St. Nick

I think we'll call our first-ever visit to the jolly old man a success.

David 'do Times Two

When I found out that David Archuleta was going to be the guest artist for this year's Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert, I could barely see straight because I was so excited. 

I HAD to get tickets.

The problem was that even though the tickets were complimentary, you had to be selected from a random lottery in order to obtain them. And only one registration was allowed per family.

So, I sent out an obnoxious email (in huge fonts and bold colors) to all of my friends and family asking them to register for tickets in the lottery. We found out later that over 1.5 million people registered in the random ticket lottery, and the Conference Center could only accommodate 84,000 people in the four performances they held. Do the math. The odds were certainly stacked against us for getting into the concert.

Therefore, I wasn't that surprised when after weeks of agony, I found out that I wasn't selected for tickets. My parents weren't selected. My friends weren't selected. But alas, I received a phone call from my brother-in-law saying that he was selected! And then the very next day, I heard the wonderful news that my brother was selected as well!

Being the wonderful sister that I am, I thoroughly expected both my brother and brother-in-law to take me to the concert as their dates instead of other prospects. They obliged, and I got to see David LIVE two nights in a row!

This was my third time hearing David live and his mature rich tone did not disappoint. As per usual, I wore my David 'do for the occasion. The 'do consists of a side ponytail with a huge flower (mimicking a 14-year-old teeny bopper) that started way back here, and continued here. I couldn't even think about breaking the David 'do tradition this time around.

The Conference Center was filled to capacity, and since they were overbooked, hundreds of ticket holders were turned away once the seats were full. We battled the traffic, full parking lots, and in the end a parking ticket (still worth it) to arrive early enough to claim our seats.

My date.

Troy had no interest in attending with his wife and her starstruck ears (he was working till midnight anyway, it was quarterly roll time again), so we easily filled the four tickets each night with other family members. In fact, since tickets to this show were such a hot commodity (being scalped for mucho dinero), my parents hopped in the car and drove up again so they could enjoy it as well. They had to pick up my brother anyway for Christmas break, but the David concert was a huge incentive for their quick 3 day trip.

Concert night #2 also started out with a David 'do. The excitement the second night didn't die down one bit for me.

We only had four tickets and therefore had to be selective on who could attend amongst the Tanner family. I felt a little bad for taking someone else's place, but not that bad. We took the train downtown this time to avoid the traffic and parking situation, which was an adventure in itself.

After the concert, we saw the lights on Temple Square and kept bumping into friends and extended family who were also lucky ticket holders. We saw the line that wound around the block outside the bookstore to get David's signature. At least I didn't go that far.

The Letter C

I finally got my act together a few months ago and started a preschool co-op with some other moms. We rotate whose home we go to and who teaches within our group. I am so grateful for our junior preschool because I have been wanting to incorporate more structured learning activities with Blake for a long time, but he isn't quite old enough for regular preschool yet (and I'm not ready for that day).

It's so nice to have a weekly preschool date on the calendar in advance because my pre-mom aspirations of creating daily lesson plans hasn't really panned out the way I thought it would. I was a little naive in thinking that I'd have all this time to prepare "weekly themes," but then we threw another child in the mix and my plans went out the window.

Not that I don't plan some daily activities besides free play, but if I have a spare hour, you better believe that I fill it with something that fills me and not with curriculum planning. It's harder than I thought it would be to squeeze in learning activities for my children when no one is standing over my shoulder giving me a pass or fail grade. But that doesn't mean that I don't crave a little more planned-in-advance structure.

So, I was really happy to start a preschool where I couldn't make excuses for my lack of preparation. Blake has really benefited from more social interaction, and I love to see the ideas that the other teachers (moms) come up with. We keep the activities simple for these little 3 and 4 year olds, but I come away each week feeling so satisfied that I am doing something to stimulate Blake's development.

It was my turn to teach and host this week. I have to admit that I got a little giddy when I pulled out my dusty college textbooks and old lesson plans to compile the curriculum. We danced, balanced beanbags, acted out a story, and solved "letter C" riddles.

We crafted a snowman with Circles by placing Cotton balls on Contact Paper.

Their favorite part, inevitably, was the snack. Reindeer (Comet if you will) PB&J's; it doesn't get much better than that!

Elf Model

Last night, Troy took Blake on a father and son outing to a Jazz game. I was delighted to curl up by the Christmas tree all alone with my sweet baby and practice a little photography bokeh (great tips found here).

Who would mind practicing on this cute little elf?

Three Christmas Parties and One Ebenezer Scrooge

It's funny how everyone tries to schedule their Christmas parties early to avoid conflicting with other Christmas parties, and then they still all end up being scheduled for the same weekend.

We hopped around from church, work, and bishopric parties over the course of two days with our lovely sitter being so willing to help us out for the events that were better attended sans children.

I can't say I minded the one-on-one time with my sweet hubby who I have scarcely seen in the last few weeks.

Except that I was reminded of his Scrooge-like qualities that surround holiday events.

To top off our weekend of holiday parties, we went to see "A Christmas Carol" with Troy's family. Surprisingly, I have never seen the movie or stage version of this popular Christmas tale. When Ebenezer was describing the nauseating feeling he gets for all things "Love" and "Merry Christmas," I turned to Troy and said, "You really do have a lot in common with Scrooge!"

Even if Troy is a bah humbug, he still obliges my requests for a little holiday cheer.