the white house at the right time

Grandma's gift 2007 - she made these pajamas and blanket for him.  Great for the NW cold but also a precursor to an era that wrapped up spring 2025!

Christmas Card 2011

Unless you know my dad pretty well, he pretty much comes across as the European raised stoic that he often is. But once you break through that European professional demeanor, he is so much more.  Super funny, car crazy, great rifle aim, super strong (yeah, even won an award) strong, totally honest, respectful, ultimate provider, deep testimony, genealogist, and a realist that believes in ugly babies but cute grand kids as long as they are not ultra-liberal ones ;) I think I know my dad pretty well.  However, a few months ago I learned of a touching story that happened 34 years ago that unveils up the type of guy my dad is under his tough exterior.  Read below to find out the type of guy my dad is. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HUkOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JX8DAAAAIBAJ&dq=brusik&pg=2504%2C2106982

 we were visiting with Frosty at the holiday lights and  writing letters to Santa..... and sledding on the Herriman hills.... and hoping that Santa's look a like helpers took our letters to the nice elves in the North Pole and not the angry elves in the South Pole (Cayleb was particularly worried about this) and leaving a little bag of Christmas goodies and cheer to the two homeless men that sleep in the stairwells at Randy's work and learning a bit of life's lessons about choices and consequences and being thankful for beds and blankets and the kids following family tradition and lining up in order of age (a tradition that goes back to when Randy's dad was little - there is even a write up about it in the Deseret News) to go in an open up presents only after they had to sleep in, eat Dad's special Christmas breakfast, clean up, and read Luke 2 and thinking how soon the lights would come down even the absolutely gorgeous light "garden of li...

When the doorbell rings, the kids run to see who is there; usually it is a friend, sometimes a package, and this time around, for 12 nights a little gift and witty phrases. It was the 12 days of Christmas. Oh Christmas joy! We've been the givers, but never the receivers. The kids pretty much thought the receiving was great. This year we, o.k. mostly me, decided to spend Christmas at home instead of on the road. Though we were all pretty o.k. with not spending the holiday with family this year, we must admit we had a touch of the holiday blues. Now instead of counting down the nights O.k. so back to the mystery of who and why. We seriously wondered who it was. The first note, let us know that they would leave the gift and run AND then call on the phone. Being the sleuths that we think we are, Randy and I wrote down the numbers. After the initial cloak of Christmas secrecy waned, we'd follow up with a call to the mystery numbers several weeks later, uncover our secret S antas an...

I took my Madalyn McCall to McCaw Hall to see the Nutcracker for her birthday. Makayla came too as a a birthday guest. I've seen the Miss Margene's dance school's Nutcracker, nice but not quite the same as this. Sitting on the fourth row, we were able to see all the set and costume detail. The sets were designed by Maurice Sendak , author of "Where the Wild Things Are." It was also wild to find out that the construction of a tutu can take up to 200 hours of labor and cost around $5,000. All day with my big girls, we ate out, rode the monorail into the shopping district, bought shoes, ate out again, and added one more memory to our family cache. The magic set in when the Clara and the Nutcracker walk from the Stahlbaum drawing room out into the Land of Snow. The lighting, the dancing, it was so real, so ethereal. The girls were most entertained by the Pasha's dancers, a Moorish couple, a brilliant peacock in a gold cage , a Chinese tiger and his attenda...

Mrs. Hogan, Madalyn's teacher, told us the Botanical Gardens are a must see. We went. It was crazy crowded. Officers directing traffic, waiting for a parking spot. But ah, so beautiful. Art in lights. It was amazing. Incredible talented people. There was a purple clematis ladder, frogs, alligators, swans, butterflies, dragonflies and peacocks hiding in the lights. A tropical garden among the Rhody Glen. My pictures are lame. It was so beautiful. After we went, I learned that you can volunteer to help out with making the lights for this display. I absolutely want to next year, so I can learn to make my own winter garden.

Before we left, the kids were complaining . We've already seen lights. We've been to the zoo, we don't want to go again. It will be so boring and it is raining. "No" I promised, it will be fun. "Plus I want to go so you get to go to!" It is definitely Christmas. On the way down, Makayla spotted "Elf Storage." Cayleb asked if that is where the elves keep some of the toys. I answered, "Probably, there is a lot of stuff to store for Christmas." He didn't know the "S" was burned out. Once they saw this, they were happy! The jaws of life, sort of. When we come to the zoo, we tactfully avert the merry-go-round until we are about ready to leave. Why? Because once Makenzy gets on she doesn't want to get off. With our annual zoo pass, she can go an unlimited number of times. However, during Zoo Lights there is a $1 fee per ride. She got her turn, just not as many as she wanted.

Greetings Mr. Claus Dressed to serve, dancing and jumping off the stage singing "Hot, Hot, Hot" from the Polar Express, Makayla and the other youth in the ward served hot chocolate and donuts. Wear your jammas . Maddy did. Cayden didn't want to. Cayleb didn't....at first...then he spilled his hot chocolate....mom had his jammas in the care just in case he changed his mind....he did. Christmas stories were the theme. Primary kids came in pajamas, tables were set with story books, the stage was decorated with a real plug in fire place, and window for "throwing up the sashes" and Randy read the scripture version of Luke 2.

Madalyn loves, loves, loves her teacher, Mrs. Hogan, the school play director. Since some of the kids in the class didn't make it into the King Arthur's Quest, Mrs. Hogan, had a readers theater that turned into a play. A Charlie Brown Christmas. Our Maddy Moe was given the saucy, sassy part of Lucy . Perfect Casting. She only had a few days to learn all her lines. Once again, her mental steel shone and she recited her parts with feeling and stage presence. I think a little actress has been born. Some of the cast -

Our stake puts on a creche exhibit of over 400 hundred nativities from around the world for the community to see. There is also a range of musical performances held during the event. This year Cayden's friend asked him if he wanted to join the children's choir. He did. His favorite was "Christmas Lullaby Calypso." Pretty authentic! We invited our friends Mark and Kathy to come. Mark had just gotten home from an 12 hour flight from Japan and he still came. Thanks so much. We loved going with you guys!