Christmas 2019

This week we celebrated Christmas and it was plagued by sickness.  Carrigan got sick first.  She came home on Friday after school not feeling well and by Saturday she was really sick.  She generously shared her sickness with Jeremy and by Saturday afternoon he wasn't feeling great either.  By Tuesday (Christmas Eve), Carrigan and Jeremy were on the mend but Merrick was on the verge.  He more or less held it off on Tuesday (Christmas Eve) and Wednesday (Christmas Day), but really started to go down on Thursday.  By Friday he not only had a cold, but a stomach bug as well and I was fighting the stomach bug too.  I was able to fight off the stomach bug on Friday but Merrick is still battling the cold/cough and the stomach bug and now I am trying my hardest not to get the cold.  My wish for the New Year is that we will all finally be healthy again.

Despite all the sickness it was still one of the best Christmases ever.  I was feeling really optimistic about things last Sunday when we were talking to Grandpa and Lollie.  They asked each kid what they wanted for Christmas.  Merrick wanted a hoverboard (he got it).  Carrigan wanted L.O.L. things, a sleeping mask, and a music box (she got them).  Elsie wanted baby shark (she got it, many times over).  I was hopeful Christmas would be one for the record books.

Let me backup a little first though.  The Christmas celebrations started on Christmas Eve with the Lundberg family party at Emily and Tala's house.  We had a seriously delicious Mexican food dinner followed by a the cousin gift exchange.  Elsie got a Cabbage Patch doll that is dressed up as a chipmunk, which she thought was scary.  Carrigan got an L.O.L. pet, which she loved.  Merrick got a bounce back ball and some trick gum that shocks you, which he thought was the coolest thing ever.  The evening was just getting started at that point.  We had a kids Saran ball, an adult Saran ball, and an adult White Elephant gift exchange.  It was a really fun night.  We went home exhausted and ready to get to bed so Santa could come.

The next day was Christmas.  As usual Santa was good to us.  The stockings were full of candy and goodies. He brought us snow boots (Jeremy), a key Tile (Sarah), NBA 2k20 and a special baseball that teaches you different pitches (Merrick), a Frozen Diary and L.O.L. game (Carrigan), and some play food and a baby shark fingerling (Elsie).

As I said before, the kids were all really excited to get all the major things from their wish lists.  The hoverboard, music box, and baby shark things have been the biggest hits.  I also got a Cricut that I am really excited to start exploring and Jeremy got the kindle he was wanting.

It was a great Christmas and we were really spoiled by each other, our family, and friends.  The best part of Christmas though was after the presents were open, we spent the rest of the day playing together and enjoying each other's company.  I am so grateful that we have this time each year to remember our Savior's birth, to take time to remember him, and to spend extra time with our families and those we love.

 

Arizona 2019 Edition (Emily's Wedding)

We finally made it.  The last post about our trip to Arizona, Emily's Wedding.  So what do you say about a Samoan wedding...there ain't no party like a Samoan party because a Samoan party don't stop...  It was the perfect day.  To say that Emily looked beautiful is a total understatement.  The wedding itself was so fitting for them.  Their friend who officiated did a fantastic job and their vows were sweet, tender, and funny.

The reception afterwards was a Samoan party!  The food was great, there were hilarious and tender toasts, and there was dancing, lots of dancing.  Tala's niece did a beautiful dance.  Then they hired a polynesian performance company to dance and they did dances from several different islands.  They taught the women the hula and the men the haka and then they had a fire dance.  There are no words for how amazing it was.

After the dancers, they had a dj and everyone danced.  Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling well and had to call it a night by 9, but the party went a few more hours and I am sorry I missed it.

I don't know how many times I can say perfect in one blog post, but there really is no other word to describe it.  We are so happy for Emily and so happy to officially have Tala (and Kalani) as part of the family.