Victories

My kids deserve some shoutouts!

James

Meet the new James... He got glasses!  He is eager to show them off to everyone he sees. It was so cute watching him the first day he got them. He kept taking them on and off to see the difference. His teacher brought up his eye sight at parent teacher conferences. I guess James struggles to see the board and has had to move seats because of it.

He looks extra handsome and studious with his new accessory and is taking very good care of his glasses.

Friday, March 6

James had another excellent basketball season! This time, he wanted to earn a new water bottle! He had the exact brand, color, and style in mind. (He requested a blue Gatorade bottle like someone in his school class.) In order to earn the water bottle, James had to score 50 points this season. I guess we could have set a higher goal because he scored 70 points this season. His team was not very good... In fact, they lost 5 games, tied 1 game, and finally won their last game today. I told James they won because of him. They were down and the other team had more than double their score and then James decided to turn it on and made 16 points.

Game 1: Saturday, January 24: James scored 10 points

Game 2: Saturday, January 31: James scored 14 points

Game 3: Saturday, February 7: We missed because we were in Idaho

Game 4: Saturday, February 14: James scored 8 points

Game 5: Saturday, February 21: James scored 8 points

Game 6:  Saturday, February 28: James scored 14 points

Game 7: Saturday, March 7: James scored 16 points

Thanks Coach Jason

My parent's came and supported almost every game and James had the biggest fan section and cheerleaders. One week Papa was even the scorekeeper.

Isabelle

I'm proud of Isabelle. She has bad genes. Both me and Andrew were nighttime bedwetters for awhile. We borrowed the "pee machine" from a friend (thanks Meagan) and Isabelle has been dry for over 30 nights! She conquered bed-wetting which is not easy! She's happy and so are we. She can now shower at night instead of having to in the mornings which is so nice. She mentioned to me that she's glad to be done with pullups because peeing made her get a rash which was uncomfortable.

Saturday, March 7

For completing 30 days on her "dry" chart, I took Isabelle to get a haircut and we went shopping. We loved our girl time! She wanted bangs which I had to talk her out of with her curly hair, but we she did get some face framing. She loves to have pieces of hair hanging out of her ponytail. She also got glitter in her hair-do. She chose some darling outfits! She picked out a dress, sweater, and pants. I wish the purple pants come in my size.

Both our kids are in the Chinese Immersion program and we loved watching their annual program. Isabelle was front and center and lead her class well knowing all the moves perfectly. I didn't know she could shake her butt so much. I guess the years of dance are paying off.

Thursday, February 19

Penelope

Penelope is in daycare full time for the month of March. I took a long-term subbing job for 4 weeks. What was I thinking!? More on that later. This is supposed to be about Penelope. The daycare was thrilled to hear Penelope was moving to full-time daycare. She is beloved by all. This week, I heard she played "princesses" with everyone and did their hair. She demands that she wear a princess dress daily right when she wakes up. I also heard that Penny was singing "I Love to See the Temple" a lot at school. She comes home singing all sorts of songs or quoting books. "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee, won't my mommy be so proud of me?" They must read the book "Brown Bear Brown Bear" a lot because she knows that too.

Penelope is miss social butterfly and often asks if she can go again or go back to school right as we're leaving. We're thrilled to be past the diarrhea/stomach bug she picked up at daycare that lasted over 10 days. Not joking. I'm looking forward to spending more time with my girl in April! Looking at the daycare app throughout the day brings me joy because she's so cute.

Proud of my sweeties! Bummed to say a temporary goodbye to basketball but delighted to stop buying pullups.

Birthday Week

Birthday week has come and gone.

Birthday #37

BambooHR gives employees their birthday off of work. Yahoo! Andrew didn't have to work on Friday, February 20. I skipped subbing and we went on a day date.

The kids and I surprised Andrew first thing in the morning with Chick-Fil-A breakfast. We sneakily got it while he was at the gym.

Andrew and I went to an endowment session at the Oquirrh Mountain temple.

We also  went to a restaurant we hadn't tried before for lunch-- Mooyah's. They serve burgers and fries. We thought it was good, but not the best burgers we've had. The fries were awesome and yes, we had leftovers.

Check out Andrew's new shirt! A bday present from me.

We even had time to sneak in the newest episode of "The Pit" before the kids returned home from school. On Fridays, the kids get out of school early.

