White Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

        As was the case for our humble abode.   For Christmas Eve we had gone out to Applebee's to celebrate M&M's birthday, and then come home to watch 'The Polar Express', which has become a sort of tradition in our family.  The movie does a great job in describing the point where a young child who believes in Santa is now starting to have their doubts.  We've all experienced this feeling of realization and the film explored that which we can all relate to.  

      

        Another interesting thing about the film brought by my Dad was the "Animated Zombies Effect."  Apparently he was listening to his ScienceFriday Podcast and they were discussing how difficult it is in animation to get the eyes right.  By right, they meant that the eyes looked real.  One of the primary examples they used of animators not quite getting it right was 'Polar Express.'  So when I should of been admiring the Christmas spirit shown by the valiant protagonists, I was instead thinking about them all being zombies.  Thanks Dad.

ZOOOMMMBBBBBBBIIIIIIIIEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!!

        To switch to another topic, let's talk about the weather.  We in the south have the bad fortune (or good, depending on your view on inclement weather) of being at the crossroads of warm air rising from the Gulf of Mexico and storms from the West.  This crossroads usually ensures that we stay snow-free until the middle of January. However, through some Christmas miracle, we managed to have our own White Christmas.    With heavy snowflakes falling around 11:00 PM Christmas Eve, our entire neighborhood was covered in a white blanket, creating a wonderful effect on the next morning.

       Christmas morning came bright and early (6:30 AM, too bright and early in my opinion) and soon the wrapping paper carnage ensued.  Within minutes the once cheerful scene of the tree with neatly-wrapped gifts underneath was transformed into a devastated battlefield filled with the twisted sounds of delight of children.

        All in all we had an excellent haul this year, with plenty of entertainment to last us to next year's Christmas.  Especially the guitar ME received, which has gotten the whole family hooked.  My dad has vowed to learn a chord every week.  I too have resolved to learn to play the guitar.  It may take ME a little longer than us because the guitar is about as big as she is!  But she has taken an interest in music and should definitely enjoy the gift.

A Visit To The Gaylord Opryland Hotel

This Monday our family and M&M (our cousin) paid a visit to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel to see the Christmas decorations before they were taken down.  For those who have forgotten, last May a major flood hit Nashville and one of the major places that took a heavy hit was the Opryland Hotel...

Flood waters fill the hotel.

... so it was great to go back there and see it all spruced back up.

                      When we got there it took us about 20 minutes to find the entrance because so much of the complex was fenced in for rebuilding.  

  Starting at the Delta Concourse, we made our way around the hotel looking at all the many decorations.  The hotel has this feel about it, like it's its own small village.  There are dozens of small stores, fancy restaurants, bars, and plenty of places for entertainment.  And the whole village thing is surrounded by the hotel rooms, with their balconies looking out over the plaza.

                     

                      

    An enormous Christmas tree made-up of Poinsettia plants

Our cousin, M&M.

One of the best decorations in the hotel are the lights that hang from the glass ceiling. 

Also within this hotel of many wonders are small trails that intertwine with the main path, and which let you see several pretty waterfalls and small grottoes.

Here are some more pictures of the many decorations in the hotel.

A sample of the real flora that helps create the outside effect.

One the many fountains.

We also saw some of what we thought to be Chihuly glass work.  Turned out not to be Chihuly, but instead another artist (Hroch) whose work oddly resembles the aforementioned master's art.

At the center of one of the wings of the large hotel is a water fountain with a bright neon light show.

It was great to see the hotel back in full swing.  The decorations were breath-taking as usual and it still has its grandeur and elegance.

Ward Christmas Party*

On Saturday, the 18th, our ward held its own Christmas Party at the home of one of our good friends.  The theme of this year's party was a musical talent show, perfect for our musically-minded ward.  There were excellent singers who performed both time-honored classics such as 'Walking in a Winter Wonderland', forgotten carols, and favorite rock'n'roll Christmas tunes.  There was also a '12 Days of Christmas' competition in which we separated into twelve different groups and acted out the song, with the most outrageous renditions winning.  I (jpd) was also in the talent show, in a saxophone quintet.  We performed 'Sussex Carol' and 'God Rest You Merry Gentlemen', which was a lot of fun to do.  

Sussex Carol

*Apologies for the anachronistic post, been a little backed up on the posts.

Resolutions of the New Year

ME

1. Learn how to play guitar.
2. Learn to ride a bike.
3. Learn American history.
4. Learn "hard" math.
5. Get good grades.
6. Learn to swim

JA

1. Get better at Personal Progress.
2. Learn how to cook.  Cook dinner each Thursday night.
3. Learn how to sew.
4. Learn how to make quilts.
5. Exercise at least 5 days a week.

