to help organize and wrap presents. I was in charge of sub-for-santa last year for 8 families and it was by far my favorite part of Christmas. I love envisioning these sweet kid's faces as they open their gifts on Christmas morning, love looking for different things they'd like, love helping them feel loved during a difficult time for their families. It is such a great program so I was really glad I got to help again this year. The families sponsored this year were really special, you could tell. Such a neat experience to see the generosity of some and the gratitude of others. 

I came home one night to find that Katie had taken various things from my room and kindly gift-wrapped them to give back to me for Christmas. Katie and I are constantly playing jokes on each other (I'll have to detail all of them in a post of their own) and so to get her back, I decided to wrap her door and give her her own room for Christmas. It took a while but the end effect was rather nice, as was her reaction when she saw it. I just laid in the hallway and laughed and laughed when she came up the stairs and saw it. 

Christmas Eve was spent with this drooling face...

And this mischievous face. My nephew is hilarious. He was quiet for a little too long the other day so Taryn called out to him. "Roy?" He answered a little too quickly. "I fine! I fine!" On Christmas Eve, I went looking for him and found the bathroom door closed. I looked inside and found this. He was soaking wet and had painted the bathroom with Johnny's shampoo. I had to snap a picture. I'm sure this sort of thing happens all the time at his house but I don't live with a two-year-old so it's still a bit of a novelty for me. Hilarious.  

I made Italian tiramisu for Christmas Eve and was very pleased with the result. This is my favorite dessert. 

Kathy got me this straw for Christmas. It wraps around my head and eyes and then into my mouth. So funny. 

 Kathy and Josh got a hold of my camera at some point during all of our festivities. Evidence:

 Charming. 

Katie gave me bacon gumballs. Yes, you read that correctly.
Good news: They taste exactly like bacon.
Bad news: They taste exactly like bacon.  

This was in my Christmas stocking this year. Santa certainly has a sense of humor. 

 Danny made me two DVDs filled with childhood nostalgia. Every Christmas special we used to watch, every old-school Christmas commercial, every Christmas jingle that accompanied me throughout my childhood was put on this DVD. I have probably watched it about 82 times by now. Hilarious. Included on it is the Claymation Christmas I mentioned.

My mom made me this really cool cross-stitched map of my mission which I loved. I should take a picture of it so I can show it off. My Dad gave me a Dave Barry quote of the day calendar... a winner. Kathy got me a massage from the best massage therapist that has ever breathed. Her name is Susan Blake and after going to her once I declared that all my daughters would be named Susan and all my sons would be named Blake. Johnny gave me gloves you can wear while still using a touch screen phone, which was quite the thoughtful gift. The people that work for me got me about $150 worth of books from Deseret Book, including the biographies of President Monson, President Hinckley, Elder Maxwell and Elder Faust (among others) which was an incredible gift. I got some really thoughtful and meaningful things this year. The best was this:

(Note, this is not my hairy arm. C'mon people.)
A wand? A wand, Lizzie? You got a wand and you're excited about it? Nerd.

Wrong. SUPER nerd. This is more than just a wand. It is a remote control that looks like a wand. You learn different movements and flourishes and then program this wand as you would a remote control... and then amaze and dazzle all around you. I tried it out today. I got it all programed then waited for my roommate to be downstairs. I casually walked down and said, "want to watch some TV?" then with a flick of my wrist, the TV was on and I was casually flipping through channels, wand in hand and the remote nowhere to be found. She stared, dumbfounded. I rolled the wand in my fingers to adjust the volume then walked into the kitchen. Do my brother and sister-in-law know me or what?!

What a good Christmas!

Christmas Eve Performance

The Von Sheets family dancers came over Christmas Eve to offer a little performance. You may remember that last year, my siblings and I went over to visit the Sheets kids and did and dance in our moose pajamas. The Sheets kids belong to my Uncle Jim and Aunt Andrea, who live a street away from my parents. These kids are more like younger brothers and sisters than cousins. Annnnnnd they're hilarious. What? What's that you say? Prove it? 

Very well. 

Nate the Great. Nathaniel Baxter turned 5 exactly yesterday (happy birthday Naters!) Here he is modeling the McDonalds french fry/ ski goggle/ santa hat look. Very boho, very exclusive. His role in the dance number was to run around and occasionally stop in front to do the splits then jump up and run around again. He played his part extremely well, especially since none of us were aware he could actually do the splits. He takes after his father in that way.

Next up is Mary Kathleen, who opted for the "3 Kings in Lavender" bathrobe look. Very Orient-esque. She want for the goggles as well but dressed up this little number with a rosette bow to add a little pizzaz. The pigtails give us a sense of innocence while the turtleneck speaks of sophistication. Mary's role in the dance number was to giggle hysterically the entire time. The entire time. No small feat! Brava, Mary. Her career is still fairly new but I have no doubt she will become world-renowned for her gigglery. 