In the afternoon, we went as a family to Airborne the trampoline park in Draper. At first, Penelope was very timid and I regretted bringing her. She warmed up and was in heaven. She made friends and was daring down some big girl slides. Andrew was doing all sorts of tricks, flips, and obstacle courses with the kids. So much so that he paid for that for a couple days with some soreness...I happily took pictures.

For dinner, I made Zuppa Toscana soup. Andrew requested lunch lady peanut butter bars for dessert. We hardly had room for more food. My sweet grandma also brought over cinnamon rolls for Andrew's birthday which are his favorite.

That night, Andrew invited a couple friends (Nick and David) to come over to play board games.

My parent's gifted Andrew a Netflix subscription which we are already happily utilizing! Andrew's mom gave him a Texas Roadhouse gift card. Andrew is spending his birthday money on a Brandon Sanderson kick starter book... I bet you couldn't see that coming.

Birthday #33

My birthday was on Wednesday, February 25. Andrew made me breakfast in bed- scrambled eggs and a smoothie. He makes the best scrambled eggs. He wrote me love notes and sent me on a scavenger hunt throughout the house with gifts. I went walking with Jessica and my mom on the Jordan River trail. It was delightful! We all had to take our coats of because it was so nice. George and Penelope insisted on holding hands during the walk which was adorable. Then, we ate lunch--Cubby's. That maple sauce with the fries hit the spot.

I always feel awkward about this part....but I was spoiled and have the best people in my life! I don't say this to brag but to remember.

• Becky brought me a cookie from Local Cookie Co. 
• Jamie brought me flowers.
• Gigi brought me a Crumbl cookie and a Mi Ranchito giftcard. 
• Kira dropped off soap.
• Krista made me cookies.
• The RS gave me chocolate.
• Grandma L sent me a card and money.
• McCall took me out to lunch at Mi Ranchito.
• Brie and Kirsten treated me to Zupas.
• Valerie gave me a journal and pens.
• Jessica gifted me her favorite mascara.
• Jill sent me a book.
• My MIL got me an Old Navy gift card.
• Alison gave me a cookbook called "Let's Eat Cookies."
• My parent's got me 2 new kitchen chairs.

• I got myself a shelf from Costco to organize the basement. Almost nothing beats organizing. Happy birthday to me!

Not to mention the countless texts from other family, friends, and yw. I'm overwhelmed and have a lot of thank-you cards to write. I love my people!!

We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and to the play Fiddler on the Roof. Our dinner was free (thanks to Grannie's gift card)! Our babysitters were free too (thanks Mom and Dad). Our play tickets were pretty cheap. $58 total. We went to the newer Nathan Ruth Theater in Pleasant Grove with the Boones. 

Fiddler was so fun! I laughed a lot! The singers were phenomenal! Our seats were so close we were basically sitting in the action. I had to unbutton my pants... I guess I ate one too many rolls. 

The scene including the dream about the grandma was a little over dramatized. The fog machine could have stopped much sooner.

I'm hoping this play was memorable enough for me to remember... I had forgotten that I saw "Fiddler on the Roof" with my grandma 2 years ago at Hale center theater. Clearly it made an impression. We thought it was well done! It was a great way to end the perfect birthday.

James' birthday is around the corner and I'm working on the design plans to re-do his room so stay tuned!

"Hi"-daho

As if you need more proof that Penelope is darling, she pronounces the state Idaho, "Hi"- daho. She was thrilled to go to "Hi"-daho to see "Bammie" (Grannie) and her cousins.

Our niece, Avery got called to serve in Alabama (spanish speaking) for her mission. We went to her farewell. As expected, her talk was excellent. It seemed like a homecoming address because she is so solid and mature. Avery and her 4 sisters sang "A Missionary's Prayer" for the musical number. Last minute, I offered to accompany them so all of the sisters could sing. Man, they are talented and I loved playing with them. It's a gorgeous song that I hadn't heard before.

The trip worked out well because the kids didn't have school on Friday, February 6. We arrived in Caldwell Friday afternoon and headed back to Utah Sunday afternoon. It's about a 5.5 hour drive.

Grannie also came for the farewell and so did Blayre and her kids. We hadn't seen these Dittos/Kimballs/Maynes since June and it was great to reconnect.

