New Year's Eve!!!!

New Year's Eve was on a Monday this year. The University of Utah was in a bowl game that started in the evening. Steve was SO excited to watch it and we all gathered on the couch to watch. When the U scored, they showed the ROTC crew doing pushups. I told Cole to get up and go do 10 pushups. He started and then Steve jumped in and said that he needed to do them like this (with his hands right under his chest). Reagan got down on the floor to join them. Then, they started doing pushups and clapping in between pushups. That has to be SO hard. Anyway, they did 10 pushups for every time the U scored.

At halftime, it was time to head to Brett and Annie's house. I know that we just saw Steve's brother and their family a few days ago at Temple Square, but we LOVE to hang with them, so, we headed down to their house.

Of course, Annie had the house all decorated with streamers and confetti and horns. Steve put on a headband that said "Happy New Year" when he was chatting with Reagan and I think he forgot that he had it on. Silly Steve!

We had pizza and veggies and dip and chocolate fondue and then we hung out and watched the festivities in NYC. We left by 10:30 pm (lightweights I know) so that we could be home and in our pjs by midnight.

What a year this has been. One for the books for sure! We've had amazing opportunities, traveled a lot, strengthened our friendships and made new friends and grew and learned and loved. Reagan and Cole continue to grow and change and become. In some ways, I love it and in some ways, I hate it. I want them to be my little babies always and yet the young people they are becoming are so wonderful that I love to be around them and learn from them.

We can't wait to see what 2019 brings!!!! Goodbye 2018 and thanks for a great year!!!!!

Cole Finishes Primary

So, in the past, children "graduate" or leave Primary when they turn 12 (the week of their birthday). Because of this, I was planning on having Cole in Primary with me for another 10 months until his birthday in October. Well, announcements were made that changed the way things are done. Now, all children turning 12 during that year move up on January 1st. So, Cole (and 3 other children) all moved out of Primary and into Young Men and Young Women. It has sort of rocked my world. I wasn't ready for him to go so soon. 

Our cute Primary Chorister planned to honor these four before they left Primary. She called during the week before and asked what their two favorite Primary songs were. Then, she had each of them come up to the front and tell what their favorite songs were and why. Then, the whole Primary sang those songs.

She also made graduation caps and candy leis for them. So cute!!! I had to hurry and get a pic so that I could remember them.

We had them throw their caps into the air (as graduates do at the end of graduation). Then, they left and went to Young Men and Young Women.

Well Cole, we will definitely miss you in Primary, but we are SO excited for you to be in Young Men and to receive the Priesthood after the first of the year. Way to go Cole! PS - Good thing he was 10 months ahead on his Faith in God Award because he will able to get it next week. Yay Cole!!!!

More Fun in the Snow with the Snow Shredders

Steve took Reagan and Cole back out into the yard to use their Snow Shredders again. I think we are finally getting the hang of these things.

At one point, Cole decided to use our snow tube. Problem was..... our yard turns and if he keeps going straight, he'll go straight off our hill into the trees and shrubs and rocks below. OOOFFF!!

Then, they went further down in the yard to try a steeper hill and a longer run. Again - rocks, trees, shrubs. They HAVE to be careful!

We have a nice, big, flat area, but that's no fun for shredding - they need the steep hills :)

Reagan was mostly in the tube and Cole was mostly on his shredder.

Of course, it can't all be work, right? We need to have some fun!

Maybe a little slo-mo flip into the snow?

Well, and who doesn't LOVE having snow thrown in their face? Ugh!

Yep - we love our yard, no matter the season. There is always something fun to do in the yard :)

She most definitely IS an angel. xoxoxo

Reagan Goes to the Temple...... for the last time in 2018

You'll remember that - back in May when she left Primary and entered Young Women - Reagan made a goal of going to the temple at least once a month. Well, she has done it! I took her up to the Draper Temple to do baptisms on the 29th (just in the knick of time).

She is an amazing young woman and we are so blessed to be her parents. She wants to do baptisms for our kindred dead and I'm so proud of her for doing it and accomplishing her goal. We do need to find a way to get there more than once a month - baby steps :)

Great job Reagan!!! You are wonderful!!!!

Temple Square

 Every Christmas, we have a tradition of going down to Temple Square, eating at one of the restaurants on the 10th floor there and then walking around Temple Square to see the lights.

