JANUARY 2022 PHOTOS

 

February 2022

LUKE GOT ASKED TO HIS FIRST DANCE!
It was a lot of fun to hear that Rachel was planning on asking Luke- Kelly and Brad were super excited about it- I'm surprised they kept it a secret!  We heard the doorbell while I was getting the little girls in bed but thought we'd leave it there for Luke to find when he got home from Basketball practice.  I LOVED Luke's face when he figured out who it was.  He was really happy and pretty relieved probably that it was a good friend.  She had a sign that said, 'Will you o'fish'ally got to Sweethearts with me?" next to a bag of Swedish fish and a bag of fish crackers :).  He seemed really happy :).  2-1-22

JACK ACTIVITY DAYS
Jack is loving activity days.  He gets to have Mrs. Johnson (he won't let me call her Sis. Johnson) and he is just so excited to go and has so much fun there.  This week he won a bunch of the minute to win it games.  Super fun!  I loved how happy he was when he came home.  2-1-22

CLASSIC SKATING FOR PLAYGROUP
Lisa and Brooke wanted to do a "birthday party" so we went up to Classic for playgroup this time.  Molly loved it!  Sadie sat on my lap a lot of the time and whined which was a total bummer.  We snagged a few arcade games as we were trying to leave and got disappointed with how few tickets we had- seriously the system was not working at all.  So we left a little unhappy, hoping we could come back that night, but it was a good time for the most part.  2-2-22

BRAD AND LUKE'S GAME
They had a really amazing game this week!  Their games are so much fun.  I love when I meet a new mom and they want to talk about how good Brad and Luke are at playing together.  It really is fun to watch them.  They have a chemistry when they play together.  I love the bonding it encourages as well.  We totally killed the other team.  2-2-22

LUKE'S 16th BIRTHDAY AND FAMILY PARTY
I think Luke had a good birthday this year.  I think he had to be a big kid this year and couldn't get too giddy.  He woke up to his amazing sign that I made :).  I'd say I made it myself, but a lot of the ideas came from Erika and then Kelly had to send me a mock up of my hurdle "happy" idea.  So anyway.  I loved how it turned out though!  Who knows how Luke felt that morning, he woke up a little late, missed out on our study time where we drew pictures of our favorite memories with him and his crepes, and just ran out the door pretty quickly.  He let us take him out for lunch though :).   We grabbed some Arby's.  It was nice to be with Luke and have the time we've had together.  I was feeling a little like he's just grown up too fast.  I was reminiscing about Luke all day and all the cute things he did when he was little.  He's been such a joy in my life.  He was pretty tired (he's been working out with Brad in their track class and kind of wearing himself out every other day- it's been a tiring change, but I think he likes it) so he took a nap before his family party.  We had a pretty casual party at home.  Grandpa Hatch, Grandma Hatch, Heidi and her kids, and Chris, Sierra and Sam all came.  We had ham and cheese sliders at Luke's request and an Oreo cake (because he wouldn't request one :) ).  He was very particular this year about what he didn't care about.  Kinda new.  But it was nice and easy.  He got a lot of fun gifts.  He liked the magnets and the bamboozled game we gave him and then we also gave him a big envelope of gift cards to places to go on dates :).  Kinda fun.  Hopefully he is brave enough to go out on dates now.  I think it's so good for ya.  I'm excited for him to be in this stage of life and be able to do new things.  It will be fun for him to have more things to look forward to.  I think Luke had a nice day.  I love his humility and his comedy.  I love that he is such a good kid and such a good member of this family.  Happy 16th Luke!  2-3-22

100's DAY!
Molly and I were so excited for 100's day!  I got to go help with all the fun.  Molly was so happy to see me there, kept running over and hugging me :).  I did the counting 100 drops of water station.  That was fun.  We had to predict how high up the water would be with 100 drops.  Kinda fun to see the kids' reactions when it was barely even noticeable.  Molly loved the whole day, got to do a lot of counting to 100.  Clapping, 100 seconds of quiet, marker dots, cup stacking, 100 exercises.  Super cute!  2-4-22

LUKE'S FRIEND PARTY
Luke wanted this to be really casual and nothing too official.  I thought that's how they always were, but I tried to change it even more.  He chose to go to TopGolf with Jaxx, Clint, Josh and Brody.  They got a bay right away and then like 20 minutes in were evacuated for a fire alarm.  SO dumb.  So they hung around for a little while to see if they could go back in but it was going to be a while, so they just came home.  Such a bummer.  They got back here had pizza, played Jackbox games for a bit, then some muddy buddies, donuts or brownie bites (he said no cupcakes, so I didn't do cupcakes).  Then we played Deal or No Deal.  I had found this deck of cards at Dollar Tree (when I took Molly and Sadie to get a prize instead of wasting more money at Classic) and it turned out to be kind of a fun game.  Nate and I had gone out on a limb and bought a bunch of snacks to use as prizes (instead of our money idea) and Luke slowly consented to having this game.  I think it helped when he saw how we played it.  He was actually kind of excited to play it when they got back from TopGolf.  I think it was a lot of fun!  They all got into it and seemed to like it.  I was glad :).  Luke seemed happy and was making it even more fun with his humor.  Clint won the million and got the big box of Takis :).  So fun!  They watched Maze Runner to top of the night.  It was a late one!  I loved watching Luke with his friends and loved him being spoiled by everyone.  2-4-22

STRESSFUL GAMES
Well, our winning streak ended this Saturday, with Erika and Noah's team.  Grandpa and I decided he is an unlucky charm since this was the first time he came this season.  Just kidding of course, but kind of a bummer.  The kids all played really well and did their best so we were still really proud of them, just some crummy refs, crummy calls, just seemed really difficult to call it fair.  But we didn't lose by much on either team, and we can learn from these games, so it was okay to lose.  Just a bummer.  Nate took a while to come down from the loss and stressful refs Noah's game.  Here's to our next game!  2-5-22

LEATHERBY'S FOR GRANDPA RUSS'S BIRTHDAY
After Noah's game we raced down to Taylorsville for some dinner and ice cream at Leatherby's with the Maynes family to celebrate Grandpa Russ.  Charity and Isaac even came!  It was a really nice time!  I got to sit and chat with Nancy the entire time.  I loved that.  Her sweet compliment on the way home via text is still making me happy :).  The kids had so much fun and loved their few bites of their giant ice creams :).  Funny kids.  Good times.  2-5-22

JACK'S TESTIMONY
I really loved Jack's testimony today.  I was out in the foyer dealing with Sadie and he said some of the sweetest things.  Melted my heart.  I needed the reminder that if we do something wrong we can repent and that if you love Heavenly Father he will help you when you're stressed.  Such wise words from my wise little man.  Love ya, Jack.  2-6-22

NOAH AND THE ARK
In Sunday School today I got really hung up on some of the things people were saying about Noah not being able to take all the animals on the ark.  That there's no way it's possible.  Kinda weirded me out.  It says he put all the animals on the ark- I am going to have to believe he put all the animals on the ark!  That's how my testimony of the bible works.  Unless you can show me otherwise where it says that he didn't and this is just symbolic or figurative, I'm going to keep believing that he did.  So strange.  2-6-22

