Christmas has come and gone. We took all of our Christmas decorations down yesterday and packed them away until next year. It always makes me a bit sad to have Christmas over and done with. I know Chantel always feels a bit of relief at getting the house back to normal. We had a good Christmas. Christmas Eve we feasted on Swedish meatballs by candlelight. We also acted out the Nativity and had a lot of fun. At first Chantel was Mary and rode the donkey (Peter Gordon) but Emily thought it looked like great fun to ride the donkey and so she became Mary. I was Joseph, Becca was the angel and Hannah played the Shepherd. We also talked about what the different emblems of Christmas represent and how they all help us remember the Savior's birth.

Christmas morning the kids slept in until 7:30 a.m. and then we opened presents. Every one was happy with what they got. I got a gargoyle to go in my garden--once I figure out where I'm going to put him, I'll post a picture. Chantel got a pearl necklace that she really likes--it is made from the two purple pearls we got in Hawaii and a white pearl from a ring her Dad gave her years ago. They are all mounted on a gold chain. Becca can't decide if she likes her MP3 player or her basketball better. Hannah is all dolled up in a hot pink bathrobe with butterflies and got clothes for her American Girl doll. Peter Gordon got two front loaders and they have seen extensive use. He also got some Lincoln Logs and both he and I have had fun building things. Emily got her own baby doll and a mini Sleepytime Carebear. She also got some peg puzzles and is quite good at them already.

We have had snowstorms off and on for over a week and I have spent a lot of time shoveling it. The kids have had fun playing in the snow. Brad was down for a quick visit on Wednesday and we all got a treat--we went out to dinner at Cafe Rio. Brad even treated the kids to a pizza lunch on Thursday afternoon. We wish he was closer. The kids love Uncle Brad. We wish you were all closer so that we could have big holiday parties--oh well. We are looking forward to the New Year and hope it is as good as this one has been.

I finally figured out how to set the automatic timer on my camera and so we hope you enjoy our family picture.

2007 Year in Review

This has been an eventful year for us. Here are a few of the highlights.

Gordon successfully planned and pulled off a two week trip to the Pacific Northwest for the family. We had a delightful time visiting Brian, Carly and Cole in Seattle. We went to the zoo, the aquarium, had a harbor cruise, went to the museum of flight, and hung out on Brian's cool porch. We enjoyed playing in the ocean at the Oregon Coast and had fun hanging out with some old school friends on the Washington side of the Columbia River. Gordon also was able to take a research trip to Laie, Hawaii and took Chantel with him. They had a delightful time and Gordon even managed to get some good research done. Gordon turned in his tenure review file this year and so far has had good news back from the various review committees. There are still a few committees to go and he won't receive final news until May or June.

Chantel is busy at home trying to stay sane. She is always helping out with various neighborhood activities and still finds time to run a book club for the local library. She has enjoyed seeing her family on multiple occasions. The most memorable was a family camping trip to Bear Lake. She loved Hawaii and could spend days walking on the beach.

Becca is a busy beaver. She played soccer this fall and just started basketball this last week--she gets super excited when she makes a basket. She is playing the piano and doing quite well. She has composed her own song and is working on another. She is also an accomplished recitalist. She is thriving in school and has come to love reading. She was baptized this year and that was a neat experience.

Hannah thinks school is the best thing since sliced bread. She loves the challenge of learning to read and thoroughly enjoys herself in class. She started piano lessons in the fall and is having a blast. She loves practicing with her Daddy and is getting quite good. She is a very funny little girl. She informed us the other day that Grandpa Pete is almost 100 (her logic 62, 70, 80, 90, 100).

Peter Gordon is a goer. He started preschool this year and is having loads of fun learning about letters, numbers and other things. He describes his letter (P) as the "up, down and around." He is happiest when he is outside and makes life a little miserable when weather keeps him inside. He enjoys life to the fullest--as should we all.

Emily is our survivor. She is off of her medicine and seemingly out of danger. The hemangioma is still blocking part of her left ear and so she has a hard time hearing out of it. She is always on the go and likes nothing better than hanging out with her siblings. She is almost as funny as Hannah. Lately she has taken to joining me at the breakfast table and when we both have our food she tells me to "Eat! Eat! Eat!" Once I start eating she eats too and then she "bye-bye's" me out the door.

We have been richly blessed this year.