M&M (our cousin)

1. Get situated with college.
2. Finish D&C.
3. Finish an entire jawbreaker.
4. Exercise regularly.  
5. Run a half marathon.
6. Graduate from high-school.
7. Obtain the Gear-Up Scholarship.
8. Work faithfully at a job.
9. Help family.
10. Earn money for Seattle, Washington

AM

1. Finish all incomplete quilting projects.
2. Avoid overspending with groceries.
3. Exercise 5x a week.
4. Sort boxes.
5. Make PJ's for family.
6. Organize sewing and fabrics equipment.
7. Lose 20 pounds.
8. Read 5 books.

JPD

1. Make it into the Governor's School for Music.
2. Make it onto Varsity Soccer.
3. Finish school year with a 4.0 GPA.
4. Be in the Williamson County Orchestra.
5. Earn money.
6. Get my driver's license on the first try.
7. Get more sleep.
8. Become field commander for High School Marching Band.
9. Make Mid-State Gold Band.
10. Make All-State Band.
11. Make Mid-State Orchestra.
12. Learn how to play the guitar.
13. Go on a high-adventure trip.

SD

1. Lose 25 lbs. (Goal weight: 210 lbs by September.)
2. Ride the Strawberry Flats leg of LotoJa relay in 2 h 30 min. (40 miles 3,000 ft climbing.) September.
3. Finish writing my book "Essays for my children."
4. Learn how to play one song on the guitar.
5. Do a +3 day backpacking trip or other high adventure trip.
6. Publish 3 last/first author scientific papers from my lab. 
7. Be invited to speak at 3 conferences or outside seminars.
8. Read the New Testament.
9. Redo the floor in kitchen and living room.

Family

1. Yellowstone/Grand Canyon/Grandma/all around western trip
2. Read from New Testament 5 days a week.
3. Family-wide gift.
4. Family short film.

Universal Studios and Magic Kingdom

So awhile ago, I went to a scientific conference in Orlando. Since the conference hotel only had suites, it seemed only sensible to invite the family to come to use the suite. And since it was Orlando, it seemed only sensible for them to go to Disneyworld. After all, it had been ten-years since we had gone, long before ME was born and when JA was too small to really remember anything. So I pitched this idea, but JA didn't want to miss school. We talked more and I mentioned the new Harry Potter adventure that was also in Orlando, and that got her more interested. It turns out that the Harry Potter rides were part of Universal Studios, not Disney.

I didn't have time to really look at what was available for Universal Studio, but asked the girls and AM to do some investigating to see if this was worth going to. I wish I had taken this on myself. It turns out that most of the Universal Studio rides, and this includes the Harry Potter ones are of the roller coaster variety. Why that may be great for many teenagers and some younger kids, these are not the kinds of rides our two girls like at all.

JA and I went to the Harry Potter world first, while ME and AM went to the Dr. Suess world.

So the main ride in the Harry Potter world is one where you take a tour of the Hogswarts Castle as part of the pre-ride, and this was really the whole point of us coming to Universal Studios. Going through the castle was a lot of fun.
Then they loaded you on the ride. AM started screaming from the very beginning. I can't really say that the ride was a lot of fun even for me. I actually started getting nauseated in the middle of the ride, I can't really tell why, although everything seemed kind of out of focus. Anyway, it didn't turn out to be something that JA wanted to do again. I tried to talk here into going on the little family friendly roller coaster that was part of the Harry Potter world, but she absolutely refused. So mostly we walked around the little shops representing Hogsmeade. We of course were real shops selling real expensive touristy kind of things.

ME enjoyed the Dr. Seuss rides. There were about three of these. One that was an elevated train that went around the Dr. Seuss area, another that was the equivalent of the Dumbo the elephant ride at Disneyland, and the third that told the story of the Cat and the Hat.

We did find a few rides that JA was willing to go on. She liked the Jurassic Park river ride, even though it had a sharp water fall drop at the end, I think mostly because she didn't know that it would have the drop until we were already there, and then we went through it and she was alright, so she was okay with going again.

She also like the Popeye wild river ride, even though we got soaking wet, so we rode this again as well.

After that we pretty much just walked around and she kept saying that she didn't want to do this or that. What a waste of money going to Universal Studies was. I really wish we had gone to Animal Kingdom or one of the other Disney parks instead of Universal Studios.

The next day, AM, JA, and ME went to Magic Kingdom and I think had a lot more fun, although it was very, very crowded.  They stayed very late to see the fireworks show.