25 plus shipping and handling

that's what one of my friends wrote in my card last year and I thought it was hilarious especially since the shipping and handling is almost as much as the package. My parents happened to move the weekend of the Weber State football game so I drove up there and spent a whole day on Wednesday, November 13th helping them finishing moving a few things and getting settled. It was fun to work with my cousin McKenzie who was also there helping them. I got their closet organized. Then moved over the rest of their food and made sure they had meals for the next few days. Then McKenzie and I finished clearing off the bar/kitchen area so they had a livable work space. It was a long day but fun to see their new place and spend time with them. The kids want to go up over Christmas break and play games and go swimming in their pool.

I try to plan a little family outing the weekend of my birthday to celebrate. Last year I had bought tickets to see Beauty and the Beast at Hale Center Theater. We had to pick Ellie up from campus since she requested a ride so she could bring some stuff home. So Friday, November 15th, Marcus and I dropped Andrew off at orchestra then headed down to pick up Ellie for the weekend. As we were driving I pointed out the capitol building, the Salt Lake temple with scaffolding since it is still being renovated, and Rice-Eccles stadium where UofU and BYU played last weekend. Marcus then proceeds to roll down his window and start shouting, "I'm not voting for Utah. I love BYU!" That kid 😂

Ellie was excited to start the wolf puzzle we had been saving for her visit and her and Lila did a little arm wrestling.

Saturday, Marcus had a 9am basketball game and we woke up to a lot of snow. Steve thankfully cleared the driveway and we were off in plenty of time for the game. Marcus even got to do tip-off this game.

Then we came home and got ready to head down to Hale Center Theater. We got there in perfect time but they had added an earlier show for littles and it was just getting out so it was crazy busy and then they closed the theater for almost 30 minutes due to a mechanical difficulty they needed to fix. So we went and took a picture. When we walked in we were in awe of the decoration and how they had setup the screens up top to look like windows. Then the play started and we loved every minute of it. The costumes were gorgeous and the set was incredible. Seriously I think our jaws dropped the first time they turned it into the castle. It was a lovely outing!

On the way home we stopped and ate at Smash Burgers with a bunch of vouchers we had bought on discount. They had really good shakes and the burgers were really yummy. Then we came home and played some games and hungout before Andrew's 8:30pm game. Then I let the boys stay up watching the first half of the BYU game and I think Marcus almost cried when I told him the next morning that they lost, they could have and should have won but made too many mistakes, thus is life. Everyone said good bye to Ellie as Steve and Lila drove her back to campus. Actually Ellie drove down since Lila was having a rough morning so Steve sat in the back then Lila drove home.

 

Monday on my birthday I had to go to the high school to attend a CCR with Lila. Then I went and got a massage which was lovely. Steve treated me to lunch later in the week and I had a lovely lunch with a friend on Thursday. It was a good week and just like that I'm a year older and trying to enjoy every stinking minute I can. 

 

Later that week I was looking into pickleball leagues. I had been toying with the idea of getting Andrew a membership for Christmas because he really enjoys playing pickleball with us but nothing felt right. However, I happened to find a Dinksgiving Tournament that was going on in Clearfield that weekend. I called the city rep to find out what times the mixed double 3.5 would be playing and it actually worked out for our schedule. So I registered Steve and I. We were both a little nervous Friday, November 233nd, but once we got playing we were having fun and enjoying it. They told me play time would be about 2 hours if the round robin didn't take too long there would be a single elimination tournament. Well the round robin ended right about 8pm when the next group was showing up to start and Steve and I were ranked 1st. They decided to go ahead with the single elimination tournament. So we ended up playing 3 hours of pickleball, I was really tired. We made it to the championship game where we got pickled by the returning champs whom we had won against in the round robin. Oh well, it was good to come home and tell the boys about our loss and that we still had fun because we are talking a lot hear about how winning isn't really important. We do physical activities to keep us healthy and if it's something we like even better because then it is fun to stay healthy and active. We thought it fitting our prize was Stovetop Stuffing since we got stuffed in the last game. We did however get some really comfy crew neck sweatshirts for registering that I really enjoy wearing. So there you have it our first tournament didn't go so bad.

Saturday, November 23rd Marcus had the 8am basketball game and Andrew once again didn't play until 8:30pm. Their games have been really spread out which honestly has been kind of nice because we still have a whole Saturday to do stuff. Steve and I went to the temple after Marcus's game. Then after lunch we went to Davis Bowling Lanes for the Layton Turkey Bowl. We had a lot of fun bowling together as a family. I was hoping we would win a turkey or a ham but no such luck. We did however end up bowling next to the family who we lost the championship game to the night before, so ironic. They boys were like, "oh are those the people that pickled you?" 😂 yes, yes they are but they were so nice and fun to visit a little with that day. The boys were also thrilled that the BYU football game was on the TV while we bowled. Unfortunately that game did not end well for them either.

 

 

It was a lovely week and I feel truly blessed to be apart of it.

Games

Marcus asked to do some coding on code.org and when I logged onto the computer I found this note in his coding: "my life is games. I like video games and bord games. I like to play with my brother and watch football with my brother and dad" So cute!! They had the opportunity today to go to a Weber State Football game with all the boys on my side of the family.

