... to wish you a merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve can only mean several things for the Murray's. #1 My dad (and his brother's) birthday, #2 birthday brunch, #3 Murray Christmas Program and #4 the gift exchange. This year we returned to the Krain for the birthday brunch which was quite tasty, their menu has not changed in... oh I don't know how many years.
Later in the afternoon we reconvene at my grandma's house for the full deal, the real party begins with the program (da da da.) It was pretty good this year. I have a few highlights for you. Other than that you can check out last year to see what we did.
My mom did a great relay game of trying to open a gift with giant gloves on. Pretty good.

And this is what you really missed out on Alison. Grandma did the same thing she did last year because apparently we failed last year. Basically everyone had to sing solos.

One of my personal favs. Three of the more musically inclined people in the family quickly got together to form a trio. I mean quick, the only rehearsed 15 min before hand! It was kind of funny, but over all they sounded great.

The Murray gift exchange was pretty good this year. There were several items that everyone wanted. I made out with what I wanted, a picnic basket full of nifty kitchen gadgets and food. The poor item that I had to give my cousin at the last min was a fake sleeping cat that purred when you touched it. Whew, it was a close one!

Then the birthday boys blew out their candles and we all ate dessert. Mmmm, sour cream raisin pie!

Christmas morning-a white Christmas!!! Wahoo!!

... to make spritz cookies. Yum!

Spritz cookies are a tradition in our house. They are pretty scrumptious and fun to make. I will kinda walk you through making the amazing Spritz cookie.
First the recipe: If you can read that, good for you. It's in my mom's old Better Homes and Garden Cook Book.
The set up: Note the spiffy recipe book holder my mom got last year for Christmas. Very handy.
The Mix Up: Mixing seems pretty easy, but the dough gets supper thick and you will have to mix it by hand after awhile. Unless you wanted to break your mixer...
The plop: The unique thing about spritz cookies is their shape. You use a special thing-a-ma-jig to create the cookie shape. Just shove a bunch of dough in there, pick your shape stencil, and crank out the cookies.
The cookie: Voila! The incredibly delicious Spritz cookie!

... to make homemade apple cider... way back in October.

I found one more blog that I forgot to post.
Way back in October, before Halloween, we made homemade apple cider with our own apple press. Mmmm, oh homemade cider is the best!!! Don't even need to add seasoning! Since this was so long ago I don't really remember too many details, except we did it twice, once with Kathryn and once with out. So here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure.

Random Thing #4

So my family has these puzzles that have shapes in them. We have been having a dispute about that some of the shapes are. Any ideas? Anyone want to end this family feud?
Pear...

or chicken leg?

Ghost...

or lobster?

Whale...

or watering can?


You decide.

... not far from home to have fun in the snow.

Wahoo it has snowed in the northwest!! Wow, has it snowed! This can only mean fun for my family since we live on a hill which is perfect for sledding! The only thing different this year, is that my uncle put up a fence at the end of the hill to keep the cows out of the newly planted field. There is only one gate, and we have to aim very carefully to make it through. So far not accidents, momie wants us to wear helmets. :) These next pictures were taken last week when we just had a little snow flurry, not like this weekend's snow dump. I took a few pics, but I have to figure out how to get a video on here... hmmm.

... to McFamily Night... again!!!

Last year we got a behind the scenes look at McDonald's and this year, we got another in depth look at the inner workings of the Enumclaw McDonald's. One of the items on the tour, that was a must see, was the tartar gun. Sounds crazy but it's true, I've seen it. They have a "gun" to squirt the tartar sauce on the bun. Kathryn even let me try it out! Wow, it was exciting. Kathryn actually let me try out quite a few little things. I thought about taking a bite out of the hamburger patty and putting it back, but I refrained. We got a free meal and dessert at the end of the tour. Mmmmm, apple pie ala mode! My family didn't want to go outside so I had to venture out into the snow to get a picture of them in the warm McDonald's. Thanks for working at McDonald's muff!

... to say welcome Home Paul!

One of my good friends from high school recently returned from a tour in Iraq.
He did a lot of social work with the community. He made sure that garbage was picked up, that electricity was on when it was supposed to be on and that the prisoners in the Iraqi jail were being treated fairly. Not at all what we hear in the news. He is home now, safe and sound. Although he is already slated to be deployed to Afghanistan. Welcome home Paul!

Here is a video that has a glimpse of him in Iraq.

Here is an article about his company too!

... to wish Grandpa a happy 90th birthday!

My grandpa just turned 90 last week, wow!!!! He is so fit and very witty! All the family got together at my Aunt Judy's. He thought he was just going to have dinner with her family but we all surprised him and grandma. It was great! Wonderful food and fellowship! Happy birthday grandpa, we love you!
Almost all of the kids. Most of the family minus a photographer and some cousins and a few other family members.

** P.S. I think this concludes all the events I have missed blogging about. I just put up 7 in one weekend!

... to Seattle's Christmas Parade.

I wanted to post some pictures for Alison about the Day-After-Thanksgiving parade. Nothing special. We spent the night in Seattle, saw the parade, did a little bit of shopping, looked at the Christmas trees in the Olympic Hotel and the gingerbread houses at the Sheraton and saw the movie Australia which was really good. That was about it. Here's some pics for you Alison!

... to teach!

For those of you that didn't know or forgot, I was accepted into Central's Education Program at the GRCC Kent campus which has officially begun for me this fall. This quarter my science class split into teams of four to teach in different classrooms at a local elementary school. My team.
We each got to teach a lesson. I was the first one to go in my group, I taught on reflection and mirror images. I was super nervous at first, but the class was great. To start off I read the class a story I found at the public library on reflection, they loved it. Then I had the students split into their partners and find things that have a reflection and explain to me why they think it reflects. After this activity, they came back to their seats where I showed them other items I brought from home that demonstrated reflection such as sunglasses, a DVD, a metal thermos and an iron.
I gave the students each a mirror to play with which they also had to use to complete a worksheet I gave to them. I loved being able to return to that class with my team and to be able to collaborate with others in my class. We had a great time, especially going out for a snack afterwards!

... to Auburn's Big Give!

This was the weekend before Thanksgiving. It was an awesome experience of giving to the community. Our church partnered with Top Food's and the Auburn Food Bank to give away 500 turkeys and Thanksgiving meals. WOW!! It was a lot of work, but soooo many people turned out to help in any way they could. It was overwhelming!! Families were lined up by 5:30 in the morning! What a great way to show God's light and love to the people around you. God you're amazing! I truly was amazed at how willing so many people were to give of their day and time. I enjoyed being able to participate in such an event. I can't wait for next year!


**P.S. Sorry the images are cut in half, I can't figure out how to make them smaller!