FASTING
I don't know what happened this week, but I was not able to fast the entire time I had planned.  I couldn't believe how sick I felt towards the end of the evening.  I ended it an hour and a half early because I felt like I was going to throw up from the headache.  It was awful.  I hope Heavenly Father knows how much I wanted to fast the entire time, and that he will sanctify the time that I did fast.  2-6-22

BRAD'S HAIRCUT
I love that my boys still let me cut their hair.  In fact, when I offer to take them to a professional, or at least with Brad, he insisted that I do a better job :).  Makes me happy to be able to offer a service that nobody else can :).  Unlike the millions of other mindless things I do- HA!  He does have a very special haircut.  I also love being able to spend that time with my cute boys.  Brad is a fun one to sit and talk and joke with.  He's so good to me and so sweet whenever we get time together.  Makes my day.  He was funny to notice the half inch I cut off the long part "feels so much lighter!" "look! it still fits in a pony tail- that's good!"  2-7-22

SADIE'S ARM
I started putting Sadie to bed a little differently this week.  I decided to lay down next to her for a few songs that we sing together and then turning on Alexa for some disney lullabies and she has fallen asleep so much quicker and it's been a much more positive experience for both of us.  I hate for her to fall asleep crying or with me angry at her.  This has been really pleasant and totally doable.  The best part is when she gets sleepy, she rolls over and stretches her arm out over me and drapes it across me or my face or whatever is closest :).  Then sometimes she snuggles up to me and rubs her cute little face all over me.  It's the cutest thing ever.  2-7-22

COLLEGE DAY
Bradley got to experience his first college day!  It was fun to hear all about the qualifying times to walk on to the track teams.  That was the big concern, which I love :).  He is already right there, getting the time he needs to walk on.  I bet that with his two seasons left, he could really bring that up!  I can't wait to see what he does!  Cross your fingers we don't get anymore injuries between now and then.  2-8-22

NOAH'S PHYSICAL
There was something cool about Noah's physical this year.  Maybe it's like this every year and I just don't remember, but I got this overwhelming sense of just how awesome Noah is.  He's talking about all the things that he does with Track, Cross Country, Basketball, his bass playing, his waking up early to study with the family, how well he's doing in school, that was awesome, but even more than all that he does to make him so "well rounded".  I just could feel what an incredible person he is and is becoming.  I'm just really proud of him and all that he is.  He is so good to his mom.  So good to his family.  He loves all the right things.  I'm really loving being able to joke and talk with him and being able to have grown up-ish conversations with him now.  I love that.  He's such a good kid and such a good friend.  Really proud of the little guy :).  2-8-22

LUKE DRIVING
Well, we're getting to the end of Luke's driving instruction!  He's been driving with his instructor this week and for the next couple weeks before finally being able to get his license!  But we're getting closer!  I miss our drives, we aren't doing those as much, but it's been fun to watch him grow and improve.  And all the laughs and talking.  I miss that already.  Now that Brad has home release on A days, it will be nice that Luke can drive himself.  2-8-22

BRAD AND LUKE'S BASKETBALL GAME
We had an amazing turnout for the game this week!  It was pretty fun and cool that Brad enjoyed it so much.  Grandpa Hatch was invited this week and he invited Heidi and her kids.  Then Charity magically showed up also, which was so fun!  We had everyone from our family minus Noah and Erika, they were at ym/yw activities, so quite the cheering section!  It was a really fun game because we had heard they were a really good team and had been pretty nervous/anxious all week for the game.  But about three or four minutes in, we were already way ahead and no longer worried about how it was going to go :).  Pretty awesome!  We beat them by a ton at the end.  Even with all the dumb calls and missed calls.  2-9-22

MALL PLAYGROUND WITH HEIDI
We met up with Heidi and her kids at the mall for some playing at the playground.  It was really fun for about a half hour and then Sadie started complaining.  I made her stick it out for about another half hour and then finally put her out of her misery... we came home.  It was a good time, hopefully we can do it again sometime but with less whining.  2-10-22

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE STEVE
I was so happy that Steve appreciated my nice text that morning, even though it was really early and probably woke him up.  We all met up at Grandpa's house for Steve's birthday!  I can't believe he's 34!!  So old!  I made him a wood cake :).  It was a nice attempt.  We had pizza and talked about Steve and Nana :).  Just like we always do.  I loved it.  I love Steve's gratitude and how fun he is for us when we celebrate him.  Happy Birthday, Bud!  2-10-22

YW BASKETBALL
This week was SO AWESOME!!  We played a much easier team and had Cameron there so we did a MILLION times better!  It was so awesome!  I loved the smiles and all the fun the girls were having, scoring and high fiving, trying for 3's!  It was so much fun!  Slurpees after of course- Annika was there :).  So our 10-30 last week was overcome with our 28-2 this week!!!  Such an improvement!  Erika was fantastic!!  Probably our star!  2-10-22

DATE NIGHT
Nate and I were able to squeeze in a date this weekend, which was MUCH needed.  We didn't want to fight the Valentines crowd, so we chose something close and left early for Orlando's.  This was nice.  We talked a lot about ward stuff and enjoyed the food.  Too bad the waitress brought us chips and salsa even though we requested to not have it, or we could have given her a way bigger tip.  HA!  Just kidding.  After dinner, we went and saw Murder on the Nile.  That movie was cool.  I only wish I hadn't figured it all out in the first few minutes of the movie :).  Fun murder mystery though.  2-11-22

KATE'S PARTY
Poor Kate has had a rough couple weeks with her ears and then some exhaustion/migraines on Saturday after her game, so bad that she had to cancel her birthday party.  Erika was pretty worried about her and wishing she could do something to help.  It was a long week of waiting to give Kate her present, but she survived and was able to go to her rescheduled party on Saturday.  It was a huge relief for Erika that Kate is doing better.  They were going to go to TopGolf, but the wait was too long so they ended up at Getn Air!  Fun stuff.  Erika had a blast and talked about it all evening.  2-12-22

SWEETHEARTS DANCE- BRADLEY AND LUKE
Brad and Luke's long-awaited dance finally came!  This was a big day!  Brad had had his day date a week or so before- they made pizzas.  Luke got to go on his Friday.  They went to the Coleseum.  It was fun having two boys getting ready for the dance all day, picking up corsages together and helping each other pick out ties and stuff.  Pretty fun.  They both looked so great!  Luke in his new suit!  I'm so proud of these two.  Such good boys and so fun to have around.  Brad went with Bailey Brenchley and Luke with Rachel Maughan.  Brad's group went to Hug Hess for dinner and Luke went to Abby's grandparents' house.  Then the dance and after party.  They were so fun to talk to when they got home.  I loved hearing about it all from them.  Such fun kids.  Kelly was here just to hear about the dance and enjoyed their stories as well.  So cute.  I am loving these days and all the fun we get to watch the kids experience :).  Love it!  2-12-22

