Sunday, March 21, 2021

 I wish to be more consistent with journaling, however, life gets too busy.  So here I am with a long post because I have a month to report.  March began with Tim uncovering the big rock, “Bertha” in our backyard.  As he uncovered it, there was a perfect little seating area.  I called it the rock lounge.  Bertha is a really big rock and Tim is determined to shrink it.  He bought some expanding chemical to pour in one inch drilled holes.  As the chemical expands, it breaks the rock.  He is working hard to get the house in shape before the end of March for Amy and Ethan.  They will be visiting and heading up to Idaho for Jacob’s and Jaden’s wedding.

Xadia loves crazy hair day.  With the help of mom and dad, she was able to make her hair crazy and stand up.  I am glad Tim had some wire to construct a frame for her pony tails.

Each week, we as a family clean the FiberTel office building.  It is good family time.  The kids usually bring a friend who has the opportunity to earn money and spend an hour with the Fishers.  Everybody has their chore.   Jacinda mops.  McCabe vacuums.  Xadia wipes surfaces.  Teagan empties the trash.  Mom cleans the bathrooms.  Dad supervises. After cleaning, we stop by Maverick for a f’real shake.  So far the kids have been really good about cleaning and do not complain.  They know it is a weekly task to keep on their schedule.

Teagan turned 9 this year.  We celebrated with a minecraft cake and a day at Get Air Trampoline Park.  The kids jumped and ran around like little monkeys.  It was fun to watch them.  They all had a good time and were so thirsty by the end.  I bought water for everyone.  The kids drank and watch the Lego movie as we drove home.  Once home, Teagan opened presents and ate his cake and ice cream.  It was then time to take the kids home.  The time went really fast.

McCabe and Jacinda got jobs at Lagoon.  McCabe will be working in landscaping and Jacinda will be a team lead in the ticketing department.  This will be Jacinda’s 3^rd year.  She really loves her job and co-workers.  I am glad she is having a good experience.

Teagan had a loose tooth that was too stubborn to fall out on its own.  He had to go to the dentist and have it pulled.  It took 10 minutes to numb his mouth and 10 seconds to pull out the tooth.  The tooth was decayed and very gross looking.  It was a good thing to pull it out.  After the dentist, we went to Artic Circle to get an Oreo Milkshake.  Unfortunately, Article Circle was not open at 9:00 a.m.  So we went home and I made him a mint chocolate chip milkshake.

I had the opportunity to attend McCabe’s wrestling match.  It was fantastic watching him wrestle.  I am so proud of the maneuvers he did.  He did a great job since he had to wrestle a higher weight class.  I am glad he enjoys wrestling and that he does it.  There seems to be a bunch of nice boys on his team.  After the match, I was talking to McCabe about some of his teammates and some of the opponents.  McCabe then told me about a guy on his team.  When I asked him to describe him, he said the he resembled Lord Farquaad from Shrek.  I did not expect that description and it made me laugh.

Monday, January 12, 2021

           Thanksgiving was a quiet time.  The pandemic prevented people from joining us for a meal.  So we had our own meal and made some homeless kits.  These kits were water bottles that contained $10, a flashlight, two granola bars, a carabiner, Chap Stick, various candies, a toothbrush, and some toothpaste.  We then delivered the kits.  The recipient’s reactions were mixed.  Some were very grateful and excited others were quiet and somewhat embarrassed.  I am glad we could help and give our kids the opportunity to serve others.

We are working on home improvements.  We re-did our wood floors.  I love the color.  We are also repainting the kitchen cabinets and replacing the counter tops.  It is a lot of work but will be worth it when completed.

As Christmas approached, it was time to do family pictures.  I love how they turned out.  My family is growing so much.  It is amazing to see how big the kids are and how much they have changed since the last family photo.  My daughters are beautiful and my sons are so handsome.  Tim is just a babe all around.  I sure love that man.

Fozzie got a little reindeer costume for Christmas.  He likes the bodice but hates the antlers.  He is such a good dog.  The family really loves him.  They like to play with him in crazy ways.  For example, putting him in a laundry basket.  The kids like being with Fozzie.  We had to make a sleeping schedule so that the kids would not fight over which night is their night with the dog.

We usually have a fake Christmas tree with pre-strung lights, but this year we got a real tree.  The first go around with decorating there was not enough lights so we took off all the ornaments and put on more lights and put ornaments on for a second time.  When finished, Tim decided we needed more lights.  Once again we took off the ornaments to add more lights.  The kids were tired of decorating so they put on the bare minimum amount of ornaments.  Hence our humble 2020 Christmas tree.

