Ward Christmas Party and Surgery

So remember Lando had eye surgery?  It went really well, and I just  drove to Loveland for the post-op visit and the doctor said he looked great.  These are from the first trip down to Ft. Collins.


 This made me laugh so hard.  Elena's "undetermined".  Ha. Ha.  

My new sign.  I painted on the holly--my friend Mandy Frakes made the sign. And now for the Christmas party.  I was helping with it, and it was going to be on the 1st of December--but that was unacceptable because I wouldn't be there (Lando's surgery) and so it was moved to the next Friday because everyone knew I was the only one in the RS presidency that would be available to help since I don't work.  What that turned into was me doing everything because I've actually had some experience doing stuff like this (planning a ward party) and it was quite stressful.  But in the end it turned out wonderful so that's good.  I literally planned and bought all the food--while in Ft. Collins I took my coolers and had 11 hams in one and green beans in another and 120 lbs of potatoes in my van.  Too much food, by the way.  And we asked the homemaking committee to do the table decorations but they refused and said they would help decorate but not be in charge of planning or preparing anything.  So I found that out on the Sunday before the party and our RS president said, oh well, lets just get stuff from the closets....argghhhhH!!!!  Yet she's the one that wanted everything really nice!!!!  Thank goodness for two day shipping on Amazon prime.  And Bro. Rodriguez was kind enough to pick us up a tree off of Craigslist in Laramie, and I dismantled that and used it for the centerpieces in my sister Lindsay's wedding vases that I somehow ended up with.  Then I had Leo drill hooks in the wall all around the gym and we strung up tons of lights and the lady who refused to head decorating the tables was actually helpful in going to pick up lights when the ones we had been told all worked and were all white, did not work and were not all white.  So that was good.  Anyway, Alex Young, Steve Tait and Jeremy James all helped do the lights while the kids and I and Andrea Larsen set up tables and chairs on Thursday night.  And then Andrea Larsen came back with Cyndi Barnett on Friday to decorate the tables.  Actually they did it all while I cooked.  My kids stayed home from school because we'd been up so late the night before at the church.  Friday and cooking went really smoothly except cooking green beans in those large turkey roasters really does not work and is yucky.  A lot of women came and picked up the hams to warm up--I had put them all in oven bags with pineapple and brown sugar and cloves the night before and they turned out delicious!  Luckily, since I hadn't tried the recipe before.  And the program was kind of a mess because we had divvied out different assignments to ask people in our RS meeting, but no ONE person was in charge, so then I ended up finding out the Primary kids and a lady playing the violin were both playing the same song--and that was awkward asking her to change, and then a family backed out, and another girl kept changing her mind up until literally the hour before of what she was going to sing and I had already printed programs--I was not impressed.  Anyway, it worked out fine in the end.  I should just chill more, but in the moment it's really stressful and frustrating.  Next year ONE person will be in charge.  So yeah, I might have not been as calm and nice talking to my RS president at one point as I might have been.  Sigh.  I wish I had better pictures though.  Maybe I'll ask Andrea to text me some, she took a bunch too.  And I did have tons of people tell me it was the best Christmas party with he best food, decorations, and program that they've been to since moving here 7 years ago.  So that's something right?  Besides I hate when people don't want to put work into a party--if you want to have fun and have it memorable and nice then it takes work!  So, I'm not really sad or upset about doing it all, I just wish I wasn't doing someone else's vision and I could have done my own thing. But really I think our RS president's vision IS what we needed as a ward after some very not good parties (seriously last year's was NASTY food) and so I don't even mind that anymore.  But NEXT year if I'm still in this, then I think I want to do it fun (as opposed to pretty fancy) and do Cafe Rio knock off food.  Yum.



Leo and Elder Bush and Alex Young sang  We Three Kings.  Their costumes rocked!


I'm so glad they had Santa come though and I didn't have to worry about that at all!!!

And more of Thaksgiving

 I stole all these pictures from my sister Lindsay.  I've died out taking photos lately.  Lame, I know.  But here's all the fun stuff thanks to her.
Before Thanksgiving, my cousin Clay's son, Hyrum, was killed in a automobile accident.  So the day before Thanksgiving was his funeral.  This was all the Rasmussen cousins that were there.  It was tragic.  He was a really good kid.  I really don't even want to write about it, so that's it.  Chao.