It started snowing late afternoon on Christmas Eve, and snowed most of the night. I had shoveled twice on Christmas Eve, but got up early and went out to shovel again before Mom & Dad came Christmas morning. Instead of the normal morning sounds of people and animals and cars, it was extremely peaceful. There was not a sound the entire time I was shoveling. It was also quite beautiful outside. The sun hadn't come up yet, so while I shoveled, I watched the sky change from the darker colors of the night to the brighter colors of the day. The moon was still up in the west over the Great Salt Lake, and it was just a beautiful sight. Unfortunately, my pictures did not capture all of the amazing colors.
I was grateful for that time I had in the beauty and peace of Christmas morning to think about some things I needed to think about, as well as to reflect upon the true meaning of Christmas. I felt that it was a quiet little Christmas present to me.
We started pulling things out of the box - all presents wrapped in red wrapping paper! As we unwrapped, our living room turned into a sea of red, much to our dismay. Here is a run-down of the contents (all extremely red): a gas can, a garbage can, a toilet brush, two red lamps, a colander, measuring cups, measuring spoons, a peeler, ketchup, an apple, a jar of maraschino cherries, a box of tinsel, two sippy cups, a box of Christmas ornaments, a candle, a bag of Twizzlers, a bag of cinnamon bears, a blanket, five plastic plates, thirty clothespins, fifty plastic cups, and a University of Utah hat!
Ryan kept saying, "It looks like a big red tornado hit our house!" Our living room, at least!
We knew immediately who it was! Enclosed was the following poem (with very red pictures):
An exciting event for our family was a reception held Friday, December 7, at the Rio Grande building honoring the Utah Arts’ Council “Emerging Artists Award” winners. Marc won the award for film! I teased him about his “major award,” hoping that he’d win a leg lamp (from “A Christmas Story” for those who are lost). Sadly, that was not one of the prizes. The evening was a lot of fun. The Rio Grande gallery was set up with sections for each artist. Marc had his film playing while people strolled through the gallery. We could tell that most people who watched it really enjoyed it, but there was one couple who watched it all the way through three or four times. They laughed hysterically all the way through it! We all enjoyed watching them enjoying it! Ryan was given the job of keeping the free copies of the DVD stocked in the bin on the wall. He did a great job!
Friday, December 14, we went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert. Every year they invite special guests – always well-known musicians. This year was The King’s Singers. It was amazing! For most events in the Conference Center, tickets are just for a particular section, not assigned seats. They usually open the doors between 60 and 90 minutes before the event, and seats are on a first come basis. We got there about an hour early and got some great seats. I took a notepad and colored pencils for Ryan to draw while we waited. The Conference Center holds something like 22,000 people. It was pretty loud with people talking until about 7:15, when everything went absolutely silent. Having been in the Conference Center for General Conference, etc. before, we knew what that silence meant. We looked to the side door, and President Hinckley, President Monson and his wife, and President Eyring and his wife were entering. Ryan LOVES President Hinckley, and always asks me to lift him up so he can see him (I’m not going to be able to do that much longer!).
After the concert, we walked through Temple Square and the Main Street Plaza and looked at the lights. It was about 20 degrees, but it was a lot of fun. It’s always so beautiful that it’s easy to forget how cold it is.
Saturday, December 15, was Mom and Dad's annual "Orchard Place" open house. Ryan and I have become such good friends with so many of their neighbors, that we always join them. We have a great time visiting with all of our friends in that neighborhood.
Marc and Frances spent the week of Christmas in New York City with Frances’ family. Her grandparents are serving a mission in the Manhattan Temple, and it is their 50th wedding anniversary the week of Christmas. The whole family traveled to New York to be together for the celebration of that wonderful milestone. Since Marc and Frances weren’t in Utah for Christmas, the Inman family had our celebration together for Family Home Evening on Monday, December 17. It was fun to have dinner together, exchange presents, and just hang out and have fun together. Most of us gave each other gifts relating to our upcoming return to Hawaii. It’s always fun when we have a family trip planned – we always give each other stuff relating to the trip.
As you can see from the above pictures, we have a new addition to the family – Max. (Gee, BYU fans, who could he possibly be named after?) Ryan has been asking for a little sister for quite a while. Since that obviously isn’t happening anytime soon, I caved and agreed to the other thing he has wanted for a long time - a Build-A-Bear. I’m somewhat embarrassed to say that Max has really become a real member of the family; he and Ryan received matching Christmas Eve pajamas and Miami Dolphins jerseys (I know – I’ve gone too far.)
Saturday, November 3, the three generations of BYU fans traveled to the Colorado State game. Luckily the weather was much better for this game than it was the last game we attended!
