25th Annual Gingerbread House Decorating

I was so glad that in the hustle and bustle of getting ready for Christmas and the wedding at the same time we were still able to get together and continue the tradition! In the essence of time, I compromised a little with graham cracker houses, but I don't think it compromised any of the fun. A great time was had by all. Caitlin had several of her roommates over, and for several of them and Stephanie, it was their first time decorating houses! We have loved this tradition and have so many fond memories from it. We wished Jordan, Andrew & Starrie, and Nicia & Joe could have been with us!

The Wicked Witch of the West

Emily wanted to be something "scary" this year for Halloween. She said she had always been something "good" and wanted to be something bad and scary this year. Dave did her makup the first night for "trunk or treat", and I did it the 2nd night for trick or treating. I was really pleased with her outfit. Got the dress and cape at DI for $4.50 and the hat at Big Lots for $3.49. Here's our own Wicked Witch of the West:

She insisted on wearing fangs part of the time

Without fangs

Pumpkin Carving

The week before Halloween we were fortunate to have most of our gang over to eat sausage potato soup and homemade crockpot applesauce, carve pumpkins and make carmel apples. Our brother-in-law, Lee Holdaway, was visiting and got to get in on the fun too. Here's everyone diligently working to get their pumpkins cleaned out.


Dave hates the feeling of the pumpkin guts - he's trying to look cheerful here as he digs in.....


At times people would get a little carried away:

Justin getting knife happy

Emily wanted to "carve" her own pumpkin like everyone else.

We let her have the knife for about 3 seconds.....

Becky and Jared even brough a pumpkin carving design book and special carving tools - serious carvers!

Some of the finished products:

Becky's pumpkin - says "Trick or Treat!"

Dave's pumpkin - the headless horseman

The night wouldn't be complete without making carmel apples:

Justin & Stephanie

We've done this a couple times before, and it's so much fun that I think we definitely need to make it a yearly tradition!

Gardner Village

A couple of weeks ago I got a phone call letting me know my niece, LaNita was in town with her hubby and little boy, clear from Oklahoma! We wanted to get together, and since Emily was off from school for fall break and I wanted to do something fun with her, we decided to meet at Gardner Village - it was great to see LaNita, and her little Dallas is just the cutest, most handsome little guy!


If you live in the Salt Lake area, you MUST go to Gardner Village. Such a cool place. My description wouldn't do it justice. It has lots of shops with way cute stuff, mostly home decor, but so much other stuff too. Way cute stuff. They go all out for Halloween, so the atmosphere is just so fun. We started with pony rides and a petting zoo:

Dallas McDonald

Emily and her friend, Maddie

With Emily's love for horses, this pony got lots of attention!

Around the village there were lots of lifesize witches, all throughout. They had a scavenger hunt which was fun for the girls (and us) to do, going around finding the different witches listed on the hunt. There were clues to help them know the different witches to look for. Great fun for all of us. We didn't spend too much time in the shops since there's was LOTS for little kids NOT to touch. But it was fun to look here and there.

The witch who was "ready for a hug"

My own little witch

Dallas & LaNita

We found all 14 of the witches and went to the bakery to redeem our chocolate chip cookies for turning in our completed scavenger hunt sheets. What a fun way to spend the afternoon. The weather couldn't have been better, and it was wonderful to see LaNita, Josh, and Dallas again!

Christmas 2008

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve, with Grandma & Grandpa Bascom, Aunt Karen and Uncle Bill joining our family. We enjoyed our traditional semi-formal Christmas Eve ham dinner with a place setting for our Savior, followed by reading the Christmas Nativity Story (Luke 2) where we all took turns reading a verse, and talked about gifts we could give to Christ.

followed by singing Christmas carols together

with Bill and Karen serenading us with "Our Christmas Tree"

After company left, we opened the traditional Christmas Eve present of "p.j.'s". Emily had plenty of nighties so she got a new purple robe. I really like the way we celebrate on Christmas Eve, a little more reverence and remembrance of our Savior.

Christmas Day brought EXCITEMENT for gifts received:

Even though Emily had asked for nothing, Santa brought Emily a scooter and a special music box with a letter inside from Santa! He let her know how proud he was of her for being such a giving person and not wanting anything for herself, and that he wanted to give something to her anyway. She immediately started dancing and twirling. It was darling.

Christmas Day brought: A PHONE CALL WITH CAITLIN!

Some of the gang around the phone

We have speakerphone, so we were all able to hear Caitlin talking and took turns talking with her. Definitely one of the highlights of my day, and it's awesome to think that in 2 1/2 months we'll be seeing her in person!! She sounded great, in good spirits, and her Spanish sounds like a native!