VALENTINE'S DAY!
We had a really great Valentine's day this year!  I got everyone little squeeze ball poppers, most of them I got their favorite animal or something representative of them.  Minus Luke and Brad.  I wrapped them up in tissue paper and left them by their pillows.  That was fun.  I spent quite a bit of time the night before cutting out hearts to tape to their doors with things I love about them written on them.  That's always a lot of fun for me, just thinking about each kid for a few minutes and giving them praise for the things I love.  I think they like it.  Then we had a Valentine's study time over some pink pancakes.  We wrote down when we felt loved over the last week, when we showed love during the last week, and talked about some of the different ways of showing love.  It ended up being really cool.  Everybody went to school.  I think it was just a normal ol' day for Bradley and Luke.  Noah's school did candy grams, which I don't think he really participated in.  But the elementary school, thankfully! had class parties this year!  I got to go help in Jack's first.  My mom came and babysat Molly and Sadie for me, which was good because it wasn't really the kind of party they would have enjoyed.  I got to help with the little yarn monster-making.  These were so cute!  Such a fun idea and the kids did a really good job with them.  I loved being with Jack and seeing him in his space.  He's such a cool kid.  Doesn't care at all what other people think of him.  Makes me glad he's so comfortable with himself.  He also got to have heart shaped waffles with whipped cream and strawberries!  Pretty sweet!  As soon as his party was done, we rushed Molly off to school then tried to get Sadie down for a nap.  It was a short one and I totally had to wake her up before heading over for Molly's class party at the end of the school day.  We did our cool little heart bean bag toss which my kids have always loved :).  I loved Mrs. Piper's ideas to use the letters on the floor.  They seemed to have enough fun :).  There were a few other games and then they also got to pass out their valentine's as part of the party and frost and decorate a cookie.  I was glad that Sadie went around with Molly to most of the stations before finally losing it at the very end.  Which miraculously, Kelly showed up and ran off with her, so that was pretty convenient.  She was down for her follow up on her physical.  So we had a lot of fun with the parties.  Everyone was content at home, we all kinda bummed around a lot and played the Oculus.  It was a nice afternoon. I left Nate's gift of two t-shirt-ish hoodies (one was a Jazz one) and some sugar free treats, in a bag on his side of the bed.  He seemed to really like them!  I was happy about that! Unfortunately, everyone had their basketball practices that night, so I didn't really get to be with my Valentine very much in the evening, but it was all good.  We made up for that later.  Such a great day!  I love Valentine's day and the excuse to show others that you love them!  2-14-22

LAST GAME OF THE SEASON
Brad and Luke had their last game.  It was a really crazy win again!  So much fun!  It was like 46 to 24 or something outrageous.  I loved it :).  They played great!  Luke make a whole bunch of shots within the paint again which was pretty cool!  They both made most of the points if you ask me- but Brad said it was his lowest scoring game for some reason.  The reffing stunk as usual, but that's tradition.  I loved this season!  I wish we could keep this team for next year!  Grandma Hatch and Simon came this time!  That was fun.  We tried to facetime with Kelly so she could have the best of both worlds, but it didn't really work.  But she was happy with the score at the end :).  Here's to next year!  They get one more together.  2-14-22

7TH GRADE OPEN HOUSE
Erika's big moment- we had the 7th grade open house this Thursday.  It ended up being somewhat informative.  I was mostly bummed it wasn't the same old style that we've done five times, but if I'm being honest, this may have been more useful.  I don't know.  We got to ask some questions to each of the departments, we found out about honors vs. regular classes and the difference between manufacturing and engineering and the girls basketball team.  Erika seemed really excited about it all- especially the orchestra room!  I think she's really going to have a good year, I'm really happy she's feeling so good about it also.  It's a crazy time of life, so I'm sure it will have it's ups and downs, but she seems totally up for it :).  2-17-22

ADAM PEARCE
Thursday, after Erika's open house, Nate noticed a post of Adam Pearce's on instagram saying he was done with life and that there was nothing anyone else could do and that he was going to return home.  I couldn't really believe he was going to actually kill himself, but luckily Nate had more inspiration than me.  He was really struggling with what to do about it, so I suggested that if he feels like he should go over there, then he should!  So he did!  There were lots of family there, people on phones waiting to hear more about Adam.  They had been searching for him all day in Oregon where he was living and not found him, but while Nate was there, the call came in that he had been found dead.  Nate expressed the horror of listening to a mother and father wail over the loss of their child.  I can't even imagine what that was like and feel bad Nate had to be there, but it also sounded like it was comforting for Richelle and Jeff to have him and Pres. Larsen there.  I was glad he was able to help and did offer some beautiful words of encouragement the way he does, to Richelle.  That had to be so painful.  I don't even like to try to think about it.  It's been a hard pill to swallow the last few days knowing what we can do to help the Pearces, or how to stay out of the way.  I don't know.  They don't want help and they don't want anyone contacting them, so I need to just back off.  I feel bad because I took them some lasagna last night and maybe that was the wrong thing to do because we got an email today saying not to do anything.  oops.  I hope she will forgive me.  I need to post these pictures I have of Adam from the Superactivity!  It's been a tough thing for everyone in the ward- Bishop got up and talked about him yesterday.  So hard!!  I am grateful to know that the Atonement is real.  We will be able to return to our Father in Heaven and see our family members again.  I hope that Adam is at peace now and now longer suffering with the physical ailments and mental anguish he seemed to be carrying.  The poor kid.  I'm grateful for the plan of salvation.  2-17-22

LAST YW BASKETBALL GAME
This was our last basketball game of the YW season too.  We did awesome again!  It was a lot of fun!  Not as big of a win as the last game, but still fantastic!  Huge improvement from the first game we played.  I was so glad that it ended up like this!  Slurpees all around.  Hopefully we get to play a little in the tournament.  2-17-22

CELEBRATING VALENTINE'S OR OUR ENGAGEMENT ANNIVERSARY EITHER WAY :)
We kind of planned this one together this year, that was fun.  We went and saw Uncharted that I've been wanting to see real bad, then stopped to help Brad jumpstart the van.  We were so proud of all that he had done to remedy the situation, I almost wish we hadn't stopped to help, he was almost there, but so he did so good!  Called Brandon for help (I love that he has a friend he can call for things like that!), got the kids home so they weren't freezing, he was doing it!  So cool.  Now he knows how to jumpstart a car even better.  He'll be all set for next time.  But he did awesome!  We really were just so proud of him.  After that we went up to Red Robin for some yummy dinner.  Then on to our hotel room up in Layton at the Gardens Inn.  This was such a great little break for me!  I needed it so much!  I don't know what it is about going away for a few hours (really, we got there around 9:00 and left at 11:00 in the morning, so not even an entire day) that just recharges me!  Being with Nate and being able to focus on just us for a minute is so nice.  I really loved it and felt good after.  And it was really nice to see our happy, all in one piece, kids when we got home.  Good job Brad, Luke, Noah, and Erika!  The babysitting dream team!  2-18-22--2-19-22

NO MASKS!!!
This week we heard the First Presidency had turned the decision of mask wearing over to the local leaders so we were hoping and praying President Larsen would have mercy and stop with the masks.  You would not believe my excitement when I got the text from Nate that he was going to be sending out an email from Pres. Larsen that masks are no longer required!!  WAHOO!!!  I'm so happy.  It was such a different feel in church.  The minute you walk in, it just feels so good to see everyone's faces and just melted my heart today!  I loved it!  Hopefully we can stay like this for a while.  Who knows.  2-20-22