I continued to volunteer at Ryan’s school doing “Fun Friday” with all of the second graders. We did art projects/lessons about patriotism and Veterans Day, as well as several other projects relating to the holidays. Ryan was given an assignment in his music class to create a unique musical instrument. They also had to name it, and show how to play it. We created Ryan's "snake horn" using his marshmallow shooter, a funnel, and lots of duct tape!
Friday, November 9, the Utah quarter was released. They held a big shindig at the Rio Grande Depot. Ryan and I went in for the festivities, but by the time we got there, the “first day folios” that we wanted had all been sold. Luckily I have an in-depth knowledge of Internet shopping, and was able to purchase some sets from the U.S. Mint. (That's a giant replica of the quarter in the west wondow of the Rio Grande building.)
Since we were downtown, we stopped at the Gateway. We love the Gateway. Ryan always likes to find my name on the wall of volunteers from the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake. It helps that it is low to the ground. Rara’s, on the other hand, is toward the top, and can usually only be seen with high-powered binoculars. 
I spent all day Saturday, November 10, attending Cub Scout Pow Wow with my friends and fellow leaders. We actually all quite enjoy it. It’s always fun to get all of the ideas for the upcoming year.
One of our family traditions has always been to go downtown the day after Thanksgiving for all of the lights coming on. This year we went to the Gateway, where John Schmidt performed a concert on the main staircase by the Olympic Plaza. It was a lot of fun.
Of course, one of the highlights (that almost wasn’t) of the month was the BYU-Utah game. I won’t rub salt in the wounds of all of my Utah friends that read this, but you all know how it ended. (Let me just say that it's probably wise to wait until the game is REALLY over before calling and playing your "Utah Man" keychains.) After the game, Ryan and I dropped off a little bag of blue treats at the Davies’ house. They love blue. (I just realized that Ryan is wearing his BYU jersey in most of the pictures on this blog. That is fairly representative of his life. His BYU jersey and his John Beck jersey are his two favorite shirts. He would just wear those all the time if I'd let him.)
I volunteer in Ryan’s classroom on Friday mornings. Every Friday, they have “Fun Friday,” which is actually a combined lesson with an art project that goes along with something that is happening. We’ve done lessons on leaves and seeds so far, and anticipate more fun lessons as the holidays approach.
On Tuesday, October 30, our Halloween celebrations began. The South Davis Recreation Center had a big party that started at 5:00. They had games, spook alleys, treats, crafts, and all sorts of things. Our ward also had our annual Trunk or Treat. We went to the Rec Center for a while, then left to go to Trunk or Treat, then went back to the Rec Center until the festivities ended at 8:30. We’re such party animals!
Ryan’s Halloween costume was Anakin Skywalker, which should not surprise any of you who have met Ryan. I found the costume at one of my favorite online stores. It even came with the braid to clip in. Hilarious.
On Wednesday, October 31 (Halloween), I joined several hundred other parents in watching the school Halloween parade. It was pretty funny. A couple of Ryan’s buddies in his class were other Star Wars characters, so they made quite the little team.
Main Street in Bountiful always hosts trick-or-treating. Mom and I took Ryan down one side of Main Street, crossed the street, and up the other side. It’s fun to see what all of the merchants have. Colonial Square in Bountiful also has a fall festival/trick-or-treating event. After Main Street, we walked around Colonial Square for some of their treats and coupons.
Ryan went trick-or-treating around Rara & Papa’s neighborhood with some of his friends there. I swear the kid’s candy bag weighed more than he did by the time he got back!
The second weekend in September was one of our favorite SLC events – the Greek Festival. We go every year, and enjoy the dancing, the choral concert in the cathedral, and especially the food.
While we were at Steve’s service, Grandpa Inman passed away (my last grandparent to go). There was a message at Dad and Mom’s house when they got home. He has been living in a care center in St. George for several years, but has really gone downhill since his wife, Catherine, died. Monday evening, he went to dinner in the cafeteria with his buddies, but then told them that he was tired, and was going to his room to lie down. When the staff made their evening rounds, they found that he had passed away. He was 92 years old. We all decided that was a pretty good way to go – 92 years old, after spending an evening with friends, in his sleep, and even on a full tummy! We traveled to Milford on Saturday, September 15 for his funeral. After the graveside service, we went to Janice's house (Dad's step sister) for a luncheon with the family. It was nice to visit with all of them.
Which brings me to another highlight of our month. For eleven years, Dad and I had season tickets to the BYU games. We never missed a single game during that time. When I moved to Las Vegas, we let our Cougar Club membership and west-side tickets go. Too bad – we’d probably be at the 50 yard line by now! Well, Ryan has become more and more interested in BYU football as he has watched the games with us. He started asking if he could go to a game. So, on Saturday, September 22, Papa, Ryan and I went to a game – homecoming. Three generations of BYU football fans! Even though it rained most of the game and we were drenched (right through our ponchos), we had a great time. Ryan loved being there!