Not pictured, Blayre (Andrew's sister)

Tavia (Andrew's sister) was so gracious to host us. It was a full house! Blayre and a couple of her kids stayed at a neighbor's house. If you want to organization tips, spend time with Tavia. I always come back with new ideas. She is the queen of planning and is such a go-getter. She bent over backwards to make it a memorable and fun weekend. She made delicious food too and it felt like she made feast after feast.

Pickbleball and the park was pleasurable! Our kids also loved going to the local middle school carnival. There were bounce houses and games. Each kid won a 2 liter soda. It was nice to be able to support Eliza at her basketball game. In between quarters, James and his cousins got some basketball in which was cute to watch. Arctic Circle was doing a deal for $1 cones, and Grannie treated everyone to those. Thanks Grannie!

Penelope learned a new song from her cousins about picking her nose. It's hysterical....

"Never, never, never pick your nose! 

Up your nostrils is not where your finger goes

Don't pick yourself a winner cause boogers aren't for dinner

This is the deal if you get caught with a finger up your nose..."

Still working on this concept...

If you're wanting to hear more cute pronunciations from Penelope, ask her to say, "granola bar" and "vanilla yogurt." This girl has fans anywhere she goes. My other kids do too. Isabelle whipped out a violin performance for her everyone on a too big violin and rocked it! James stayed up chatting with Rhett until at least 11pm every night. So glad we were able to make the trip to "Hi"-Daho. There were tears on the car ride home because my kids already miss their cousins.

Janky January

Snow hasn't really been a part of January this year. Here's what we've been up to:

Penelope's Injury: January 11

Right after church, Penelope was eating lunch and fell of the stool and cut her chin. Our next door neighbor, Dr. Chad saved the day and super glued her chin for us. I'm so grateful we didn't have to go to instacare.

Meagan's Sprinkle: January 14

My friend Meagan is having her 4th baby and 1st girl. Valerie and I threw her a shower. Pro tip-- if you want a giant turnout, host an event in January! I made the invites and got one printed/framed, made the pretzel party favors, and the game.

Aquarium: January 19

No school on Martin Luther King Day which meant we went to the aquarium! So did a lot of other people. We ran into the Pattersons there. The aquarium has a new section open with a giant slide and some cool animals to see. We are enjoying our passes.

Movie "David:" January 20

No school on a Tuesday? $5 movie it is. My mom generously paid for our tickets. Penelope didn't have to be taken out once! We enjoyed this film that's based on the bible story.

2 Recitals: January 24

James and Isabelle had music recitals on the same day and at the same venue! The recitals were at Riverton Music in Sandy. James' performance was in the morning and Isabelle's the afternoon. James' recitals are very low-key. You drop in, play and leave whenever. He nailed his 2 songs "Stealth Mode" and "The Kangaroo That Almost Flew." Isabelle also played 2 songs "Lightly Row" and "Song of the Wind." I accompanied Isabelle and all of Jessica's students. There were some intense piano accompaniments. Jessica has advanced students. I'm proud of myself for being able to play the songs and am glad the recital is over. I love music and that my kids are at the stage that they take lessons. Sadly, James' basketball game and Isabelle's recital time overlapped. Thanks to my dad for taking James to his game. I missed out on seeing James score 10 points!

YW Where's Waldo and Game Night: January 20 and January 27

Not many leaders were eager to dress up for the "Where's Waldo?" activity at the mall. My dream came true (not) and I got to wear a disguise and wander the mall avoiding ward members. I was wearing my mom's glasses and couldn't see well. Only 2 of he 6 groups found me. I don't miss my head itching or my knee hurting from the brace. To help me look forward to the evening more, my family went to eat at Chick Fil A to eat first.

I hosted a combined young women's activity at my house. So many girls came! I think around 20. I had girls rotate between 3 stations/games. 1) First to Worst 2) Chameleon 3) Flip 7. Then we had dessert. I made Johanna Gaines banana pudding in "shot glasses" which looked fancy. I wish I had made cookies instead. Girls didn't seem to love the pudding and making them took a lot of effort after subbing all day. We ended the evening doing a favorite thing gift exchange. Girls stayed awhile-- until 8:40.

I've been prepping for birthday season and am drooling thinking about my birthday dinner... Ready to embrace February.