Christmas Break

Ellie started working at the greenhouse the week before Christmas break. They told her she could work however many hours she wanted over the break. I knew she had a lot of school work to do (after the breakdown before skiing) and we wanted to spend some family time together so we talked about it and she chose to work 1.5 days the first week of break and 2 full days the second week of break. However, Wednesday morning she woke up and was not feeling well. She was running a low grade fever and was congested. We did a COVID test which came back negative. So she rested and relaxed for a couple of days missing one day of work. We were supposed to go skiing Wednesday, but Steve had a busy day of work (testing always gets pushed to the end and it's crisis mode) and there wasn't much more snow so we decided to skip skiing, Steve could work, and I played some games with the boys while Lila read and relaxed.

We let the boys open an early present of Just Dance 2022 for the Switch. You can have 6 players on that game which will be fun to have our whole family do.

Steve helped the boys put this puzzle together while I cooked on Christmas Eve. I swear I spend more time cooking that day than Thanksgiving (probably because I also prep a few things for Christmas so I don't have to do much cooking that day).

 

We had a wonderful dinner of ham, smoked pineapple, cheesy potatoes, rolls, and a salad. We talked about our favorite Christmas traditions. The girls said they like doing the 12 days of Christmas, Andrew says he likes getting a new ornament for the tree each year, Marcus likes the nightly chocolate and Christmas reading we do, Steve said spending extra time with the family, and I like the special Christmas Eve dinner where we talk about Christ and recite The Living Christ that we've worked on memorizing. We have made a chocolate cake for Jesus' birthday since Ellie was little. This year we changed our recipe a little to be a peppermint chocolate chip bundt cake and it was so yummy (which was bad for me because I ate way more than I have in years past).

We then let the boys sleep downstairs because we had a surprise present for their rooms we needed to set up. Marcus had started coughing on Christmas Eve so I was worried about letting him sleep downstairs but they did great. Steve and I were up later than usual setting up the surprise in their room. Boy was I grateful I had wrapped presents earlier this year so I didn't have to do that too. Finally Christmas morning was here.

The last present of the morning was some new night lights for the boys and on the box it said take them up to your room to try them. As the boys opened the door to their room Andrew squealed, "What?! Where did the bunk beds come from?" We explained we spent all night putting them up for them. They love the new beds and even slept in until 9am the next morning. They will say, "let's go play in our room". I'm so so happy they liked it. Marcus declared it the best Christmas ever.

 

We spent the rest of the day playing with new toys, building legos, and hanging out. I was pretty happy that we didn't get any really techy gifts (other than the Switch).

We took it easy the next week. Steve started to not feel great on Monday and I started coughing like Marcus. So we hunkered down and just took it easy. We decided to go skiing at Nordic Valley on Thursday, Dec 30th because we've wanted to try their new lift and Lila still skis for free there so tickets were quite reasonable for a last minute purchase. We packed lunches, put dinner in the slow cooker, loaded up gear and headed out. We were a little worried about the drive because there had been snow the night before but the drive went well and when we arrived the weather was nice with just a light snow. Just as we were getting in line for the lift the power went out. Such a bummer. We didn't get to do any runs. The kids hiked up a little ways and skied down. We ate lunch in the van hoping the power would come back on and then we decided to leave. They didn't get the power on until 4pm and from what it sounded like Snowbasin and Powder Mountain were on wind hold with 30 mph wind gusts. So we picked the right resort just a bummer for everyone the power went out. So it will be the new year before we get out skiing. On the way home we stopped and let Steve and Ellie try on new ski boots both of them need some new boots. So maybe they'll get to tryout new boots when we actually hit the slopes.

New Year's Eve I was fighting I pretty bad headache but the kids were so excited for our usual balloon popping party. Steve was a trooper helping me set it up and making a lot of yummy pretzel bites to have for dinner.

The boys made personal brownie pies for dessert.

Steve printed little things with the 3d printer for the kids.

Then the balloon popping began. We even put $1 bills in a few balloons. Somehow they each managed to get $1 each. I asked if they were looking in the balloons and they said no.

 

Some of our favorite jokes from the night:
 

*What did the science book say to the math book?

-You've got problems.

 

*Why don't scientists trust atoms?

-They make up everything.

*Why did the scarecrow get an award?

-Because he was out-standing in his field.

 

We watched a fun countdown with a music matchup on YouTube and did our poppers then watched the London fireworks while the boys brushed their teeth.

Overall our break was good. We got to relax, play games, and hangout with each other. I tried my hand at making sourdough and made it twice over the break (yep I know I'm late to the party and that was all the rage last year, but I had yeast and never got into it then). Would we liked to have skied more, yes! Felt better so we could spend time with friends and family, yes! But we made the best of it and now we're preparing to start our regular routines and I'm a little sad. I cannot believe how big the kids are getting and how fast time is going. Each year is so precious and I'm looking forward to 2022 and the adventures we will have together. Happy New Year!