PRESIDENTS DAY
I was really happy with how Presidents day (aka: our day off) went!  We had talked about it the night before and knew what we wanted to do, made a plan and then actually carried it out!  I was so proud of us.  And we did it without spending a ton of money.  We spent the morning sleeping in a little, study time, and cleaning up a little.  Then once Kelly showed up we were off on our adventures!  We headed down to the City Creek mall grabbed some pizza in Bountiful on the way, and then divided up in teams to play our picture scavenger hunt through the mall!  This ended up being really fun.  I wasn't sure how it would go.  We had two teams, Brad, Erika, Sadie, Jack and I vs. Kelly, Luke, Noah and Molly!  I think our team won, mostly because they got back late.  It was just for fun though.  We played at the little playground for a few minutes laughing at Kelly's attempt to get a video on her phone of the top of the trophy toy to see if it was hollow or not.  Kinda funny.  After that, we went over to the Clark Planetarium and wandered around ther efor an hour or so.  It was pretty crowded, but Jack still had the time of his life.  He wants to go back there for his birthday :).  We didn't lose anyone (for very long) this time!  The gift shop is the favorite part.  2-21-22

CRAZIEST THING EVER
So the weirdest thing happened Wednesday, while I was waiting for Emily to show up with the church keys for playgroup!  I was sitting there in the parking lot, almost ready to just go drive around and kill some more time when this teenager came running around the south end of the church and right toward me.  I had decided I could roll down my window because he looked like he was coming at me to talk, but weirdest thing ever, instead of stopping at my car and talking through the open window, he opened the door and climbed inside my car!  I even had Molly's little balance bike on the front seat, so it wasn't comfortable.  He climbed in and starts panicking about "some guys trying to rob him".  It was so strnge.  I was freaking out inside.  I did not feel safe, I told him that.  I was worried about Molly and Sadie feeling safe.  He kept telling me how freaked out he was and I just didn't feel much sympathy at first.  It was so strange.  He started handing me his phone and other belongings so that he could demonstrate that he wasn't going to do anything and at that point I started to believe him.  I didn't want to be sitting there in the parking lot when the guys chasing him showed up so I started to drive away.  I asked him what he wanted me to do.  He asked if I could just drive him a block or two and drop him off.  I started trying to get some information about him, he was a teen, a junior, doesn't go to Davis, but does online school.  He did know the officer at Davis so he thought that would be a good idea, so we decided to take him up to the school.  It was so strange.  I really just wanted to get him out of my car.  I dropped him off at the school and it looked like he didn't go inside, but I was done caring for the most part.  And it was mostly over.  I really felt flustered and was pretty shaky all through playgroup.  I told everyone about it and then tried to move on til I got home and told Nate and the boys all about it.  At that point it occurred to me that maybe the kid had been running from the police instead.  I decided to call the police station and let them know.  They recognized his name (Nathan Sprague) and wanted my number.  The cop called me a little later, I told him the whole story and then after he was able to talk with Officer Rich up at the school, he called me back to let me know he had actually gone and talked to him and was actually concerned about someone chasing him.  Poor kid.  He was obviously high or on something and to be scared enough to jump into a giant, black van with a complete stranger, he really must have been pretty worried.  I told them I didn't want to press chargest, but I wanted him to get some help.  I hope something good can come of it.  I don't know.  Such a strange thing.  I wish I'd been able to handle it a little differently.  Oh well.  Nothing bad happened so all is well.  2-23-22

LUKE'S LICENSE!!
Wednesday, Luke passed his driving test and was given the go ahead to get his license, so we scheduled an appointment for Thursday and he and I went and got his license!  It was so great!!  Pretty exciting stuff!!  I made him drive the van there so he could have a little more practice in the van, but overall, I am really confident in his driving.  I think he does great!  He's all ready to go!  2-24-22

LUKE'S FIRST RIDE
So Brad had Luke drive home from school and oddly enough, Luke got pulled over on Main street just before Burton for the license plate that hasn't been changed!!  I just can't believe that happened to him and Charity!!  So crazy!  He was pretty shaken up about it but handled it really well according to Brad.  I was proud of him.  Now he's gotten that out of the way too I guess!  2-25-22

ADAM'S FUNERAL
Nate, Sadie and I went to Adam Pearce's funeral on Friday.  I had signed up to bring a fruit salad and gluten free potatoes, so we brought those with us to the mortuary.  Nate had been scrambling a little to get his ribs smoked for our Friday Food, so it was a packed morning, but we did it!  The funeral was nice.  I wish we'd been able to hear more stories about him, but I loved all the talks.  He was such a neat kid.  I hope he is feeling much better now.  I hope we can use this as a motivation to really stay on top of our kids' mental health and giving them the tools to take control of their own situations as well.  Adam had Diabetes on top of mental illness.  Hopefully we can do more to prevent problems like that.  I wish I had been able to see Richelle and give her a hug.  2-25-22

RIBS AND POTATOES
Nate's Friday Food went really well!  I was glad it went so smoothly.  It's always weird to just send the food out there and get not much closure on it :).  But it went well and then we got to go on our date!  2-25-22

DATE NIGHT
We went to Zao Modern Asian Cafe for dinner.  I ate stuff I probably shouldn't have, but it was really good.  Then we went and saw the movie Dog.  I liked it!  Not for the kids, but it was entertaining.  2-25-22

GAME NIGHT
For our Saturday fun we had a game  night!  Played a few games.  It was fun until everyone was cryign about it being time for showers.  After that we watched the movie Zoo- very interesting, I think it was a good one.  Good times.  2-26-22

JACK'S TALK
Jack gave a talk in Primary today.  He did a great job!  Talked about Esau selling his birthright to Jacob.  I was proud of him and the things he had me write in his talk :).  Such a good boy.  2-27-22

PRAYER WITH MOLLY
Molly wasn't able to sleep and kept coming up to stall, Sunday night, and thankfully I had the thought to say a little prayer with her.  We knelt together and I was able to say the prayer and bless her with the ability to think of positive, happy things and that she would be able to sleep well with good dreams.  It was a really special little moment with my Molly.  I think she thought so too.  Thankfully, that was all she needed, went right to sleep.  Sweet little girl just gets a lot going on in her little head.  Glad I could help.  2-27-22

FHE
We finally got to have family night again!  Basketball practices are over, but the good thing is we get our Monday nights back!  2-28-22

January 2022

FIRST DAY OF THE YEAR

We all slept WAY in!  That was nice!  Then Nate, Erika, Sadie and I took Charity home.  Then it was playing games and Oculus in between watching movies to kind of live up our last day of Winter Break!  It was sad that it's over, but I really feel like we made the most of it!  I really couldn't be more pleased with how it went!  And here we are!  In a new year!  2022 is here :).  I think this is gonna be our year!! 1-1-22

9 O'CLOCK CHURCH!!

We've been looking so forward to 9:00 church and all the benefits that I failed to think about how stressy it can be morning of.  Which actually, it wasn't too bad, we planned ahead and had all the showers and baths done, but it just felt too mad-dash-y.  We need to talk about a better time to wake everyone up- 8:00 was too late.  But we did okay and we were there on time.  The earlier time didn't seem to do a whole lot for Sadie.  She hadn't worked up enough of an appetite for nursery to just take off running this time.  She did let Nate take her though and did end up there by herself and only cried a little :).  I'm proud of her for trying.  She's doing good!  Everyone seemed to be okay with their new teachers across the board.  Brad is the only one who didn't get new ones.  He still has Keeley and Marjie.  Luke has Sis. Carlson and Sis. Kohler.  Noah has Sis. Tenney and Sis. Kellie Pederson.  Erika has the Farneses.  Jack has Bro. Jacox and Bro. Harrison.  Molly got Bro. and Sis. Gines!  So lots of fun all around.  We loved having Nate home a tiny bit after church before having to leave for work.  That was nice.  It was ordain the Deacons day so he was gone for a bit, but we're grateful for any little bit we can get.  I was able to take a Sunday nap which was great!  Everyone seemed pretty happy with all the extra time in the evening.  I'm not sure how long the holiness will last, this is when they get a little bored usually and get a little rowdy.  We'll see though!  I'm hoping for the best!  1-2-22

