December 3, 2023
We had a packed week as December came down upon us. We started the week with the ultrasound and it was fun to have Hinckley there too. Overall the kids seem happy with another boy. Kassie and I had hoped for a girl, but of course, we will love this fellow regardless.
I had a bunch of extra work this week and had to work overtime for my first time in this job which wasn't fun, but hopefully behind me now. As a family, we went to the Festival of Trees in Sandy and saw some incredible things people have made to donate to the auction. There was a basketball tree with an official Wilson NBA ball from each team in the league signed by the current roster of players! Greyson was amazed. There were some amazing gingerbread houses there too.
 |
| Festival of Trees |
 |
| The Basketball tree |
 |
| Getting ready for Santa |
 |
| Ward Christmas party santa |
We had our ward Christmas party this week as well. Addie enjoyed all the Costco pizza, Hinckley provided some piercing critiques of everything he observed, and Greyson asked Santa for a TV.
This has been a full week and I'm ready for the holidays to be here.
November 26, 2023
We had a happy Thanksgiving week! Hinckley and Kassie went on a field trip with his class to hear the Utah Symphony at Mountain View High School in Orem. He enjoyed it and Kassie said their class was very well behaved. On Tuesday both boys had Thanksgiving celebrations in class. At Hinckley's school the 5th grade combine to do an "amazing race" in which they break into teams and do a bunch of different activities mixed with taste testing food created by parents using original recipes from colonial times (apparently). He said it was really great! Kassie made the "hot Indian pudding". Greyson came home from school after his "feast" and was very eager to run upstairs to show me his "big belly". He told me all the things he loved, but the 14 Oreos was his favorite. Addie didn't have any special events but she was very excited about the Thanksgiving break and was eager to have a sleepover with her brothers. She and I had a very fun date at the new Lehi outdoor portable ice skating rink they set up on top of a baseball diamond here at a local park. It was great! We had a delightful time with Mom, Dad, and Trent and Abi's families at Luminaria at Thanksgiving Point. We've been before but I think the kids enjoyed everything even more by having cousins to stroll around with!
 |
| Addie and Greyson at Luminaria |
 |
| Light jumping at Luminaria |
 |
| Toasting Marsh mallows at Luminaria |
 |
| Raking a Mt Crumpit leaf pile! |
 |
| Addie's hard work |
 |
| Crafting man |
 |
| Making placemats with Nana |
 |
| Climbing rocks in Provo |
 |
| Thanksgiving Pie |
 |
Watching "Wish"
|
 |
| Basketball ornament |
 |
| Drawing brother time |
 |
| Dad and Addie ice skating date |
 |
| Learning about ancestors with Nana |
 |
| Cousin time at the Apple Chapel |
Unfortunately Kassie hasn't been feeling super well this week so she was unable to go to Provo for our Thanksgiving feast with Mom and Dad. Perhaps the peace and quiet of the home was just what she needed! I had fun with the kids making Thanksgiving placemats and exploring rocks up by Bonneville trail. We returned on Saturday to see Halvorsen cousins and the kids had too much fun roaming the halls of the Apple Chapel. Other fun things this week included Hinckley experiencing his first Turkey Bowl with his friend Tyler and other boys from Tyler's neighborhood, going to Wish with the family, putting up Christmas decorations, playing with friends in the first snow of the season and more.
A small miracle this week happened related to a project I'm doing in the garage. I've been stressing over building some shelves for weeks (months?) and finally chose some plans. After picking up Hinckley from a friend's house I thought we could just "swing by Home Depot" (famous last words). We loaded all the lumber up on a cart and I was feeling pretty proud of myself for getting everything and it adding up to my expected cost...until I realized it wouldn't all fit in the van! Hinckley and I began to play Tetris and just as I was about to give up, a man came up to us and asked if we needed help. Turns out he had done the same thing a month earlier and bought a truck last week so it wouldn't happen again. He saw our plight and carried all the lumber to our house! It was amazing and filled me with the spirit of gratitude. I then borrowed armfuls of equipment and supplies from one of our neighbors to begin cutting and assembling the shelves. I thank God for the kind people who have helped me at every big and small step of my life.
November 19, 2023
Lately Hinckley is really into trying to have lucid dreams. He has researched it online and is keeping a dream journal now and wears my old Bluetooth headphones with sleep music when he goes to bed. Not sure if it works, but he has been going to bed much easier lately which is a win in my book! He had fun with some friends from his previous school going to do laser tag, and he edited a short video for one of his book reports and had a lot of fun with that. He seems to be growing an inch a day! He and Kassie made "chu chu jelly" (a thing from Zelda video game) out of Jell-O for a date. Despite it not working out he was really happy to try.
 |
| Hinckley's Jell-O chu chu experiment |
Greyson had another great basketball game this week. He scored maybe 15 baskets and is one of the only kids on his team who knows how to dribble the ball. He's got real hoop dreams! He is pretty excited about some new basketball books he got this week from the library, but was sad we had to take Space Jam back. He and Addie had a lot of fun playing in the leaves that fell this week.
 |
| Ready to watch Beauty and the Beast |
 |
| Ready for the show |
 |
| After show gathering! |
We had a great time watching Millie perform in the Beauty and the Best at Maple Mountain High School. Addie LOVED it and when we got home she dressed up as Bell and found a basket to carry around the house. Hinckley also really enjoyed it and seemed happy we came. It helped that he sat by Logan the whole time. Greyson had a rough time, especially when I didn't let him kick the chair of the person sitting in front of him. Everyone enjoyed a cousin movie night in Mapleton on Friday night while the adults went to Joe Bandidos for some Mexican food. Yum.
Addie and I sung in the ward choir today which was fun. We got a new bishopric member and EQ presidency so I think I might get released from Ward Mission Leaders soon!
November 12, 2023
We had a full and fun different kind of week. Kassie's parents came into town last Saturday and they stayed with the kids for most of the week while Kas and I went to Charleston South Carolina. We had a wonderful trip. We went on a food and walking tour of the historic city, went to a plantation that has been growing crops for over 300 years, and visited Fort Sumpter. We really enjoyed it!
Comments
Post a Comment