Plowman Family Dinner/December 2018

Last night (minus Ben and Adi and their boys, who were out of town), we gathered for monthly family dinner at Mom's house in North Salt Lake. The menu for dinner was breakfast themed, so we enjoyed pancakes, breakfast casserole, bacon, and other breakfast foods.

JB and I provided the parcel for "Pass the Parcel," for which the kids got to pick from a number of Christmas goodies including socks, toys, and candy in the reverse order of which they got out during the game. (In other words, the last one holding the parcel was the first one to pick; the second-to-last out picked second, and so on.)

We also, of course, held our monthly family birthday party. Since November's lone birthday (Luke's) was lost amidst the hubbub of Thanksgiving, we included Luke along with Mike and Kylee, our December birthdays.

Improvables: Farewell to CenterPoint

On Friday night, we (members of the Improvables troupe) performed our final show at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre (aka the Davis Center for the Performing Arts) after 7+ incredibly fun and memorable years (a time which also followed our first 2+ years of performing at Rodgers Memorial Theatre).

A cast of seemingly thousands, but which in actuality included Cassie, Chance, Jesse, Keenan, Landon, Liz, Matt, Parker, Richard, Ricky, Truman, Tyler, Willis, and yours truly, took the stage for this special and final CPLT show. With a cast this big, we made it work. We also had a capacity-size crowd, which was a very good sign as we move from CPLT and settle in to the Bountiful Davis Art Center beginning this Friday, January 4, 2019 (now with an earlier 9:00 p.m. start time!).

I got to play in three games and then got to MC the final three games of the night, including a last hurrah for "Spit Take," which we will sadly not get to play at our sophisticated new digs (here we are cleaning up afterward):

I was there for our first show on October 28, 2011, and I was there for our last show Friday night, as well as hundreds of others shows in between, all of them wonderful experiences. We're looking forward to settling in to our new home at the BDAC, continuing the Improvables tradition into our 11th year of performing together.

Christmas Day 2018

We spent a good chunk of Christmas Day with JB's family out at her parents' home in the Grantsville. Though it did end up snowing in the early morning and again later at night, we were able to make the trek out there for a few hours in the afternoon.

Besides watching A Christmas Story and other holiday favorites, as well as enjoying a lot of Christmas treats, JB got involved in a game of Handemonium (get it? hands?) with her mom and sisters:

Again, this was something you had to be there to fully appreciate.

We also got in a few new movies at the Megaplex later on Christmas Day and again on Boxing Day. So, in other words, we got to enjoy the holiday just about the way we prefer to.

Christmas Eve 2018

As we have done in past years, we spent Christmas Eve at Mom's house, along with my siblings and their spouses and families (including 14 nieces and nephews and three dogs). With 27 people and three pets altogether, it was a house full of a lot of different things happening at once but also a fun and memorable night.

Earlier in the day, I went to the doctor with a sore throat and was diagnosed with strep. Merry Christmas from my immune system! So, that is why I appear in some of these photos wearing a mask to help prevent the spread of germs, especially to the little ones.

Following a delicious dinner, to which everyone contributed, we put on the annual family Christmas pageant, which involved inspirational quotes from general authorities, the singing of Christmas hymns, and a retelling of the Christmas story in Chapter 2 of the Gospel of St. Luke. Years ago, Biz had the foresight to record Dad reading this story, and it was played for the rest of us to listen along. It was comforting to hear his voice again.

Graham, as Joseph, and Kate, as Mary, got into a little custody dispute of the baby Jesus that you had to be there to fully appreciate (but we can also cut them some slack, as they're two and three years old, respectively). This is about the point at which the tug-o'-war began:

Next, we got to exchange and open our Christmas presents on our side of the family. Kira was very pleased with her Hatchimal (this is what the kids are calling it these days):

And Graham was excited about his new Batman PJs:

Anxious to get home and get to sleep ahead of Santa Claus's visit, Christian (helped out here by Jana) checked Santa's whereabouts on NORAD:

To all, a good night.

Christmas Card

A lot of people send out Christmas cards toward the end of the calendar year. I know this because, as I type this, I can see in the corner of my eye 15 of these cards that were sent to us this month from family members and friends across the country. Usually, it's a photo (or more) of the family, along with a brief summary of the year's big happenings and accomplishments, as well as their trials and challenges. I enjoy getting these cards, and I appreciate being remembered by others at this time of year.

Whether JB and I will be one of those couples who send out Christmas cards other years remains to be seen. But we did take this photo of the two of us on Sunday, the 23rd, following our ward's sacrament meeting Christmas service (I know this because I pushed the button). So, I suppose it will have to suffice for us for 2018.

What a whirlwind year it has been. I look forward to what 2019 will bring.

