On the eve of New Years Eve, here’s our Christmas Wishes

So grateful for family, friends, life, and the knowledge of Christ’s birth and ultimately, His love. 

Ciao to 2022 and a warm welcome to 2023. 

The comments of a 6 year old

Ian’s really into drawing these days. Take for instance, this drawing of a buff Santa. Look at that six pack!

Then he decided he wanted to draw me. This was his first try. 

Um, what!?! This looks like Ozzy Osbourne. I was like, “Ian, is that for real supposed to be me?” He decided he wanted to try again. 

After seeing his retry, I wasn’t so sure I should have responded quite like I did to the first. Among so many other things, what is with the hair? It’s seems to have stayed consistent between drawing one and two. 

For those of you reading this who may have a hard time remembering what I look like, this is it. Okay, maybe there is some similarities when it comes to the hair. 

But to add insult to injury, Ian later commented, “Mom, you look like a grandma. You just have lots of wrinkles.” Nothing like a six year old to keep you humble.

Giving away gifts

There is a woman in my neighborhood using GroupMe as a way to unload (or sell) unwanted gifts she’s been receiving for Christmas. It’s so strange to me. 

Want a light up sled decoration for outside? Originally $190, I’ll give it to you for $100. What about a pizza oven we got last year? 100 bucks. And this just in: two dinnerware sets being sold for the exact same price they sell for at Home Depot. Another 100. 

Am I the only one out there that feels the need to accept gifts and use them out of respect for the giver? Is this rare? I’m sure the people giving her these gifts aren’t on this specific GroupMe group and probably don’t care. Maybe I’m wrong and she’s right and now she’ll have $300 dollars for something she really wants. Or maybe just $200. No one’s taken her up on the dinnerware yet. 

Before there were cell phones

The other day I wore a long wool coat that I hadn’t worn for years. It was my mom’s and I had borrowed it a number of times as an older teen and young adult. After my mom passed away, it became mine. In this coat, I’d attend things like nice dinners, church stuff, and symphony performances. 

Inside the pocket, I found a note penned by my mom and left on the kitchen counter for me to find from many years back.  Her handwriting is so distinct - very beautiful cursive with capitalized script to emphasize locations -  I recognized it immediately. She was explaining to me how I would meet up with my family for a performance downtown since I had to work late. 

When I found this note, I was deep in the trenches of visiting the hospital and hoping very optimistically (and correctly!)  that all would be well with Jess. When I came upon it, I was grateful for the way it made me feel like my mom was around and going to meet me at the FOOD COURT by SBARRO. I like to think she was looking out for me.

 After realizing that this very well-placed note had buoyed me up, I laughed and thought to myself, this is what we did before cell phones, that is, post-it notes on kitchen counters with the assurance that “we’ll look for you.”

Today we watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas

I guess I’m getting weak as a parent. I used to hold fast to the “no Christmas movies before Thanksgiving” rule, but today I broke that rule, even though my nine year old reminded me of it. What’s happening to me? 

I’m letting candy be eaten before lunch. I’m forgetting to make kids practice piano before video games are played. My kids’ friends are here or over at friends’ house way past 5:30 (my childhood curfew). Beds aren’t consistently made for Pete’s sake. 

But we had a vegetable tonight at dinner. I played several rounds of the game “Spot It” with my kids. We went on a walk together as a family. And I didn’t totally lose it when someone with a mouth full of whipped cream laughed and while doing so spit out said whipped cream got all over the bathroom door. Don’t ask. 

Parenting takes a lot. Sometimes rules don’t get followed and you end up watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” But you feel okay at the end because that movie never fails to deliver even before Thanksgiving. 

Black Friday

I think the definition of Black Friday has changed. 

It used to be: the Friday after Thanksgiving when goods are deeply discounted to increase sales.

Now it seems to be: the whole month of November, starting right after Halloween, where goods are discounted at normal rates to increase sales over a long period of time. 

Which strategy best improves the bottom line? I bet I can guess. 

Gorgeous Fall moves at the right speed

The other day a nephew of mine said: 

“Fall is perfect. Let me explain. Winter is a slow slog. It’s drags. Then spring is the process of coming out of that slog. It’s a bit faster but not by much. Summer happens in a flash. It goes by too quickly. However, the speed of fall is perfect. Not too slow and not too fast. The days go by at a nice pace.”

I love that. Around here, the fall days have been going at the nicest speed. And the weather!?! Can I just say the 70s during the day with cooler nights and mornings is gold.

* I started a draft of this post about a week ago, and since starting, we’ve been managing a major medical emergency for Jess. As I sit in the hospital with not much to do but be patient; looking at photos and sharing my thoughts on our fall up to mid-October is a nice way to stay grounded. I am sure in the future I will have things to record about the experience, but for now, I’ll stick with what’s happened up until then. But know this: people need each other (which I believe is by divine design) and medicine is amazing. Now here we go with photos.* 

In this pic, stacking toys become bracelets. Elsie is the cutest age these days. Have I said that about every age and stage? The answer is yes. Her favorite activity is riding the scooter, bike, or plasma car. She’s working on saying Cs and Gs and Ss with consistency. She’ll say Titty Tat when she can say Kitty Cat but she talks so fast, she gets lazy. Jess is always reminding her to use consonants other than T. She thinks she’s 6, like Ian. 

