Wrapping up the loose ends!

We're thinking this should become a tradition - for FHE we went to Bonny's for dinner and some dipping in the hot tub - a rousing success!!

 

I've mentioned Clocker's Corner on other posts, but here it's official - we went there on the morning of New Year's Eve.  Food was good, views were great, everyone didn't make it, but those who did had fun!

 

Deacon - here having the "last word!"  Christmas time is family time - and family time makes us happy!

Here's to next year!!

(Which will be here before we know it!!)

New Year's Eve - Terrill Style

Our holiday happenings ebb and flow - not everyone is at everything - but New Year's Eve does find us - for a few hours anyway - all together under one roof.   This year there were 33 of us.  It was a crowd!

For many years there have been certain traditions - everything from scavenger hunts to talent shows to film festivals to poppers - that come and go.  There are a few givens:  dinner together, predictions, and banging pots and pans at midnight.

Robbie and Matt went and got various kinds of root beer at Galcos in Eagle Rock and we had a root beer tasting party - that was a big hit.  This may reappear next year.

Hannah and Eliza did dinner this time - I love the delegating out of meals this go round - not only is it a lot less work for me, it means that we get to try some new tasty menus.  

Paper goods ruled this time too - no point in washing dishes for 33!  Although we did leave a large carbon footprint - and the trash cans were bulging!!

We also celebrated Harry's 70th birthday with a little activity I thought of - all by myself too!  I had each "group" - that is each of our children and their families - list 10 things about Dad - memories, talents, observations - whatever.  I did a list too - so that meant 7 groups with 10 items - equaled 70 items!  Dad went to his room - he actually was not up to par over the New Year's Eve day, so he was happy to rest for a bit - and then he came in after we had posted the sheets on the walls of the living room!

He seemed pleased with our efforts - and later told me he'd loved seeing what everyone wrote.

You probably can't read these - and may not even know what they represent, but sometime I will do a post about them.

It would reveal a lot about Dad and our family over the years.

I'm a fan of large-sized post-it sheets - with lines!

Need to think of some fun activities to use up the rest of the sheets.

Maybe FHE?  (This is my list - they are mostly quotes that mostly are meaningful to Dad and me - but it's fun - and all the Terrills know the meaning of "I'm Linda Mason."

I oversaw the predictions activities, so didn't get any photos, but we noticed a real surge of interest from the grandkids this go round - we were running out of time before Ara and Ella had to leave for the Stake New Year's Eve dance and suggested doing the predictions the next day - but the overwhelming choice was to do it right then.

I should do a post on some of the funny, poignant, charming, and delightful predictions that come up - suffice it to say everyone was smiling and laughing.  One example is Porter's:  " Porter will strike gold with his metal detector.  Eve will get a gold medal.  Harry will get a gold tooth.  hee hee hee!  And Deacon will get a lot of attention."

And since not everyone had a prediction in the envelope, there was a little better participation at writing them for next year.  (The predictions have been compiled in a book - at least the first decade's worth.)

I recall last year everyone struggling mightily to stay awake for the new year - but we got a late start and had lots to do, so it didn't seem like there was much down time.  Ara and Ella left for the dance, and Taylor and Noah went to a venue where Noah was performing.  The all together part doesn't last all evening - and hasn't for many years.

My favorite part of the holiday season is having everyone here, but getting photographic evidence of that is tough - especially the years when we don't hire a photographer!

As usual someone predicted that "Grandpa will dig a basement," because that's a running prediction.  But maybe we'd better get serious about it.

Or hope for warmer weather so we can be outside around a fire - that was the plan for this year, but it was just too chilly!

Maybe I should give Harry heat lamps for his birthday, our anniversary, and Christmas next year!

Did I mention that I love having everyone under the same roof - even for a few hours?  It does bring me joy!

A little Harry Potter to add to the celebration!

A little something new was added to the Terrill holiday celebration - a Quidditch match!!

 

It had been such a success at Harry W's b-day party, the general consensus was that we needed to have re-match!

 

The sorting hat - for the dividing up of the teams - was pretty authentic - Harry F. has it down to a science!

 

The front of the Historical Museum was the perfect venue - and Dawn was delighted to get to use her Quidditch hoops again.

 

The "big" kids seemed to dominate, but the "little" kids seemed to do better finding the golden snitches.

 

And it was impressive to see everyone follow the rules!

 

Deacon seemed to enjoy his role as spectator.

 

And of course the event was preceded by some fun park time for everyone.

This may become a permanent fixture - or we may find another wonderful game in 2015 - but it was lots of fun this year!!

Sunday night dinner - farewell to Hannah and Rhoda!!

Great to have the Bolanders join us - and join Eve at Bishop's Youth Fireside!!

 

Great to have Keena join with us too!!  Always fun to see her!!

 

The ever-charming Deacon!!

 

Dawn wanted Bonny to "clean up" Deacon's hair do - it was kind of a mullet!!

 

Rhoda is usually an "early to bed" kind of gal, but she wanted to stay up for the action tonight.

