WARD PIE NIGHT
We had another fun Pie Night with the ward. This one was actually a LOT of fun! I decided to go crash a conversation at Emily's table and then the table slowly filled up with women and by the end of the night we were all sitting there chatting well past the time that all the tables and chairs were set up! I mean, I think they had even swept! It was crazy! Super fun! And the kids did great! It was nice that Nate was able to be there. 11-2-22
WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
I was kind of looking forward to this, but mostly nervous. I had a great time though! I got all suited up and left for the church and then shortly after I got there, while we were warming up, Nate, Brad, Erika and Molly showed up! So fun!! I felt so supported!! And even more nervous, cuz I didn't want them to see me fail- HAHA! But I actually did pretty good! We didn't lose because of me anyway- that's all that mattered to me :). I actually got us a ton of points in the second game. It was really just so much fun to be doing something like that. We did lose, which was a bummer, but it was double elimination, so we had another game but it was at the same time as our Young Women Tournament games. So fun though! Excited for next year! 11-3-22
I was kind of looking forward to this, but mostly nervous. I had a great time though! I got all suited up and left for the church and then shortly after I got there, while we were warming up, Nate, Brad, Erika and Molly showed up! So fun!! I felt so supported!! And even more nervous, cuz I didn't want them to see me fail- HAHA! But I actually did pretty good! We didn't lose because of me anyway- that's all that mattered to me :). I actually got us a ton of points in the second game. It was really just so much fun to be doing something like that. We did lose, which was a bummer, but it was double elimination, so we had another game but it was at the same time as our Young Women Tournament games. So fun though! Excited for next year! 11-3-22
HEY BABY
When we got home from Volleyball, we found a cute message on the porch asking Brad to Harvest dance. Super cute. 11-3-22
BATHROOMS
Nate and I spent the day cleaning the bathrooms! The perfect precursor to our date night :). It was actually kind of fun and sweet to have that time together. 11-4-22
Nate and I spent the day cleaning the bathrooms! The perfect precursor to our date night :). It was actually kind of fun and sweet to have that time together. 11-4-22
SYD'S BABY SHOWER
Charity, Erika and I rode down to the shower together in Charity's car so that she could finish the decorations she was making. She really did a great job on the decor. It was fun to have that time with she and Erika. We had fun at the shower too, but most of the fun was driving and getting dinner at the Habit together :). Love these girls! 11-5-22
Charity, Erika and I rode down to the shower together in Charity's car so that she could finish the decorations she was making. She really did a great job on the decor. It was fun to have that time with she and Erika. We had fun at the shower too, but most of the fun was driving and getting dinner at the Habit together :). Love these girls! 11-5-22
SUNDAY SCHOOL
I taught another lesson finally :). I think this one went well. We were studying Daniel! I kind of loved the subject, but wish I'd had some more interesting engaging ways to teach it. But it went well. And everyone participated which was nice. 11-6-22
I taught another lesson finally :). I think this one went well. We were studying Daniel! I kind of loved the subject, but wish I'd had some more interesting engaging ways to teach it. But it went well. And everyone participated which was nice. 11-6-22
JACK DENTIST
Not Jack's favorite visit. He did pretty well though! And kept me rolling on the floor laughing after he'd been overdosed on laughing gas. Not really, just wanted to make sure he was good and relaxed this time. We've got to get better at brushing and flossing. It was fun talking about our trip with everyone though. 11-7-22
Not Jack's favorite visit. He did pretty well though! And kept me rolling on the floor laughing after he'd been overdosed on laughing gas. Not really, just wanted to make sure he was good and relaxed this time. We've got to get better at brushing and flossing. It was fun talking about our trip with everyone though. 11-7-22
MOLLY BLUE SLIP
I just loved that Molly got some recognition this week! She really does try so hard and is such a good student. And Ms. Smith really has made it obvious that she's her go to girl, but it was fun to see that she got some praise for it :). Her slip says I knwo I can count on Molly to follow the rules and can trust her with any task. So cool! Good job Molls!! 11-8-22
I just loved that Molly got some recognition this week! She really does try so hard and is such a good student. And Ms. Smith really has made it obvious that she's her go to girl, but it was fun to see that she got some praise for it :). Her slip says I knwo I can count on Molly to follow the rules and can trust her with any task. So cool! Good job Molls!! 11-8-22
OPEN GYM FOR ERIKA
Erika is finally on the road to basketball tryouts! She's been so excited for this!! It's going to be great! Whether she makes it or not, she's the best girls basketball player I know :). She's been really devoted to the open gym and went to the parent meeting so we're really doing this!! Can't wait to see how it goes. 11-9-22
PAINTING THE FAMILY ROOM
