Pre-Christmas Trip

 The morning after my Keynote concert (the 14th,) we got in the car and drove the 6+ hours to Logan to visit the Camerons and to be there in time for Caleb's band concert that evening. The kids had some special events we wanted to attend.  And we wanted to have the Thanksgiving dinner with them that we didn't get to have on Thanksgiving Day and a little Christmas gift exchange.  Oh, and we needed to have our dental cleanings and check-ups.

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon, which is Blake's day off.  He was busy preparing the turkey for our feast on Friday.  He was brining it.

That evening was Caleb's first band concert.  He plays the french horn.

His teacher was amazing.  I was impressed with him and with how good the band sounded.

Thursday, we had our dental appointments and prepared for Friday's feast. 

Friday, we took Shonna on errands and then out to lunch at Noodles and Co.  It was delightful to be with just the three of us.

Friday was a great day for Hannah Rose.  She was chosen out of the whole school to be student of the week.  She was thrilled.

Lily, so much like her mom, wanted to be in charge of setting the beautiful table (it was pajama day at school, so that is why she was in her nightgown.)  Shonna did that in our home for many years.  Lily did a beautiful job, using their gorgeous Christmas ware.

What a delicious feast!

Blake brined, then smoked the turkey.  It was delicious.

The girls got into their dance basics and Shonna put make up on them so we could run to their dance recital after dinner.

While final preparations were being made on dinner, Grandpa read "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John" by Pearl S. Buck to the kids.  That is a moving Christmas story, one we have read in our family for many years.

After our delicious belated Thanksgiving dinner, we hurried to the girls' dance recital downtown.

Each group represented a different artist and their paintings. Lily's dance was first.  It was a moving, emotional dance depicting art by Georgia O'Keefe.

On the way to the recital, both girls reported on what they had learned about the artist who painted what they would be depicting.  I was so impressed with all they knew.

Earlier in the day, Hannah told us quietly, "I have a solo in my dance.  It is a short solo, but it is a solo."  She is so cute.  She entered the stage alone and did her solo, then motioned for the other dancers to come on stage from each side.  Her group did Starry, Starry Night by Picasso.

Hannah started the dance with a solo.

Pictures after with the dance stars.

This was a precious moment.  I said, "Caleb, let's take a selfie."  Afterward, he whispered, "I love you, Grandma."  I love this kid.  He and I have always had a special bond.

After the recital, we came home and had a little gift exchange.  The kids each got a book from Grandpa called Grandpa's Stories.

Their family painted us a beautiful nativity set.  Each of them did some of the pieces.  What a treasure!!

Gabe had prepared special gifts for Grandpa and Grandma.  I will do a special post about that next.

We left Logan at 7:00am the next morning to drive to SLC so we could watch Kenny play ball at his 9:00am game.  He is a hustler.  It was fun to see him play.

William was surprised and very happy to see us.

We then drove to another school to watch Jaron play.  He and another boy on his team named Chase rule the court.  They are so good and play well together.  They find each other on the court.  They are also both generous to other members on the team as well.  We were so proud of Jaron.

That evening, we attended Gabbi's performance of the Nutcracker.  She was a snow sprite and danced beautifully.

The boys were so good to come and support their sister but were anxious to get home to watch the BYU game.

Beautiful Gabriella.  She is a beautiful dancer.

Gabbi with Grandpa Prince.  She had quite a fan club there.

We got home in time to watch most of the fourth quarter of the bowl game in which BYU was playing.  It was exciting as it went right to the end.  BYU won!!!  It is so fun to watch with the Prince boys.  They get so excited.  Michelle made Christmas Crack and brought it down to eat while we watched.  I will post the recipe on Hungry Hintons.  We devoured it!

The next morning Brian made us pancakes. William was dancing around the house when he heard we were having pancakes.  He likes his with syrup and shaving cream!
One of the highlights of the trip was attending their church.  Michelle and Brian sang a duet in sacrament meeting called Blessed.  It was absolutely gorgeous.
After church, we ate hamburgers for lunch, then traveled home.  Our plan was to return on Thursday to spend Christmas with them.  Stay tuned!  It was a busy three days at home getting everything done for Christmas: preparing and delivering neighbor gifts (we visited a lot of people!) finishing wrapping, loading the car, and I had a doctor appointment.  We got it all done!