Christmas Day brought BIG THANKS for gifts received:

Andrew thanks Emily for her gift - a Wendy's coupon

Joe thanks Emily for her gift - rocket balloons!

Emily was excited about everyone receiving their gifts from her.

Christmas Day brought SMILES:

Uncle Justin & Alyssa

Christmas Day brought LAUGHTER:

I can't remember what was said, but everyone was laughing pretty hard!

Christmas Day brought: RELAXING

Alyssa "chillaxing" in the doll's cradle

Christmas Day brought PUZZLES:

We always get a new puzzle for Christmas. This is a very cool puzzle of New York City, NY, that glows in the dark. Jordan and Justin did most of the work on it.

Christmas Day brought: NAPS

Emily and Chipper on Christmas Day in one of their usual nap spots

The other nap spot - Chipper's pillow

Christmas Day brought FAMILY ACTIVITIES:

Caitlin had sent us something to do as family. There were Argentine treats, each with a picture of her and a scripture on the back, addressed to one of us. We took turns looking up the scripture that was for ourself, and read it out loud. It was really neat because the scripture and picture related to us individually. A lot of thought and work went into it. Anyway, it was fun to do this together - THANK YOU, CAITLIN!

Another Christmas has come and gone - it was small in quantity of goods, but big with traditions, music, love, family, and remembrance of Christ, which truly are the most important.

TRADITION!

One of our long-standing Christmas traditions is making and decorating gingerbread houses. We have such a good time, and it's one tradition that even though most the children are grown, none of us are ready to give up. This year, Jordan was home and helped me cut out patterns, cut the dough and bake, and put the houses together. It was so much more fun to have someone helping me!

All the houses are gingerbread except for one, which Nicia made out of graham crackers when she got here. It's in the back center. Here are the houses, ready to be decorated:




A work in progress:

Andrew & friend, Starry

I keep everyone supplied with frosting, while we have the Christmas music playing in the background, chatting going on, and everyone snitching their favorite candy while they decorate.

The finished products: (couldn't get one of Jordan)

I was thinking of just getting kits next year, but I have kids volunteering to help me make the houses so we can still have homemade ones (nothing like the smell of fresh gingerbread baking). I guess I have a year to think about it! I do love this tradition, though. Thank you to the Van Tassel family in Lewiston, New York, for helping me get this tradition started 25 years ago! It's been something the children look forward to every year.

'TIS THE SEASON......

'TIS THE SEASON......for DECORATING THE TREE

I'm can't locate one of my Christmas boxes that has the garland in it, so, we're garlandless this year. I'm still missing not having a real tree, so just might have to break down and get one next year! (we've been without for 3 years now) I'm grateful for a tree, each ornament, and decoration, and the beautiful symbolism of them all.

'TIS THE SEASON......for CHRISTMAS CAROLS AND STORIES

Before and after decorating the tree, we sang lots of Christmas carols. I love both the music and stories and am so grateful that we can enjoy both all season long!

'TIS THE SEASON......for SNOWSTORMS (in Utah anyway!)

Although it's cold and awful to drive in, I'm grateful for the snow, since for us it means having enough water in the summer.

'TIS THE SEASON......for SNOW SHOVELING!

Like brother, like sister.....since Jordan was small, he has gone out and shoveled snow without being asked. Really a bonus for me! THANK YOU, JORDAN! And this year, Emily is right out there with him. It's cold in this picture, about 25 degrees. Please notice all the winter gear they are wearing.....really none. I guess Emily DOES have boots on, but that's about it! Both JoJo and Emmy are the "It's not cold", "wear shorts all year" kind of people....just for the record, they didn't get it from me! I'm grateful for children who shovel my driveway for me! (Gotta mention that Dave was out there last night shoveling too.)

'TIS THE SEASON.......for SNOW FUN!

Sometimes Emily DOES get bundled up if she's going to actually PLAY in the snow for a length of time. I'm thankful for a daughter who shows such joy and enthusiasm for big and little things.

'TIS THE SEASON.....for FRIENDS and HOT COCOA

taking a break from the snow and "chilling out" (or warming up) with a friend

I'm grateful for friends and family to share special and ordinary times with.

'TIS THE SEASON......for CHRISTMAS PARTIES

Dave's extended family had their Bascom Family Christmas Party last night. We tied fleece blankets to give to a homeless shelter, had a yummy dinner, a beautiful Christmas story, and the nativity. We are fortunate to still have lots of younger children to carry out the tradition of acting out the nativity. Sorry about the right corner of the picture. I was kind of in charge of the nativity so didn't get to see much of it, but the children were darling. We sang silent night when they were through, and it was a perfect way to end the beautiful evening.

I'm so thankful we have family who live close enough to make these special memories with us. I'm especially grateful for this time of year when we can take more time to focus on the One whose birth we celebrate and all it means for us.