Nate had a few days off this week so we thought we'd make good use of his time off (this is his idea, not mine- I would have let him relax!), so he painted the family room!! We both picked out the paint and I was so worried it was going to be too light looking at the little dot on the can, and then as soon as he got a couple of strokes up on the wall I was actually really worried about how bright it was!! I mean, it's weird because I actually really love bright colors and always want to be brave enough to do bright colors in my house, but it almost seemed like too much. It was a day or so of me panicking and stressing and then I prayed for a miracle. It's now my favorite room to be in. Miracles do happen people!! I love how it looks now!! 11-8-22
Nate had a few days off this week so we thought we'd make good use of his time off (this is his idea, not mine- I would have let him relax!), so he painted the family room!! We both picked out the paint and I was so worried it was going to be too light looking at the little dot on the can, and then as soon as he got a couple of strokes up on the wall I was actually really worried about how bright it was!! I mean, it's weird because I actually really love bright colors and always want to be brave enough to do bright colors in my house, but it almost seemed like too much. It was a day or so of me panicking and stressing and then I prayed for a miracle. It's now my favorite room to be in. Miracles do happen people!! I love how it looks now!! 11-8-22
CROSS COUNTRY BANQUET
Jami asked Nate to do the food for the banquet and he did great! I was able to go help set up before. It was a lot of fun to see this group together. I love how inspiring the coaches are and how good this group is to each other. Lots of fun. Brad got special recognition as a senior, that was fun. And Luke and Noah lettered! Brad would have too if he hadn't been taking care of his ankle for track :). Very cool. 11-8-22
UNCLE RICHARD'S FUNERAL
Sadie, my mom and I all drove up to Brigham City for Uncle Richard's Funeral. He had a heart attack last week and just couldn't recover. It was so sad thinking of how hard it is to lose a grandpa, but so nice to see all the Wright family and spend some time with them. We sat by Forrest and Nancy at the family dinner and that was awesome. I loved talking with them. They are freshly returned from their mission to Finland. It was nice to spend time with my mom too. 11-10-22
ERIKA'S 12th BIRTHDAY!!!
This was a big, exciting day! We were all very anxious for Erika's big day! Kelly and I slaved over her sign the night before :). Probably one of my favorite signs we've made yet! Kelly let me do most of the work, she was just there to validate and enhance all my ideas :). She drew the hedgehogs too! Thankfully! It was amazing :). We had crepes for dinner, did our favorite memory drawing for study time and then sent my birthday girl off to school! She was so forgiving of the fact that I couldn't bring her lunch, but Kelly took her out the next day :). I did manage to grab her a Fiiz drink and delivered it to school just before her KIT class :). That was fun. Since we had our volleyball tournament that night we weren't able to have her party, but we tried to spoil her with her favorite dinner, Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes. We were so excited for our Volleyball tournment, we had a good crowd of parents cheering for us, but I think the nerves just got to us. We lost the first game, won the second and then barely lost the third. It wasn't our best playing and we had some extras who were a little rusty because they hadn't been able to play the entire season. Kind of a bummer, but we were happy we made it to Regions. We got home from the tournament and opened presents. I think Erika had a nice day. I can't believe this girl is 12!! WEEDS!! They're all bunch of weeds!!! And we all know how fast weeds grow!! I'm pretty proud of her though!! Such a cool girl! 11-10-22
This was a big, exciting day! We were all very anxious for Erika's big day! Kelly and I slaved over her sign the night before :). Probably one of my favorite signs we've made yet! Kelly let me do most of the work, she was just there to validate and enhance all my ideas :). She drew the hedgehogs too! Thankfully! It was amazing :). We had crepes for dinner, did our favorite memory drawing for study time and then sent my birthday girl off to school! She was so forgiving of the fact that I couldn't bring her lunch, but Kelly took her out the next day :). I did manage to grab her a Fiiz drink and delivered it to school just before her KIT class :). That was fun. Since we had our volleyball tournament that night we weren't able to have her party, but we tried to spoil her with her favorite dinner, Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes. We were so excited for our Volleyball tournment, we had a good crowd of parents cheering for us, but I think the nerves just got to us. We lost the first game, won the second and then barely lost the third. It wasn't our best playing and we had some extras who were a little rusty because they hadn't been able to play the entire season. Kind of a bummer, but we were happy we made it to Regions. We got home from the tournament and opened presents. I think Erika had a nice day. I can't believe this girl is 12!! WEEDS!! They're all bunch of weeds!!! And we all know how fast weeds grow!! I'm pretty proud of her though!! Such a cool girl! 11-10-22
DATE NIGHT
Nate and I got to see Wakanda Forever this week. I really liked this one. Not woke like the other new Marvel movies and actually very entertaining! Kept it like the first one. I really liked it. 11-11-22
Nate and I got to see Wakanda Forever this week. I really liked this one. Not woke like the other new Marvel movies and actually very entertaining! Kept it like the first one. I really liked it. 11-11-22
ERIKA'S FAMILY PARTY
