Table for Eight

Obi Wan rings in the New Year. (He's a good sport.) I listened to a podcast by Tim Ferriss the other day entitled "25 Things I Learned in 2015."  I thought that was such a cool idea--and a great way to look at the good in the past year--so I decided to follow suit and make my own list. PS: Happy New Year to you and yours! 25 Things I Learned in 2015 *in no particular order 1. To drink water w/ fruit or cucumbers vs. soda. 2. That we are a volleyball-playing family. 3. That sleep is important. 4. "That true friends are more precious than rubies." --JK Rowling. 5. That there are only two responses in life: "Hell Yeah" or "No." And if it's not a "Hell Yeah," then it is definitely a "No." --Tim Ferris, podcast guest 6. That 1/2 price pizza is AWESOME. 7. That Sonos is my favorite way to listen to music at home. 8. That our family loves the piano . 9. That it's hard to drive 40 miles w...

Harriet feels the same way I do about 2015: don't let the door hit you on your way out!

      Merry Christmas from the Meehan family!       We woke up to a white Christmas. Wooooohooo!      Lu's cat, Obi Wan, loves Christmas.     Seeing Star Wars on Christmas Eve. (We missed Jr.--he had to work/make pizzas, but he had seen it already.) Driving through the Christmas Lights at Thanksgiving Point. After the lights, some of the kids got hot chocolates from Starbucks. The worker asked us if we wanted a "pupachino" for our dog. Aside from the obvious "no dairy or sugar for dogs" argument, it was awesome. Harriet LOVED IT. Starbucks guys. Harriet's new BFF.

Jr. took Lu out Christmas shopping for his first solo drive. Yesterday was a happy day: 1. Jr. got his Drivers License! (YAY!!!!!) 2. The 4 girls were treated to a Christmas pedicure by our favorite friend, Heather and her beautiful daughter McK. Days like yesterday make me so thankful for our kids. (And good friends.) Lu, Papaya, Bam and McK, and Zu getting pedicures. ALL AT THE SAME TIME! Talk about special. Wow! Thank you, Heather! Bam and McK. Papaya and McK. Oh, and since Jr. works at Papa Murphy's, I asked them to make this snowman pizza(s) I saw on Pinterest. It's pretty hilarious, right?

  It is really beginning to look and FEEL like Christmas. (Yay!)   Last night our ward/church youth group went to the Salt Lake Temple and did some Temple work . It was extra special because the Salt Lake Temple is so SO beautiful and historic. After the Temple, the kids walked around Temple Square, saw the Christmas Lights and nativity, and went to dinner together. I think there were 30+ kids in all (and nearly as many leaders!)! It was a really special day.   The Salt Lake Tabernacle. Lanterns depicting the nativity. The Salt Lake Temple (with a nativity of lights in the reflection pool). It had snowed a few days during the week, so the Temple grounds look very wintery. (And feel it, too.) Papaya and Zu. Lu and Zu. And now, some extra December photos: Our homemade-ornament Christmas tree has some gifts on it! We even got a package today from the California Meehans. YUM. ...

Dave had a great birthday: He opened gifts, the kids helped me make dinner/steak, Paige made him her family-famous caprese salad (basil, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and balsamic), and then the kids got him this hilarious ice cream cake.  Psst: Not to make this post about me, but I hope I look as good as Dave when I am 51. Sheesh! Baby face!

Dave--on a perfect day (the day he received his 5-year work anniversary gift--a mountain bike!). Happy Birthday Dave! How on earth can you be 51 today? You look so good/young! (You really do have the same babyface you had on the day we got married.) Anyway, I just need you to know how grateful I am to spend my days and life with you. There is never a time when I see you or think of you and don't feel so thankful Christine introduced us all those years ago. You are the best part of my life. (Kids, you are too. But I'm just sayin', Dad was the first best .) You are . . . SUPER smart, handsome, funny, a big-time learner, a big-time reader, a solution/process guy, an incredible father, an example of all that is good and honest on Planet E, a hard-worker, a tireless provider, forgiving, positive, health-minded, supportive of others, a lover of audio books/podcasts/news/all things current event, a great brother, a great son, a good friend, a spiritual ...

Jr and Papaya on their way sledding. It's been a few winters since we've had a good snow storm in Utah, so our family has been IN HEAVEN over the snowfall these last two days. It's been beautiful and magical . . . and cold . A nd we LOVE IT ! Yesterday Lu and I made our first snowman of the season. (We call him Fritz.) The trees are all covered in snow--just like in a Christmas movie. Our park has a great sledding hill and last night there were 30-40 kids sledding after the sun had set. It was awesome. The only downside to the snow: you have to drive really really slow. And even then it's a little scary to be on the roads. Snow falling at 6am on Monday. (It's kinda neat how the snowfall casts a blue tint over everything.)

I love the snow--and today we woke up to a lot of it. Woohoo!

Me, at work--just before Finals. (Ready for Winter Break. I gotta tell ya, we're doing our best to love the heck out of December : --we're making treats --we're celebrating BIG Birthdays for Zu and Dave and Gma Mary --we're pampering ourselves (yup, pampering ) --we're watching a lot of movies --we're listening to holiday music --we're dressing up the pets --we're praying for snow --we're trying our best to be extra kind and generous . . . and we are getting ready to KICK 2015 to the curb come December 31st!  Woo hoo! (*More details about that in a future post.) Forget "Where's Waldo." Where's Obi Wan--the kitty? There he is! (Who sleeps in a tree?) Harriet and I are trying to walk around the lake as often as possible, but it's pretty cold out there (plus, she has a torn CCL--like an ACL in humans). Bam got her nails done with some of the money from her first pa...