Family and
Friends,
There are
no boundaries in searching for a Christmas letter theme—this year’s came from
yet another trip to Yellowstone connected to a work trip on which I watched the
classic movie “The Princess Bride.” With
limited artistic license, the following movie quotes were heard on the trip.
As we
loaded the van to start the drive Lisa warned, “There may be problems once we
are inside,” there’s a decent chance “There will be no survivors.” Then to the
kids on why they should play nice in the car, “I’ll explain and I’ll use small
words so you’ll be sure to understand.”
Lily to
Andrew while he negotiated to trade her seats in the car so he could see better
to look for animals, “Stop saying that!
Offer me money! Offer me
everything I ask for.” Andrew to anyone
claiming to spot something before he did, “Inconceivable.” Then recounting animal sightings from all of
his previous 14 trips to Yellowstone, “Unless I am wrong, and I’m never wrong”
we saw a grizzly bear right there six years ago. Andrew taunting his siblings after earning $3
for spotting bears, “You got money?” (Editor’s note—does anyone else pay for
spotting animals?)
After years
of trying to see a bear on a hike and finally finding a Grizzly sow with two
cubs I led the kids closer while saying, “a few more steps and we’ll be safe in
the fireswamp.” Author’s note—I did stay more than a quarter of a mile away,
there’s barely even photographic proof that we saw bears while hiking. Lisa when I ran over a snowshoe hare late one
night while leaving the park, “That is the sound of ultimate suffering.” Author’s note—the brake pads were completely
gone and I really didn’t have a choice. When
looking at blood stains on the road the next morning but finding no carcass we
agreed, “Mostly dead is slightly alive.”
Lisa to
Andrew on Saturday morning when realizing Andrew was still wearing the same
clothes from Thursday, “You don’t look so good, you don’t smell so good
either.” Natali when asked to sit by the
smell named Andrew, “Why don’t you give me a paper-cut and pour lemon juice on
it.” Lily after licking the bear spray
canister, “That’s a miracle pill? The
chocolate coating makes it go down easier.”
Well, maybe she just said it tasted like salt. Andrew when noticing the sign closing the
trail we were about to take due to recent bear activity in the area, “You want
me to read this or not?” Everyone but
Emily when he did read it aloud, “Boo, Boo, Boo!”
When Andrew
misidentified a distant bison as a bear he contritely said, “Sorry Father, I
tried.” And I responded, “I think that’s
the worst thing I ever heard.” Emily
when any animals other than moose were spotted, “Don’t bother me with trifles.” Lily to the author when told we were going on
another walk, rather than a hike which she expressly disliked, “You are a
rotten liar. Your first story was
better.” Kate when she pulls out the
gloves we’ve spent 10 minutes looking for, “Oh, you mean this gate key (glove)?”
When
discussing the lunch menu of peanut butter sandwiches for the 3rd
day in a row, “We’ll have to force feed him (her).” When Lisa lists the snack options to the
hungry kids yet again, “That’s it? Impossible.”
When the author broke out the six pack of Whatchamacallits, “Why didn’t
you list that among our assets in the first place?” Me to Lisa, “There’s a shortage of perfect
DELETED BY EDITOR in the world…” What
we wished our kids would say after realizing that their sibling relationships
will be longer than any other, “I have been in the revenge business so long,
now that it is over I don’t know what to do with the rest of my life.”
As they
dropped me off at the airport in Idaho Falls for my flight, the narrator said, “A
wave of love swept over them. It’s
kissing again, you don’t want to hear that.” Lisa in desperation exclaimed, “You
won’t be seeing me again because I’m killing myself when I get to the honeymoon
suite (or after I drive 4 hours home with 6 kids without you!)”
Natali’s
(15) accent after returning from 3 weeks in England with Grandma and Grandpa
Dame only lasted a few days, but her broadened perspective on life will last
much longer...She made the top choir for high school going into her Sophomore
year and earned an actual paycheck for a month’s work at Woodgrain this summer
to pay for gas and insurance now that she has a driver’s license and a car to
drive.