We had a yummy Christmas breakfast which included eggs, ham, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, spam, and sparkling apple cider.  The kids did not eat much because they were full from the candy from their stocking.  After breakfast, we opened presents.  The best part was the boys getting their gag gift boxes.  The outside showed some crazy gag product but inside was the real gift.  Teagan opened his first and got a fart filter.  He was so funny as he was reading the box.  He was so confused.  When McCabe opened his gag gift, he knew right away it was a gag and opened the box.  His reaction was not quite as fun.

New Year’s Eve consisted of rootbeer tasting and rootbeer floats.  There was no clear winner.  The following day we got some Texas size donuts and did the polar plunge.  McCabe, Teagan, and Xavius were the only brave souls to take a dip in the freezing water.

The (Chris) Fisher’s joined us at the beginning of the year.  We had a lot of fun being together.  We rode a train to Ogden to play at Fat Cats and then had the kitchen sink at Farr’s ice cream.  The kitchen sink had 22 scoops of ice cream with whip cream, chocolate syrup and nuts on it.  The best part was running to catch the train on our way home.  It was freezing and the train only comes once an hour.  We did not want it to leave us so we ran like crazy.  We were laughing and thawing when we made it on the train.

January 10, 2021, Tim got to ordain McCabe to the office of a teacher.  I am so pleased with my boys and their choice to follow God and try to live a worthy life.

Monday, November 16, 2020

       School was back in full swing.  All kids were going 4 days a week.  Tim was way excited  because it was quiet while he worked at home.  Unfortunately the COVID cases has spiked and so the junior high and high schools are now online for the next two weeks.  That means that Jacinda and McCabe stay home for learning.  This is unfortunate because they do much better learning in person.  We are all trying to do our part to stay safe and well but this pandemic is really taking a toll.  I am ready for things to go back to normal.

     I love all my kids so much.  I am very proud of their accomplishments.  Xadia decided to enter the reflections contest by singing a song.  She did a great job.  However, we were not able to be an entrant because the song is copy righted and not her own.  Oh well, at least I have the video of a beautiful young girl singing.

     Tim got a new toy, a massage chair.  Of course we all use it.  I love resting in it while attending Relief Society.  Originally we were going to put the chair in our room but decided to leave it in the front room so everyone can use it.  I have walked by a few times only to find a child sleeping in it.  Nothing better than having a nice massage to put you to sleep.

     Oct. 27th was a big day for McCabe.  He got his braces off.  He looks so handsome. 

      Xadia had to do a report on a famous person.  She asked who was famous when I was young.  The first person that came to my mind was Christa McAuliffe, the teacher who died in space.  We read her biography together and then Xadia did a poster to resemble Christa and left a hole for her own face so she could give the report as if she was Christa McAuliffe.  It was a special experience.  Christa was an adventurous person and died way too soon.  I admire Christa's vibrant spirit and zest for life.  She did not let many barriers stop her.

     Halloween was so fun.  The kids got a lot of candy.  After 2 hours of trick or treating, they were begging to go home because their bags were too heavy to carry and they were tired of walking.  Tim and I had a good time because it appeared that the homes with a "Biden Harris" sign for president canceled halloween.  They were not having any visitors because of the pandemic.  Other homes were very creative with the distribution of candy and social distancing.

     The fall weather means it is time to get out and enjoy the beauty before the snow comes.  We love taking hikes or walks around the town.  Here we are in Mueller Park Canyon.  We brought Fozzie along for the exercise.  He loves to be with the family and we love him.

     As the weather turns colder, I get motivation to bake.  Our latest creation was baked pumpkin spice donuts.  They were quite tasty.  The kids did not like them because they were not as sweet as store bought donuts.  Tim and I really liked them.  I would make them again, however, the next go will be baked caramel apple donuts.  I can't wait to see how they turn out. 

Monday, October 12, 2020

             I had a fun birthday.  Tim took me out on a date in our neighbor’s Tesla.  Before we took off in the car, the Murdock’s 3-year-old son, Max threw a rock that hit the back passenger’s window.  It left a scratch but nothing serious.  Driving down the road was fun because it is an electric car with a lot of zip.  Tim liked pushing on the accelerator making the car go really fast.  Funny thing, because it is electric there is no revving noise so I could not prepare for my head to hit the head rest.  I kept telling Tim that he is going to get a ticket if he keeps doing that.  He loved it.  He loves going fast.  Anyways back to our date.  As we accelerated on the freeway, I heard a loud bang.  It sounded like a gunshot.  I looked back and the passenger back window shattered.  That little chip from the rock hit the window just right to shatter it.  I told time we should take the care back but he said that there was nothing the Murdocks could do and he was just going to keep driving it.