This year, we invited Steve's brother - Brett - and his family to join us. Well, when Reagan came down with strep throat before Christmas, they were concerned about being around her. Annie's sister is battling cancer and they are around her daily and didn't want to risk exposing her to strep. So, we rescheduled and did it between Christmas and New Year's.

We had dinner at the Garden - the more casual of the restaurants and then, we bundled up and walked around Temple Square.

The lights are just breathtaking. They start in September to put everything together and stringing the lights in the trees. There are thousands and thousands.

On the reflecting pool, there is a statue of the Holy Family. Then, there are statues around of shepherds and sheep.

It was cold, but it was beautiful and there was such a peaceful feeling as we walked around Temple Square.

On the other side of the temple, by the Visitors' Center, there was a nativity set up and a recording played of Luke 2. As the recording spoke of the wise men, a light would shine on the wise men, as they spoke of the shepherds, the light would shine on the shepherds, etc. It is really cool. 

We stepped into the Tabernacle and the Meeting House to see inside but also to get warm for a few minutes.

These buildings are so old and yet so amazing. It is said that you can hear a pin drop at the back of the Tabernacle from the front of the Tabernacle. Crazy how the pioneers could have built these amazing buildings so long ago. Of course, they have seen been retrofitted with more safe building materials and changed in certain ways, but you can still see what the original was like and imagine those times.

I'm so glad that we have this tradition and that we can share it with many family and friends. I love Temple Square and that it is so close to us. I so appreciate all of the time, resource, and effort that goes in to making this a Christmas wonderland.

I also LOVE to take a pic of our family (with weird lighting above us) from the 10th floor of the Joseph Smith Building and with the Salt Lake Temple in the background.

Trying Out the New Snow Shredders

Just like Cole had prayed for (and we all had hoped for), it snowed on Christmas. That made for a beautiful, white, winter wonderland. The clouds were so low that we couldn't even see the mountains right by our house. Love it!!!

For Christmas, Reagan and Cole received these "snow shredders". They are sort of like snowboards, but super cheap ones. They just velcro across the toes of your boots. But, Steve and I figured that it would help the kiddos learn balance a bit. Both of them want to try snowboarding, but we just haven't pulled the trigger on that and let them take a lesson yet. It's nice to just be able to all ski as a family. They are pretty good little skiers and we can stay together well as we come down the hill. If they start with the snowboarding, we might not be able to ski together. Oh well - we'll try and these little shredders are just a baby step :)

Steve went out and tried to help the kiddos. The problem was that when snow got on the velcro straps, they wouldn't stay tight, so, Cole especially was struggling to not have his boots just come out of the straps. He was super frustrated.

They still had fun though. Steve got in on some of the action by sledding down the little hill with them. He had to push them sometimes, catch them sometimes and encourage them always. They had fun and learned a bit about snowboarding. (That's worth it for the $20 we paid for each shredder.)

They are more committed than ever to have a lesson and hit the slopes. We'll have to make arrangements to get them up there and trying the snowboard thing.

I LOVE the view we have from our house and yard. We can see all over the valley and have these beautiful, majestic mountains behind us. What a view!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!

I mentioned in my last post that this year was different because we had a Christmas Eve brunch instead of dinner. Well, with Shannon and Benton out of town, we didn't have our usual Christmas Day brunch. It was just our little family to open gifts and have breakfast.

Reagan and Cole had a GREAT Christmas morning.

Cole's favorite gift was a microscope. He also received 50 prepared slides. He loves looking at river water, a fly's leg or his own saliva. (Gross if you ask me!)

Reagan's favorite gift was a new iPad. Poor thing - her previous iPad only had 16 gig of storage. We couldn't even update her software and she could have only 1 movie on it. Now, both kiddos have 128 gig to use up. Yay!

We could barely get the kiddos to eat breakfast. They were so excited to play with their toys and gadgets.

Soon, it was time to get ready to go to Steve's parents' house to visit with his parents and his sibs and their families. We stayed there for around 5 hours. It was so fun to see some of the family that we don't get to see all the time. Then, we headed home to cross another Christmas movie off of the list.

We had a great Christmas and loved being able to see so many family and friends. 

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!

