G is for God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman

"let nothing you dismay,

remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day"

Us gals always end up singing that song on Solstice. 

What a hopeful day. All this darkness is going to trend toward the light. Hurray!

Christopher standing next to Dane cracked me up. 

Also Christopher looked at the top of my fridge and ran a finger through the dust. I hollered at him to clean things up while he's up there! haha I don't clean for people that tall. 

Jim smoked a brisket because La Gloria can't be trusted.

Das and Vance played live music for us.

"to save us all from satan's power when we have gone astray,

oh tidings of comfort and joy"

The teenagers took over the table and lit things on fire (like nuts and bread). 

Then they played a game with cut up papers and guessed what they wrote on them. 

Let there be light!

 

Solstice

Here are the rocks me and Roxanne packed out from Point Whitehorn,  3/4 mile hike to the car. It was hard! haha 

But we did it on purpose for a challenge, because we drove past miles of beach and rocks we could have used for the workout of climbing up and out with "weighted vests" on. 

We were going to have our party on actual Solstice day as usual, but a few days before, Cooper broke his ankle in 3 places during wrestling and had to have surgery! 

So we moved the party to Monday so that the Blacks wouldn't miss it.

Which means we had our Solstice party on Christmas Adam. 

There were a lot of giant teenagers at our party.

Also, per tradition, La Gloria doesn't know my order when Jim goes to pick it up. 

This year they got it very very wrong and gave us 3 pounds of tamales instead of beans and chicken. 

Just whattt everrrr. 

It doesn't matter because guess what? NO MATTER WHAT sun is coming back to us, so I don't care about what food is served at my party. 

 

Solstice

Koda was a total freak when the Blacks got here. She was crying - sobbing with joy for 10 minutes straight. 

These days I send the boys out to make a fire just to keep the giant teenagers busy and out the door.

Unlike last year, this year was so so warm! 

We played LCR.

It was down to Roxanne, Jim, and Cooper. 

I'm so happy when a kid wins. haha 

No adult needs to win 60 bucks from the teenagers. 

Cooper was the big winner! Yay!

The traditional dumping of money on top of the head was observed. haha

Do you see how there isn't a lot of seating? We had to bring in chairs from all over...

But somehow Koda tweaked her way into a premium spot. 

I have a note of how much food I order from La Gloria - but I will need to increase the amount for the future because I forgot that we now have so many adult sized boys at the party. 

 "Advent" was the theme of my Christmas season this year. It was all over in the things I read and listened to. Lots of thoughts of the sacred nature waiting and hope and the promise of light - how imperative it is that we have a season of quiet and darkness. It is actually what sustains us on this planet earth - seasons of light and dark. 

 

Solstice

I love solstice night. 

Which is weird because I hate throwing a party. But this doesn't feel like a party. It feels like La Gloria brings us food and we gather round the flames and fires and be so thankful that the sun is about to make a comeback. 

Jessica made us boxes of delicious beautiful cookies. She explained that the whole time she was baking, she was concentrating her love and energy into the cookies. 

This solstice night is similar to that: all the love and good vibes for the returning sun is blazing out of my ears into the laps of all my friends. 

The candles start the night tall and bright. 

By the end you will see they are burned down to nubs or burn themselves out. 

This year I made creme brulee, pavlova, and meringue mushrooms. (eggs two ways)

This year we had so many big kids/little kids hanging from the rafters, trying to light the fire, bundled up.

We woke up to 15 inches of snow! It is sooo beautiful and no one really has anywhere to be, so it is the best. 

We sang some rounds of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" while waiting patiently for the fire to get going. 

It is just so COLD - "feels like -10" cold. 

After the fire burned down, we came in the house. This pile of boots and snow pants CRACKED ME UP. It was a swamp under there. 

Das brought out the banjalele, 

and Dane headed out to work. 

Now we are ready for Christmas!

Solstice and Christmas Prep

It was a cold Solstice. I sent the boys out to get the fire roaring.

I can do winter as long as every single day gets lighter and lighter from here. 

All the fire and lights and music and food to herald in the sun. 

Some other fun Christmas traditions and activities:

Emily sent us this wreath. It's so perfect!

Peppermints, then Charlie Brown Christmas.

On the last day of school before winer break, it snowed! 

We went out at 11:00 to play in it. 

Andrew went and knocked on the Dickson's door before I realized how late it was, but they put on their boots and joined us!

Grinch drink, then we watch The Grinch. 

I love Christmas movies. I realized so much of my favorite things during this time of year are the movies. 

Every Sunday before Christmas they get to open new church clothes. 

Evan is ready to pass the sacrament on the 2nd! 

He is so PUMPED. They had a priesthood preview and practiced passing, and he cannot wait. 

They are so cute I can't handle how giant massive old they are getting. 

 

Summer Solstice

The young women were doing an overnighter, backpacking into Baker Lake, 

so me and my friends went the day before to secure spots in the back country. 

I thought I was going to have to fight crowds for spots, but we were the only ones in the whole camp. I don't know why. It is the most perfect spot. 

Pretty much it was the most perfect awesome lovely fun camp trip ever.

I will never be able to write about it fully. It would be like taking a picture of the full moon - it is impossible.

We swam and explored the river, and drip dried in the sunshine, but mostly we talked and dozed in hammocks and laughed and just did nothing in the way you do nothing with the fullest heart of happiness. 

We sat on a log watching the sky change colors long after the sun went behind the mountain. Jessica told me that recently she found a dead owl with neat feathers and long claws. She didn't bring it over to my house because she thought she shouldn't bring a dead owl to my house.  

I leaned over and we touched foreheads. 

Because

why.

Of all the creatures she's brought to my door - dead or alive - why wouldn't she bring me an owl? She learned her lesson after that forehead touch. 

It was summer solstice, so we had a million hours of daylight. 

It never got dark, but when it finally did, the almost full moon rose above the trees and shone so bright on us. 

We danced and sang and laughed in a circle in the moonlight pretending we were doing a ritual of some sort, but it was just made up nonsense, but also the best solstice dance there ever was. 

In the late hours of mostly dark, a critter scratched around in the bushes and Jessica scrambled in without a flashlight and grabbed it. She is fearless and insane! 

A giant TOAD! It peed in my direction, and then she cuddled it skin to skin and said he was a good boy. She's crazy, did I mention. 

What if it was a skunk? Or any other freaky thing? 

We slept in our hammocks, circled up. 

I slept like a sleeping baby. In the wee morning hours, a tree crashed into the lake, and I slept through it.

There were screeching owlets, crying for their mama to bring them food. They were so loud.

In the morning, Das (who came along with us but camped in his own camp spot far away) took a picture of us.

We had to hike back to the trailhead, say goodbye to Lisa and Jessica, then shift gears to Young Women Leaders. The white van full of girls would pull up in the next 15 minutes and we would get to do it all over again the next night.