Party of all Parties

The Rasmussen Christmas party was awesome. (The only un-awesome part was when I slaved for several hours making this awesome cheddar and ham soup. Upon calling my mom, I determined I could just stick it in the fridge in my pan, and then reheat it the next day for the party....only when I handed it off to the masses while I finished up at the Humanitarian center it was turned on, and then forgotten about. It was burnt to such a horrible degree that it made the whole kitchen smell. And none of the soup was worth saving, it tasted nasty. Good thing Sterling and I had eaten a couple bowls for dinner the night before. Too bad.) We sang at a nursing home-and shared other talents like singing, piano playing, trombone playing, and for Ruthie...smiling in front of everyone. 

I teach those little ones piano. They may have had some minor timing issues when playing their duet SIMULTANEOUSLY, but they had it perfect on their own. Ahem. We'll work on what a 'duet' means later. 

Everyone in the hallways while other people are performing. 

Ruth escaped several times. Mostly due to me not wanting to hold a baby along with my growing belly, and her dad's inability to keep track of her. Every time she'd run to the front of the 'stage' and smile for a while at all the old people. So funny.

So, after singing at a nursing home, we then headed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Humanitarian Center in Hyrum, UT where there was LOTS to keep everyone occupied.

Stuffing balls--toys for kids around the world that don't have any!

Loom hats

Sanding toys-love Cowen's sly expression

Sewing together the balls. Danica definitely rocked at this one.

Tying quilts. I taught my husband how. Only...they do it different there than my mom does, so there was some confusion at first. We finished this quilt!

My beautiful mother cutting out patterns for baby kits.

My hugely competitive older sister also finished this quilt. Haahaa

Opening cousin presents.

This one is pretty cute, even if she doesn't like sharing with Ruthie these days. 

Funny story, Jared tried for a LONG time to kick a soccer ball through the basketball hoop. Danica came in, did it in a matter of seconds, and then again when no one believed her.(Dad told Jared later "Oh yeah, I promised her that you'd give her twenty bucks if she could do that.")

Presents all the way from Switzerland!

 It was fabulous to be together with all the family! Sterling enjoyed himself...he took a break from studying, slept in the mother's lounge for a while since he had stayed up all night working on homework, and he learned to tie a quilt...and we all ate TONS of yummy food. Sterling and I talked about how sometimes its weird to think our family is so big that we have to party at the church gym to fit everyone...because once you know everyone, it doesn't seem like that many people. Haahaa.