FIRST DAY BACK TO SCHOOL- VAN WOULDN'T START

I tried to stay very optimistic and not get discouraged that first day back to school, when the van wouldn't start.  It's been a very long time since we had any car trouble, I wanted to be tough :).  I think I did pretty good.  Thankfully, Emily was able to take everyone for me, there wasn't anyone needing to go at strange times.  That was a huge blessing.  I totally owe her for that.  The little girls and I made the most of the time at home.  I did try to clean off the battery leads a little with the little brush I had, but I knew it wasn't really enough.  My dad had agreed that it could be the alternator.  I was willing to wait til Nate got home to jump it and figure things out.  I really felt like it was needing to be cleaned off better.  Thankfully, Nate came home with all the stuff to clean it, didn't work to jump it, then he went to get a new battery, and the battery was fine, so he thought about getting the alternator replaced and then ended up just working on it a little longer and sure enough- it started!!  Such a blessing!  I'm grateful he was guided by The Spirit and did the right things.  We were back up and running in time for basketball practices that night.  1-3-22

SHOPPING

Walmart has been SO BEYOND UNRELIABLE these days.  I finally just went and did my own shopping on Tuesday.   We went to Smith's because I'm ticked at Walmart.  I had Molly and Sadie and we didn't have a huge list, so it went okay!  We spent about $60 more than I had in my Walmart cart, which we don't really have to talk about.  The girls enjoyed helping pick out some of the things we got.  It was funny that this felt so foreign.  Maybe it's something we should get back in to?  I don't know.  It's been at least six years, I think we started the pick-up when Molly was a baby.  We've been doing the delivery for 2 years.  So crazy.  So anyway.  Seemed worthy of a post.  1-4-22

DINNER WITH CLAIRE

Claire and I finally got to go out after rescheduling our one in December.  She picked Sawadee a Thai restaurant in SLC.  The food was great!  I think it was even on plan, and I of course loved talking with Claire.  She has her hands full with her calling and we had a lot to discuss about COVID.  She is of course sitting on the fence about the whole thing.  Defending both sides like she does :).  But I love hearing her take and being able to readjust my thinking a little.  We talked til they kicked us out and then talked in Claire's car some more.  I wish I could see Claire more often.  1-4-22

BRAD AND LUKE'S FIRST GAME

We had our first basketball game of the season.  It turned out really intense!  There was a dumb kid in blue shorts that thought he was playing football and kept tackling Brad.  Must be all his injuries we went through last year, but I find myself totally nervous about him getting injured.  It's more stressful when I see him on the ground than it used to be.  He's been working out a lot, hopefully working on strengthening his ankles like I've suggested, but I am still not sure how much he can do.  Kinda weird.  He played great though!  And LUKE!!  Two three pointers!!  It's so fun to watch them play together!  I hope we get at least one more season with them together next year.  They really make a great team.  The other team's coach came over and asked if 45 was Nate's kid and he said, "Both 45's are my boys" and he was very complimentary of them both!!  Kinda cool.  I was able to calm my nerves down after the game but I could tell the hormones were raging the entire time with Sadie and Molly climbing all over the stairs.  Thankfully, I had Jack there to help.  It was a lot of fun though!  Glad to be back in basketball season!  1-5-22    

ERIKA WITH KATE AT YW

This was Kate's first week at YW.  Erika has looked forward to this for a very long time!  They played some getting to know you games and Erika found out she knows Kate TOO well to get all of her questions right :).  Which is cute.  It was fun to hear about.  I think this will be a welcome change to how things are in YW for Erika.  She did great on her own, I'm really proud of her and her attitude every week, but now comes the reward :).  1-5-22

LAYTON HILLS MALL PLAYGROUND

Thursday, we had invited Emily and Jonah to go to the mall with us since playgroup didn't do it for us on Wednesday, but poor Jonah got sick, so he was out.  We decided to get out anyway.  Nate has his overtime shifts on Thursdays now.  Lame.  It's lame on Fridays too, let's be clear, but totally lame on Thursdays.  So we went up to Layton Hills mall and played for a couple hours on the little playground outside of Seaquest.  That was a really fun activity for us!!  And I don't know what it was that day, but Molly and Sadie both were being such good girls!  Molly was doing things right when I asked, without a fight, they were both so cheerful and fun, singing all the Encanto songs with me on the way, and they followed directions all the way there.  I loved it!!  I had to keep praising them.  It was such a nice change.  I was in the best mood.  We played for quite a while.  I loved watching Molly hide and then jump out to scare Sadie.  She's a good sport and always giggled about it.  They were adorable running around tagging each other.  Sadie loved that she had matching hair with the cute little baby that was there when we got there.  She wanted a video of her hair and her climbing up the "mountain".  She was adorable.  Molly seems a little old there now, but she was careful and got SO MANY STEPS while we were there :). HA!  She's so funny.  She learned how to run and jump onto the lion.  It was a fun time.  I love these girls.  I wish we did more of this stuff- it was motivation to do so.  Then we grabbed some Fiiz and headed home for lunch and school for Molly.  1-6-22

LAST WEEK OF BOYS' CHURCH BALL

Last games this week- the boys haven't been ordained yet, so Noah stuck with the Deacons and they played a really close game against all our friends' kids.  Noah, Van, Jacob and Derek did great!  Three on three!  We won by two points!  Then Brad and Luke had their last game.  We thought it was funny to see McKay out on the court with all those big BIG kids!  He was almost in the way- I was worried he was going to get trampled!  But they killed the other ward.  It was a really fun game.  I think they get to go on to Region now.  We'll see how that goes!  Pretty exciting!  1-6-22

FRIDAY

Unfortunately, Friday was not my best day.  Started feeling a little sick and it was day two of you know what.  So NOT good.  I think my period is taking over my life.  Which is crazy considering it's just one week of the month.  Lots of interesting happenings with it though, my sneeze at Monster Sushi, all of the ibuprofen and still no relief.  On top of that having chills and sore throat from this dumb cold I got as well.  So not cool.  But it was great to be able to go on a date finally, with Nate.  I needed that.  He needed that.  I think we got a little recharge which we both very much needed.  Unfortunate that the first part of the day wasn't much of a recharge.  It's really hard that Nate only gets one day off right now.  So frustrating.  But it was a really nice date!  I loved it!  We saw the new Ghostbusters movie.  I was very happy that they had Bill Murray show up at the end.  Cute movie.  I don't think I'd let the kids see it though.  Which is fine since they haven't seen the first one.  I loved getting out with my honey though.  1-7-22

TEAM BURNS

Erika and her little possie are making shirts for themselves and Mrs. Burns that say, "#1 Teacher [a cute bee] Team Burns".  I love it :).  We ran out of vinyl so we have to finish them today, but super cute of them.  They're so funny.  1-7-22

