Merry Merry Christmas!

Christmas Day was just as wonderful and sweet as Christmas Eve had been.  "These wonderful things are the things we remember all through our lives!"

The boys woke up excited...who am I kidding?  So did Adam and I!  Luke was first to claim the Christmas Pickle this year, and I think the gummy Life Savers prize was gone before breakfast.  The boys knew about some of their big gifts, like the skication we would be having in early January and Smash Bros Ultimate for the Switch (because I had to stop them from buying for themselves when it was released in early December), but they also had some surprises, like tickets to Les Miserables in June for the older three, electric blankets that have been on their list for a couple of years, a science kit subscription for Tommy, and Nintendo Labo Vehicles for Luke, which he had forgotten he wanted, but was so excited to receive.  The gifts from family and friends were also so generous and thoughtful!  Everyone was really happy.

A few stories from the day:

Ben had Luke's name for the brother gift exchange.  He made Luke a rubber band gun, which was cool, but then he put it in a box full of gravel and taped the box shut with an entire roll of packing tape.  Oh Ben!  It was hilarious!  Luke got a lot of laughs out of trying to get the heavy box open.  In the end, Adam had to take the box cutter to it and it still was a struggle to get it open.  I think that gift alone took us 20 minutes to open!

The first kit from Tommy's Mel Science subscription hadn't arrived yet, so I had to wrap up a picture of the kit, hoping he would just be excited for what was coming.  About 10:30am, the doorbell rang, and one of our neighbors stood on the porch, Mel Science kit box in hand.  It had been delivered to the wrong house.  What a fun little surprise that was!

I had bought Tommy a little string of battery operated Christmas lights to put on his bed.  I was going to put them in his stocking, but Josh wanted to borrow them to decorate his sax for the "caroling" the band did in the entry to the middle school the week before school let out for break, so I let him have them and then forgot about them.  Christmas Day, I remembered that he had them, got them back and wrapped them around Tommy's headboard.  They were small enough, he didn't even see them, so when he climbed in bed and we shut off the light, I said, "Tommy, I have one more Christmas surprise," and turned them on.  The look on his face was priceless!  Pure happiness!  And it made my Christmas complete.

We spent the day together, playing board and video games, watching movies, taking a walk, talking and laughing.  We feasted on good comfort food and good time as a family.  I loved seeing how Zac stepped in to help Tommy with his first science experiment, making a tin hedgehog, and helping Luke to construct his first Labo pieces.  He is such a great big brother!

The two days of Christmas celebrations were pretty much perfection!  I sat by the tree on Christmas Day in the quiet of the evening, just looking at the bright lights and feeling all the feels.  It seems like it would be impossible to capture in words how the whole thing felt to my mama heart, but these will have to do: contentment, quiet joy, peace, love, gratitude, and a little bit of that bittersweetness of lasts and loss, as, in the fall, our family starts the new stage of sending these boys out into the world one-by-one to share their light beyond our little sphere. 

Adam made me this beautiful pallet world map!  Isn't it amazing?

A lot of our gifts this year were printed on card-stock: experience over stuff.  It made for a less-full tree, but for more full hearts!  PV for Adam and I, a skication for all and Les Mis for the oldest 5 Conlins.

It was a really nice day for a walk!

First science experiment underway!  This kit was really cool.

Tin pellet that turns into the tin hedgehog.

The completed tin hedgehog.

Tin dendrites.

Tin dendrites after 15 minutes.

White Christmas!

Assembling Labo.

Josh weaved this awesome guitar strap for Zac.

The Christmas chocolate mousse needed its own picture.  We look forward to it all year long.

So happy!

Taking it all in, feeling it all.

A Lovely, Family-Focused, Quiet Christmas Eve

It was just the Chaos for Christmas this year, and it was a wonderful, sweet way to spend Zac's last Christmas living at home.  I loved the precious, uninterrupted time with my guys, focused on the birth of Christ, family, food, togetherness and traditions.

For Christmas Eve, the older guys started with some basketball at the church and then Adam cooked us an aebleskiver feast.  We invited the Barkers over to share; which was only fair since we had talked aebleskivers up so much that we had to give them a taste of the deliciousness!  Then we drove downtown to try the outdoor ice skating rink at Acacia Park.  It was tiny and crowded, and the guys had to wear too-big skates because they were all out of regular sizes, but everyone had a great time.  Although I didn't skate because of the Lego hand, it was fun to watch them enjoying their time on the ice--while sipping a hot cocoa from the Starbucks across the street.

We returned home, got dinner ready to go in the oven, and then headed out to the church my parents attend when they are here, Sunrise Methodist, for their candlelight Christmas Eve service.  We ended up in the front center row, this large Mormon family taking up the whole pew.  We thought it was pretty funny!  The music was lovely, the quiet spirit of the celebration of the birth of Christ was felt, and all of the boys really enjoyed it.  We will surely go again! 

Back at home, we waited for dinner to cook, opened Christmas jammies, ate a chicken cordon bleu casserole feast, read the Christmas Story and sang carols with the ukulele.  The night ended with the boys putting cookies out for Santa and tucking in tight.

 What a wonderful, beautiful day!

 

Celebrating Zac's 18th: Welcome To Adulthood, Z!

We celebrated Zac's 18th as a family with presents, dinner at Noodles and Company, Luke's band concert and an amazing homemade triple chocolate cake that Josh and Ben helped me make because the Lego hand doesn't do layer cakes.  On the Friday following his birthday, Zac took Ian and Nathan to the Springs Climbing Center for some indoor climbing and then to Buffalo Wild Wings for $107 worth of hot wings!  Whaaaa?!?  At the start of the night, we put money into his account so he could pay for climbing and dinner, and we thought it was plenty, but he texted a picture of the bill and said, "Sorry...we ate a lot."  Hahaha!  I think tired arms and full bellies make for a pretty great birthday celebration!