Jake brought my Dad to our house so we could help him setup a new phone I ordered on Friday when my Mom told me Dad had fallen during the moving process and broke his phone. I was happy I found one that could get here in time. The boys were so excited to see everyone and Jakey took them outside to throw the ball around. I made lasgna, bread, and a salad for lunch along with some chocolate croissant bread.

Jake left a little early to meet his grandson and his Dad at the stadium. Grandpa stayed with us and was able to see Lila for a split second before they left. Lila was helping with a Veteran's Day parade as part of her NHS service. She told me she was grateful I encouraged her to apply for NHS. That girl! I told her I love her but one of my hardest jobs with her is knowing when to push and when to let it go because she really needs to be encouraged to try new things.

 

The boys had a blast at the game. Lila and I also had a lovely afternoon. I had promised her we would go to this used bookstore but decided we would hit this cute boutique store that was having an early Black Friday sale. She drove us there with a couple of minor incidents. We had a wonderful time shopping with no pressure or rush to be anywhere and I may have bought myself a few birthday items. We realized that we both like medium tops; for her they are big which is comfortable and the style and for me they fit a bit better so we can share tops. 😉 Then we decided to head to the mall for the bookstore. Lila drove us up an aisle with no spots to park so we went to go up the other aisle and saw two cars almost backup into each other then she pulled into a spot with a little coaching from me (remember it's a Saturday at the mall so it was crazy!!) then she says, "Not bad for my first time parking with cars around." WHAT?!? I had not idea she had never parked before. Well she did do well and we managed to find her a couple pairs of pants on a sale rack at American Eagle before going to the bookstore where she also found a couple of books. Then we headed over to Costa Vida where we got some dinner and I found my new favorite drink combination, coke and horchata YUMMO! Then she drove us home where the boys were also just pulling in from the game.

 

They told me about how they waited outside the locker room after the game to meet up with the player my Dad knows (he taught his grandparents the gospel as a missionary). Marcus was loving watching all the athletes come out of the locker room. Grandpa said he was yelling out their numbers and telling them good job on plays. Steve said he really wanted one of them to sign his ball but they didn't have a marker. One of the players gave him his sweaty headband from the game and Marcus thought it was awesome!

After some snacks we headed out to Andrew's basketball game only to get several texts on our way there that boys were going to miss so yep they forfeited and just scrimmaged with the other team. Poor Steve always substitute coaches on the stressful games 😂 (last year it was when they played the football team who fouled out several players).

 

Now we are watching the Holy War BYU vs UofU Football. Ellie is working the game. I don't know that my anxiety can handle this game but I want to watch it play out. As I was thinking about Ammon and talking with Steve about the game I remembered his parents came to our wedding reception in California so I pulled out our pictures and sure enough there they were with a young Ammon, I had forgotten they had him. Of course he was much smaller then. 😂 I showed the boys the next morning the picture and they laughed. I told Steve it was too bad I didn't think of it before the game, he could have told Ammon he had met him before.

 

Also while watching the game. They scanned the student section and I had to snap a picture to show Lila because I swear this girl is on her dance team, her older sister goes to the U and is in the MUSS so we are 99% sure it is them. So funny. The crowd was so loud at the game the cameras were vibrating a bit and they couldn't even hear the whistles being blown on the field. It made for an exciting end to the game.

1-1 Birthdays

Well Steve's birthday is always exciting because as usual the kids didn't have school. We slept in a little and then made breakfast. Steve opened presents with fancy Amazon wrapping. 😂 Marcus got the birthday hat out of the crafting area and had Steve wear it, I didn't get a good picture of that.

We had talked about going down to have lunch with Ellie but she needed to stay after in a lab for homework help so the timing wasn't going to work. Steve and I went for an afternoon run then made crunch wraps for lunch which everyone enjoyed. Then it was back to normal work and getting ready for the crazy evening. I took Andrew to his call time for his first orchestra concert. The orchestra conductor has been trying to schedule her final cello concert for her masters for 4 years, it was first postponed due to COVID then they have moved 3 times and had 4 kids so life just got crazy. After getting him settled, I came home and got Lila ready to go to her first live performance of Scrooge. We dropped Steve off at the orchestra concert then Marcus and I drove Lila up for her call time on Weber campus. Then Marcus and I managed to make it back in time to hear Andrew perform their big number. Dr Ryan Murphy was in attendance too.

 

Steve really enjoyed the concert which I'm glad because it was his birthday. Then we brought the boys home and they started doing our puzzles that came in the mail. I always try to get them to restart around Steve's birthday because I know he loves puzzles. Miles even joined in and almost finished the puzzle while the boys were in bed so he took apart some sections so they could do more the next day.

