Merry Christmas!

Rich hates Christmas letters but I love them... so every year he humors me and writes one up for our family.  Here are all the beginnings that he originally wrote for this year's letter knowing I wouldn't use them.  I think they are funny though so I wanted to preserve them here on the blog.

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Merry Christmas! One of the worst traditions of the year is the annual Christmas letter. You don't want to read it, and I don't want to write it. And don't send me yours. I'm not reading it. 

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Merry Christmas! One of the best traditions of the year is our annual Christmas letter, or what is commonly known as the reason for the season, when you snuggle up with those you love and read all about the Cranes, and bask in our holiday warmth. It's not that we think we're better than you, we know we're better than you. I strongly suggest you read this with a highlighter or your favorite scripture markers, and then post it somewhere you'll see it everyday. Read it, study it, cherish it. I know you'll be a better person for having read it. And remember, if you shoot for the stars and only make it to the moon, that's pretty good too.

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Merry Christmas everyone! We love and miss all of you. Especially those of you we never talk to. Ever. Seriously, why are you getting a letter? I deleted your number from my phone like two years ago. I know we're all busy, but last time I saw you at Target, I hid behind an end cap to avoid talking to you. It's not that I don't like you. I just don't want to talk to you anymore. Or see you. 

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Merry Christmas friends and neighbors! There's a lot going on this year in the Crane household, but wouldn't you rather talk about the Thunder's chances of making the playoffs in a stacked West? 

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Merry Christmas! A lot happened with us last year. We'll work backwards:

We had a baby girl this year! Lydia Marie Crane was born on October 23, and she is awesome. She sleeps pretty good and all our boys love her. To us, having a girl after four boys was amazing. We didn't think we'd ever have a girl. We hear that we're in for a lot of work with a little girl, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

We went to Alaska this summer to see Jeanine's family, which was awesome. Alaska is a great summer vacation. I'd love to visit in the Winter, but you can't beat the contrast between Vegas and Alaskan summers. While we were there, William, who turned 10 this year, broke his arm, which took some time to heal. He was sad about missing sports, but spent time doing student council and playing piano to fill his time.

James is 7 and is playing basketball this year. He really likes it and is also playing piano. He'll get baptized this year and is doing really well.

Alex is 5 and started Kindergarten this year. The rest of our boys have a love-hate relationship with school, but Alex just loves it. He is a really hard worker and is doing great.

Henry is really funny and nice. He turned 3 this year and loves music. He's always singing and doing little dances, but he doesn't like to perform on command sadly. 

Jeanine and I are getting more acquainted with Las Vegas. There is certainly a ton to do here outside of the strip. This year we went to the Old Mormon Fort, the Stratosphere, and played in the snow up in the mountains (yeah, snow in Vegas). We've also explored some of Southern California. We went to Legoland with the boys and played on the beach in San Diego. We still miss Oklahoma and North Carolina, but love where we are too. 

Hope you are all doing well. We love and miss you.