Yesterday we found out that Gram's sister Catherine and her husband Marv Ericsen were coming to visit today for lunch. Their house looks like a museum so this triggered a flurry of cleaning at our house. This is not a bad thing.
I am not sure that my room has been this clean since before we moved in. Uncle Marv and Papa both took pictures but I did not manage to get any. I could blame it on my silly phone camera being out of whack but I probably was just not thinking about it. In the morning I went over to the Inter-Stake Center to set up cameras for the big Christmas concert tomorrow night. We still have some Gremlinish problems with camera flicker. Our best guess is this is due to the length of the runs.
The visit from Aunt Catherine and Uncle Marvin went well. Heidi and I picked up pizza and salad at Costco. Papa and Uncle Marv had a good-natured battle of wills about who's treat it was. I did my best to stay out of it. Gram was very emotional, especially when we sang Timothy James. Somehow Gram has never shared this song with her sister even though it was inspired by the name of Marv and Cathrine's son. I sent Marv the copy that we recorded for Gram's birthday. It was a nice visit even if it was a bit short. Cathrine and Marv promised not to wait so long for the next visit. The last photo I have is of our visit to Prescott 4 years ago.
After our visit, it was time to do some sibling shopping. Peter fell asleep on the way so he and I rested while the others shopped. Gram and Papa and Becca B joined us as well.
This evening it was time for the annual Mangum Family Christmas Party. We ate yummy food and then, those who wanted to decorated ornaments while Home Alone played on the TV. I love that Matt and David have coordinated Flash t-shirts.
Peter made sure to try all of the colors. He chose not limit himself to just his ornament. He liked the color so much he painted his arm as well.
After the ornaments, it was time to decorate our "trees". We find this tradition, using ice cream cones, is more accessible to the little ones than gingerbread houses. There was lots of creative fun and more than a few building supplies disappeared in the process.
On the way home, we spotted a potential Christmas gift from the Phelps family. It did not fit in the van so we may have to go back for it tomorrow.
We also made a quick stop at the Empire Financial parking lot. They have a fun lighting set-up with lights that blink in time to Christmas tunes broadcast on a low power FM transmitter. This was a fun and busy day.
Saturday's highlight for Gram was seeing her sister who lives a couple of hours away. A highlight for many of the keikis was their dog Molly
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