The holidays are upon us

The holiday season is in full swing at the Daines household. We started the month out by attending the President's Christmas party at BYU. The kids had fun making drums, trees and necklaces. They also endured a long line to see Santa Claus and as you can see from the picture Emily is not a big fan--at least not up close and personal. I have Santa on some dark socks and at church this past Sunday Emily saw him and the socks and said "Santa." Emily also wants nothing to do with Cosmo but the other three were happy to pose for a picture. Peter Gordon is in heaven when he sees Cosmo. As he says "Cosmo is my buddy." The next party we went to was our ward Christmas party. They did a Night in Bethlehem and it was interesting. This past Friday we went to the Special Collections Christmas party and the girls were on the program. They both played a couple of Christmas songs. Becca loves being in front of a crowd and Hannah doesn't do too badly herself. This week has been pretty quiet and looks to stay that way. We are almost done with our Christmas shopping and the kids have enjoyed picking out gifts for each other. They have also enjoyed wrapping the presents--though Emily wants to unwrap them as quickly as they get wrapped. This is a joyous time of the year.

Thanksgiving

We had a good Thanksgiving. We headed up to Eagle to spend the holiday with Mom, Dad and Brad. The kids were reasonably well behaved on the 6 hour drive there and back--Emily did melt down a couple of times. We went bowling at BSU and Peter Gordon, Hannah and Becca ended up in a dead tie while Mom soundly beat the rest of us. Peter Gordon went on rounds with Grandpa Pete and thought it was way cool. Mom took Chantel, Becca and Hannah to get their hair cut and they sure look cute. I enjoyed watching BYU beat Utah and it was pretty funny to listen to Peter Gordon telling Uncle Brad and Grandpa Pete that their team lost. Thanksgiving dinner was delicious--orange rolls, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, jello, and turkey. The kids had a vigil to see how long the turkey would take to cook and it seemed like forever to them. We went on several walks and watched a couple of movies. Chantel and I also got out and did some Christmas shopping. On the way home we stopped at Steve and Marla's and they kindly fed us dinner. The kids were super happy--they got to see Uncle Steve and eat. This is a wonderful time of year. We are thankful for all of our many blessings--especially our little Emily's health.

Halloween

While Chantel and I were in lovely Hawaii Mom took charge of the Halloween festivities at our home. Mom had a lot of fun trick or treating with the kids. She also had fun taking pictures and sent us these delightful pictures of the kids in their Halloween costumes. Becca and Hannah make lovely China dolls, Peter Gordon is a stupendous Spiderman, and Emily made an adorable pumpkin. Enjoy.

Aloha

Chantel and I got back on Monday from lovely Oahu. I was doing research on the Church College of Hawaii at BYU-Hawaii and had enough frequent flyer miles to let Chantel come with me. Mom came down and watched the kids. They had an absolute blast. It was good for Chantel and I to spend a whole week together and be able to relax knowing the kids were in good hands. I spent several mornings researching in the archives and Chantel enjoyed wandering the beach or relaxing in the condo. We stayed at Turtle Bay Condos. We went swimming in the ocean, ate at some fun restaurants, went to the temple twice, and went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We also went to a botanical garden in a volcanic crater and enjoyed wandering several beaches. It was hard to come back to work yesterday but good to be home. Enjoy the pictures.

We had an exciting weekend. We went to the BYU-Eastern Washington football game. We let the kids take a couple of friends and so we had quite the crew. It was raining lightly when we got to the game but it stopped about half way through the first quarter. Things got really dicey after the third quarter when it started to snow really hard. We bailed because the Y was up 35-7 and I went to get the car while the crew hung out under the stadium. It was fun times. Peter Gordon started pre-school last week and absolutely loves it. The picture is of him with his backpack already to go into the school. The other picture is of the kids busily drawing pictures on a quite Sunday afternoon. Emily is quite funny. She loves drawing but has to use pens or pencils--no crayons. Becca is busily preparing for a sonatina recital this next week (Nov. 3) and has memorized two parts of the sonatina. She is getting quite good at memorizing music. Hannah has started putting both hands together in her piano class and is having a great time. She really likes playing the piano. Chantel and I are surviving. Chantel has started doing puzzles again and Peter Gordon has been helping her. Special Collections celebrated its fiftieth anniversary last week and so I was part of a presentation talking about our collections. My Designing BYU exhibit opened earlier this month. It covers the philosophical and physical underpinnings of the campus.