Mack (14) is
still debating whether to attend his first youth dance but is no longer allowed
to attend road games for BYU football after witnessing the 27-0 shutout at the
hands of LSU (his last road game was a shutout at Michigan two years ago). Plays soccer and basketball at every
opportunity. Beat the author in a 5k on
the 4th of July. Hiked in
shorts in the snow in Yellowstone. Reads
the scriptures every morning and found hundreds of family history names.
Andrew (12)
might have secretly enjoyed seeing “Phantom of the Opera,” and less secretly
loved Scout Camp and the excuse to avoid showers for a week. He was more excited to spot his first
alligator on the trip to Louisiana than to watch the BYU/LSU football
game. Saw dozens of whales and dolphins
on his 12 year old trip to Monterey, CA with the author. Continues to miss the bus regularly even
though it now picks him up 200 yards from the house instead of a half mile
away. I considered letting him write his
section but was afraid he’d use all the space…
Kate (10) has
a surprising grace when dancing that didn’t come from the author or editor. Was so sick she didn’t want to dance but
didn’t want to miss the Daddy/Daughter dance at school. Finished the first
Harry Potter book, her longest yet. Loves playing with her 58 cousins. Started writing in her journal in hopes of
succeeding me as author of the family Christmas letter.
Emily (7) found
another moose in Yellowstone to keep the streak intact, smiled more than anyone
else on the soccer field during her first season playing whether she was
scoring for her team or the opposing one. Still can’t bring herself to eat fruits or
vegetables. She loves ballet and choir
and can’t wait until she is old enough to go the new Meridian Temple after
enjoying the open house.
Lily (4)
walked into our room and told Lisa the first week of the year that “It’s not
true that everyone gets fat at Christmas because I didn’t get fat.” Where did you hear that? “On a commercial, on Studio C…” Has learned to push her siblings buttons and
manipulate them—latest example was chanting “Andrew loves ___” over and over
again on the trip to Yellowstone. We
conveniently video’d the chanting to bribe Andrew to wear his seat belt the
rest of the trip.
Lisa (36) talked
me into an ocean/beach vacation—a splendid adventure to the Galapagos Islands
where we snorkeled with penguins, turtles, marine iguanas, and sharks and
enjoyed all the discussions with shipmates from around the world that didn’t
involve our country’s political farce. Loved spending a week with her parents
in England and loved it even more when her parents came home after serving an
18 month mission to England. 3 trips
without kids in a 6 month stretch left her more than happy to spend the family summer
vacation close to home at McCall. She’s
looking forward to retiring the minivan after 6 years in December.
Greg (38) survived
an SAP software implementation at work, hopes not to spend another week on the
roof at work with a snow blower due to record snows…Completed his bucket list
of visiting all 50 states by attending the BYU/LSU football game in Louisiana—should
have used the leftover Solar Eclipse sunglasses during the football game and
while walking Mack and Andrew down Bourbon Street. Came in 2nd in a best
(hairy) chest contest at a ward pool party and lost a fight at home with a toilet
that ended up with a cracked tank & minor flood.
Book ideas:
A Man Called Ove, The Nightingale, When Breath Becomes Air, As You Wish
Anyone still
reading deserves a payoff, or at least a better letter next year, but the best
I have to offer is my witness or testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ. My Faith in Christ brings me hope and peace
in a troubled world. Striving to follow
His example motivates me to serve and love others even in small and simple
ways. The world needs more love and we
need the Savior’s grace to help us change.
Our life may be chaotic, raising 6 kids and trying to teach them to love
each other might be frustrating, but we wouldn’t trade each other or the
experiences we are sharing. As the
narrator said, “Death cannot stop true love, all it can do is delay it for a
while” so yes, we’ll go back to Yellowstone next year, and I’ll write another
Christmas letter.
Merry
Christmas, The Eastons (Greg, Lisa, Natali, Mack, Andrew, Kate, Emily, and
Lily)
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