Christmas Eve

The Sunday before Christmas, after our Sacrament Meeting, we headed out to see my parents. We spent time with them, had dinner and opened gifts with them. Then, the next day was Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Eve, we usually have a dinner and a program with Steve's girls and their families. Well, this year, Shannon and her husband had to drive to Colorado for his work and they had to leave the afternoon of Christmas Eve. So, we opted for a Christmas Eve brunch. Shannon and Benton brought a goulash breakfast casserole, Rachel brought fruit and Steve made waffles (he perfected his skills at the Ward Christmas Breakfast). 

We ate breakfast, chatted and enjoyed being together. Then, it was presents time. The kiddos had a great time opening gifts and seeing their cousins open the gifts we bought for them. The adults had agreed not to exchange gifts, but April wasn't in on that deal, so, we gave her money for new clothes and she gave us Snugglies! They are like hoodie sweatshirts that are SO soft and warm. Love it!

All too soon it was over and Shannon and Benton had to head to Colorado. We don't love that they are driving in the bad weather on the holiday, but when work calls... they had to go. Luckily, Shannon can work from anywhere and so she can join Benton in Colorado where he works.

We had a nice day together and then, after everyone left, our little family had a movie night. More Christmas movies - we've been trying to make sure to watch all of our favorites. Luckily also this year, most of the wrapping is done. So, this mama doesn't have to stay up until 3am wrapping gifts for Reagan and Cole. Woot woot! Tomorrow is Christmas!!!!

Cole and Steve Snowshoe with the Kearl Family

Our friends, the Kearl family, has a cabin half way up Big Cottonwood Canyon. We've been there with them several times.

On this day, they were going to snowshoe in to the cabin. They asked us to join them. Unfortunately, Reagan and I were still sick, so, Steve and Cole were the only ones to go along.

They had a great time. The Kearls had extra snowshoes, so, we didn't need to bring anything. The weather cooperated and they had a great time.

The cabin was completely snowed in - love it!

Thanks Kearl family - Steve and Cole had a great time. Steve is now convinced that we all need snowshoes. Off to the store!

While these guys played in the snow, I took Reagan back to the doctor. After three days of being on antibiotic, she still tested positive for strep. Apparently, that's called a "treatment fail". They prescribed a stronger antibiotic and within 24 hours, Reagan was feeling and looking better. Yay!

Sophia's Birthday Party

Reagan's bestie - Sophia - turned 13 this weekend. Reagan woke up so sick on the last day of school. I took her to the doctor and learned she had strep. Luckily, she was on antibiotics for over 24 hours before the party, so, she could safely attend.

It was a movie party and we watched the Spiderman into the Spiderverse movie at a luxury theater. Then, we had cake and ice cream and opened presents.

Reagan wasn't feeling it completely, but at least she was there to support Sophia (even Cole tagged along). We love Sophia and the entire Shapiro family.

Happy Birthday Sophia!!!!

Josh and Lexi's Wedding

Our nephew Josh was married on December 20th. Steve and I went to the wedding dinner the night before. Then, unfortunately, the next day, Reagan woke up sick. So, I stayed with Reagan and Steve went with his parents and his sister, Robyn, to the wedding.

Steve was able to get some pics while the family was waiting for the bride and groom to come out of the temple for pictures.

Steve and his brother David are always joking with their mom.

This was taken before the bride and groom came out. David and Laurie have a beautiful family. Sweet Lexi now joins them - we love her. I was so sorry to miss the wedding, but my mama duties have to come first :) 

A Primary Christmas Party

This year, the Sunday before Christmas, we had only Sacrament Meeting - just an hour. We had no Sunday School or Primary. So, our Primary Christmas celebration had to be a week earlier.

We had treats - butter sandwiches, cookies, grapes and chocolate milk.

We decorated picture frames with fingerprint dots in green and red. We put these in bags with candy canes for our parents.

Then, we put out blankets and sat down to watch Mr. Kruger's Christmas.

It was a great, Christmas celebration in Primary.

Christmas PJs - Silly Kiddos

We always get Christmas pajamas. Well, this year, I found some onesies that I thought were cute. Reagan and Cole LOVED them. So, I wanted a pic and I got this nice one above.

However, I also got all of these crazy ones below - Silly kiddos!