NOAH'S FIRST GAME

We got to watch Noah and his team play, Saturday.  That was a fun game!  We took a minute to get in a groove, but then just took off!  I was really impressed!  I loved sitting there with Brad and sometimes Erika (she was off with Morgan every few minutes).  Lots of fun to see Noah back at it!  He did so well!  1-8-22

SICK

I still feel pretty sick.  It takes everything in me to get a few chores done and then I've gotta rest.  I don't love the achiness, swollen glands, and fatigue I'm getting from this bug.  I think Sadie has the same thing I do.  Just really dragging.  Everyone else has cycled through something, but it doesn't quite seem the same.  Not sure though.  Omicron is running rampant right now.  Hopefully everyone can just get it and be done with COVID!  Yeah right.  1-8-22

GRANDPA'S HOUSE

We didn't have anything exciting to do Saturday, so we grabbed some pizzas and headed up to Grandpa's house.  Took our germs and everything.  It was a lot of fun talking with Steve and Grandpa, spending that time together is always fun.  Nice and casual.  1-8-22

ORDINATIONS

This was a big day!  I'm still mad I didn't get a picture before they all got dressed, but Luke was ordained a Priest!  And then turned around and stood in the circle along with Brad who was standing in the circle to ordain him to help ordain Noah as a Teacher!!  Such a powerful experience.  I was glad the littles were all very reverent for this and that we were able to feel the Spirit.  I love seeing my boys make these decisions and knowing that they are worthy and willing to honor that Priesthood!  I can't wait to hear Luke bless the Sacrament and Noah is really anxious to go early and help prepare!  Pretty awesome!  Unfortunately, nobody is left in Deacons with Nate.  That is a bummer, but it's all good.  I think Brad will enjoy having Luke at his activities.  Fun changes.  1-9-22

SADIE'S KNEE

So Sadie fell off of Molly's bed (the middle bunk) and somehow hurt her knee on Sunday.  Jack carried her downstairs and she cried for a very long time.  I couldn't get her to stand on it or do anything for quite a while.  We babied her for most of the evening and slowly she was able to walk and then run, but she was not able to climb up on the stool, or walk up the stairs, so I was still a little worried.  It was weird.  One of those times where I keep talking myself in and out of taking her to the doc the entire time.  My plan was to call the doc and take her in Monday morning, but as the morning went on, getting kids out the door, she was doing more and more with it.  Even hopping, so I started to wonder.  I called the doctor and they said to just help her do the things she can't do and watch it for a while.  So that is what we have done.  She's been pretty good most of the week.  It wasn't until Saturday night that she started complaining about it hurting again.  Not sure what that is all about.  Hopefully it's okay!  I hate to think about it being damaged somehow.  1-9-22

ANNIE AND LUNCH

Annie Cole and I FINALLY made it to lunch this week!  They've only been back for like four or five months!  sheesh!  But we met up at Zupas in Woods Cross and had such a great time talking!  There was a lot of catching up to do!  I was surprised with how much I hadn't talked to her about.  She had a lot of stuff going on as well.  Including Austin being in the hospital.  It was so nice to be able to hang out again.  We need to do that more often.  If it weren't for life and needing to pick up kids, I think we could have gone on for three more hours!  Thanks to my mom for babysitting and Evi's mom for taking Molly for me!  1-10-22

NOAH'S BIRTHDAY

I think Noah was really looking forward to his birthday this year!  It was cute.  Maybe he just wanted his iphone really bad :).  Erika, Molly and I stayed up late making his sign.  We had a lot of fun with this one, trying to incorporate all of Noah's hobbies and interests.  Lots of fun.  We had crepes for breakfast.  We all drew pictures of our favorite memories with Noah.  It was really nice to hear all the things everyone said about him.  He is well loved!  He went to school just like normal, even ran a mile after school for track conditioning and thought he got 5:46 which was pretty exciting, but then the next day he found out it was actually 6:27, which is still good, but not as exciting to Noah.  But he did ride on that excitement most of the afternoon it seemed.  I was able to get his Panda Express food for lunch and delivered that during the day- that was a fun little thing.  I really love birthdays and making them special.  I just hope my kisd don't feel let down later in life when things aren't like that on their birthdays.  I rained on his plans to go to an escape room as a family because of the little guys, but we did end up going as a family to Texas Roadhouse.  Grandpa and Grandma Hatch joined us as well (everyone is sick right now, we felt nervous inviting too many people).  He seemed happy with being sung to on the saddle, swinging his legs the whole time.  Then we came home for some Sketch cake and drumsticks.  Noah drew the picture on his white cake- I loved how it turned out!!  I always want to remember what an artist he is and how much I love his drawings during study time.  He really is good at it.  We had a great time spoiling him with his filament, news about getting his iphone, grandpa gave him a cool model jet to build, and grandma gave him some money.  It was a fun day!  I think Noah had some fun too :).  1-11-22

JACK ACTIVITY DAYS- NEW LEADERS

Jack moved up in Activity days and now has Sis. Johnson and Sis. Perry!  This was very exciting!  His first activity they played some get to know you games and then talked about some of their goals and what they want to do for their activities.  Pretty awesome!  He was VERY excited about this change.  I am glad he gets time with Mrs. Johnson again :).  She's so awesome.  1-11-22

BASKETBALL

Brad and Luke's team did so well on Wednesday!!  I couldn't believe how many points they were pumping out- both of them!  The steals, the fast breaks, the three pointers and lay-ups!!  It was awesome!  We killed the other team!  It was so incredible!!  I loved it!!  1-12-22

CHILDREN AND YOUTH KICKOFF MEETING

This was an awesome meeting that personified Youth Lead.  I LOVE that!!  Kara did most of it, conducted, did great!  I was happy to get to hear from Luke when he talked about physical goals.  Then we got to hear from Brad as he introduced the new deacons.  They both did awesome!  I was really proud of them.  I love the new song.  I wonder if we could use it for Girls Camp.  Also, Trust in the Lord as the theme!!  WOW!  I just love that one!  1-12-22

THURSDAY

I kept most of the kids home this day.  Everyone has been in and out of sick and it's just been necessary.  But even Jack who wasn't too terribly sick wasn't feeling 100%, so I just kept them all home.  Except Molly.  She went and had a great time.  It was nice to have them all home and spend that time together, but I hope they all get feeling better with the rest.  1-13-22

YW BASKETBALL CLINIC

This was pretty uneventful.  I had been so busy with sick kids all week I wasn't very good at getting the word out. Plus nobody likes the clinic.  But we did have three girls there.  Hopefully we can get more to the games!  Erika really liked all the reminders with all the skills.  1-13-22

CHARITY'S CAR

Nate packed up Sadie and took off as soon as the kids were to school so that he could get up to Logan and help Charity pick out a car!  This was big!  Kind of uncharted territory.  But we were very happy for her to find something she likes and was able to get it with Nate there.  Pretty exciting!  I hope this means we see her more often :).  I can't wait to go for a ride!  1-14-22

