Top Ten Best Holiday Moments

Whew, we had a busy and wonderful holiday season! We're still in the process of uploading and organizing our pictures, but for now we'll share some of the highlights of this year's festivities. . .(UPDATE 11/22/08--pictures!)

10. A modern take on classic lyrics
Elizabeth had been singing the chorus to "Jingle Bells" for weeks, but we didn't realize she even knew the rest of the words until Christmas morning. . .We received a good amount of snow over Christmas Eve, and on Christmas morning the roads were still pretty snowy as we drove to the grandparents' house. Ever observant, Elizabeth noticed the snow being thrown to the side of the car as we drove through it and asked, "Mommy, are we 'dashing through the snow'?"

9. A very Kiwi Christmas
We got to talk to Jared's little sis Sarah when she called from New Zealand on Christmas Eve. It's hard to believe that her mission is already halfway over! She got to spend her holidays serving at the temple and sent us pictures of the Christmas lights. It was a little surprising to see the palm trees wrapped in lights, with people milling around in short sleeves; sometimes we forget that NZ is *literally* on the other side of the world. (Holly keeps meaning to ask Sarah if water going down the drain actually spins clockwise, too.)


8. "We sure got a good crop of cheeks this year!"
So says Aunt Lisa, upon seeing all three of the June* babies together for the first time:
I think we decided Henry is the official winner of fattest cheeks--but Anna has him beat for fattest thighs, and Emmett wins for fattest arms. . .gotta love those elbow dimples! (*Emmett is technically a May baby--he surprised everyone by coming 5 weeks early!--but I'm still sticking with the original "June babies".)

7. The best Christmas pageant ever

Sinead, our Christmas Star
We decided it was high time the Olson family pick up the tradition of dressing all the kids in bathrobes and towels to act out the Christmas story. Elizabeth was a "wise woman", complete with tinfoil-filled jewelry box. The highlight of the event came when our beautiful angel Madi burst into tears when it time to bring "good tidings of great joy" to the shepherds.

6. "I wish they did EASTER lights instead."
We made a trek around Temple Square with the girls to see the Christmas lights this year. They were dazzling, as usual, but every year we somehow forget just how COLD it is walking around downtown in December. On the way back to our car Holly seriously started thinking of moving to the Southern Hemisphere so she could enjoy Christmas lights in short sleeves, like the aforementioned Kiwis.

5. Cheese-dipped marshmallows
We had a party at our house on New Year's Eve--with both a cheese and chocolate fondue and over dozen "dippables", the whole spread was a bit overwhelming. Sarah's honey Seamus, ever the engineer, tackled the problem quite logically: he took 2 of each item and dipped one in each fondue. (Thus proving that the most logical solution doesn't always make the most sense.) Holly's just glad she didn't put out any gherkins after all--she's sure Seamus wouldn't have hesitated to try a chocolate-covered pickle.

4. Dressing up with Pixie Pants
After Christmas Holly's brother and his family arrived for a visit. Elizabeth and Brooklyn (aka Pixie Pants) spent a good portion of the evening playing dress-ups, with Aaron taking WAY too many pictures with his--I mean Amy's--new camera.

3. British guys in tuxedos
The King's Singers came into town to perform with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and we were able to attend one of their concerts. It was so heavenly to take an evening during the busy holiday season to just *sit down* and listen to such a masterful performance.

2. Our new addition
Santa came a little early this year, when Jared won a tractor on eBay. Yes, a tractor. No, really. A real tractor with big ol' wheels and a digging thing on the front and that charming aroma of eau de diesel. Holly is still trying to figure out how he managed to talk her into letting him buy it. On the plus side, now she's got some serious leverage when she's ready to buy a serger.

1. Family
More than any specific moment, the best part of the holiday season was simply getting to spend time with our families in general. We are so grateful to have you guys in our life. We hope you all had an enjoyable holiday season, and we wish you blessings beyond measure for this new year!

(Olson Clan: The Next Generation)