Christmas at Chantrys

We woke up Christmas morning at about 8:00 (the kids had let us sleep that long, and it was much appreciate) and found that Santa had been here and been very generous. That is for another. This post is what happened after our calm, relaxing and fun Christmas morning at home. After the traditional toaster waffles (still unsure of why this is so thrilling for the kids, but they insist) we headed up to Ogden. Grandma and Grandpa Chantry and all of our Chantry family were there and we had a grand "opening of the presents" there. It was fun to give the gifts that we have been preparing and to see the surprises that Grandma and Grandpa have been planning and making for a long time. We sure appreciate Grandma and Grandpa so much.

The boys got very cool robots

After enjoying Tangled so much at Thanksgiving, Grandma though the girls would love these toys. They do.

Then there were books, puzzles, Wii games, and other activities that Grandma and grandpa knew the kids would love.

And a game for each kid too. These are great and the kids have enjoyed them many times already. (I particularly love Megan's game, because it is just right for a four year ole!)

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Merry Christmas!

It’s a Wonderful Life!

It has been a great year at the Chantry house, though busy. We aren’t quite sure where the year has gone. Here is a quick rundown.

Megan (4) – Animal lover, preschooler and loving every moment of life. She makes our days bright!

Mike (6) –First grade all day, still obsessed with trains and cars, reading tons of great books. His excitement for life shows in every movement and is contagious.

Nathan (8) – Baptized in July, became a Cub Scout and earned his Wolf rank in two months, Harry Potter obsessed. He is so diligent and such a great help in our home.

Liz (9) – Fabulous fourth grader, loves reading and math, such a big help to mom. She is so creative and will make almost anything out of whatever materials she has.

Jen is adjusting to time with an empty home and enjoys riding the bus to get Megan at preschool some days. She had an amazing year in Primary and was recently released as the Primary President. She is excited to begin work with the Cub Scouts!

Brian still works for Freshmen Mentoring at BYU and earned an award from the University for his ingenuity as the new program was started this year. He was recently released as the executive secretary in our ward and was called as the Elders’ Quorum President. The task seems daunting, but he will do a great job as he works with the men in our ward and neighborhood,

Our family has been so blessed in many large and small ways this year. We are grateful for this Christmas season and for the chance to remember the birth of our Savior, through whom we receive the ultimate joy and peace. May this joy and peace be with you and your families this Christmas season and throughout the coming year.

The Tradition of the Orange Sticks

So I grew up hearing about a time that my uncle's friend gave him a gift of orange sticks at Christmas. The friend dropped it off when my uncle wasn't home. My dad and grandparents were, and they thought it would be funny to open the box, eat some and wrap it back up. So they did. My uncle opened a partially eaten box of orange sticks, and I think he bought a box, ate part and gave it to his friend.

Like I said, I grew up hearing this story every year, and this year Grandpa (my dad) wanted to carry on the tradition and told it to the kids. (We even ate part of a box of orange sticks and wrapped it up.)

Anyway, yesterday I picked up a few other treats to give to various people as gifts and Michael saw them. He also wanted some.

He said, "Can't we do the orange stick thing?"

Kangaroo Zoo

So with my parents here we took the kids out of school on Friday to have a big adventure. We were planning on doing some really fun outdoors, but the weather was drippy and cold so we opted for an indoor option. Liz is the only one who has been to Kangaroo Zoo (a giant warehouse room filled with those big blow up slides and bounce houses) so we decided to give it a try. It was a blast to see how excited the kids were. They went at high speed for the 90 minutes we were there and had. We liked it because it also meant really great naps later in the day!

The kids with Grandma and Grandpa Call

Megan loved bouncing

Liz on the huge slide. I think the blow up toy was about two stories tall.

Mike loved every minute.

Nathan never stopped running the whole time!

What a great time we had!

We have filled the rest of the weekend with games, games and more games, pizza and Chinese food, and lots of time with family.

BYU Family Christmas Party

So every year BYU has a Christmas party for employees and their families. We have never braved the crowds, but when Liz heard "crafts" and Megan heard "Cosmo", their excitement convinced us to give it a try. It was a bit of a mad house, but there were tons of doughnuts to make the standing in line bearable, and the crafts did not disappoint. Here are pictures from the kids playing in different areas. The favorites were the Snow Flake (basically a giant pit of balloons) and the ice fishing (such a clever twist on the normal fishing pond).

Unfortunately Cosmos was MIA and so we didn't get a picture with him. However, a doughnut on the way out softened the blow for Megan. Overall it was a fun morning and the kids were thrilled, which is was mattered most.