The week before Christmas....

Time seems to be flying by so quickly this month!

Last Monday was my birthday. Dan bravely took all 4 kids shopping by himself and picked me out some nice presents. In the evening, we went to my parents house for soup and dessert. My mom always makes Strawberry Cream Cheese pie for me. I love it! I think our kids were more excited for my birthday than I was.

Tuesday we had Caleb's program at school. It was overcrowded, and by the end I bribed Rachel into going home with Anna & Alex and paying her to babysit. Dan had to leave early because he had to go to tithing settlement. (He's the financial clerk now). So, he took them home. I enjoyed it much more after Anna and Alex weren't there complaining and trying to run off. Caleb is so funny. He looked and me and smiled most of the time his class was up there. He told me that his music teacher told them not to look at their parents during it. He confessed that he looked at me at least half of the time. Funny boy!

Wednesday was Rachel's school Christmas program. She looked really cute in her reindeer antlers. Dan stayed home with Anna and Alex after how well the night before went. I was surprised that they sang some religious songs like Silent night and O Come O Come Emmanuel. Their school does not promote any religion. But they sang songs of all religions and cultures.

On Friday, I went with my mom, niece and sister to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert. We left really early, but traffic was terrible. Luckily, I got the bright idea that we should take 600 N. We parked and made in there in time to get in. Many people didn't get in, even with tickets. David Archuleta has a great voice. This is the 4th Mo-Tab concert I've been to. My very favorite was Sissel about 5 years ago. David Archuleta probably ranks second in the ones I've been to. I love hanging out with the girls in my fam!

Last night, we had the Marchant family Christmas party. I must admit that it gets a bit crazy. There's now about 25 grandkids. Add that to 8 kids, 5 spouses, 1 fiance (Becca's), and a couple of extras. That's nearly 50 people. My mom carefully picks out and wraps presents for everyone. She really likes to shop on Black Friday, so she can get cool presents for less money.
Becca's fiance Brandon is a chef. He made some really tasty garlic mashed potatoes. I think I'll like having a chef in the family. They both look so happy together.
I really love hanging out with my family. Usually Christmas is the only time the whole entire family is there. Too bad Christmas isn't in the summer, because we would have loved to send all the kids outside to play.
My parents driveway is significantly shorter than it used to be. When people were leaving, we had to play musical cars. I think everyone got to move their car multiple times. The driveway is missing half the cement and is quite a mudpit. Someday the road construction will be done.

Our kids are out of school the whole week. Its sure nice to have a break from driving kids everywhere.

That's about my week in a nutshell. :) No pics to go with it . Sorry!