Christmas...a day early.

Christmas came a day early for Cannon as he got to attend his first professional football game. It just so-happened to be his favorite team - -the Pittsburgh Steeler's playing at home at Heinz Field. He was so excited, he laid out his outfit a day before the game. Dan really hooked Greg and Cannon up -- great seats, souvenirs and Christmas Eve memories which will last a lifetime. As they got in the car to drive home, Cannon said something to the effect of, "Well, that was nothing short of AMAZING."

And to think I thought they were sitting quietly waiting for church.

We had some friends stay with us for the weekend while their parents took a quick little get-away. Addysen and Claire met on the first day of kindergarten and we've been best buds ever since. Who would have guessed that while I was upstairs getting ready for church...this is what the kids were doing down in the basement? I promise, I am not neglectful...and clearly, they were having a blast.

I also decided to clean out the storage room this month. Whew...what spawned that crazy idea? Perhaps it was the need to create a pathway across the floor. It's too embarrassing to post the before and after pictures...but let's just say it took about 1.5 weeks that I didn't have. It was nice to finally open boxes from that have been sealed since we moved to this house 4 years ago. (Turns out I didn't lose all my Christmas books!) And let's just say that there might have been a box or two that hadn't been unpacked since Utah - -maybe...just maybe. I filled so many bags of trash that our garage has been overloaded all month. The garbage men will only pick up what fits in the trash can and the recycling can - -and we filled both of those many times over. We also donated bags and bags of items to Good Will, people in the ward, people on the street (kidding -- although I truly tried to give things to the garbage men!)...and we've still got a lot more to go. The kids (as well as my nieces and nephews) have been threatened to within inches of their lives if they even think about messing things up. (Of course, that is where they want to play now that it is clean.) Still so many projects - -but it was certainly freeing to get rid of documents and college textbooks (seriously) and more financial documents (did I just guarantee myself an audit in 2012?) and toys and TRASH. It was also interesting to come across some old journals....interesting...and embarrassing.

2011 Christmas card and letter

December 14, 2011

Dear Friends and Family,

            Have you ever thought, “This is the year I’m going to have the perfect Christmas picture?” So, after attending church for 3 hours, you take 7 subjects of various ages and cooperation levels, force them into clothing of similar hues, corral them into the backyard on one of the chilliest days of the year, set up the camera on a tripod, hit the timer and command everyone to “Smile!”

            After several attempts, you anxiously download all pictures – quickly scanning through the photos in search of “The One.” After asking your favorite personal graphic designer and sister, Season, if she might be able to photo shop B’s hand off her face, it hits you…this is as good as it gets…and it is a fairly accurate description of your life: mostly happy, at times rather goofy, not without moments of surprise and confusion, generously interspersed with experiences which resemble massive constipation. And so, with that realization in mind, you turn the reigns of the 2011 Christmas letter over to your 12-year-old and banish yourself back to the basement because somehow, although the original goal was to simply clear a pathway, you deemed cleaning out the entire storage room (after 4 years, no less) was a good project to tackle two weeks before Christmas.

            Wait! What? This scenario hasn’t happened to you? Oh, well then, a little TMI on our part. Merry Christmas anyway! (Insert Addysen’s commentary.)

            Season’s greetings! We’ve been plenty busy this year, so let’s get down to business.

Greg and Tacie: Greg was not promoted to Chief of Police this year. However, he and his business partner did become the 1st National Director’s of Consumer Choice Marketing. Given that police work was never really Plan A, Dad is currently working on Plans B, C, D and E. After many months and a high learning curve he is launching a new website which will coincide nicely with his direct sales business. (See our shameless plug and contact info at the bottom.) When not pursuing entrepreneurial adventures, Dad can be found coaching Cannon’s baseball team, sacrificing months of his life making videos for my volleyball team, hanging with the boys in our church or jumping over fire while trying to keep up with mom as she runs through the mud in a crazy obstacle course event known as the Warrior Dash. (Oh, and since he got his braces off, he now smiles with his mouth open. Mom loves that.)

And speaking of mud – Mom participated in a fascinating community event entitled “Get Back to Your Farming Roots: A Real Life Depiction of Surviving and Thriving in Slop.” A.K.A. “Spring Soccer.” Given that we broke historical records for rainfall, we all learned a great deal about mud: it’s smell, it’s impact on outdoor sports and indoor carpeting and why Target can charge so much for a simple pair of rain boots. When not chauffeuring to/from various kid activities, Mom can be found snapping pictures – a hobby she truly enjoys – or visiting one of her many personal “ists” where they research why a youngish mother of 5 has a constant headache. Oh. Hmm…I think I just discovered the answer. Thankfully, she is making great progress with her headaches thanks to her physical therapist and chiropractor. Dad and mom also traveled across the country to LV, CA and FL, not bothering to bring their children along. They claimed it was business.

Addysen (12): I am very proud to say that the North Ridgeville 7^th Grade Volleyball team came in 2^nd place in the district. We beat any and all records in the history of the school, and overall had a great 15-3 season. I make a living by babysitting. I’m in show choir at school, I finally made it to Young Women’s this year, I just made the basketball team (literally - -made it tonight) and yes, I still play soccer. I’m a huge help to mom and she is often overheard saying, “every mother deserves to have an Addysen.” I’ve already exceeded mom’s shoe size and fully expect to surpass her in height fairly soon.