                We drove to Layton to eat at Outback Steak House, but the wait was 45 minutes so we decided to go elsewhere.  While driving through Layton, a street sign caught my eye.  I told Tim to go back just to make sure I was not seeing things.  Sure enough the street was named “Nalder.”  How strange to see my maiden name on a street sign.  I got out and Tim took a picture.  We then went on a short walk and talked and then he took me to Chopstix for dinner.  We went home and vacuumed the shattered glass and returned the car.  It was fun being with him. 

                We celebrated Xadia’s 11^th birthday over the weekend.  She had a party with some friends.  They went on a treasure hunt, played a ring toss game, and Gang Beast.  We also had lunch and cake and ice cream.  It was such a fun and easy party.  She is at the age where the kids don’t need a lot of adult interaction to be entertained.

                Sunday was beautiful.  We had to go on a walk.  Xadia and Teagan rode the kick bike scooters while Tim and I walked near the temple.  The fall colors are so gorgeous, especially after the rain.  Unfortunately, Teagan crashed on his scooter.  It was nothing too serious.  A cherry milk shake took care of the pain and the rest of the evening was spent talking about patriarchal blessings and watching the Prince and the Pauper with the family.

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

     Super fun weekend.  We went geode hunting in Dugway, Utah.  The kids each took a friend.  Xavius and Canda (cousins) also joined.  There was so much to do.  We went dirt biking, blueberry riding, and geode digging.  McCabe and Teagan stepped in quick sand and got all muddy.  Fozzie sneaked out during the night and helped himself to another camp’s left overs. We brought the telescope and saw Saturn and its rings (it was so neat!).  The weather was perfect.  On the way home, the trailer blew out a tire.  Fortunately Tim was able to fix it.  There was tons of junk food for everyone to eat.  Everybody had a good time and the only broke item, besides the tire, were the blueberry’s side mirrors.  They got cracked from rocks on the road flying up and hitting them as we traveled to our camp site.

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

             

 Kids are back in school.  They go twice a week.  Starting September 28, 2020, they will go 4 times a week (Monday through Thursday).  The Pandemic has made life really odd.  We are finding out that the kids do better when they are in school full time.  They rely heavily upon the teacher’s instructions.  As a parent, I try to help as much as possible but sometimes it is not enough or the kids don’t want to listen to a parent.  Tim and I have also learned that the kids need social interaction.  They like being with their friends. 

                I try to take advantage of spending time with the kids.  Last month, Jacinda and I made a vest.  It is based off a character, Divus Crewel, in twisted wonderland.  Originally, Jacinda tried cutting and sewing together two different shirts.  It was not working very well so I stepped in and taught her how to read a pattern and how to do a few stitches.  A few hours later,  viola!  She has a new vest for her cosplay wardrobe.

                We are so excited to get our backyard done and a pool installed.  Unfortunately it is taking a long time.  We have been patiently waiting for the engineer to come on site.  It has been 2 months since the deposit has been cashed.  I have been told that the landscaping business is very busy this summer.  Of course it does not help that we had a horrible windstorm last week.  The storm knocked down trees and blew off shingles.  It has been a real mess.  We have an adjuster coming out Friday to look at our roof.  Back to the point I was trying to make.  In lieu of a real pool, the Johnsons were kind enough to lend us their water trough.  The boys absolutely love playing in it.  I don’t know who has the most fun, but I am willing to say that Tim is near the top and enjoys swimming with the boys.

                Teagan has taken a liking to doing hair.  When there is a moment where the family is sitting together, he will get a spray bottle and a brush and start doing hair.  He likes to make sure the hair (and shirt) is saturated before brushing.  He goes from person to person doing hair.  It is so fun.  Just the other day he learned how to use an elastic.  Now he can style the hair with an elastic.

                Fozzie has been such a fun dog.  He does not lack attention.  The kids love him.  One of his favorite games is to play chase.  Xadia likes to tie a stuffed animal to a fishing pole and then cast it.  She then wildly reels in the toy as Fozzie chases it.  This is a simple and fun game for the one casting but Fozzie has to do a lot of running.

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                McCabe could spend all his time fishing.  He has met a friend (Sam) at school.  He and Sam like to go pond hopping.  The other day, they caught some trout and brought it home to cook.  Unfortunately, he accidentally battered the fish with powdered sugar instead of flour because he thought the container was filled with flour.  He said the fish was a little sweet but tasted good anyways.  What a funny incident.   

                Jacinda just got her driving permit on Friday, September 18^th.  Six hours later, she hit our mailbox and took the bumper off our Honda.  Tim and I knew this day was coming but we did not know it would be on the day she got her permit.  Thankfully no one was hurt and the mailbox still stands (it is covered in brick).  However, there are some repairs needed to the car.  Jacinda gets to help Tim fix the car so she can take it back out driving.  It is like I have entered a whole new level of parenting.

 

Jacinda, Kate, and Abbey at Evermore.