Sunday, March 16, 2025

                 Valentine’s day was spectacular.  Tim and I went to lunch at El Matador.  While there, he surprised me with roses and mint chocolates.  It was super thoughtful, and he made me feel so special.  I hope our kids learn from his kind example of how well he treats me.

                Valentine’s day is also a day where we like to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead.  It is usually very busy at the temple, but we learned that Valentine’s Day is not so busy.  So, Teagan, Xadia, Tim, and I went to the temple.  It was such a peaceful fun experience.  I love being there with my kids.  The temple is truly a great place to be.

                McCabe went to a dance with the theme of “Samba through the century.” He and his date dressed as people from the Roman Empire.  I got to take their pictures.  It looked like he had a good time.  McCabe does not share much about his dates.  When I asked how it was, he answers, “fun.”  I have to pry him for details like where they ate and what they did.  He took her to hot pot, a restaurant we went to with the Taiwanese foreign exchange students and then they went to the dance.  That was about all he shared.

                February 16^th was stake conference.  I got to sing in the choir.  It was great watching my family the whole time.  The speakers were all different ages, and each had something special to share.  I enjoy meeting with all the other wards; however, it seemed like the seating was only 50% full.  I hope people were watching it from home.  Later that day, Teagan and I did a craft.  We drew pictures.  I am not a good artist at all.  In fact, I’ll admit I did not get much of the artistic drawing talent when it was handed out in heaven.  But that does not matter.  We had a good time drawing and our pictures turned out decent enough to take a picture.

                McCabe’s high school wrestling career has come to an end.  We got the privilege of attending the wrestling banquet where McCabe was honored by his coaches and friends and got a letter in wrestling.  Of course, I cheered the loudest when his name was read and of course McCabe gave me the stank eye that said, “stop, you’re embarrassing me.”  But just like a good mom, I did not care.  I continued to cheer.  He is lucky I didn’t bring my cowbell because I would have used it.

                Xadia and Teagan are big into wrestling.  This is their first year and they are learning a lot of moves.  It is fun to hear them cheer for their team and to watch them in action.  It is a hit or miss of whether they wrestler or not.  It all depends on if the opponent has someone in their weight range.

                Every once in a while, Tim gets a moment to rest.  I had to sneak this picture of him and Fozzie taking a nap on the couch.  They both looked so comfortable and cute.  I had to catch this moment.

                Xadia and volleyball…..she is crushing it.  At her last game she was jumping higher than normal and spiking the ball to the other side.  I think she had a lot of adrenaline because she was playing against old teammates.  She is definitely dominating this sport.

                Happy 13^th to Teagan.  He had a birthday party where friends came over to hot tub, watch a movie and eat pizza and ice cream.  He got a lot of candy from his friends and a charcoal art set from his family.  I cannot believe my baby is a teenager now.

                Tim got called to be the activity committee chairperson.  His first assignment was the chili cook off which consisted of karaoke, chili/soups, cornbread, and a lot of fun.  I got a chance to sing, “Son of a Preacher Man,” by Dusty Springfield and Tim got a chance to show off his overalls.  He is so handsome.

                Happy birthday to Tim.  For his birthday, we went to Idaho to open Jacinda’s mission call.  It was an amazing day, and Tim was so kind to share is day with her.  We all gathered in the club house.  We served hoagie sandwiches, chips, cookies, and cornbread.  I was amazed at all the people who came to support her.  She got called to Charleston, West Virginia.  The spirit hit me hard, and I started to cry when I realized how amazing she is going to be and that there is someone in West Virginia waiting to meet her.  She is going to touch people’s lives in ways that other people cannot.  I am so very happy and proud of her.

Monday, February 10, 2025

        We had Jacinda down for the weekend.  It was fun to see her.  She got to do her laundry and hang out with Teagan and Xadia.  She got to watch Teagan’s basketball game, eat pizza, and watch Dr. Stone with him.  Xadia helped Jacinda go through her clothes.  Xadia was the lucky recipient of clothes Jacinda left behind.  I don’t know where she is going to put these new clothes.  Xadia’s closet is so full.  I swear that girl goes to the bins each weekend to find some new clothing item.

                McCabe went to the Sweetheart’s dance this past weekend.  While at City Creek, he ran into Nana H.  It was so fun to get a text from her of McCabe and his date.  When I asked McCabe how his date was, he said it was fun.  They went to dinner, then to the dance, and then their group came to our house to hang out.  Xadia and Jacinda were not impressed with how the girls were dressed.  They mentioned how short their dresses were.  The one comment that got me was, “it looked like they took a paper bag and cut out arm holes.”  I am grateful my girls know that modesty is important to our family and we should cover our bodies out of respect.

                During the past week, we had 3 Taiwanese students stay at our house.  Jason, Andy, and Tommy got to experience church basketball, eating spaghetti, and hanging out with Fozzie, the dog.  Tommy really loved Fozzie.  In fact, one night he asked if Fozzie could sleep on his bed.  We allowed it.  We wanted to take the students out for dinner.  They wanted to go to a hot pot restaurant.  It is a restaurant here you dip vegetables and meat into a boiling pot of broth.  I could not believe how much Tommy could eat.  He went back for 5ths and 6ths.  He also scarfed his rice with chopsticks like no other person.  His wrist action was amazingly fast.  I kept telling Tim to watch how fast he chunks down his rice.  It was intense and humorous.