Ansel gave a talk in church and we weren’t able to make it to Primary to watch, so an older member of the congregation who I really like sent us this pic saying “he did a great job!” Remind me to do stuff like this when I’m a 60+ year old. 


Double rainbow! The best part of it was the fact that Ansel and his buddy came excitedly exclaiming it as they ran inside to tell me. We had to get a photo. 


We did our annual check-out-Halloween-decorations-at-Target run. We love seeing what decorations were successful enough to carry over from last year, but our favorite is seeing what’s new. Elsie couldn’t get enough of these dancing skeletons (upper right), she did her own jig. 

We went out to eat after parent teacher conferences because these boys are great students. I appreciate the fact that school is interesting to them and they enjoy it. Elsie, on the other hand, just got rewarded for being two. 

Ansel drew our family. 

We went up to Park City and spent the weekend there. While on a short hike, we took a chance to climb the ski lift ladder. Lots of fun on a beautiful day. 

I did Elsie’s hair in braids for the first time. All of my practicing of braiding my American Girl Doll hair went to good use after all.  

Jess and I got to get away on a vacation with some friends. It was such a fun time. And I got to check off a bucket list item: bike along the beach. 

And just because I’m thinking about him a whole lot right now. Here’s a Jess appreciation photo. 

I love him so. 

Halloween activities have begun. Witches Brew Party at my sisters house. Bubble bubble!

Complete with costumes. 

Elsie is so dang cute, but my nephew’s costume wins. 

And I was just wondering, is there a blowup pumpkin I can get that’s like, um, two stories high? The answer is yes. 

And finally, Ian with his “Star Student” poster. Ian did a great job filling it out and I helped color. Take some time to look at his answers, but he sure not to miss Ian’s flared nose. This guys cracks me up. 

I imagine fall will continue to move at its perfect speed like it always does, but it may be a little slower for our little family for the next few weeks. Keeping these memories alive helps me have perspective. Cherish your loved ones. Give them big hugs today and everyday. Be kind and patient and enjoy it all. 

Before we officially say goodbye to summer

Several years ago, Oliver reminded me that the official last day of summer is September 21st. Since that day, I don’t say goodbye to summer until then. As such, I thought I’d put together a post with some of the photo gems of summer. I love those quiet mornings with beautiful sunsets and all of the goodness that fits in between. 

Boulder, CO: having a trip with our fam to start off the season was just right!

As luck would have it, I forgot my wallet when I went to meet up with friends at the zoo.  No problem, they said. With all of the kindness in their hearts, they got me in for free and bought my kids ice cream. I sent this photo to my friend with the caption: thanks for making Ian’s dreams come true today. So thankful for our community!

Oliver spins Ansel

Ansel spins Elsie

The Bingham (Kennecott or Rio Tinto) Copper Mine visit was a trek, but a good summer trek nonetheless. 

Monkey feet. 

Very determiwith chopsticks!

Beach naps at their best. 

This smile may just be the best sum-up of summer yet. 

Kids with cousins at sunset in Sanpete. 

Sibling hugs. 

Painting with the new Primary President. She did such a cool art project with them. I thought this was such a neat idea and such a fun way to get to know each kiddo. 

Watching soccer in the rain. 

One last stop to the beach. 

Rip stick Skillz! 

In-n-out at dusk. 

Jess rides LoToJa. That’s 200 miles in one day folks. Wow!

Enjoying “cruffins” after Elsie’s tumbling class. Whoever created this croissant+muffin delight was my kind of baker. Worth every cent (of the $6 bucks I paid). 

Bracelets! 

Four more days of a wonderful summer! Cheers!

Antelope Island

We took a surprisingly wonderful trip to Antelope Island to get some photos of the kids for some artwork.

We climbed on rocks. 

And watched the sunset. The kids loved it. 

It was a beautiful night. Do you spy the moon?

School’s In!

We have an eighth grader. 

A fourth grader. 

A kindergartner. 

And a kid who misses them the moment they leave, so she makes friends with neighbors’ dogs. 

Here’s to learning, growing, putting so many miles on the car with carpools, practices, performances, and going out to eat to talk about it all. Here’s to 2022/23!

Soccer tournaments

Yep, that’s right, tournaments, plural. Ansel’s started his soccer preseason with not one, but two tournaments. We put a lot of mileage on the car, but it was a lot of fun. 

Above is his team ready for their first game in the first tournament. They won that game and then over the next few days the next, and the next, and the next! They took first place! Ansel was very excited. 

Then they entered the next tournament. This one was tougher. The team had a win but some losses too. Ansel hustled. He used his speed. It was fun to watch. So much so that I only got one blurry photo. That’s Ansel in the white jersey by the ball. 

The other kids came to a game or two. They were busy doing this:

and this. 

Overall, Ansel had come goals and helped score others. He has a head for finding the pass. Plus, his team was working together very well. They have learned so much this summer. They should be better since they’ve been practicing three times a week. Whoa! Our new coach isn’t messing around.  Here’s to a fun fall season!