Erika chose to go to the Hands On Art place on Shepherd lane for her party. This ended up being a lot of fun! I was really happy with how it went. Minus that they kind of kicked us out, but whatever. We got to have Charity and Kelly there which always makes it a party. Nate painted a mug (still needs to finish it), I painted a penguin, Charity painted an avocado, Kelly painted a gnome, Brad painted a shark, Luke painted a snack bank, Noah painted a cow, Erika painted a narwal, Jack painted a shark, Molly painted a dolphin, Sadie painted a tiny cat and dog. Grandma Hatch came and painted a gnome also and the Taylors came too! They painted a sea turtle, alien, and pumpkin! We came back for some Sunset cake (I loved this idea,but had kind of a hard time making it look right because I rushed it. I wish I'd given myself more time. It was cool though. Erika liked it :). 11-12-22
Erika chose to go to the Hands On Art place on Shepherd lane for her party. This ended up being a lot of fun! I was really happy with how it went. Minus that they kind of kicked us out, but whatever. We got to have Charity and Kelly there which always makes it a party. Nate painted a mug (still needs to finish it), I painted a penguin, Charity painted an avocado, Kelly painted a gnome, Brad painted a shark, Luke painted a snack bank, Noah painted a cow, Erika painted a narwal, Jack painted a shark, Molly painted a dolphin, Sadie painted a tiny cat and dog. Grandma Hatch came and painted a gnome also and the Taylors came too! They painted a sea turtle, alien, and pumpkin! We came back for some Sunset cake (I loved this idea,but had kind of a hard time making it look right because I rushed it. I wish I'd given myself more time. It was cool though. Erika liked it :). 11-12-22
COSTA VIDA COLUMBIA SPIRIT NIGHT
We had a lot of fun at Spirit night this year! Much to our surprise Mr. Flynn was there! I had seen him earlier in the week at the STEM thing at recess and found out he was here subbing for someone which was so funny, but then to see him at Spirit night- that was fun too. He's just taking a little break from New York. We got our food and then he sat down and talked our ears off for the rest of the night :). We got to visit with Mrs. Beckstead too which was awesome. He's pretty much convinced us that we need to go to New York for our vacation this year. So funny. We had to hurry home so that Nate and the kids could go to their Stake training meetings. 11-17-22
We had a lot of fun at Spirit night this year! Much to our surprise Mr. Flynn was there! I had seen him earlier in the week at the STEM thing at recess and found out he was here subbing for someone which was so funny, but then to see him at Spirit night- that was fun too. He's just taking a little break from New York. We got our food and then he sat down and talked our ears off for the rest of the night :). We got to visit with Mrs. Beckstead too which was awesome. He's pretty much convinced us that we need to go to New York for our vacation this year. So funny. We had to hurry home so that Nate and the kids could go to their Stake training meetings. 11-17-22
JAZZ GAME
Nate and I got to go to a Jazz game for our date night this week! Some sushi and Jazz. Can't go wrong there. The game was awesome! We were ahead the entire game almost, but the Suns crept up near the end and got ahead by one point for just a second. It was a crazy last few minutes of us screaminng and trying to rationalize a loss being okay since the kid behind us was cheering for the Suns, but so fun that we were ahead by three, then they only scored a two pointer at the last second. We won by one!! SO awesome. And I loved being with Nate!! 11-18-22
Nate and I got to go to a Jazz game for our date night this week! Some sushi and Jazz. Can't go wrong there. The game was awesome! We were ahead the entire game almost, but the Suns crept up near the end and got ahead by one point for just a second. It was a crazy last few minutes of us screaminng and trying to rationalize a loss being okay since the kid behind us was cheering for the Suns, but so fun that we were ahead by three, then they only scored a two pointer at the last second. We won by one!! SO awesome. And I loved being with Nate!! 11-18-22
JAKE SCOTT CONCERT
I just want to document that Kelly and Bradley went to a concert together and had such a fun time! We loved the story about the swaying people next to Kelly. So fun! Cute sibs. 11-18-22
I just want to document that Kelly and Bradley went to a concert together and had such a fun time! We loved the story about the swaying people next to Kelly. So fun! Cute sibs. 11-18-22
RAKING LEAVES
We finally got out and raked our front yard. Kelly, Bradley, Noah, Erika and I. Took a while, but we did it!! And had some fun in the process. I like these things. 11-19-22
We finally got out and raked our front yard. Kelly, Bradley, Noah, Erika and I. Took a while, but we did it!! And had some fun in the process. I like these things. 11-19-22
NUTCRACKER GIRLS NIGHT- minus Sadie
Our girls night started out a little rocky with confusion about dress and such, but we finally made it out the door. We were in such a hurry that we had to just get food at somewhere close to Weber. We settled on Betos :). Kinda funny, but super memorable. We laughed and talked and laughed some more. Loved that the girl just gave me the bottle of salsa for my burrito. Laughed about the bucket of limes. We thought the food was great, Kelly's tacos were too spicy and Charity almost brought her burrito into the Nutcracker- HA! But we had so much fun! The clapping was our favorite part- so. much. clapping. But we could see Molly, Lexie and Erika saw lots of other friends as well. Molly was very curious about the story. I wasn't much help. That story is strange. She was shocked there wasn't going to be ANY talking. Or words in the songs. HA! Super fun! We loved it. We got home to an asleep in bed Sadie which was super nice- thank you Danika! 11-19-22
