Sled-o-rama

White Christmas Part 1

Merry Christmas!
We are here in the great city of salt enjoying family, food, and lots and lots of snow! There was enough snow in the valley when we arrived to walk down the road for some sledding, and then the wishes for a white Christmas were answered....we must have 8 new inches here....at least 30 in the mountains! The kids' Nene (David's mom) came up for a few days from Pheonix to see the North Carolina family. She was immersed in my family gatherings and traditions and even went sledding. There will be more pictures to come, but here are a few to get the ball rolling....

waking up to snow makes the happy couple happier

Christmas Noah at Grandpa's (my dads) house Christmas morning

The kids watch Grandpa open his new toy...a telescope. What fun!

Two very happy children on Christmas morning.

Gita opens her first "electronic" toy

Santa cares about dental health....thanks for the new toothbrushes

Nene and kids at the Temple lights in downtown SLC on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve bagpiper in front of the temple

Christmas stories with one grandma at another grandma's (my mom) house

in route from "home" to the sledding hill

Noah's Spoon

We are all so excited about Noah's latest creation from his wood-carving class. Mr Crowe had all the students bring in wooden spoons a few weeks back for inspiration for their next project. Then the kids designed a spoon that they would carve over the next few weeks. Noah almost had his finished last week. He brought it home and spent a few hours out in the front of the house sanding it down and making it all smooth. And here it is.....

Cheesy Christmas Duds Party

In honor of the holidays and my birthday, we held a Cheesy Christmas Duds Party last night at the Carmona Christmas Castle. We probably doubled our electricity bill in one night with all the lights...but the place looked awesome, the music was swinging, the outfits were phenomenal! My birthday wish (friends gather for fun and merriment dressed in some of the cheesiest holiday fashions ever) has come true.Now the castle is a royal sized disaster that must be cleaned, and my kitchen is screaming for some holiday treat baking, and we leave for Utah the day after tomorrow...so I leave you now with a quick sampling of some images from the evening...

Girls Saturday

Today is a special girls day. There is nothing particularly special about this day, well not any more special than any other day. I was out very very late last night at a birthday party, resulting in less than 4 hours of sleep. So when David left this morning for a job in South Carolina and Noah went to hang out with his buddies, I needed to figure out something to get my tired body moving.....so Nimmy, Gita, and I determined that it was Girls Saturday, a very special day indeed. And what ingredients make up a special girls day? So far, it has been raspberry pancakes, card games, some cartoons, hot cocoa, all interspersed with some regular Saturday chores. And if I am really lucky, the girls will decide that no special girls day is complete without a nice long afternoon nap!

Gita assisting with the fire.

Gita's photo of the mama making pancakes

Girls collecting a weeks worth of kindling (with a curiuos Atticus in the background)

Some important magnetic fashion doll action.

Some good old squishy mushy cuddley love!

Black Mountain Holiday Parade

The Five Carmonas enjoyed quite an eventful weekend. On Friday night, David and I were able to leave the kiddos with Alex and Kelcey and head to Asheville for a real date, as in dinner and a movie. We saw Twilight after breezing through the 4 books in a few weeks. We felt like giddy teenagers in a theater full if giddy teenagers. It was quite invigorating!

On Saturday we met Meredith, Kevin, and their kids for the annual Holiday Parade in our lovely town of Black Mountain. We have our traditional viewing spot on the front lawn of a church where hot cider and Christmas cookies are served on the porch. The parade was, as usual, quite a hit for all. It is kicked off by motorcycle men and women who attach toys to their bikes and drive them to the Toys for Tots donation drop off. I have not figured out why, but for some reason, year after year, there is something about this that makes my eyes well up with tears. It seems totally ridiculous but there it is in print. Since David has the decency not to take a photo of me crying at the Harleys with teddy bears strapped to the back, here are some other highlights:Noah and Banyan and the pimped out Explorer
(now that is Christmasy)

The kids watch an excavator full of presents drive by.

Me, Mullein, Meredith, and Salome watching the wonders.

Does this lovely gem of a photo even need a caption?Nimuae and Gita and the Black Mountain Fire Department

Homemade beads

For our Friday messy kitchen homeschooling project, we decided to make our own beads. We have been focusing on Africa for the last few weeks and have enjoyed researching many different types of African art. We learned that beadwork is an important African art form. We created the beads this week and will work on painting them next week. And I imagine that some lucky family members may see a bead or two show up in the form of a Christmas gift.....

Bead Recipe

• 3/4 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup salt
• warm water
• toothpicks
• acrylic paints
• sealant

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add water a small amount at a time until the dough holds together. Knead for a few minutes. Make beads by rolling different sizes and shapes of dough, then poke a hole through the middle with a toothpick. Allow to dry overnight. Paint and seal.

Priorities

A few Carmona priorities:
1. Good Food
We love to eat, to cook, even to grocery shop...and the kitchen is often a place of laughter and merriment. During our massive pie making mission last week Noah grew a pie crust mustache

2. Fun
The Carmonas have been working on our circus performing art skills, including juggling, trapeeze arts, and hula hooping. Gita got the hula hooping gene.

3. Rest
We know how to chill, which is a very important priority for the busy family. A lot of the time Gramps was visiting was spent reading and napping. Nimuae was especially appreciative of Gramps' cozy belly.

Feasting

This Thanksgiving we were blessed with out of town visitors! Alex Sr. (Gramps) Carmona flew in from Chicago and Micheal Carmona from L.A. Because their flights arrived in Asheville Thursday night, we decided to have our feast on Friday. We were able to do quite a bit of prep work on Thursday, so it was very helpful to have that extra day. We were able to bake 5 pies, 24 dinner rolls, 12 sandwich rolls, bake the sweet potatoes for the casserole, and cut 4 loaves of bread for the stuffing.

We ate chilli for dinner on Thursday (Thanksgiving) night which felt sort of rebelious. Then woke up early Friday morning to cook cook cook.

We all sat down to eat around 3:00pm. Everything was absolutely delicous in the moment and also as leftovers. We were especially excited to use some of the silver service utensils that Kelcey and I inherited from Nana McDermand earlier in the year.
We feel so grateful for the abundance of love in our home. Even when the cupbards are bare and our pockets are empty we have so much to be thankful for, and there is nothing like this particular holiday to remind us to count our blessings.