December

First of all, here are two random pictures of Corinne.  One of her being a goof, the other of her preschool friends all trying to sit on the teacher's lap at story time.
    

   
Ryan and I celebrated our 38th birthdays!  We made a very wise decision to get an Oreo ice cream cake.  It didn't last very long, unfortunately.
   

   
We did the proper thing this year, and went out and bought a real Christmas tree.  After a short debate about whether we should drive an hour to a tree farm or go five minutes away to the hardware store, we chose the hardware store.  It was still a good tree, though!  Afterwards we went out for frozen yogurt.
    

  
We finally got back the photos from Picture Day at taekwondo.  We're very well protected around here!
  

  

Our Primary was asked to do the Nativity play again this year for the ward Christmas Party.  It took several rehearsals and tons of work, especially by my theater-expert friend Danni, but it turned out so great.  Connor got to be a wise man, Elise an angel, and Evan a sheep.
  

Rehearsal

Waiting for the Big Kids to Finish

Thanks to Nana and Al for the Christmas Party Dress!

   

I was surprised nobody died cleaning up.

  
The kids put together their own short Nativity program in the garage one afternoon.  I think it was when they were supposed to be working on schoolwork, but whatever.  It was very cute.
  

Cast Photo

November

After the Primary Program, we drove to the (empty, thanks to the drought,) Millikan pond at Cal Tech for family photos.  Each year, we trade off as photographers with our friends, and it always turns out great.  Or at least, as great as it can with so many people being asked to smile all at once.
  

 

  
For several months, Ryan worked on creating family stickers for our van based on Street Fighter characters.  He asked everyone who they wanted to be, searched the internet for the best image files, and ended up picking a vendor on Etsy who could print them on vinyl.  We are now represented by Ryu, Chun Li, Zangief, Sakura, Ken, Cammy, and Blanka (supposed to be Wiley.)
   

     
Evan has made a lot of progress in reading.  He spent almost an hour reading in his "Fun in the Sun" book one day.
     

   
While I was cleaning up the garage, the little ones got into one of the Halloween boxes.  They had a great time spreading costumes all across the yard.
     

Sad Face

 
We met Helena at Venice Beach one afternoon to ride bikes, and stopped at a beach playground.  They have several sets of gymnastic rings there, and a lot of the guys using them had clearly put in hundreds of hours - they were amazing!
   

Beach Rings

     
While waiting at taekwondo, Corinne got these candid shots of Connor and Elise preparing to spar. 
    

     

Corinne is almost done taking naps, but she still gets tired around dinnertime.  Once in a while, I walk into a room to find this:
     

Once school started this year, and now that Elise is eight, she got to begin attending Activity Days a couple of times a month.  They work on fun projects, eat treats, play games, and pass off requirements in their Faith in God booklet.  On this day, our friend Tomomi taught all the girls some origami.
   

     
We had planned to spend Thanksgiving in Utah, but my mom suddenly had to have surgery on a torn rotator cuff in her shoulder!  So, we stayed home, and started a tradition of Thanksgiving Pie for Breakfast.  That will be definitely be repeated next year!  Later in the day, we got together with friends for dinner.  I was in charge of stuffing, mashed potatoes, "set salad" (a wonderful and mandatory dish) and sparkling cider.  We stayed late roasting s'mores and hanging out while the kids watched Thanksgiving movies.
     

Breakfast

Thanksgiving Walk

  

    
On Black Friday, while Ryan was out shopping, the kids (primarily Evan) decided to make a pretend church.  They drew up programs, set up chairs and "rugs", and created a podium with a microphone.  They even brought out a heater to make things more comfortable.  After I arrived at the church service, they had songs, prayers, a pretend Sacrament, and a lot of very inspiring talks.  It was stinkin' cute.
    

  

This tool set is one of the many items Ryan "needed" on Black Friday.

 
Connor is working hard on finishing his Webelos and Arrow of Light requirements for Cub Scouts.  One of the things in his book was to create a sculpture self-portrait.  I like the belly-button.
    

   
Since turkey was already taken care of on Thanksgiving, Ryan didn't get to make a smoked bird like he wanted.  So, he decided to do one of his own on the Sunday after.  He tried a technique called "spatchcocking", which involves removing the bird's spine and flattening it out so it will absorb more smoke flavor and cook more quickly.  It was pretty tasty, but trying to make gravy from smoker-drippings is not recommended.  It tasted like cinders.