HARVEST DANCE
We were all so happy that Luke and Brad got to be in the same group for this dance! I think it was sponsored by the cheerleaders, so a little different- slightly more casual, no corsages... that's all I guess. But Brad and Luke were in the same group and got to go to Texas Roadhouse and then Kenize's house afterwards. That was fun to hear about. Luke went with Katy something. He said she was on her phone most of the date. Couldn't really talk to her much. But they had fun!! 11-19-22
We were all so happy that Luke and Brad got to be in the same group for this dance! I think it was sponsored by the cheerleaders, so a little different- slightly more casual, no corsages... that's all I guess. But Brad and Luke were in the same group and got to go to Texas Roadhouse and then Kenize's house afterwards. That was fun to hear about. Luke went with Katy something. He said she was on her phone most of the date. Couldn't really talk to her much. But they had fun!! 11-19-22
LUNCH WITH MARIANNE
I just got assigned Marianne Barth for ministering and I wanted to get some one on one time with her, so we went to Chick-fil-a. It was a really nice break for me!! She sure has a lot going on and on her plate. 11-21-22
I just got assigned Marianne Barth for ministering and I wanted to get some one on one time with her, so we went to Chick-fil-a. It was a really nice break for me!! She sure has a lot going on and on her plate. 11-21-22
FAMILY NIGHT
Noah was our lesson, he taught us about Christ's mercy and we all drew pictures of the last time Christ showed us love. Pretty cool lesson. We played ping pong for the game- that ended abruptly when Brad jumped up and hit his head on the ceiling. Such a bummer!! But lots of fun. We had popcorn for the treat while we watched the Jazz game. 11-21-22
Noah was our lesson, he taught us about Christ's mercy and we all drew pictures of the last time Christ showed us love. Pretty cool lesson. We played ping pong for the game- that ended abruptly when Brad jumped up and hit his head on the ceiling. Such a bummer!! But lots of fun. We had popcorn for the treat while we watched the Jazz game. 11-21-22
SADIE'S HAIRCUT
Well, she did it. She cut her hair! I came around the corner to the kitchen (not even aware that she had been alone long enough to have done what she did) to a pile of hair. Long hair. On the floor next to some scissors and a shredded paper. She had cut off a whole pig tail from the top of her hair. Not good. I was totally in tears pulling it out of the hair things and seeing how much shorter some of it was. I texted Brooke and we got her over there to fix it. Brooke did great trying to hang on to some of the length for me. I had just been thinking, Sunday, how long her hair had gotten and that it was finally all even, bla bla bla, and then this!! Such a bummer. I actually had the thought that it may not be like that for long. Kinda funny. But we did shorten a lot of the rest and I'm trying to decide now if we should just go shorter on the whole thing. It's pretty short on some spots and not in others, maybe just even it all out. I don't know. She looks cute still :). Of course. But such a bummer that she did that! When we got home later in the afternoon I found several other little piles of hair. I decided to keep some of it for her baby book. 11-22-22
Well, she did it. She cut her hair! I came around the corner to the kitchen (not even aware that she had been alone long enough to have done what she did) to a pile of hair. Long hair. On the floor next to some scissors and a shredded paper. She had cut off a whole pig tail from the top of her hair. Not good. I was totally in tears pulling it out of the hair things and seeing how much shorter some of it was. I texted Brooke and we got her over there to fix it. Brooke did great trying to hang on to some of the length for me. I had just been thinking, Sunday, how long her hair had gotten and that it was finally all even, bla bla bla, and then this!! Such a bummer. I actually had the thought that it may not be like that for long. Kinda funny. But we did shorten a lot of the rest and I'm trying to decide now if we should just go shorter on the whole thing. It's pretty short on some spots and not in others, maybe just even it all out. I don't know. She looks cute still :). Of course. But such a bummer that she did that! When we got home later in the afternoon I found several other little piles of hair. I decided to keep some of it for her baby book. 11-22-22
RAILINGS
I wish I was posting that they're done since Rachel said she'd have them done for Thanksgiving, but of course. Something else came up!! Whatever. I wouldn't be as annoyed (since I read that talk on mercy this week), but then she had the nerve to ask Nate to pay her the rest of the money he owes (which was for when she's done) when she's not even done yet!!! Yeah right! I'm so relieved he didn't pay her. We had a funny night on Tuesday, she suddenly had tarped everything shut (while Nate, Noah, Erika, Sadie and I were out shopping) and we no longer had access to the stairs or anything upstairs, or the living room. It was fine, annoying, but fine, until we realized Brad had been napping in his room before being blocked up there! HAHA!! Kinda funny really, but Nate propped the ladder up above the garage and the kids who needed things for the night (Noah needed to get ready for his hang out, Brad needed