Holiday Season

 I love being able to enjoy more holiday concerts this year, or any holiday concerts, as last year there were none. Austin's choir concert was the first Wednesday of the month. He really enjoys being a part of the choir and has a really good ear for music. I do hate the fact that they have to wear face masks while singing. We still miss so much with those masks on when people are singing. 

After the concert.

The orchestra concert, with Victoria, Kai, and Austin involved, was a little easier with face masks on and so enjoyable! The Sunday after that, I got to play with those kiddos of mine along with about 6 other people from my ward who play string instruments. It was so fun to prepare and play beautiful Christmas music with them. This is something I really like doing with my kids. I know they have plenty of music to practice for school and I'm not very good, but it makes me so happy to share this with them!

Austin was at the back and hard to see from Jason's seat in the audience, but since I was a chaperone, I got to see him from backstage!

And then I got to walk by Victoria and Kai as Austin's group was leaving the stage and surprise them with a pic as they started to go on stage!

Victoria is on the left and Kai is on the right.

At our ward Christmas breakfast, Erik got to be Joseph, which he happily complied to do. We also made graham cracker gingerbread houses at our socially distanced/ family tables. All the supplies were provided in gift bags at each of our tables. 

Erik's little buddy Jacob is to his right. He didn't want to leave his side!

Erik and Jacob's

Some creative gingerbread houses!

We drove by Erik's school teacher's house which is all decked out and even has music on the radio to go with the Santa hologram. We delivered popcorn to our friends and neighbors the same evening. After returning from our time out, Erik ran through the foliage of our yard and stepped on a nail that went right through his croc and then his foot! He wanted to go to school the next day, but afterward, I took him to get a tetanus shot and some antibiotics. He's due for his shot next year, so that's one less he'll have to get then! I'm glad he wanted to go to school because Victoria and Kai had virtual learning because of the lockdown of the week before. (Update on that: I heard a rumor that they found out who had the gun and went to his house, but they had nothing to prove, so that was that. I hope and pray for all these high schools who have had threats that all this will blow over after the holidays and we can start the year off peacefully).

We think this piece of wood got blown off of somebody's decorations, or something. It was definitely not in the area when I was raking it and we had some very high winds the day before!

Our neighbor Christmas gifts. It says "Just Poppin' by to wish you a Merry Christmas!"

We made lots of sugar cookies at home for Victoria's dance party and for my calling with the Primary girls so they could decorate them at our activity. The older kids got to deliver holiday baskets to some people in our ward who are lonely during this time of year. 

On Saturday, Victoria got to finish her humanities assignment of attending a museum and writing about it. I took her and the boys to the DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts) and I really enjoyed it. Especially because it was the first time in a long time I could enjoy the museum with my kids without chasing them around or telling them to be quiet. They were very respectful and even enjoyed it! Kai was taking the driver's training test at the time, which she passed! Now, it's time for her to practice driving!

Donkey with a mask!

I took pictures of all the Nativity pictures I saw.

We enjoyed this interactive piece of a meal. It almost convinced me that Erik was eating a fancy meal!

There are a lot of paintings with dead rabbits in them. Weird!

One of my favorite Nativity art pieces there.

I didn't end up posting when I wrote this over the weekend, so here's some more holiday fun:

I decided that since we just finished reading the Doctrine and Covenants for the Come Follow Me curriculum and it has been a while since Kai, Austin, and Erik had been to Kirtland, we needed to go! Victoria was able to go a few years ago with Youth Conference before Kai was eligible to go. There was also a recent trip with the kids from seminary on a Saturday, but Kai had color guard that day, so this was it! The next time we study it, she will probably not be at home with us and we live so close to Kirtland! Victoria had to work, so Kai brought her friend CJ who had never been to Kirtland and, as it turns out, is a direct descendant of Parley P. Pratt, who was an amazing missionary during the early years of the church and was with Sidney Rigdon, Hyrum Smith, and Joseph Smith through many struggles and miracles. She didn't mention that until his name was brought up on part of the tour, in which case I mentioned that we're related to the Knight Family. It turned out that the Kirtland Temple was closed when I could have sworn it said it was open after looking it up last week, but we really enjoyed the tour of the Whitney store and home, including the room for the School of the Prophets and the adjoining room where 46 of the revelations for the Doctrine and Covenant were received! We also toured the Ashery and Sawmill.

Whitney Store

Ashery

Water wheel

Kirtland Temple up the road from the Visitor's Center.

Added bonus: there were nativities donated from the members in that area and had been collected from around the world which were displayed in the Visitor's Center. We enjoyed admiring them, as well as hearing some of the history of Kirtland, including the Kirtland Temple, and the sacredness of it. 

From Chile

From Chile

From Australia

Some of our favorites!

Added bonus: we stopped by the Toledo Zoo on the way home to see The Lights Before Christmas. They have tons of lights and even lights "choreographed" to the music. It was fun to see animals that are active at night that we don't normally see during the day. 

Wolves

Growling tiger

Snow leopard

Singing an Anime version of Jingle Bells.

Time With Kai

 I've gotten to spend some time with Kai, and none of my other kids, twice in the past couple of weeks. The first was actually on Erik's birthday. We sent everyone off to McDonald's for dinner (Gramms and Abuelo were here) and we went to the marching band/color guard banquet. I didn't actually get to sit with her because the students sat together and the parents sat together at different tables, but I got to celebrate her successful season in color guard. 

