February 27, 2022
2/22/2022 was a memorable day. We said goodbye to Grandpa Halvorsen and took the time to reflect and share memories with our family. In the morning there was a blanket of snow over everything and a beautiful sunrise that hit Timp just right as we sat in the Mortuary home and it was wonderful. Greyson struggled a few times throughout all the services, but overall it was better than it could have been. At the viewing, it was a great opportunity to teach the kids (and Addie who was asking, “why does he look like a statue”?) about death and the separation of the body and the spirit. Hinckley did a good job being quiet and listening to the stories throughout all the services which was really good. We had a police escort across Provo which was pretty cool. At the cemetery, we participated in watching the military salute and there was a plane flyover which took my breath away as it wiggled its wings. It was a very memorable day.
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| Almost ready for prayer time |
February 20, 2022
This was a roller-coaster week.
- Observing Mom and Dad get released from their mission
- Addie was sick again and missed 4 days of school (including Valentine's day) and the doctor confirmed yet another ear infection.
- We celebrated Kassie's 34th birthday with delicious food and time together
- I was named Employee of the quarter at work when attending my first in-person company meeting since starting at Weave 2 years ago
- Grandpa Halvorsen passed and we communicated the news to the kids
The kids took the news about Grandpa in stride. Addie said she “cried a little” when I told her and Hinckley said he had a few “real tears and a few forced tears” at school but didn’t tell anyone about it except his close friend Declan. I feel a deep appreciation and love for Grandpa, and am happy he was able to go fairly quickly there at the end. What a blessing to have been able to spend so many ears in and out of his orbit, and seeing his example of service and love. I feel grateful that we have been able to live here these last couple of years and see him a bit more so Hinckley and Addie will have a few memories of him. He is a mountain of a man, and I hope I can be like him someday.
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| Kassie's birthday evening with Blox brownies |
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| Addie's "Temple" |
On Saturday was “Mommy day off”. After chores and a few arguments, I took the kids to Harvey Park in PG. It is a really fun park and despite Greyson having to pee and there being no open bathroom, we all had a really good time. It was a highlight for the day for sure. We watched
The Court Jester after lunch and an extended fit from Addie and everyone seemed to enjoy that too despite Greyson appearing to be sick. Kassie and I watched the adult session of Stake Conference which was available via a virtual link. I LOVE virtual links with Stake Conference!
February 13, 2022
I had an enjoyable birthday this week! Thanks for the notes and calls. Kassie went to observe a dental hygienist and I got to see Greyson come running home from preschool. In the evening Mom and Dad came over and we ate breakfast tofu burritos and had eclair cake afterward. Yum!
Hinckley finished his yearbook cover artwork submission and he is proud of it. He worked on it at school too, which has me wondering what they are having him do in school haha. A 5th grader said a rude thing to him and must have hurt (about the picture), but I am hopeful he will take it in stride as he learns that as long as you are doing something of any value there will be those who criticize you (to make a difference you have to be different!). He and Kas made a bunch of chocolate-covered strawberries to sell to the locals this weekend and he is pretty excited about all the cash he is bringing in.
Kas and Addie had a date on Saturday watching My Little Pony in Addie's room on a computer and doing makeup. Addie was really happy with it all and was very cute about it. This week I played "kitty" and "puppy" with Addie and Greyson a few times after work. Addie was a cat and Greyson the puppy, and I was the "owner". They enjoyed playing fetch and "sleeping" on their nests (pillows with blankets over them). It was a nice alternative to the regular hit and scream routine that is often triggered around the time I'm off work.
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| Strawberry dipping complete |
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| Climbing at the park |
It was nice to go into the office a few times this week. I've been doing that more regularly to take advantage of the gym and newly opened hair-cutting place. Greyson and Kassie came to visit on Friday and he was extremely excited about everything there - from the chairs to the elevator, and of course…the treats. "I want to push buttons like dad when I grow up and work in this cool place." Greyson, Hinckley, and I went to a park on Saturday and we had a lot of fun. Now that Greyson is a little older those trips are a little more enjoyable. It was fun to spin Hinckley around and around on a few things there - his body was literally perpendicular to the ground and he let go a few times and flew a few yards before crashing into the ground and laughing like a madman.
On Saturday, Mom and Dad came to watch the kids, and Kas and I went to Death on the Nile at the theater. They did a ton of fun things while we were gone such as crafts, making treats, a quick trip to the park, building activities, and more. It was a wonderful Saturday afternoon for all!
February 6, 2022
The kids - especially Hinckley - are excited and anxious about entering the yearbook cover drawing contest again this year. Hinckley was really stressed about it earlier this week, but later he let me take him through a series of brainstorming activities that I’ve learned from Design Thinking workshops. That actually seemed to work for him and he is excited about one of his ideas! I hope that works out. He attended a fun birthday party Saturday night at the Ninja playground. He told me all about how he mixed cake and soda into "an amazing concoction". He was really excited about the "unlimited cake and ice cream". On Friday Hinckley and Addie didn’t have school today and I took the day off from work to take Hinckley up to Alta. He was a little timid at first but by lunchtime, he was going straight down as quick as he could with a huge smile on his face. We skied for over 4 hours on those two small hills they have there. It is great that have that small lift and rope tow and I think that helped H get really comfortable on his skis. Next year we may need to buckle down and pay for the actual lift tickets. He kept commenting on how much fun it was and I really enjoyed that time with him. We both got pretty burned.
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| Preparing to ski - take 1 |
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| Preparing to ski - take 2 |
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| On the slopes! |
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| We forgot sunscreen |
Addie continues to love drawing pictures. She did some giant pictures of an anti-hero helping break a robber out from prison...it must have been related to the
movie we made last Sunday hahahaa. We had parent-teacher conferences this week and Addie's teacher went on about how sweet and cute she is in class. She and Greyson had lots of fun playing with her dolls and such when H and I were gone skiing. She loves to have a little order-taker to give instructions to!
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