DATE NIGHT

We went to HuHot for dinner and then to see the movie American Underdog.  I really loved the food, but it was brewing up a storm during the movie.  I wondered if the weird guy next to me could hear it the entire time- HA!  Nate said he felt similarly.  Kinda funny.  The movie was great!  It felt like it took a little while to take off- but then, that's kind of the feel they want you to have- and then just really wowed us at the end.  Pretty cool.  And I had no idea it was a true story until the end when they started slipping in actual footage.  Pretty fun!!  I didn't know about Kurt Warner.  Cool underdog story.  I loved the time with Nate.  I think we are both coming to the end of our flus, so we were a little lacking in excitement, but it's all good.  1-14-22

MENCHIES

We had a pretty lazy Saturday and I kept trying to motivate myself to go do something, but I just wasn't feeling it.  Erika kept suggesting Menchies and I wasn't really in the mood to take our grumpy little Sadie anywhere, so I asked Brad to take Erika :).  Noah got in on this as well and they sounded like they had a good time.  Even though they did take a huge detour to Station Park ("I swear there's a place with like a cherry or something").  Fun kids.  I am grateful for Brad and that he will step up for these things. Even when he had plans with Brandon.  1-15-22

THREE MORE DOWN

I casually weighed myself this morning, thinking it might not have gone down since the last time I weighed was only two days before, but I was surprised to see that I have lost three more pounds!  I am six pounds away from my goal weight!!  I should be able to get those last six off pretty quick if I stay focused!  1-16-22

KELLY

Kelly showed up at church during the last fifteen minutes or so, stood out in the hall talking with Nate.   Then we got to have her home with us all day Sunday.  Kinda nice!  It was a lot of fun playing Code Names with her- we loved that.  1-16-22

MLKJD

For our day off, we decided to go up to Logan to spend the day with Charity and Kelly!  This was a lot of fun.  I was glad we made the time to go up there.  First, we picked up the girls.  We got to see Charity's new car that she had bought with Nate on Saturday and then we caravanned down to Angie's.  Charity's choice for lunch.  This was a pretty good restaurant.  Everyone's food looked so yummy!  I wish I'd had a little more self-control when it came to finishing off Jack's fries, but they were so good!  My Cobb Salad did not hit the spot.  But we had a lot of fun conversation and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.  I was glad about that.  It felt a little chaotic, but Charity's chaos meter wasn't even going off, so I was able to scrounge up some more patience :).  After lunch we met up at the bowling alley!  This was a fun and interesting part.  We had to sit and wait for about 15 minutes for a lane, and then as soon as we got our lane we all noticed a really gross smell.  I won't say who it was, but someone had had a diarrhea accident in (well, all over) their pants.  It was a really gross smell and nobody was willing to wait it out, so I took off with Sadie and went to Old Navy to get some pants, underwear and a new shirt.  When I got back, he changed into the clean clothes in the car (since the bathroom was now out of order- gee I wonder why?) and all was well.  It was quite the adventure.  I was able to still play quite a few frames of bowling and we all had fun playing together.  I think Kelly won on their lane and Sadie won on ours.  Kinda funny.  So fun though.  After bowling we took Kelly home so she could go hang out with Dallin and then went over to the Toy Store!  This is always a blast.  I love that place.  Seemed to be missing a lot of our favorite things though.  But good times.  It was time to head home after that.  I had fun talking with Bradley on the drive there and back.  Always some good conversation.  I loved that we all got to spend the day together.  If only Nate had been there.  After that we had a movie night.  Got ready for our second day off!  1-17-22

SECOND DAY OFF

This was a much more relaxed day.  Kinda boring in fact.  But a nice day.  This was the day we got the news that we were going to be doing online school for all the Junior High and High schoolers for the rest of the week since the spike in COVID cases.  I wasn't looking forward to that, just because I'm sick of changing things and canceling things.  But whatever.  Poor Jack was feeling pretty sick most of the day, had a really bad stomach ache.  I tried to get him to get up and do things, because I wasn't sure if he was hurting because he was sitting around or what.  But then that night he was really sick.  Got up and threw up around 2:00.  I was both glad and frustrated that I had just finished my movie because I was awake to help Jack, but with his chills and waking up a lot through the night, I didn't get much sleep.  The poor little guy was so hot!  It's been a while since I felt such a hot forehead!  And yet he was shaking and shivering like crazy!  He had several blankets on including my Minky Couture one... so that tells you how bad his chills were.  1-18-22

ONLINE SCHOOL

We actually ended up having a lot of fun during our three online school days.  I loved having the three boys home even while they were in class, it was just fun to have them there.  I loved playing the Oculus with them, we did a couple puzzles, and I worked on my blog book a lot.  So I actually really loved the time.  They all have to hang around in between classes, which ends up being pretty long since they don't use the whole class period.  And that was fun to be able to talk with them a little.  Noah got to have lunch day with us on Wednesday.  It was kind of hard for Sadie and Molly to be stuck at home all day and we will definitely have to make up for that next week, but it was a good time overall.  1-19-22--1-21-22

BRAD AND LUKE'S GAME

I really loved that I got to go to this game with Noah and Sadie.  They were great company.  Brad and Luke played really well.  We started out with only four players so the other team played down a player til our fifth came, so our team was pretty tired by the end, playing their eight guys.  But they still won!  Still played great!  I was really proud of them.  Kelly showed up during the last seven minutes- that was fun of her.  It was funny that Noah, Kelly and I had expressed that we liked these refs and then that was the big complaint from Nate, Brad and Luke after the game.  They didn't agree :).  Kinda funny.  But lots of fun!  We are loving basketball season this year!  1-19-22

YW BASKETBALL

Our first game was a bust.  I was disappointed with how low our numbers were the whole time I was texting girls that day, but then when we showed up with our three, we were shocked to find out the other team didn't show up at all!  Kind of unfortunate.  But we were able to run some more drills with Sis. Fox and Annika showed up near the end and was able to get some one on one with her and that was good.  Slurpees were a must- and I found out this is actually a good selling point in the future to tell the girls- Annika says she will come every time if we get slurpees!  So wow.  I am hoping next week goes better.  1-20-22

DATE NIGHT
We've decided our date nights are CRUCIAL right now.  It was a very much needed little time out for us.  We were both pretty tired and a little quiet for the most part, but we had a great time.  We went to Red Lobster.  There was a long wait which we did a lot of people watching during.  There was this cute family that we ended up sitting next to once we were seated (or sat?) which was kinda fun to watch.  I couldn't resist telling her that they had a cute family and were doing a great job.  I loved my food there!  Salmon with shrimp on it!  May not have been within plan though- I felt it after.  But so yummy!  1-21-22

JAKE AND GRACE

Jake texted this week asking if he and Grace to stop by and stay for the night!  We felt very honored to have been chosen as people to visit :).  They got here around 9:!5 pm and Nate and the older four had already left for the rec center all night activity, so they missed them, but Me, Charity (I was so glad she was able to jump her car and that it worked for her to come down and help me entertain them!), Jack, Molly and Sadie had a lot of fun talking with them, getting the scoop on their dating and courtship, showing off our mini trampoline skills, playing the Oculus, reviewing Charity's notes on schools, it was great :).  In the morning we had Puffy Pancake and talked, they got to meet some more of the kids.  We were in a little bit of a hurry to get to Erika's basketball game, but I loved talking with them and being able to meet Grace.  She seems really awesome!  We were shocked at their age difference :), but super excited for them to start their life together!  1-21-22--1-22-22

ERIKA'S FIRST GAME AND NOAH'S SECOND

Erika had a great first game!  Scored a bunch, had a bunch of assists!  We only spent a little time being irritated at our refs thinking we needed to man on man.  But we beat them by about 10 points so good game!  Charity was there, so the cheering was top notch!  We loved Noah's game as well and won by just as much.  It was cool to see Noah do his Euro step shot!  And we sort of enjoyed watching Charity argue with the dads on the other team ;).  She's pretty good at defusing the situation though- I was impressed.  Good times!  1-22-22

PING PONG TOURNAMENT

For our Saturday fun we decided on a Ping Pong Tournament!  This ended up being a lot of fun especially with our little British accented announcers.  Brad and Erika are hilarious.  I think Noah was in line to win and then Molly woke up and came down and played him and he played on his knees and basically cheat lost :).  Pretty cute of him.  She felt pretty awesome winning!  Fun stuff.  Then we watched the new Clifford the Big Red Dog movie.  Kinda cute.  1-22-22

BIG SUNDAY!  