to come down, Erika needed pants...) went up and down and got stuff. It was so funny. We decided some Arby's was in order, to get out of our smelly house and the obstructions. Would have been nice if we could have planned to have her paint while we were out of town or something... HUGE EYEROLL!!! Funny thing was that at Arby's they'd had some kind of problem in the bathroom so it didn't smell great there either! Weird that we picked probably the one smelly restaurant in the area to go get away from the fumes. Oh well. Just crazy!! Nate had to go to work, so I took Luke, Jack, Molly and Sadie (everyone else was out with friends and stuff) to Arctic Circle for some ice cream, playing around, and avoiding our house. Fun night. They were pretty worn out. Kelly, Erika and I (and for a few seconds Luke) watched In The Heights before dozig off. We need to finish it still. The railings on the stairs are still needing a final coat and the kitchen ones still aren't done. HOpefully she comes back. We're holding her tote of crap hostage... in our living room, so she better. I have to admit that it was super cute how much Sadie liked Rachel and was talking with her so much before we dragged her away. Sadie is a sweetheart. I need to follow her example. 11-22-22
I wish I was posting that they're done since Rachel said she'd have them done for Thanksgiving, but of course. Something else came up!! Whatever. I wouldn't be as annoyed (since I read that talk on mercy this week), but then she had the nerve to ask Nate to pay her the rest of the money he owes (which was for when she's done) when she's not even done yet!!! Yeah right! I'm so relieved he didn't pay her. We had a funny night on Tuesday, she suddenly had tarped everything shut (while Nate, Noah, Erika, Sadie and I were out shopping) and we no longer had access to the stairs or anything upstairs, or the living room. It was fine, annoying, but fine, until we realized Brad had been napping in his room before being blocked up there! HAHA!! Kinda funny really, but Nate propped the ladder up above the garage and the kids who needed things for the night (Noah needed to get ready for his hang out, Brad needed to come down, Erika needed pants...) went up and down and got stuff. It was so funny. We decided some Arby's was in order, to get out of our smelly house and the obstructions. Would have been nice if we could have planned to have her paint while we were out of town or something... HUGE EYEROLL!!! Funny thing was that at Arby's they'd had some kind of problem in the bathroom so it didn't smell great there either! Weird that we picked probably the one smelly restaurant in the area to go get away from the fumes. Oh well. Just crazy!! Nate had to go to work, so I took Luke, Jack, Molly and Sadie (everyone else was out with friends and stuff) to Arctic Circle for some ice cream, playing around, and avoiding our house. Fun night. They were pretty worn out. Kelly, Erika and I (and for a few seconds Luke) watched In The Heights before dozig off. We need to finish it still. The railings on the stairs are still needing a final coat and the kitchen ones still aren't done. HOpefully she comes back. We're holding her tote of crap hostage... in our living room, so she better. I have to admit that it was super cute how much Sadie liked Rachel and was talking with her so much before we dragged her away. Sadie is a sweetheart. I need to follow her example. 11-22-22
BASKETBALL, JAZZ GAME, MOVIE NIGHT
The weird day where you don't quite know what to do with yourself and your day off. Especially because we didn't have to get anything ready for the next day. We bummed around a little after learning Rachel wasn't going to work on the railings. I'm not sure why we just bagged all our other plans at that point, but whatever. It was nice to bum around a little. The older kids did make their way over to the church for some basketball. Then we all hopped in the car and went to the JAZZ GAME!!! This was very exciting! Nate had gotten a skybox for us and Jared's family. There were so many tickets we brought Jaxx, Nate Stephens, Kate and Liam with us. So much fun!! I loved sitting next to Brad and chatting with him through the game. I think Sadie, Molly and I went to the bathroom six times. That was slightly annoying. Not sure what was up with Sadie. But we had a great time despite the loss. We got so close there at the end, but just couldn't bridge the gap!!! So crazy!! Fun stuff though. To make it better we rented Maze Runner and Luke and Charity got treats to watch it with. So that was fun!! 11-23-22
The weird day where you don't quite know what to do with yourself and your day off. Especially because we didn't have to get anything ready for the next day. We bummed around a little after learning Rachel wasn't going to work on the railings. I'm not sure why we just bagged all our other plans at that point, but whatever. It was nice to bum around a little. The older kids did make their way over to the church for some basketball. Then we all hopped in the car and went to the JAZZ GAME!!! This was very exciting! Nate had gotten a skybox for us and Jared's family. There were so many tickets we brought Jaxx, Nate Stephens, Kate and Liam with us. So much fun!! I loved sitting next to Brad and chatting with him through the game. I think Sadie, Molly and I went to the bathroom six times. That was slightly annoying. Not sure what was up with Sadie. But we had a great time despite the loss. We got so close there at the end, but just couldn't bridge the gap!!! So crazy!! Fun stuff though. To make it better we rented Maze Runner and Luke and Charity got treats to watch it with. So that was fun!! 11-23-22
THANKSGIVING DAY!
