christmas traditions

1. Candy houses.

Every Christmas for the past 5 years, my dad

invites his counselors and their families over to

our house for a Family Home Evening.

Candy houses are the name of the game.

We have a contest between the adults and the kids.

Except this year, we didn't really do that.

It was still really fun.

In the past, the older kids have built 

a pyramid, a castle, and a tank.

This year we built a spaceship in honor of

Elder Sam Murphy who is on his mission 

in Puebla, Mexico this Christmas!

Go Elder Murphy!

So we built this spaceship in honor of him:

2. Playing the chimes. 

We made the chimes 

a few years ago and our

family plays several Christmas carols.

It's hilarious. People missing notes or hitting the wrong chime.

But when we get it right?

...It sounds amazing!

3. Christmas lights.

Of course our house is always decorated.

But it doesn't feel like Christmas unless we drive

around to look at all the pretty lights!

Of course, the LA Temple is included in this...

 And this is the tree my ward and I decorated on the temple grounds:

4. the Disney house.

There is a man in our neighborhood who decorates

his house every Christmas with Disney characters.

There is machinery involved so that some of the

characters move.

But he also has fun interactive stuff.

Like:

Yes, I know. Awesome, right?

So, without further ado, can you find Waldo in any of these pictures?

5. Playing wii on Christmas morning.

Inevitably, someone gets a new wii game. Hence, after the presents have all been opened, and we've eaten breakfast, there is a race to the TV. This year, Marie won out over Bryan.

So instead of playing the new Harry Potter Lego game, or Epic Mickey, we played Just Dance 2. I would include pictures, but I have been banned by my family to do so.

But because I'm not allowed to put up any photos or videos, I'll just tell you that my dad did a hip hop dance to "Funk Soul Brother" by Fatboy Slim. Absolutely hilarious. He was losing so badly that he ended up cheating by pushing Marie away from the TV so she couldn't see the next moves. She still won. ;D Sorry, Dad!

barbara barber

My life is filled with interesting people.

And as I've been constantly surrounded by people of an older generation, 

I decided to share one of my favorites:

Barbara Barber.

Barbara Barber is in the LA ward I grew up in.

She was the Sunbeam teacher for almost 50 years.

Yes, I mean it.

50 years.

My dad was in her Sunbeam class.

My sister was in her Sunbeam class.

And the year I was a Sunbeam...

Can you guess?

Nope...I wasn't in her class.

She had to take a year off because her husband was sick.

But I definitely felt jipped 

because she was the coolest Sunbeam teacher. 

Ever. 

Every week, she had a folder with each of her kids' names on it.

And in the folder there were scripture-oriented pictures and stories

to keep them occupied during Sacrament meeting.

She felt so bad that my year of Sunbeams missed out, 

that as a CTR 4, I got the Sunbeam folder every week.

made. my. year.

Barbara Barber (and yes, I call her that because it's just so much more fun to say both names) also had the best Christmas parties in LA. She started having a Christmas party to invite her Sunbeams so that they could have a night out with their parents. Over the years it ended up being a reunion Christmas party because she continued to invite her Sunbeams from all the years she taught plus their families (like my dad). They were awesome. Some of my best Christmas memories include a Barbara Barber party. There were many fun party traditions, like getting to pick an ornament off one of the several trees in her home or sitting on Santa's lap.

I went to visit her this last week.

She might be under 5'. 

She might be missing the pointer finger on her left hand.

And she might be in her 90's.

But that woman is extraordinary.

i love this little girl

Juliet Marie Johnson makes me happy.

And I'm even happier because she is now moving to LA,

which means I get to see more of her (and her parents)!!

billboards

So, of course, living in LA gives me quite an advantage in the billboard department. I see hundreds of them everyday. Granted, in some areas, you don't want to look up because the billboard displays are more than likely semi-pornographic or offensive in some way (aka Hollywood). And for the most part, billboards in LA are advertising movies or TV shows. But every once and a while I'll see something cool.

Like this:

Ohhhhh yeah. The Beatles. Can't go wrong. Every time I get off the freeway on Santa Monica, I know I'm in for a big smile, because the Beatles greet me. 

(PS - Look! It's a Tesla store just beneath the billboard. Like woah, those roadsters are gorgeous).

Or another one:

Ok. Granted, this is slightly depressing. But cool factoid: this billboard has been up on Santa Monica Blvd since my dad was in highschool! For reals. And on January 1st every year, the digital readout goes back to zero and it starts all over again. It's all based on statistics. So as of today, 1 December 2010 around 10:00am, there have been 401,293 smoking-related deaths in the U.S.--and counting.

Another billboard that I see all the time, is the "THIS IS MY TOWN" billboard, with different celebrities on it. It's advertising the Dodgers. (Go Dodgers!)

This is Hiroki Kuroda, a pitcher that just resigned with the Dodgers. Woot! And LA is his town.

But guess who else thinks LA is his town?

That's right! Yoda!

Anyways, during traffic, my scenery usually ends up being overtaken by billboards, so I'd thought I'd share the wealth. ;D