                Xadia and Teagan are on the school’s wrestling team.  I am shocked that Xadia wants to try wrestling but I totally encourage it.  I think it is great that she tries many different sports in her youth.  I also like it when she comes home and tells me her arms hurt because they made her do push-ups in wrestling.  It is good for kids to exercise their bodies.  Teagan is starting to feel the burn in unused muscles thanks to wrestling.

                Last week was McCabe’s birthday.  We celebrated with a special Sunday meal.  For his birthday meal he wanted chic-fil-a chicken nuggets and fries.  For dessert, he wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate peanut butter ice cream.  So that is what he got.  For a gift, he wanted one million dollars or motorcycle gear.  He ended up getting a card with some money.  Parents can only do so much.

Sunday, January 19, 2025

        Happy new year.  Before I can get into 2025, I have to finish documenting the rest of 2024.  In November, we had family pictures.  It was kind of hard with the dog being in them but of course I did not know that until I saw the pictures. The dog was always looking away and the kids were always watching the dog.  There were about 5 pictures out of the many taken that were good.  I like to decorate my house with family pictures, so the few good ones are displayed with photoshopped back grounds to give a variety.  Hopefully no one will notice it is the same picture in different frames.  I think I am o.k. because I showed McCabe one of the pictures and he asked, “when did we take that?”  I laughed because it was one of my photoshopped backgrounds.

     We had thanksgiving at our house.  It was a big spread with family.  Everybody brought some food, and we had a feast and good times visiting.

     November 30, 2024, was a very special day.  It was the day my entire family got to go to the temple together.  We were able to do baptisms and confirmations.  Tim and I have been waiting many years for this special occasion and it was fabulous.  Afterwards, we went to Nielsen’s frozen custard and ate a yummy meal.

     December kicked off with Teagan getting braces.  He selected gold instead of the traditional silver.  I have to admit that the gold looks good because it is less noticeable than the silver.  Teagan has the straightest teeth out of all the kids (pre-braces).  He will only need to wear them for about 14 months.  One that is done, all the kids should be set now with straight teeth.

     Tim and I had a little get away.  He took me to St. George to see a Christmas carol.  It was amazing.  I love seeing the magic that happens on stage.  The costumes, the lightening, the dancing and music is so fun.  Tim and I got all dressed up for the occasion.  In fact, when we entered a restaurant, someone asked who we were.  I don’t know if they thought we were famous or something.  Not sure what was going on in her mind.  The restaurant had a live band and they dedicated a song to us.  It was fun.  Of course when we go to St. George, we stop and see Gary and Jacque Ballard (our aunt and uncle).  These two are the funniest people.  Jacque is always so happy and loving.  Gary is always telling fun stories of his youth.  They make us laugh.

     December is the month of baking.  For our neighbors, I made Russian teacakes, toffee, and coconut balls.  I love to bake and always feel accomplished once all the treats are delivered.  The only issue is that I must keep the family away from the goodies or else the neighbors are not going to get any.

     I came across this photo of Tim and Fozzie.  This is proof that Tim likes the dog even if he says that nobody likes Fozzie.  I see him snuggling with the dog.  Tim is so busted.

     Xadia made the Jr. High basketball team.  She plays on the J.V. team and is learning the sport.  She had never played before.  She is having a good time learning and trying her best at basketball.

     Teagan had a choir concert for school.  It was so fun to listen to him sing.  I could pick out his voice on some of the songs.  It is amazing being a mom and knowing my child.  I really enjoyed all the effort the students and the teacher put into putting on the concert.  I especially loved that they sang untraditional Christmas songs.  Some were from different countries.

    

     Each year we have an annual country Christmas dinner where we select a country and eat food from that area of the world.  This year was Mexico.  There were some yummy creations.  I loved the tamales.  One of Matt’s coworkers made them, and they were delicious.  We invited friends and family to the dinner, and it was a success.  There were 30 people in attendance.

     Here is a picture of my work Christmas party.  It was held at a restaurant in cottonwood canyon.  It was quite lovely and nice to be with my co-workers and their spouses.  

     Christmas time was spent in California.  We went on a cruise and spent time with family.  Here is a video of the fun.

     January brings lots of events.  McCabe’s wrestling tournament where he took 3rd place.  He did a terrific job.  I had to contain myself and the cowbell ringing.  You can hear on the video that I keep telling Tim I want to ring it.  McCabe pulled so many good moves on his opponent.  By the time 3^rd round came, I was tired for the boys.  I cannot believe the stamina needed to keep going.  Well done McCabe.

     Xadia is doing Hive Volleyball.  She is loving it especially when she plays against her friends.  She has a great time smack talking to them.  She just had her first tournament, and her team did well.  They are definitely learning to play together as team. 

     BJH had decade days and Teagan decided to dress from the 30’s, the 1430’s that is.  As you can see, he is very happy being a king.

     Audrey and Brandt got married.  It was fun to be part of the celebration.  Even though my mom was not there, my siblings did things to make her presence known.  Roxy wore a necklace that belonged to my mom.  I made dishes that my mom liked such as frog eyed salad and Russian teacakes and Mimi wore a bracelet that belonged to my mom.  It was a special day.

     Teagan and I tried our luck at the squid game cookie challenge.  It is a cookie made with sugar and baking soda.  Then you make a design and remove from the parchment paper without cracking or breaking the cookie.  The first try resulted in a burned pan.  The second try was perfect!

     I am so excited for Jacinda.  She is in the process of turning in all her paperwork for a mission.  She has bloomed so much since going to BYU Idaho.  She has awesome roommates and good friends such as Hunter and Remington. I miss her but I know she is learning a lot of great things that will help her be a more amazing person.