They ended up making it to the semifinals at Nationals, winning 28th out of the 100 marching bands there. The week before, at Regionals here at Ford Field, they won 1st for Visual Effects and second overall, for the whole state of Michigan! We are so proud of their efforts and the hard work they put into it. I have already raved at how much work it is for the students, but the parents who are on the building committee put in crazy amounts of time for the props. They all have their daytime jobs, then would go to the school for an evening of creating all the props needed. They made the tables, the backdrop, the pots and pans stand, and more that I probably don't even realize. When I would pick up Kai from practice in the dark, there would be parents working away with their drills and hammers. Even on weekends. That's dedication! (and usually families with only 1 or 2 children...)

Way to go Plymouth Canton Marching Band!!

Ready to go!

Waiting to get in. Aren't face mask selfies the best??

Some props: a big receipt

menu (includes all the instruments listed as various foods)

awards

pots and pans stand

awards ceremony

band friends

flag run around at the end of the routine

some color guard friends

Laurel and Kai (first color guard friend)

Just this last weekend, I took Kai to Chicago with her bestie Olivia for our long-time planned MidWest Furfest. This is what she wanted for her 15th birthday, which is at the end of the month (during which time we will be in Costa Rica for Christmas with my mom and Jim and siblings with families).

What is Furfest?

Midwest FurFest was founded with two basic purposes: to provide our community with a place to educate themselves in the arts of anthropomorphic literature, art and performance; and to facilitate fundraising and donations to non-profit organizations which promote the wellbeing of humans and/or animals.

Furries are people who have an interest in anthropomorphic animals, or animals with human qualities. ... Furries represent their fursonas through art, writing, online identities, or in the creation of “fursuits,” which are elaborate costumes depicting the individual's animal.

That's what I went into the convention knowing about it, so I was still confused as to what to expect. Basically, I felt like I was at a convention with a bunch of mascots conversing and giving hugs to each other. Kai was beyond the moon excited about it and made her very own mask to wear, as do many furries. She's been working on it for a long time since she didn't have a lot of time during color guard. She knows a lot of furries from TikTok and was most excited about meeting them and taking pictures with them. Someone took a picture of her because they knew their little sister would love the mask that she made. Some other furry wanted to give her a hug because she just "looked so cute!" in her mask. We mostly wandered around to see all the furries and looked around the art fests that were there as well. Both of them bought a few things. Kai's purchases were mostly to make more fursuits. Olivia is not a furry, but she bought some crafty things and was Kai's "handler" to make sure her mask was intact and help her with navigating, though she seemed to be able to navigate fairly well in the mask. Olivia was a very good friend to come along and support Kai in this, even though it doesn't interest her. I was the "parent in tow", basically just a chaperone since they're both underage. I got a refund on my ticket for this very reason! 

some furry who saw me pull out my phone to take a picture

Kai and a famous Tik Tok furry

furries 

furries

famous furry

famous furry

Kai's favorite furry

another favorite

high fiving

famous furry

everyone either had a fursuit on or a facemask on

The art fests were so totally Kai, from everything they sold! The anime, homemade stickers, pins, drawings, stuffed animals, craft supplies, and more had Kai's name written all over them! It's no wonder she wanted to go!

if they didn't have a fursuit on, they would often be found  wearing a tail or ears

Kai  and Olivia

Santa and reindeer furries

Kai on the elevator

another poser

I even sported some ears!

The day went quickly, especially after waiting for an hour to prove we are vaccinated, and then more waiting to actually get in, so before long, Kai was hot and tired, as were Olivia and I. We made it back to the car so we could drive into the city and enjoy Chicago. We just walked around a bit, they had Starbucks, and then we ate at Shake Shack, before we went back to the car and hotel. For some reason, I got one of the worst stomach aches that I ever remember having (and I've had some bad stomach aches!) and I wanted to get them safely back to the hotel in case I decided to go to the hospital. If it kept going on like it had for the few hours that it did, I may have, but miraculously it got better on the way back to the hotel. If it hadn't, I would have thought it was appendicitis. Obviously, it was not since I'm alive and well. I've got a very sensitive stomach, so I'm used to it going crazy on me and then getting better. 

My stomach hurt so bad here!!

Since we swam the first night when we arrived, we just relaxed and played Headbands in the room after arriving back from Chicago. I got to watch some episodes of Friends, too, which was my most favorite show in high school!

We made it to a sacrament meeting Sunday morning, another miracle. It was so nice to be able to visit another ward and sing Christmas hymns with them. The testimonies were touching and just what I needed. When we left on Friday, I was a little frazzled by all the drama in Michigan with the school shooting so close by. My kids didn't have school Friday due to possible threats at our schools, plus the gunner's parents were on the run and there was just a weird feeling of panic in our area. In my sister's ward in Orem, the day after the Oxford shooting, a boy took his own life, and it just put the topping on the cake for me. I actually bore my own testimony in the meeting in Chicago about the need to be kind and show love to all around us. I've been stressing it more than ever with my own children as we navigate this holiday season amidst another year in the pandemic with so many angry people and confused teenagers who aren't feeling loved or getting the socialization that they need. 

I'm so glad I could spend this time with Kai to celebrate her birthday a little early!

P.S. The pictures aren't as organized as I would like since I'm adding the pictures today (wrote the blog yesterday) and my mind is preoccupied with the fact that Victoria and Kai have been in a lockdown at the highschool for over two hours. There was a handgun reported at the school and the cops are searching every kid and their backpack. The SWAT team is there with AK's, there's a helicopter, most kids have had to hide under their desks, like my girls, but others who are closer to where the gun was reported seen have their desks at the door and they are huddled in the corner. The kids are now hungry and if they need to use the bathroom, they have to pee in the trashcan. Victoria and Kai are fine, but Victoria said the search was a little scary.