Long...

Okay, here is my {long} awaited post. (at least, I hope it's long awaited for at least somebody, and I'm not wasting my time...) If nothing else, at least it's long.
Here's the recap:

October

We had our annual Murder Mystery Party. (Seems like forever ago). This year was "A Knight of Murder", and it was a lot of fun. I had the brilliant idea that a medieval feast would be a great idea, so I planned dinner for 20. Having never done that before, I didn't realize how much work it would be. Oh well, it was fun. I also made a whole bunch of costumes for it. We even let our kids in on the fun this year--Olivia and a couple of her friends were the serving girls, and Dan and one of his friends were the court musicians. They even danced for our entertainment! It was great! Here's a couple of pictures:

Then there was Halloween. Olivia was a mailman-complete with rabid dog attacking her leg, Sam was Harry Potter and Julia was a Princess bride.
My parents came to visit for two weeks, and we had lots of fun with them here.

November
Julia lost a tooth, Sam was as crazy as ever, Dan got contacts,
and I took part in a Holiday Boutique that was a fundraiser for the girls' synchro team. I made tons of cute little bags and lots of homemade cookie dough. It was a lot of work, and we didn't make as much money as we hoped, but I guess it was fun, in a way.
Then I took a trip to the Fashion District in LA to buy swimsuit fabric for the upcoming season. I went with a couple of friends and we had a great time. I bought over 200 yards of swimsuit fabric! Hopefully, next time we go, we can spend an extra couple of days doing something fun, but we did have a good time laughing and enjoying each other's company.

We didn't have anyone over for Thanksgiving this year, and it was kind of a bummer. Anyone want to come next year?

December
National Team Training Camp for Olivia, Orchestra and Jazz concerts for Dan (he rocked the string bass and the electric bass), 2nd grade musical for Sam the reindeer,
and the first synchro meet of the year for Julia and Olivia.
Julia got 3rd place in the 8 & Under Novice category,
and Olivia got 2nd place in the 11-12 Age Group category.
Then there was the Ward Christmas party (I'm on the committee now), and the 12 days of Christmas. On the 8th day, the kids opened tickets to Disneyland, and we had a great 5 days in southern California (including another trip to LA for fabric), coming home on Christmas Eve.
Christmas was nice, and it was good to be home. The big present had been the trip to Disneyland, so the kids didn't get much from mom and dad. However, Santa brought presents, including a Plasmacar for Julia that everyone loves and an electric guitar for Dan that no one but Dan loves. (Actually, he is a very talented musician, but sometimes, my ears just need a break and I long for a soundproof room--or at least a basement, or an extra bedroom, or something. But alas, it ain't gonna happen.)

January
New Years Eve came and went, and we didn't even stay up for it. How sad is that?

Brandon's work party for the two of us, Sam started playing basketball, Dan went camping in the snow, and I sewed and sewed and sewed. I have made over 200 swimsuits since October! It has sure kept me busy, and my bank account likes it! Here's a sampling of what I have made:
We had a big storm come through toward the end of the month. It blew our neighbor's tree over (almost hit me as I was taking the garbage out). It hit our fence, and Brandon has spent many hours working with Jim getting it down (even had the Priests over to help).

The girls had their first big synchro meet on the 30 and 31st. Julia took first place in duet and trio (1 out of 1!), and 2nd in figures.
Olivia got 1st in trio, 3rd in team and 2nd in figures. I heard lots of praise for my work on suits, and it felt nice to get a little recognition.

I also got sick in there for a couple of weeks. Ugh.
February

We got a new niece on the 1st! Brandon's brother Devin and his wife Mandy adopted this cute little girl:

Her name is Elin and we are so happy for them!
Yesterday, I had to make ANOTHER trip to LA for fabric, so I went and came back all in one day. I'm so tired. But, I got what I needed (I hope) and can now continue with the suits I have left.

Now, hopefully I can keep up with what life throws at me, and keep the blog a little more updated as well. I'll keep my fingers crossed!