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December always begins with one of our resident elves building the Winter Wonderland Lego train scene on the piano.
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Evya was the sole designer and engineer this year.
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This December marked the beginning of Matt's employment at Google. They call newbies Nooglers, and they get to wear this fetching cap!
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The Winter Concert for the Happy Valley Chorus.
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Midway through, Evya became the singing percussionist.
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She had auditioned for the role with a rhythm she wrote herself.
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We spent Matt's 48th birthday completing the Skywalker Saga.
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Back home for snuggles and cake.
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Allyndreth enjoyed peace and solitude across the room...
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...for a few minutes.
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Matt requested a cake he saw on The Great British Baking Show, a Saint Honore. It was full of custard and cream, pate a choux and a "moist sponge." Yum!
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Two days later, Tyrian celebrated his 19th birthday.
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He is a simple young man who only needs a bubblewrap hat to feel special.
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As has become the tradition for our Christmas Eve Baby, the chocolate log birthday cake!
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We had a lowkey Christmas morning, sleeping in, staying in jammies, having hot cider...
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...passing off the silver-polishing duties to our youngest child while we sneaked out of the kitchen...
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Grammie and Tyrian arrived in the afternoon for Christmas Lunch.
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With full tummies, we were able to smile contentedly for family pictures.
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Although we hadn't opened gifts yet, the kids opted for a rest in front of the fire. How quaint.
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We lured them to consciousness with gifts.
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The look of a satisfied gift-giver.
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The Great British Baking Show is highly educational. Matt did not know about the chocolate-orange-in-the-stocking tradition in England until they mentioned it. Now, Matt himself is the owner of a chocolate orange!
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The elation you feel when you open a gift bag full of Pringles and...
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...and...
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...Cheetos!
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The look of a satisfied gift-receiver.
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Every year it seems there is a new perfect book to add to our family library. 2019's addition is "B is for Battlebots."
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Allyndreth's bag of treats included Pringles and chocolate-covered macadamia nuts.
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Like a dragon guarding his treasure, Tyrian makes sure the Pringles and Bundaberg root beer from his treat bag are safely hoarded away.
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The girls had the idea to give Tyrian a Friendship Lamp for his move to Vancouver in February. The lamps are connected by the internet and when one of us touches our lamp, it lights up the lamp in the other's location.
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We gave Grammie a mug commemorating 14 years of steadfast attendance at the Happy Valley Halloween Parade. The mug was covered in pictures of our three kids in all of their elementary school costumes.
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On the Third Day of Christmas we presented the same commemorative mug to Gra'Karen and Grampa Pete.
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Our Village turned out to faithfully attend every one of those parades! We don't know what we will all do with ourselves come Halloween afternoon next year.
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Unwrapping gifts and then...
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...wrapping ourslves in wrapping!
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Family bowling on New Year's Eve Day.
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We have now offically documented, and Tyrian acknowledges, that Allyndreth is the tallest sib.
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Arcades are fun, even if you don't put money in the slot.
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Evya figuring out that they aren't really playing.
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Evya's speech bubble says, "These people are crazy!"
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Tyrian and Evya opted for a quiet New Year's Eve at home while Allyndreth, Matt and Christina went to San Francisco to see "An Evening with Sutton Foster."
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Allyndreth calls this time of year Sparkle Season.
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We had to capture all the sparkle.
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New Year's Eve at the Geary Theatre. A favorable way to ring out the old and bring in the new.
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