Cannon (11): Cannon graduated from being at the top of the food chain in elementary school to the bottom at the middle school in 6^th grade. Unfortunately he does not love all of his teachers. He is a Tenderfoot rank in Boy Scouts and continues to play baseball and soccer. He has quite the collection of memorabilia in his room, things such as signed batting gloves, signed baseball cleats, signed cards—you name it. He has been working hard in school and scouts and will be starting basketball soon. Cannon recently recommitted to ‘honesty is the best policy’ as he was caught delivering goodies for the 12 Days of Christmas. As he was exiting the scene, the neighbor (not realizing what was going on) demanded, “What is your name?” to which Cannon dutifully replied, “Greg’s Boy.”

Brynnley (8): This has been a big year for Brynnley. She turned eight and was excited to get baptized. She was particularly happy to have G & G Purcell come all the way LV for the event – although you might have had a hard time believing that, given her beastly behavior while they were here. Good thing we believe in repentance. Turning eight made her eligible to join Activity Days, which she loves. She enjoys singing her little heart out every day, playing soccer, being a 2^nd grader and correcting Kenzie’s politically incorrect statements (Ex: at the food court at the mall: K: There are a lot of China people here. B: They prefer to be called Native Americans.) She also will be starting basketball.

Kenzie (5): Kenzie started kindergarten this year, and besides the long bus rides, loves it. She comes home excited to get her homework done. Kenzie was happy to be one of the first in her class to earn a jingle bell for demonstrating her amazing shoe-tying abilities. Recently attending her first ballet, Kenzie was quite shocked to discover there would be no talking in “this movie.” She is learning to read, waiting to lose her first teeth, and likes to play with her sisters. I know what you’re thinking, but the answer is no, Kenzie will not be starting basketball soon.

Cambrie (2): If you ask her what her favorite movie is, be prepared to hear the title “Tangled”. (Although I’ve just been informed, “Shrek” comes in at a close second.) Her new favorite phrase is: “Are you kidding me?” Cambrie likes to occupy her time by pretending she’s Sister PTalbot, (or adding a p to the beginning of any name) taking care of newborn babies, and watching herself sing. She loves to go visiting teaching and is excited to graduate from the church nursery and into Primary. She has an extensive vocabulary for an almost-three-year-old, and no, she won’t be starting basketball either. (But you can bet she’ll be watching a lot of it.)

To wrap things up, it’s been a decent year. Trips to North Carolina, Grandma’s house, Kalahari, and Indian’s games… what more could you ask for? Mom and Dad are anxiously anticipating the newest addition to our family come February --a real live teenager. Bring on the hormones. We hope you’re having and continue to have a great year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,

The Kerr’s

P.S. Addysen informed me that I have made way to many edits to her original and she no longer wants to be associated with this letter. Did I mention hormones? Consider nothing being said from Addysen’s perspective.

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Aren't they....something?

I've pretty much kept a journal in one form another since I was a little girl. Granted, my childhood journals consist of entire pages dedicated to how much I hated green beans...but I digress. Most of my journal writing goes in spurts - - with large portions of the entries dedicated to "catching up." True to form...here is the month of December.
We had three nights in a row of choir concerts: 6th grade, 7th grade and 8th grade. Because Addysen is in show choir, she was required to be at all three performances. The kids did a nice job, but I was fine when the third night rolled around and we were done. We also attended Kenzie's Christmas concert - -which was great -- but I didn't take any pictures. They announced no flash photography (I guess we don't want kindergarteners being blinded by the flash and falling off the bleachers) so I followed the rules and didn't take pictures. I'm pretty sure I was about the only one of 10,000 parents and grandparents who abided by these instructions.

Greg and I attended an "Ugly Christmas Sweater" Party. Who knew it would be so difficult to find ugly sweaters? Turns out, they are quite popular and the local Good Will was out of nearly everything. If you look closely, you might notice that Greg is wearing a women's XL (check out the sleeve length) "Peace on Earth" number -- which co-oincides nicely with my amazing find. The clerks at Good Will hadn't even put this baby on the shelf before I snatched it from the back room. The party was a blast, the company highly entertaining, the food delicious...and the memories priceless. (Hint hint...for those of you who were there...send me pictures, please.) And yes, if these pictures aren't motivation to throw out the rest of the Christmas cookies...I don't know what is.

The 12 days of Christmas...which ended on day #1

This must be some kind of (pathetic) record....to get caught on the first day of the 12 Days of Christmas. Apparently, as parents, we forgot to inform the kids that this would be the one time it is ok to ring the neighbor's doorbell...and run. When no one answered his knock, Cannon went back (per Greg's advice from the car where he and Addysen were watching) and rang the doorbell. Imagine Cannon's surprise as the neighbor opened the door and yelled, "HEY!" as he was running off. Then the neighbor yelled, "What are you doing?" to which Cannon replied, "There is a present." The neighbor responded with, "What is your name?" and Cannon (having been taught that honesty is the best policy) responded, "Greg's boy." At that point, the neighbor looked down on the porch, burst out laughing and yelled, "Merry Christmas!"
The first words out of Cannon's mouth when he returned home were, "So much for the 12 Days of Christmas!"

We haven't stopped laughing. I told Greg to text the neighbors and tell them not to tell their kids -- so we could keep it up. They were in the process of calling us to apologize -- for scaring the heck out of Cannon. (In reality, I think Cannon scared Joe WAY more than Joe scared Cannon. See, he was watching from his window and only saw a kid in a black hoodie lurking around the trees.) It's all quite comical and we've all gotten quite a chuckle out of the entire series of events. 

Joe says he needs to do a ride-a-long with Greg so that he can toughen up and not be so scared of 11-year-old boys. As for Cannon -- he says he's never doing the 12 Days of Christmas again.