We had a really great day this year! I was happy with how it went. Unfortunately, Nate had to work, so that was a bit of a downer, but we tried to make the most of it. I spent the morning getting all caught up on my blog, which took me a couple hours since I was only on Halloween! Took me so long to catch up on our trip that I was THAT behind! Kinda crazy. We took Noah to Gailey park for some football with his friends. Then we were able to go over to the church for some basketball for the big kids and some nursery room playing for the rest of us. It sounded like the older kids had a lot of fun in there. Erika got a little on edge about her playing and was getting really discouraged with not making any shots, but we talked. I really think she's getting in her head because of tryouts next week. We were there for about two hours when Nate showed up and we stayed for another half hour or so! Kinda nuts! We didn't have a lot to get ready for dinner this year, so we took full advantage of the day off. I made our scotcheroos and some sweet potatoes for Kelly (dairy free). Kelly and Molly made her dairy-free, gluten-free pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. So we were baking a little :). Then around 4:45 we headed over to my mom's for dinner. She and Simon had bought food from Lee's. The food was great! I had challenged the kids to not use their phones the entire time we were at grandma's house! I think we did pretty good, I only regret missing out on pictures! I had said using the camera was okay, but I left my phone in the corner so I wouldn't be tempted, and then never got a single picture! Sad. But! We had fun playing with their little flying ball thing- pretty cool. As well as the little stringed music instrument thingy. Everyone was feeling really talkative. Steve was there. We had a lot of fun eating and talking. I only felt bad my mom and Simon were in the kitchen the entire time adding to the buffet. Such good food! My mom went all out and made Stovetop Stuffing for me with Luke's help. The rolls were amazing, just ask Bradley- he ate like seven :). Sadie had a big plate full of crackers and cheese and then rethought her choices and ddropped half of them on the floor. Kelly, Molly, Jack and Steve played Uno. Brad and Luke worked on Simon's little mind puzzle toy things, along with Nate a little. Noah fell asleep on the chair. Charity told us all the work drama. After a while I thought it might be fun to play fish bowl! We got grandma and Simon to play with us for part of it. Until my mom called Brent. That was a lot of fun. Taj Mahal. European Chocolates. We had some funny ones. I loved that. Turned out really fun. The pie was great, the scotcheroos gave us all stomach aches like they do, and then it was time to go. When we got home we watched Maze Runner 2. Super freaky show! I don't recommend it. Especially with little people. Fun times though. 11-24-22
GINGERBREAD HOUSES
One of our favorite traditions! Kelly took Jack and Molly to go get all the candy, I hot glued the grahams- except Bradley's, he went ALL OUT on his house this year- looked like a mansion added on to a cabin :). When Kelly got back, I made the frosting, too much really, but too much is better than too little. (The recipe I used this year was really great- better than my improv that I've done with the old recipe the last few years. I'll include it). Everyone had so much fun decorating their houses!! We missed Charity and we had invited Heidi and her kids to come but they were still sick, but we still managed to have some fun. It took everyone a couple hours this year! I was so impressed with what we ended up with! These kids are so creative!
One of our favorite traditions! Kelly took Jack and Molly to go get all the candy, I hot glued the grahams- except Bradley's, he went ALL OUT on his house this year- looked like a mansion added on to a cabin :). When Kelly got back, I made the frosting, too much really, but too much is better than too little. (The recipe I used this year was really great- better than my improv that I've done with the old recipe the last few years. I'll include it). Everyone had so much fun decorating their houses!! We missed Charity and we had invited Heidi and her kids to come but they were still sick, but we still managed to have some fun. It took everyone a couple hours this year! I was so impressed with what we ended up with! These kids are so creative!
Icing:
2lb bag powdered sugar
1 tsp cream of tartar
3egg whites
1/4 cup of water
2lb bag powdered sugar
1 tsp cream of tartar
3egg whites
1/4 cup of water
Combine sugar and cream of tartar in mixer. Add eggs and 1/4 cup of water if needed, until a nice spreadable consistancy.
*I only used 1/4 cup water and I made 3 batches. Could have done just 2 even with sharing with Heidi. 11-25-22
*I only used 1/4 cup water and I made 3 batches. Could have done just 2 even with sharing with Heidi. 11-25-22
MOVIE NIGHT
We were going to go to see Wakanda Forever but we couldn't make that work out with the littles and all, so we rented the fourth Hunger Games movie and watched that. That was a freaky show. I waas glad we let the littles go watch something on the iPad. The rest of us are scarred for life. Jack made the popcorn. 11-25-22
We were going to go to see Wakanda Forever but we couldn't make that work out with the littles and all, so we rented the fourth Hunger Games movie and watched that. That was a freaky show. I waas glad we let the littles go watch something on the iPad. The rest of us are scarred for life. Jack made the popcorn. 11-25-22
TURKEY WEEKEND TOOK A TURN
