I think we will remember this Christmas for all the company we kept. In the week leading up to Christmas, we stretched ourselves and visited folks, went caroling (I played the fiddle); we threw two birthday parties, and were lucky to see Sarah and Bryan. We finished a puzzle during their visit.
Here we are at Christmas dinner, the kids at the bar and the adults at the table. We had the missionaries join us.
The missionaries were good to play with our boys.
Surrounded by friends, we watched Paige’s dance studio perform The Nutcracker this weekend. I decided that it’s better to watch her when I’m not looking through a camera, so I don’t have many photos, and I have no photos of three of her numbers. I lived the experience instead of trying to preserve it and share it, because ballet is very emotional and best enjoyed live.
We loved the snowflakes.
Paige closed the first act with this pose and snow falling all around her. The show could have ended there because it was so beautiful.
Richard and Daniel were on the technical crew this year. Daniel manned the spotlight and Richard filmed the performance.
Sarah and Bryan were able to come. It’s nice to have family to cheer you on.
This photo will mean something to the Sanchez Kids Over 30 Club. After years of searching, I found a copy of this record to give to Joe. We loved to listen to this when we were kids.
Oh, that Goliath! (Can you just hear Joe’s raspy little boy voice quoting him?)
I admire how Joe meets his challenges with faith and wisdom.
We try to take our guests to the Sonoran Desert Museum when they visit us. It’s gorgeous weather right now, so our outing with Joe was really a lot of fun.
On the drive to the museum, we travel on a rollicky up and down road through a saguaro forest. We raise our arms high in the van and feel our stomachs drop as we dip and turn.
Mark really gets into it.
At the museum, we learn about animals and plants. This was an American Kestrel we saw along the path. A docent patiently explained the life history and habits to each group that passed.
Buddy
The desert museum has an ice cream shop along the trail. Since it was lunch time, we decided to call our ice cream cones “lunch” because that’s what you do when cousins come to town.
Dear world, this is my family who loves me even when my hair looks like this.
Timothy the ham.
Cousins
Cave explorers
Joe and 3 of his kids
Excavation team
What is Richard so anxious about? A charging javelina? A desert tortoise in the path? You never know what you might encounter in the desert.
It was a good day and we were so glad to have family visit us.
This little gem of a pose was discovered in the background of a shot we took today at the Desert Museum. How fun it is to have cousins in town!
We have some spiders from Utah which have taken up residence on our dining room chandelier. Here’s a little bit of their early morning conversation.
I’m still eavesdropping on the others hanging in the little boys’ bedroom. One is still recovering from being suddenly tangled up in the ceiling fan but I think he’ll pull through.
Yesterday I discovered that Mark has the scene memorized from Toy Story 3 when Andy gives his toys away. That scene always makes me cry.
Richard doesn’t have especially fond memories of toys and he can’t figure out what all the boo-hooing is about.
I loved my toys. My siblings loved their toys. I visit Spring Lake and find Sarah’s dolls stored carefully in the closet. Joe’s basement is full of vintage GI Joe stuff. It was my finest hour when I found some Lego sets that Matt had as a kid at a yard sale and when I called to find out what to buy, he repeated again and again, “Buy them.” Susan’s ponies are carefully stored in boxes and I think Paul’s family owns every toy ever made. I have my Strawberry Shortcake dolls in a special box in my closet. They, having been rescued a few years ago from storage, require a little extra love. I pull them out now and then to comb their hair and sniff them.
I think our connection to our toys is sentimental and practical. Our childhood was a happy time. Our toys and games were a part of that. We saved our money to buy some of our toys so they represented our efforts and our self-control. They were gifts from grandparents and rewards for jobs well done. In effect, they are a record of our childhood.
The dollies pictured above are in Paige’s room. Every now and then I go in to see what she’s sewn for them. Their clothes are mostly handmade. It’s a whimsical escape for a girl who has a heavy school schedule.
Thanks, Susan for sharing so many family photos with us. I really loved the ones of Violet and Joe. Looking at this picture makes me want to have my photograph taken more often in the hopes that somebody will remember me as young and not just an oldie.
When was the last time you had your photo taken with your sweetheart?
When was the last time you sat outside together like this?
Sigh. We’re due for some of that.
The sibling wars are going strong here. I think we’re in need of outdoor play. We live the equivalent of a snowed-in winter during the heat of summer. We’re not active enough. Some of us are grumpy because of illness and some of us are experiencing growing pains.
Despite the sibling wars, I am very grateful for the sibling factor in our lives. Mark has a brother to keep him company after I kiss him good night. The boys have someone with whom they can throw dirt clods in the backyard (desert entertainment), and built-in participants for dead man on the trampoline. Mark has a peaceful retreat in Paige’s room and Lego Hero Factory wars are more fun with a lot of robots.
I am grateful for my own siblings and the good memories of them inviting my Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake dolls to join their GI Joe games. I am grateful for echoes of little boy voices acting out David and Goliath, memories of a little brother in a coon skin cap singing Davey Crockett, and images of little sisters strapped to the baby seat on the back of my bike so I could take them places.
Having siblings helped me to develop loyalty and a very deep love, despite the fighting that happens when little people live together.