Arbuckle Family Dinner/December 2018

Our first Arbuckle family dinner, out at JB's parents' new digs in Grantsville last night, was a success. Dinner was a baked potato bar, with salad and some of the largest dinner rolls I've ever seen.

After dinner, the kids enjoyed playing a favorite family game that, as far as I can tell, doesn't exactly have a trademarked name but is not all that different from "Pass the Parcel," either. Anyhow, it involves the kids going around the circle, taking turns rolling two dice. Whoever rolls doubles puts on the gloves and then tries to unwrap as much of the Saran-wrapped package as he/she can while candy falls out. That person's turn ends when the next person rolls doubles. And so on, until the package is no more and totally unraveled.

Here's Olivia showing how it's done:

So, that was our evening. The new house is approximately 45 miles away, so it's a little bit of a drive to get out there. But it's not exactly in California, either.

Improvables: Tenth Anniversary Show

TEN years . . . it's hard to believe. Nevertheless, we made it, and we hit the milestone with this month and the end of our tenth year performing improv together.

Accordingly, we held our annual Reunion Show Friday night at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre/the Davis Center for the Performing Arts. Usually, we have these performances in January. But due to some upcoming changes we recently announced to the public—namely, that we're moving the troupe to the Bountiful Davis Arts Center in January 2019!—we bumped up the Reunion Show a few weeks for our third-to-last show at CPLT. And fortunately, my siblings Biz and Steve, along with Ian and Ryan, all agreed to return to our stage for the momentous occasion.

It was great sharing the stage with these guys once more, along with current Improvables Keenan, Parker, and Shannon, with Ricky as MC and Willis on keys. In some ways, it was like our returning players never left, because the cohesion and teamwork were still there in spades.

Here's the gang playing "Slide Show":

After the show, we celebrated our decade of improv with a cake:

The cake was warranted. After all, how long does something like a 10-year anniversary roll around in the theater biz? Not that often, honestly. It's a labor of love.

Improvables: Christmas Party 2018

Our annual troupe Christmas party was held Thursday night. These yokels pictured here were present for the occasion:

(JB also attended with me but was the one taking this picture.)

That included, as it always does, a good variety of holiday foods, as well as our white elephant gift exchange. JB ended up with a pair of ladies' socks (somewhat appropriate, no?), while yours truly pocketed a Captain American lip moisturizer.

The First Presidency's Christmas Devotional

It's good to have friends in high places, and one of mine is good old Pepe. We've known each other and have been friends since literally pre-school.

Pepe has been a member of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square (or the artists formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir) for many years now. Most of those years, at about this time of year, he has generously given me tickets to attend the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional down at the Conference Center. It is always a wonderful experience attending an evening of inspirational Christmas messages, as well as listening to music from the TabChoir and Orchestra at Temple Square.

JB and I went on our first date, in fact, to the devotional two years ago. Last year, we attended once more, just a week after we got engaged. And for the third straight year, we attended Sunday night for the first time as a married couple.

The Conference Center was beautifully decorated.

The devotional itself was marvelous. The speakers were Sister Sharon Eubank of the Relief Society General Presidency; Elder Terence M. Vinson of the Presidency of the Seventy; Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; and finally our prophet, Pres. Russell M. Nelson. It was incredible to sit just a stone's throw from a prophet of God, hearing his inspired counsel.

The TabChoir and orchestra performed "The First Noel," "Silent Night," "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful," and the "Hallelujah" chorus from Handel's great work Messiah. Years ago, Dad taught me years that you always stand for any performance of the "Hallelujah" chorus, following a precedent set by the British king George II, who was so moved when he first heard it that he stood up.

And so, when in Rome, etc.

After the devotional, we took a stroll around Temple Square, in spite of a light snowstorm, to see the lights, which are always a beautiful sight.

It's an added bonus to have a beautiful person at your side.

Improvables: Hill Air Force Base Benefit Show

On Friday night, it was a couple of improv firsts for me: (1) performing a show at Hill Air Force Base, and (2) getting a medal for it (!), as well as this official certificate from the U.S. Air Force:

We were asked to donate a free performance for the good folks at HAFB and their families, as part of their Combined Federal Campaign Charity Drive and Fundraiser series. We were more than happy to do so! Cassie, Kelly B., Megan, Parker, Richard, and I rounded out the cast for the show, with Keenan as MC.

The Stephensen Theater is a very nice venue to perform in, and our audience was enthusiastic and had a great time.

Among our the games in our set, Kelly, Cassie, Richard, and Parker played "Revolver":

Here's the troupe after the show:

... and my turn posing with the medal presented to the troupe (no, we didn't get individual medals; we'll have to train for the next Olympics for that, I guess):

It was another unforgettable evening in the improv biz.