 

Some of these big girls will be heading off to college in the next year or two - how can that be???

 

Since the "girls" wanted a photo, the "boys" decided on one too!

 

Lots of bike talk!!

For such a small house, we can crowd a group in - and it usually works pretty well.  Especially when a few take off for the fireside, a few go back to play with Grandma's collection of "old" toys, and a few watch a video.  The rest of us enjoyed the fire on a rainy night.

I love my family - and love being with them!!  It was pretty nice being together over New Year's - need to get the rest of those posts done too.

Poco a poco!!

The Terrill Family Holiday Bike Ride!

Over the years, a Terrill family bike ride emerged as a fun part of our celebrating.  Last year it moved up a notch as the men in the family took a serious bike ride of 30 miles.  Prior to that, it had involved up and back on the bike path in Duarte - with tandem bikes, and little kids on bikes, lots of odd sizes and kinds of bikes.

 

This year Bruce and Harry F. got serious about planning something a little more extensive and inclusive. The result was a resounding success as adults, teens, and even Annika, participated in the ride.

 

It started at our house, where the beginning contingent rode to the bike path and took the trail from there to Seal Beach.

 

Meanwhile, Phoebe was tending Rhoda, a babysitter was with Harry and Dawn's kids, and David got called into work!  So Ella and I drove to the beach, Eliza and her kids drove to the beach, and Phoebe drove her van with her kids and Rhoda to the beach.

 

And we all met up at the Corner Bakery there, where we enjoyed a late breakfast.

While all this was going on, some riders switched places so that those who weren't interested in such a long ride could drive home with someone. The others rode their bikes back.

 

Bonny and I drove a "support vehicle" that tracked the return run and allowed the younger kids to only need to ride 10 or 15 miles instead of 36, as we met up at different points.  I will say that Bonny is superlative navigator - I distributed water, bananas,  and granola bars!

 

It was a beautiful day - we could not have asked for nicer weather.  And in spite of the fact that we were paralleling a freeway, it was lovely and scenic a lot of the time.

 

We did have a time finding a gas station with diesel - for Bonny's car - but other than that, all ran smoothly.

 

Bruce really is the "main man" when it came to logistics - we owe him a big shout out!  We all met up at home to consume 7 large pizzas from Monrovia Pizza Company - the Terrill venue of choice for pizza - and root beer floats - left over from New Year's Eve.  (I've got these postings out of order in case you didn't notice!!  This bike ride was on January 2nd.)

Bruce hustled back to Santa Monica to return the rented bikes, but the rest of us enjoyed a movie night with Breaking Away. 

I'm thinking this tradition is cementing itself into our holiday planning - it was a lot of fun and everyone seemed happy.  (I think David didn't really mind missing the ride because he had to work!!  He had our house to himself too!  Solitude has its perks when you've been spending time traveling!!)

Don't expect me to be riding anytime soon - I know my role - support personnel - and I magnify it!!

The Terrill Holiday Party

The Terrill Holiday Party started out as a Christmas Eve celebration - and this was before my time actually.  We only came down to California once for Christmas.  After we moved here, Helen had started scheduling it on the last Saturday before Christmas.  About 10 years ago, Helen felt she just wasn't up to doing it at her house.  Jim and Frances had moved to Utah, so it seemed like a logical time to end the tradition.  That year, though, Harry turned 60 and I invited a lot of folks to the church for a little celebration.  And then the next year, I thought that it might be nice to have it at the church - and invite Claytons as well as Terrills - and friends too.  Thus the first Sunday after Christmas at the building on Lemon became the new venue.  Other details have changed back and forth too,  and there are going to be changes in the future to look forward to.

One of the major issues is the ever-expanding size of the party.  This year there were 76 people there - and only 8 were not Claytons or Terrills.  The more telling statistic though, is the fact that 29 of those 76 guests were children under 15!  That really makes a difference!  (The size of the group was one of the issues for Helen - houses have finite sizes - but families just keep growing!)

 

The pinata is always a hit - it's a holdover from the Clayton Family Christmas parties we did for a few years in the 90's.

The Terrill guests tend to change each year - depending on when folks arrive.  Since our family celebration is on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, some family members come after the Sunday after Christmas.

The Bolanders are usually in full force!

And sometimes we have a cookie exchange.

Little ones always need herding!

And we are fortunate that Grandma Helen has been able to come each year.

I usually don't have a pic of myself at the occasion - but I asked Ara to take pictures this year!

This is the scramble for the candy.

Taylor and Keesa joined us this year - they seemed to enjoy it too.

Jims's kids Doug and Robin and family are regular attendees - as are Scott and Heather.

For the last two years, my brother Richard and his wife - and some of his family members - have been in town and have joined us.  My cousin Greg usually comes too.  He's a Stevens, but we've made him an honorary Clayton/Terrill!

Mary's daughter Tami was in town this year.

And we always have the favorite Aunt - which would be Aunt Donna!

The best part about these parties is the fact that the kids get to connect - at least once a year - with relatives they might never see or even meet.

And that is what family is all about!