Saturday started out normal and then out of nowhere Sadie threw up! So strange! She was good to get it in the bowl and that was nice. She threw up a few more times that morning and then slowly got feeling better. I had set a timer for three hours from the last time she threw up to start her on popsicles. She did good, got her "ice pop" (she had been watching one of her youtube shows where they were eating ice pops and it made her want one, so she insisted that we call popsicles ice pops all day- HA! "Oh I mean, Ice pop" "You mean ice pop" "Can I have a.... oh! ice pop!" Funny girl!) and I set the alarm for another hour for another one. Then again and once more. So it had been about six hours by the time she was at sips of water which she thoroughly enjoyed and then all of a sudden, not really soon after the water even, she threw up again! I was so annoyed!! This was of course in the middle of one of Erika's episodes! Poor Erika was feeling pretty yucky most of the day- couldn't even play with the boys at the church and had taken a nap on the couch- so we kind of knew it was coming. I was worried about her being able to do her basketball tryouts Monday, so I was urging her to just let it out! She was not happy with that, and held it in as long as she possibly could. No exaggeration- this girl has some powerful will. But she finally gave in and threw up twice over the evening. Poor girl. Both girls were sick at the same time and it was so sad!! During all of this Luke started feeling sick and was trying to just get it over with several times, but never actually threw up. I was the same way- pretty sick and nauseous all day and needing to be laying down or I had a horrible stomach ache, but never threw up. Noah joined us Saturday as well. It wasn't til Sunday that Nate and Brad seemed to showing symptoms also. Brad stayed in bed until about 4:00 in the afternoon. He doesn't like being sick in front of everyone. Nobody else threw up. That was good, but also weird. Jack and Molly never even got sick at all according to them. And oddly enough, Kelly, who left our house Friday night, was puking all day Sunday. Poor thing! I haven't even mentioned how sick Charity was too! Not with a stomach bug but with a different one for some reason. And she was even here through all the vomiting on Saturday- so strange! But she had a fever, chills, body aches, sore throat and cough for a couple of days. Had to cancel her Relief Society lesson, poor girl! It was a rough few days!! Thankfully Nate took Sunday off to help out. Saturday was one of those miracle days where I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through the day and really only did because of the miracle. I was so glad I wasn't throwing up and was able to help everyone else. I remembered to thank my Heavenly Father for that. 11-26-22--11-27-22
Saturday started out normal and then out of nowhere Sadie threw up! So strange! She was good to get it in the bowl and that was nice. She threw up a few more times that morning and then slowly got feeling better. I had set a timer for three hours from the last time she threw up to start her on popsicles. She did good, got her "ice pop" (she had been watching one of her youtube shows where they were eating ice pops and it made her want one, so she insisted that we call popsicles ice pops all day- HA! "Oh I mean, Ice pop" "You mean ice pop" "Can I have a.... oh! ice pop!" Funny girl!) and I set the alarm for another hour for another one. Then again and once more. So it had been about six hours by the time she was at sips of water which she thoroughly enjoyed and then all of a sudden, not really soon after the water even, she threw up again! I was so annoyed!! This was of course in the middle of one of Erika's episodes! Poor Erika was feeling pretty yucky most of the day- couldn't even play with the boys at the church and had taken a nap on the couch- so we kind of knew it was coming. I was worried about her being able to do her basketball tryouts Monday, so I was urging her to just let it out! She was not happy with that, and held it in as long as she possibly could. No exaggeration- this girl has some powerful will. But she finally gave in and threw up twice over the evening. Poor girl. Both girls were sick at the same time and it was so sad!! During all of this Luke started feeling sick and was trying to just get it over with several times, but never actually threw up. I was the same way- pretty sick and nauseous all day and needing to be laying down or I had a horrible stomach ache, but never threw up. Noah joined us Saturday as well. It wasn't til Sunday that Nate and Brad seemed to showing symptoms also. Brad stayed in bed until about 4:00 in the afternoon. He doesn't like being sick in front of everyone. Nobody else threw up. That was good, but also weird. Jack and Molly never even got sick at all according to them. And oddly enough, Kelly, who left our house Friday night, was puking all day Sunday. Poor thing! I haven't even mentioned how sick Charity was too! Not with a stomach bug but with a different one for some reason. And she was even here through all the vomiting on Saturday- so strange! But she had a fever, chills, body aches, sore throat and cough for a couple of days. Had to cancel her Relief Society lesson, poor girl! It was a rough few days!! Thankfully Nate took Sunday off to help out. Saturday was one of those miracle days where I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through the day and really only did because of the miracle. I was so glad I wasn't throwing up and was able to help everyone else. I remembered to thank my Heavenly Father for that. 11-26-22--11-27-22
RAILINGS
Miracle of all miracles, Rachel actually came to paint Monday. I honestly didn't think she was coming. She came. She worked on the kitchen railings all day. She got to be part of dinner, family night, Sadie throwing up again, and even bedtime. She started painting when everyone got back with their Dairy Queen and didn't stop until 12:00 midnight. The fumes about killed us. We were going to watch the Jazz game but we just couldn't handle the fumes. It was so annoying. Then to have her there all night long. It was super annoying. She had told me earlier that she was on a deadline because she has "Hope's appointment tomorrow and then she starts on her new job Wednesday". I'm like wait a minute- you're starting on a new job before you finish this one?!!! HELLO?!!! So who knows when she's going to do all the touching up and finishing the three that done' have the finish coat. There's paint on our walls, carpet, not paint where there should be in some places. I decided this morning that the most annoying thing is that we have the same results we would have if we had done it- not all the way done, taking forever, amateurish- but we're also paying someone else money to have it like this and having to hear her whine about it the whole time too. I feel so bad for Nate and that his plan to surprise me has gone completely wrong. It's just railings, they do look better than they did. I just can't believe what we've had to go through to get here. Luckily, there was enough snow to warrant a two hour late start so everyone got to sleep in a little after being up all night! Blessings! 11-28-22