James added a little diversity to the bunch. Unlike his sisters, he did not choose the bundled-up style and instead based his outfit off of a summer genie barbie. The hot pink metallic pants and the belly shirt really scream "Aladdin meets Malibu," don't you think? Clearly outfitted in shades to avoid the paparazzi, his dance moves were most reminiscent of what an actual barbie would look like in an actual dance number and included many poses and stomach thrusts. Make no mistake... James is as manly (boyly?) as they come... so manboyly that he can afford to put on metallic pink pants. He pulls them off quite nicely. 

Samantha looked dignified to say the least. Her cheetah printed robe helped bring some class and aristocracy to the number, making it clear that, yes, they were performers but that this was no circus crew. These were dahhncers. The animal print also reminds us that Sammy is particularly quick and nimble, like unto a Cheetah. Sammy also carried the responsibility of displaying Frosty, whose capa had been detated from his head... clearly a symbolic gesture that was meant to remind us that although winter is to be enjoyed, we mustn't forget that the snow does melt and the snowmen will not survive. She helps us understand the importance of embracing the little time we have with all things temporary. Decapitated Frosty, we shall never forget.  I believe Samantha was one of the co-choreographers. Allow me to be the first to say that her career is starting out right and this will not be the last you see of her. 

And last but certainly not least, Hannah. The peacock. The masqued dahhncer of the night.  You can see here in this photo that I have captured a portion of the mystery and intrigue she poured into her performance. You could hardly wait to see what she did next and every turn truly was a surprise. Every moment was red-letter. She shared a whole new world with us as she spun and kicked and twirled her way into our hearts. Hanna's stripe-ed costume was inspired by prison attire and served as a reminder how dancing mustn't be kept deep inside, locked away. You must free it and embrace it. And this she did. This. She. Did. Hannah was the orchestrator of the performance, which received a standing ovation and rampant applause. To her I say Encore! Encore! 

 Clearly, my family is cooler than your family.

Love these kidlets. They're my favorite kidlets of all the kidlets in kidletdom. 

In other news, these Sheets kids had no idea what Santa had in store for them the next day, nor did any of us. They walked downstairs to find this little guy waiting for them Christmas morning. 

Introducing Otis Gary Sheets, the golden retriever puppy that Santa brought the kids Christmas morning.

I'm convinced Santa saw their Christmas eve performance and added Otis to the sleigh shortly thereafter. Well deserved!

Cathedral of the Madeline

Have you ever heard of this church in downtown Salt Lake?

Cathedral of the Madeline

 I've lived in or near Salt Lake for how long? Why haven't I ever been here before this year? It is a beautiful church and has a Christmas concert every year put on by their Children's Choir. My aunt and uncle had a few extra tickets so I got a few friends to come. If I knew more about it, I would have gotten more people to come along, it was without a doubt one of my favorite things I have ever done during Christmastime. Absolutely a highlight of the whole "Celebrating Christmas" the right way goal I've had this year.

Stunning architecture. 

Interior of the church. 

The church itself is gorgeous but the choir was beyond exquisite. I am going to make sure I go to this every year from here on out. The sound was just etherial. I loved the music, I love the feeling, I loved everything about this. I found some videos of the concert on youtube and for whatever reason couldn't embed them from the source so I downloaded them to my computer then uploaded them on my youtube in order to share them so you can hear how good this was.



These videos don't even do the experience justice.



Afterwards we went to go meet up with a bunch of our other friends to go look at the lights and then get hot chocolate, burgers and shakes at Hires.

All of my pictures of people turned out really blurry for some reason but here is one of Trent. 

 Great evening.

Christmas Eve Dinner

Christmas eve always seems to center around eating good food. 

Sour cream mashed potatoes. 

Gravy.

Rolls.

Green beans.

Martinelli's sparkling cider.

Awesome salad.

Prime rib.

It was delicious.

Proof.

Call from Santa

All of you should drop what you're doing and go here.

Not kidding. Do it now.

I found this site where you can sent personalized and free phone calls to as many people as you'd like. You can have Santa call them on their cell phone and address them by name and then proceed to tell them a bunch of funny things. He told my sister he was proud of her for being such a great dragon slayer this year, he told my dad that he was going to get him some peace and quiet this year, he told my mom that he was going to need to hang up because he was going to catch up on his soaps. 

I seriously had Santa call about thirty people the other day. My mom and dad, sisters Kathy and Taryn, brothers Danny and Johnny, Morgan, Molly, Melissa, Katie, Mikell, Kaylene, Christina, Emily, other Emily, Taylor, Hawk, Kory, Drew, Joe, my visiting teaching companion, the girl I visit teach, a few people that work for me... the list goes on.

Do it. I promise it will make you incandescently happy. 

Christmas pajamas

On Christmas eve, we always get Christmas pajamas. I love this tradition.

The pajamas I'm wearing right now while writing this post.

Can you tell which snowman I call the snowly ghost? Katie thinks its dumb but she's just jealous. 

Moose footsie pajamas I got all of us last year

Visiting sheets kiddies in said moose footsie pajamas.

Loving those footsie pajamas.

Footsie pajamas I bought my roommates this year.

Adorable.