We love you, Zac!  Welcome to adulthood!

Zac on Zac: Adult!

Well, here we are.  Our sweet, smiley, chubby first-born baby has grown into a full adult.  And he is an adult I am so deeply proud of: still smiley and sweet, kind, smart, witty, faithful, eager, talented, but not even a little bit chubby.  It is an amazing thing as a parent to see how your child has become who they are over the years; to consider the ways they have remained the same since they were tiny humans, and to think back on the events, large and small, that shaped them, the traits they have developed to make them good, solid adults.  Zac has been a pleasure to raise, and although our job "raising" him is coming to a close, we are so blessed that we get to have a place in his life, to worry over him, to help him, to love him, to be his friends, advisors and parents forever.

At eighteen, Zac is ready to take on adulthood.  We can see his confidence and eagerness to get out into the world and strike a new path.  We can identify places and areas where there are going to be adjustments that he doesn't realize will be as hard as they are going to be, but he is prepared to take them on and find his way--and we will be here cheering for him and supporting him as he faces them.  Zac is excited about what is ahead, and it's hard not to catch his wave of enthusiasm.  It helps me deal with the sad parts!  Zac, as ever, has so much light to share.  His easy-going personality, optimism and rosy view of the world are contagious, and these characteristics draw others to him.  He is a supportive and present friend.  This year he had the opportunity to lead both at Zion's Camp and in his Cybersecurity cohort, and these opportunities have allowed him to show what a great leader he is.  He has excelled in school this past year and really loves his Cybersecurity class and all that he is learning from it.  Cybersecurity has really given him purpose as he moves on to college, and he has set a lot of goals based on his love and understanding of this area of study.  He is working hard in all of his classes, not just Cyber, and trying to keep Senioritis at bay as best as he can.  When Zac loves something and is interested in it, he gives it his all.  It is obvious to all of us what his passions are: cyber, music, technology and his family.  I love that he seems to recognize that he will be moving on and moving up soon and has made an effort to be present with the family and help out wherever he can.  He has taken Luke under his wing, and I can see how much Luke enjoys spending time with him.  Zac is trying to grow those adult skills of "see a need and fill it" and "do what needs to be done before someone else has to ask."  He has not perfected these skills quite yet, but I can see the times when he tries!  He has so much on his plate, and doesn't back down from "busy."  Currently, he is involved in Sudo Cyber, the leadership team for the cyber and coding cohort, Singsations and Ramantics.  He's also spent a lot of time self-teaching the guitar and hanging with friends from church and school, but mostly Ian and Nathan.  It has been fun to see his friendship with these guys develop strength this year as they share a few classes, Engineering, Singsations and KRAM, as well as time at cross-country this past fall and on stage with the theatre program.  He's always had a solid group of friends, but his close friends have often changed from year to year.  We can see how these guys have become "best" friends to him and  I hope their friendship will stand the test of miles and changes over the years ahead.  I love this kid...I mean adult...with all my heart, and I can't wait to see what the years ahead bring him.  He deserves all the wonderful things because of all the wonderful he has brought to us these past 18 years!

And now, Zac's last birthday interview--Zac on Zac: Eighteen!

How old are you?  "Eighteen.  I am an adult!"
What makes you happy?  "Snowboarding, guitars and computers."
What are your favorite things to eat?  "Eat...Ritz crackers, mashed potatoes and giant chocolate cakes."
What is your least favorite thing to eat?  "Tofu and brussels sprouts." (Let it be noted that these are possibly 2 of my favorite things!)
What are your favorite things to do?  "Snowboard, play guitar, sing.'"
What is your favorite TV show?  "The Hundred, because that is really the only TV show I watch."
What are you really good at?   "Computers, I'm good at...leading, being the 'Idea Man,' soccer."
What is your favorite movie?  "Can I give my top?  A Quiet Place, Lego Movie, How to Train Your Dragon, Aquaman."
What is your favorite animal?  "Dog."
What is your favorite color?  "A good saffron color--good, strong, vibrant yellow."
What is your favorite song?  "Don't Stop Me Now by Queen."
Who are your best friends?  "Huh...let me think...Nathan Barker and Ian Wilkinson."
What do you and Mom do together that you love?  "I just enjoy doing things with her.  I value time with her and her presence."
What do you and Dad do together that you love?  "Same as for Mom."
What is your favorite sport?  "Snowboarding."
What is your favorite book?  "Red Rising."
Where is your favorite place to go?  "The Conlin Lake House and Copper Mountain."
What makes you feel scared?  "Adulting.  Realizing I'm about to go out into the world on my own."
What do you want to be when you grow up?  "A white hat (ethical hacker); security analytics."
What words would you use to describe yourself? "Easy-going, determined, hardworking, leader, intelligent."
What is the most exciting thing you got to do this year? "I went to France and London."
What do you want to tell the future you? "Don't give up on dreams because they're hard."

Turning Thirty-Eleven

My guys know just how to make a mama feel special on her birthday--and surprise her, too.  A karaoke machine and a night of singing (not often on pitch) was the perfect way to celebrate thirty-eleven!  We had such a good time and laughed a ton, which is the best gift I could have asked for on my day.  It was a sweet day, filled with well-wishes and kindness from friends and family near and far.  I am so grateful for all 41 years, and the gifts and growth that each year has given me.