Miracle of all miracles, Rachel actually came to paint Monday. I honestly didn't think she was coming. She came. She worked on the kitchen railings all day. She got to be part of dinner, family night, Sadie throwing up again, and even bedtime. She started painting when everyone got back with their Dairy Queen and didn't stop until 12:00 midnight. The fumes about killed us. We were going to watch the Jazz game but we just couldn't handle the fumes. It was so annoying. Then to have her there all night long. It was super annoying. She had told me earlier that she was on a deadline because she has "Hope's appointment tomorrow and then she starts on her new job Wednesday". I'm like wait a minute- you're starting on a new job before you finish this one?!!! HELLO?!!! So who knows when she's going to do all the touching up and finishing the three that done' have the finish coat. There's paint on our walls, carpet, not paint where there should be in some places. I decided this morning that the most annoying thing is that we have the same results we would have if we had done it- not all the way done, taking forever, amateurish- but we're also paying someone else money to have it like this and having to hear her whine about it the whole time too. I feel so bad for Nate and that his plan to surprise me has gone completely wrong. It's just railings, they do look better than they did. I just can't believe what we've had to go through to get here. Luckily, there was enough snow to warrant a two hour late start so everyone got to sleep in a little after being up all night! Blessings! 11-28-22
ERIKA'S BASKETBALL TRYOUTS
We're all on pins and needles waiting to hear if Erika made the team. She's had tryouts for two days now, the suspense is killing us! We were all praying for her to get better so she could tryout (including Kate) and then praying some more for her to do well. It's a team effort at this point :). I hope she is able to handle things either way- making the team or not. She's definitely good enough. It's just going to come down to who the coaches want if you ask me. A lot of times it depends on their comp teams... so we'll see. But she's the best in my book :). 11-28-22--11-29-22
We're all on pins and needles waiting to hear if Erika made the team. She's had tryouts for two days now, the suspense is killing us! We were all praying for her to get better so she could tryout (including Kate) and then praying some more for her to do well. It's a team effort at this point :). I hope she is able to handle things either way- making the team or not. She's definitely good enough. It's just going to come down to who the coaches want if you ask me. A lot of times it depends on their comp teams... so we'll see. But she's the best in my book :). 11-28-22--11-29-22
TWO HOUR LATE START
It snowed like crazy Monday so they called in a two hour late start this morning right when I got home from taking Erika to tryouts. Kinda nice since we were up all night breathing in pain fumes. 11-29-22
It snowed like crazy Monday so they called in a two hour late start this morning right when I got home from taking Erika to tryouts. Kinda nice since we were up all night breathing in pain fumes. 11-29-22
RELIEF SOCIETY NIGHT
They put on a really beautiful (seemed overly expensive though) dinner for the relief society on Tuesday. I really loved sitting by Dolores, Maryanne and Michelle. I love talking to them. Nate was there too as a member of the Bishopric. That was fun to be able to hold his hand during the Bishop's remarks. Lisa, Tarry and Brooke joined us at the table. I enjoyed it. We were anxious to hear how Erika did and Terrie said she would update us if she found out for the website. While we were there I was getting texts from Charity about her four positive COVID tests she took. Funny girl. We came home to Charity, Kelly and Sierra just visiting! Kind of fun. 11-29-22
They put on a really beautiful (seemed overly expensive though) dinner for the relief society on Tuesday. I really loved sitting by Dolores, Maryanne and Michelle. I love talking to them. Nate was there too as a member of the Bishopric. That was fun to be able to hold his hand during the Bishop's remarks. Lisa, Tarry and Brooke joined us at the table. I enjoyed it. We were anxious to hear how Erika did and Terrie said she would update us if she found out for the website. While we were there I was getting texts from Charity about her four positive COVID tests she took. Funny girl. We came home to Charity, Kelly and Sierra just visiting! Kind of fun. 11-29-22
SHE MADE IT!!
Erika made the basketball team!! I got a text from Emily saying to look at the website- sure enough, there was her cute name! Near the top of the list! I knew she was going to make it but this was a relief! It was so fun to have Charity and Kelly here to celebrate with her!! This is huge! We're so excited for this new adventure. 11-29-22
Erika made the basketball team!! I got a text from Emily saying to look at the website- sure enough, there was her cute name! Near the top of the list! I knew she was going to make it but this was a relief! It was so fun to have Charity and Kelly here to celebrate with her!! This is huge! We're so excited for this new adventure. 11-29-22
KILLING TIME
Rachel was here painting some more (trying to fix the job she did) and so me and the littles escaped. We drove up to Layton lights, went through those a few times, down to Bountiful for the temple (tried to visit grandpa but he wasn't home) then back up to the Layton temple, no lights yet, but then down to the Layton lights for two more drives through. Then we went and picked up Erika, took her to Morgan's to see her new hedgehog, and then finally home! Turns out Rachel hadn't even been here very long. Oh well. It was a nice adventure. 11-30-22
Rachel was here painting some more (trying to fix the job she did) and so me and the littles escaped. We drove up to Layton lights, went through those a few times, down to Bountiful for the temple (tried to visit grandpa but he wasn't home) then back up to the Layton temple, no lights yet, but then down to the Layton lights for two more drives through. Then we went and picked up Erika, took her to Morgan's to see her new hedgehog, and then finally home! Turns out Rachel hadn't even been here very long. Oh well. It was a nice adventure. 11-30-22