 

Lila texted around 9:15 that they were going on for bows so I headed out to pick her up. We didn't have time to do Steve's birthday dessert so I decided to save it for Sunday. As I was going to bed I sent him this text, "I love you! Sorry today wasn't anything special but I sure do like spending every day with you. 💕🎉🎂"

 

Saturday, November 2nd, Lila had 2 Scrooge performances. So I got up early got her breakfast and ran her again up to Weber campus (I drove up and back 10 times this week 😜). Then I cam home and got Marcus ready for basketball. We sent him and Steve early for their scheduled pictures which only 4 people showed up for so they ended up not doing any. I got a few things done around the house then Andrew and I ran to Home Depot to get the kids craft for the day before heading to their game. It is always fun to watch and they played a few kids we know from the neighboring elementary school so that was fun. Towards the end of the game he got hit in the knee with a ball and his little scab started bleeding. It happened at practice on Monday too and the coach put a bandaid on, I thought it had healed enough wouldn't bleed again, but next thing we know Marcus is holding his knee practically up to his chest and hoppping down the court with tears in his eyes. The ref scooped him up and ran him to the bench where we could see blood running down his leg. I ran over with a bandaid and just like that he was better. I wish I would have taken a picture of him being scooped off the court. Our friends have a son that refs for the city and he said the number one rule they repeat over and over is never touch the kids. . .whoopsie. It made for a funny moment and story. When I picked Lila up I told her Marcus was carried off the court do to an injury. 😂 We picked up Burly Burgers on our way home for Steve's special birthday meal. We had talked about going to Lagoon for a couple of hours but I think everyone was a little tired and looking forward to relaxing a bit. The boys were playing upstairs nicely so we just chilled.

 

Then at 5pm I sent Steve and the boys to Andrew's basketball game. Then Lila and I picked up a friend in the neighborhood who was going to see Scrooge with me that night. She and I had so much fun and actually really enjoyed the show. It was a definitely and interpretive dance version but we enjoyed it. They had learned the dance three different ways to accommodate a mixture of girls who wanted to attend the school's Harvest dance that was also that weekend. This evening Lila ended up having a little solo center stage and she said it was the best team performance of the weekend (the first night one of the girls who had not attended any dress rehearsals split with the wrong group and ended up winging it 😧).

 

Then home to change clocks for the end of day light savings. Sunday was a low key day. We had a yummy Reeses lava cakes after dinner to celebrate Steve's birthday.

 

Monday was life as usual. The dance company Lila has been dancing with on Mondays is changing things so that was a little frustrating and tricky to figure out while I was also helping with the music for the play after school. Then Marcus went straight to basketball practice. Tuesday, November 5th, I checked the boys out early to go to the orthodontist. Things are looking good. Marcus needs to get his two bottom canine teeth pulled so I need to call and get that scheduled. They had a game to guess the score of the BYU vs UofU Football game. The orthodontist asked them what they guessed and who they are rooting for. I told him our oldest is at the U but the boys are rooting for BYU and he told them their secret was safe with him. 😂 Marcus of course got some time on the Ipads while he waited for his exam. Then we had piano lessons, violin group lessons, and Andrew had a volleyball game. He managed to get to overhead serves in and a couple of passes back over the net so some good skills being practiced. I stayed home and made his birthday cake for the next day. Steve video called me for the first set so I could watch for a bit.

 

Andrew had a few minor requests for his birthday: 1. he wanted a collapsible staff. 2. an escape room adventure. 3. to not go to school on his birthday. Well he woke up not feeling well so he stayed home. Marcus was totally upset he still had to go to school. 😂 He opened the small box from us which happened to be the collapsible staff and when he opened the plastic that thing shot out. Glad nobody was next to him to get hit by it. I think Steve accidentally triggered it when he opened the box to look at while wrapping it up.

Miles left a few Taiwan birthday surprises out for Andrew.

 

After everyone was at school, he read and did some computer time then I sent him to take a nap and he slept for 2 hours. He woke up with a low grade fever (which none of the rest of us had). Gave him some Advil and he felt fine so we went ahead and booked an escape room. It was only going to be us in the room anyway so we wouldn't be getting anyone else sick. Ellie recommended one that had a good time for us. Steve went and picked up R&R BBQ for dinner and Andrew ate his pulled pork sliders which I was grateful for because he hadn't eaten much all day. Then we loaded up and headed to the escape room. Marcus was a little nervous about it being scary and the room was a little dark. We all had a lot of fun! 

 

We came home and had cake and ice cream then took Lila to her youth activity. The boys skipped activity days to do the birthday celebrations (and Andrew wasn't feeling well so it was probably for the best). However as we were getting ready for bed, Andrew really took a turn for the worse. His throat really hurt and he even threwup. He woke up on Thursday really early. I gave him some Advil, got him to eat a banana, and then sent him back to bed where he slept until noon. He woke up feeling a lot better but low energy still so we did online violin lessons and skipped that evening's volleyball game. Marcus came home and told us that he spent 25 tickets at school the next day for a reward that included going around and talking to everyone and he told everyone about the escape room. Love it! After dinner we had a relaxing evening watching the first half of the Jazz game before putting the boys to bed. So there you have it, 1 birthday on 1 Nov and Andrew turned 1-1. I almost titled it 9-1-1 because of how crazy everything was but we had fun. I hope these boys know how much I love them and how grateful I am for their role in our family.