Bullets from the Christmas Kick-Off

--We might call this the Year of the Reluctant King. Somehow, Garrett discovered an almond in his cherry cobbler even though he was unwilling to eat this dessert and then stated that he didn’t want to be called “the king.” He did seem, however, to like the cuddly bear that he was given as a prize and led the Grand Parade in a happy chase from the Great Room, out around the balcony and back several times until everyone was winded. He also seemed to enjoy handing out the dollar gifts we had prepared for the grandchildren. So, all’s well that ends well.

--Until Brandon gets old enough or unless Ben or Henry happen to be here for a future version of this party, we seem to have used up all of the grandchildren who have not had the opportunity to be King or Queen at least once (I don’t remember about the Chandler guys). Bruce has the honor of being the only adult who was a King, back in the days when the selection was more truly random. (Please don’t tell this to Daniel and Paul–they still believe everyone has an equal opportunity each year.)

--Most of our Utah contingent attended, except that we were missing some of college students and our three missionaries, Alyssa was with a school group in California, Bruce was ill, and Gloria had to work. We appreciated Ryan’s presence as the token Chandler. We thought that people enjoyed the Piñata (thanks to Amy and friends for turning Pedro into Kris Kringle), and the White Elephant Gift Exchange (conducted expertly by Matthew, who had recently done some research on WEGE options). We heard quite a lot of Christmas music from the player piano. The favorite activity seemed to be putting jigsaw puzzles together until the wee hours of the morning. Thanks to Wendy and helpers for a wonderful dinner (Build-your-own-Mexican-fiesta) and breakfast (apple pancakes). And the sun on the snow on the mountains was beautiful in the morning.

--Lots of people were singing "Am I a man or a muppet?" It made me think that I had missed something in my reaction to the Thanksgiving movie that some of us attended.

--We learned that Jeremy will have surgery later in the month to try to have corrected a persistent sinus infection problem.

--Kimberly heard Friday afternoon that an aunt had passed away. At the party, she and Matthew were making arrangements for her to fly home to Missouri Saturday morning to be with her family for a few days for the funeral. We give our condolences.

--Valerie called Saturday morning with the news that Jaron had passed his Eagle board this morning. Congratulations!