Nunchuk Skills

Jackson recently attended a friend's birthday party and came home a ninja.

Don't look so shocked.

Olive Fingers Strike Back!

At Sunday's bi-monthly family dinner, Kira came up to me and said, "Look! I painted my nails."

Reunited, and It Feels So Good

The members of the Improvables celebrated their fifth (closer to sixth, actually, but who's counting?) anniversary at the Davis Center for the Performing Arts this past weekend with a Reunion Show, something that I think was long overdue for us. For this occasion, former troupe members and friends Darren Eggett and Grant, Guy, and Michael Gibbons joined us on stage for the first time in years (in Darren's case, it had been nearly six years!), and the multitalented Gibbons clan brought along their instruments, to boot.

I was fortunate to be able to join them and other current troupe members for this performance, and we had a most enjoyable evening together.

Prior to the start of the show, Grant, Michael, and Guy warmed up musically:

During the show, Guy reprised his Leroy character, seen here alongside Ryan, Grant, and Lorin in "Musical Day in the Life":

And after the show, Ricky and Keenan joined in with the Gibbons on an impromptu (what else?) rendition of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby":

It was an evening not to be forgotten.

Luke's Baptism

My eight-year-old nephew Luke was baptized into the LDS Church Saturday by his dad, my brother Dave. We're all proud of his decision and are grateful for the great young man this kid is becoming.

Here's a photo from after the end of the baptismal service, with Luke standing next to Jenna, Jessica, Jake, Dave, and Kira.

Normally, I post just one photo for an event like this, but I love the look on Luke's face in the second photo. So, lucky you—you get to see two of them.

Peas

I got to spend part of my New Year's Day holiday with this cute kid, my five-month-old nephew Christian:

As you can see, I fed him peas, which was his first experience eating that particular vegetable. And, as you can tell, some of them actually ended up in his mouth.

All Is Calm, All Is Bright

Christmas was last week. Perhaps you've heard of this holiday.

I am a week (and also a year, depending on your point-of-view) late in posting photos of our family shindig, but suffice me to say that we had a good one together. I was down and out with strep throat though I was on antibiotics, and the family was good enough not to shun me from spending time with them and observing the many goings-on.

Our annual family Christmas Eve program was very well put together, as it always is, by my sister. Kira enjoyed playing the part of Mary, while Luke was one of the three wise men:

Dad grew out his annual holiday beard for the occasion and gave Kuma a good scratch on the head as he looked on.

Gifts were also exchanged, and among the many given and received, I must say that my family knows me well enough to get me gift certificates for Dee's:

I hope the rest of you out there in blogging land, likewise, had a good Christmas holiday and that the year 2014 is a good year for one and all.

Rasslin'

My nephews Luke and Jackson, both neverending sources of entertainment, got in some old-fashioned rasslin' Sunday after bi-monthly family dinner at Ben's and Adi's house in Centerville.

Hangin' with Christian

My youngest nephew Christian is now five months old. They sure grow up fast, don't they?

I was fortunate enough to get to spend some quality time with him over at Grandma's and Grandpa's house Wednesday afternoon.

Second Thanksgiving

Hobbits have second breakfast; we have second Thanksgiving. At least, we do on the years when everybody goes to their in-laws' on Thanksgiving Day.

Such was the case last week, when bi-monthly family dinner became second Thanksgiving. Scott, Claudia, and their gang came up from Lehi and joined us for the occasion. The food was plentiful and delicious.

Christian continues to be the ladies' man wherever he goes. . . .

Most of the nieces and nephews gathered around the Christmas tree to play with Grandma Plowman's new train.

Good times, as you might expect, were had by all.

The Family 5K

How was your Thanksgiving this year? I hope it was a good one all around. As far as the Plowmans' holiday went, four of us (Mom, Dad, Biz, and myself) participated in our first 5K race.

Jeff also joined us for the South Davis Recreation Center's Family 5K, a race covering parts of Bountiful and Centerville. As for the four aforementioned first timers, it wasn't necessarily about speed or competition but rather in crossing the finish line, which we did together after about 66 minutes on the road.

 

And now we have these cute medals to show for it. So, it was a win-win all around.