2021 Dreams

What another roller coaster of a year. I don't think 2021 quite lived up to our dreams but hey you feel kind of bad for the year, we all had hopes and expectations after 2020 and well they all weren't attainable. Things continue to be ever changing and we hope to be able to do our best to adapt and keep going. One of our big changes this fall was we went from having one child (Ellie) attending in person school to 4 kids attending this year and each of their schedules is a little different -- good times says the chauffeur Mom.

*Ellie is in 10th grade and officially in high school attending NUAMES. She took the ACT last week so she can start attending early college classes next year. She is also taking yearbook and making some good friends in the class. It has also been good for her because it encourages her to go to school events to take pictures.

 

*Lila did WSU Prep this summer and really enjoyed it. It was good preparation for Jr High which she started this fall as a 7th grader. She is doing really well and is a trooper as she rides her bike to school every day without complaint. She continues to dance and read several hours a week. And she always amazes me with her insightful observations.

 

*Andrew is in 2nd grade and has decided he likes basketball, a lot. I missed the sign-ups for the recreation league (what can I say he's my first boy and the first one to show any interest in basketball). So we put up a new basketball hoop for him so he can practice all he wants and he's out there 3-5 times a week. He also continues to amaze me with his desire and ability to play the violin.

 

*Marcus is in kindergarten and loving it. He has some great friends and is becoming quite a little reader. He also started piano with a cousin down the street and at first was disappointed he wasn't learning the cello or drums but the kid loves music and enjoys playing the piano. One night as we were discussing whether he and Andrew were on the naughty or nice list and would be getting coal or presents he said, "What do medium list kids get? I'm pretty sure that's where I am, a little nice and naughty." Got to give the kid credit for his honesty.

All in all it's been a good year and we are grateful for all of the opportunities we have had. We continue to dream of better days when there is peace and love a plenty. We are grateful to know of our Savior, Jesus Christ, whose life was the perfect example of compassion and goodwill.

We wish you all the sweetest dreams this Christmas season and in the New Year!

Dreams of Bethlehem

Love,

Steve, Britney, Ellie, Lila, Andrew, & Marcus

Anniversary Fun

Steve and the kids have been dieing to go skiing. We need more snow (for more than recreation). The conditions are not great and there was really only one run down from the top of the mountain but they wanted to go try it out. I was not feeling up to it. I have been fighting a sinus infection for a couple of weeks and the cold and altitude did not sound fun to me. It took them a little bit to get out the door as we were double checking gear and Ellie had a little break down saying she is a little stressed with all she needs to get done over the break so we had a little chat. Then they forgot their passes so they had to wait in line to get them printed for the season. Steve said the kids had fun playing in the snow while he waited in line. Eventually they got out on the snow and had a good time. Marcus wanted a break after a couple of runs (we need to work on his endurance). So Steve took a snack break with him while the other three rode up the Gondola. They were supposed to head straight back down the mountain but they went the wrong way and had to get in the huge line for the new middle bowl express lift. So they got to ride the new lift without Steve.

I rode the indoor bike for a little workout, made cinnamon rolls for them when they returned, and then decided to go buy a new smoker with a pizza stone for our anniversary. When they got home we had cinnamon rolls and then set up the smoker to do pizzas for dinner. The pizzas turned out so yummy. I'm really excited about the smoker but also feeling a little buyers remorse. . .😝

 

Steve and I have an appointment to do sealings at the temple on Tuesday which I'm excited for. We always try to do sealings close to our anniversary as part of our celebration but it's been almost 2 years since we've been able to with COVID so we are both looking forward to it.

Hot Cocoa Bombs

Earlier this year I attended Lila's young women's activity where they made hot cocoa bombs. It was fun and a little chaotic with a dozen 12-13 year olds. I looked at ordering some molds but never pulled the trigger. This year at Sam's club I saw a fun kit and bought it. Saturday we spent the day making hot cocoa bombs for friends and carpool buddies. It was a lot of fun. We made almost 30 in a variety of flavors: chocolate chocolate, mexican hot cocoa (my favorite), white chocolate with pumpkin spice, and a cookies and cream which was a white chocolate shell, chocolate hot cocoa mix and crushed up oreos (the kids are saving those for a special day). Then Sunday Ellie drove us around delivering them. Monday I drove the kids to school and when the the carpool friends got in Marcus said, "How did you enjoy your cocoa bombs?" I thought it was so cute. I laughed and said they probably having eaten them yet and the girls admitted they hadn't yet. Then when I was picking up the kindergartners I told Marcus that Max's Mom had told me he drank his on Sunday so Marcus got close to Max and said, "How did you like the cocoa bomb?" And Max said it was really yummy and the marshmallows surprised me. It's true, it's kind of fun to see the marshmallows come floating to the top as the chocolate melts. I had so much fun making them I decided to make some more on Monday for my pickle ball friends. We will definitely be making more.