After I had a second to think about it I realized this was a pretty big Sunday for us!  It was Luke's first time blessing the sacrament! (Last week was his first time standing at the table, but he said the second prayer this week)  I was really proud of him!  He did so good!  Even Bro. Richardson told him that.  Then, Bradley gave a talk!  His talk was on Spiritual and Temporal Self-Reliance.  He had this topic the last time he gave a talk, which was funny, but he did a great job!  I was so proud of him!  THEN, Erika gave the lesson in her class!  I helped her a little the night before, but she did it all on her own.  I wish I could have been there!  But it sounded like it went pretty well.  She taught about Enoch and his feelings of inadequacy and how we can have help with service.  I'm sure she did awesome!  As a sidenote- I was able to leave the Nursery (they needed me to stay in there for a few minutes while Melissa and Audrey went to watch their boys get set apart, so I was in there longer than I planned) and she did pretty good again!  I think we're going on four or five Sundays of her doing it herself!  I'm pretty proud of her.  She told me last week she was "so brave!".  Love it!  1-23-22

PRODUCTIVE MONDAY!

I got so much done today!  I had this crazy motivation to get a bunch of things organized and cleaned up.  The desk cupboard, the miscellaneous cupboard at the end of the kitchen cupboards, my bedroom drawers, drawers in the kitchen, I even framed my puzzles and put them up in the game room.  It was a very full, but awesome day!  

ERIKA'S BRACES ON HER BACK TEETH

This was a pretty big change for Erika's mouth.  Lots of pain, hard to eat, pokey things and sore gums.  It was rough.  We tried to help with yogurt and applesauce, but just a rough week-ish for her.  Poor girl!  1-24-22

TEACHER DINNER

I did Chick-fil-a for dinner this time!  I'm not sure why they love it so much but they do :).

1-26-22

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

We had Erika's and Jack's on Wednesday and Molly's on Thursday.  We loved these!  As always!  It was so fun to chat with Mrs. Burns.  She's hilarious and we love how much she loves Erika and gets her.  They just get each other, it's awesome.  She had only great things to say about Erika and her progress, she is doing great at everything- of course.  I loved her advice to Erika to learn some organization and time management skills.  That will be very helpful when she goes to Jr. High next year!  Which I can't believe we are already here!  Jack's went well also.  Mrs. Hewett is amazing!  You can tell he really enjoys her class.  He is doing great!  Right at benchmark on everything, doing well!  I love that she mentioned he is respectful!  Such a good boy!  We love our teachers this year, it's been great so far!  We got to pick out some books from the book fair even though we were slightly disappointed that it was Scholastic. 1-26-22

BRAD AND LUKE'S GAME

They had a really fun/intense game this week.  We took all the littles- we all loved it and were sad when it was over- HA!  Just kidding!  I LOVED IT THOUGH!!  It was awesome!  Great playing by Brad and Luke as always and we won by a lot after being behind a few times in the game so pretty awesome!  1-26-22

MOLLY'S CONFERENCE

Molly was much more excited for her conference this time.  Now that she knows what it is :).  She seemed a little less shy.  A little.  Mrs. Piper was so fun- just very enthusiastic about Molly's love for learning and her progress in so many areas and just how good she is at school!  It was a lot of fun to hear all that she is doing.  She does love school.  She loves to read and loves her numbers so we weren't surprised, but very fun to hear Mrs. Piper raving about it :).  Good job Molly!  She got a book too :).  1-27-22

YW BASKETBALL

This was our first real game- last week nobody showed up.  I thought it went pretty well.  I was a little bummed by how much we lost by, and I just hope the girls had fun, but I think we will do better in weeks to come.  And really if they're having fun that's all I care about.  Slurpees all around ;).  1-27-22

NEW BEDROOM

Nate and I got the organizing bug this week, partly from my Life Book! and we rearranged our bedroom!  I was really excited about this and so happy that Nate was on board!  We moved everything except the vanity dresser.  We put our bed in the window and went from there.  It looks SO MUCH BIGGER and is SO NICE to have changed!  There's less room for messes, but more room to roam.  It feels like a totally different space!  I LOVE IT!!  We hung up some pictures in our room we've been meaning to hang up and then did the ones in the living room that we took down to paint last year.  So we're just making all kinds of progress!  I am loving it!  1-28-22

DATE NIGHT
Nate and I got to go out again, thankfully :).  We really need our dates lately.  We went up to Olive Garden and then to Spider Man 2 :).  Fun night.  I love being with Nate.  1-28-22

SATURDAY

Saturday was kind of a lazy day.  We had our basketball games, only two, but it still feels like it takes over the whole day for some reason.  We're all just anxious to go to them maybe :).  They were great!  Lots of points, both Erika and Noah's teams won.  Erika got a bloody nose and both of them are still having pain in their knees.  We need to get them to stay off of their knees for a few days.  The rest of the day was shopping and movie watching.  I think it was an okay weekend.  We need to get back into our Fun Saturdays though.  I miss those.  1-29-22

SEWING TEACHER ERIKA

Erika got our her little sewing kit to sew some fruits and everyone was drawn to it all and she ended up sitting there coaching everyone on making their own!  It was super cute!  I loved watching them all- or should I say listening to them- I was on an indexing marathon.  Six hours of indexing!  Maybe a good thing, maybe not, I'm not really sure.  But I loved listening to them getting along and having fun.  Jack's little carrot was a highlight of his day :).  His hilarious comment as he came down the stairs with his stuffed turtle to act out the attack had me chuckling all night.  He's so funny!  1-30-22

CONFERENCE TALK STUDY

We read the talk called God's Love something something from the October 2021 conference and it was awesome!  I just wanted to document Noah's comment that he had felt God's love while he was preparing the Sacrament that morning!  I was just really touched by that.  I'm glad my boys get those opportunities and that they are magnifying them.  Made my night and made me wonder if there are areas of my life I am missing out on those moments because I am too busy or noisy ya know.  Got me thinking.  1-30-22

KELLY'S PHYSICAL

She's doing it!  She's getting everything done!  I'm so proud of her!!  She just has a few more days before she can turn in her papers and we're all getting really anxious!  I was happy to print off her forms and grab her immunization record and take it to her in Layton since she slept in :).  It was the least I could do.  Pretty proud of this girl and all that she has done to get her papers done!  She's done it all!!  1-31-22

DECEMBER PHOTOS