Ellie had her first snow driving experience. She was home Friday morning while it was snowing so I told Steve to take her driving. They went to the church parking lot and practiced. He said she may have bumped into the curb a couple of times, but that's part of the learning curve.

 

She also went to her first formal dance. She met some friends there and took almost 400 pictures for year book. We managed to find a nice dress at Ross and bonus she let me do her hair. Lila was in the background telling Ellie how to pose for pictures -- it was pretty funny and nice to see how they each have different gifts and can help each other.

 

This week the kids have some dress-up days for school. Monday was Grinch day at the elementary school and Marcus decided to wear one of the green holiday shirts I made the girls years ago (Andrew was not feeling good at the beginning of the week and missed the first two days).

 

One more story about funny Marcus. I managed to wrap most of the presents last Friday. He was having so much fun playing he didn't even notice me locked in my room. Steve was working downstairs so I told Marcus to keep playing while I quickly ran to pick up Lila from school. When we pulled up to the house he had the front blinds pulled all the way up and was standing on the windowsill waving excitedly. I wondered what was happening. As we pulled into the garage he came running to the door squealing, "There are presents under the tree! There are presents under the tree!" Even Steve could hear him all the way downstairs. Christmas excitement. :)

Today we woke up to 6 inches of snow and our poor trees did not fair well -- several branches broke.

Dream Work

This week we were able to go experience The Polar Express at the Layton City lights. The weather has been warm and so the evening was nice. The story tellers did a great job. Marcus would almost run to the next spot to hear the next part of the story. And he was so excited that we got the book at the end.

 

They went to the museum where they got to see some train exhibits and get official tickets for The Polar Express.

This week we also needed to finish raking the leaves before the rain and snow next week. So I gathered everyone together, except Lila who was at a mandatory 3 hour dance practice, and we raked leaves. Steve and I have been out there several times raking and cleaning up and it just seems like the never ending job. I told the kids I was really grateful for their help and I said lots of help makes it easier and more fun. Then the boys started singing Teamwork from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, "teamwork, can make a dream work, can make the greatest dreams come true."

Tonight the kids decorated what I thought was gingerbread snow globes but they're sugar cookies while we watched the Christmas Devotional. It was a great evening.

Thanksgiving Party

Mimi wanted to host Thanksgiving this year. It's been a while since we went any where for Thanksgiving (I think since Marcus was born). We had to move the dinner from Thursday to Friday so we stayed home to get a few extra things done before leaving. 

Marcus made this place mat at school with a hand print turkey. He used it for every meal and we packed it away for next year. ;)

 

We made gingerbread sugar cookies with eggnog frosting and decorated a few to look like turkeys.

 

The boys managed to get a ball stuck in that light fixture and Steve risked life and limb to get it out and dust while he was up there.

 

Andrew has really been into basketball since school started. He takes his basketball to school to play at recess and the comes home and plays outside for hours. Our hoop is old and tilted so we bought a new hoop and decided to put it up on Thanksgiving (the weather has been so nice that Andrew has still been outside playing). It took us several hours and maybe a few minor incidents but it's done and works great.

 

Friday morning we needed to be on the road early so the girls and Steve could make their temple appointment in Twin Falls. I heard the boys up so I went out to check on them and they were putting on their shoes and filling water bottles so we could go. Unfortunately the car didn't fully charge (we tried to update in the app and it didn't take) so we had to stop at Tremonton and charge for 30 minutes. We watched some Disney+ shows while we waited. My parents met us at the exit and the three switched cars to continue their trip to the temple.

 

I went to the house with the boys and colored Thanksgiving mats with them and played games.

The kids went outside to play on the "ice skating" rink. I told the boys to not walk on it because we didn't bring extra shoes, but Andrew still managed to get his whole foot in the water.

That night we went to the square to see Santa Claus turn on the lights and see the fireworks.

 

Dad broke a plate Friday after dinner doing the dishes. I saw it happen and it looked like he broke it with his bare hands. He says the dish slipped and hit the counter. Unfortunately he cut his pinky trying to catch the plate. We didn't realize how bad it was until Friday morning. I should have checked closer the night before when Marcus said, "There's so much blood! Grandpa really hurt his finger." We called Kirk's wife Debbie to come over and check it out because he refused to go to the doctor. She said he probably did need stitches but he still refused to go to the doctor so she glued and bandaged him up really good.

 

We took some family pictures that morning.

 

 

 

We left Saturday afternoon. We decided to stop at Tremonton to charge because we wanted to drive through the lights at Willard Bay. We picked up food first because it said there was a medium wait. When we got to the chargers there were two open. Unfortunately the one we went to wasn't working. I called in to report it and shortly after another charger opened up and we ate and watched a show while we charged. Then we drove through Fantasy Bay which was fun.

 

We got home and I bribed all the kids with a Christmas bath bomb to take a bath before bed.

 

The kids had a great weekend with cousins playing games, eating food, and just being at Mimi and Grandpa's. It was a nice couple of days.