New Years in St. George (Again)

It used to be tradition that in order to avoid being too boring on New Years Eve after having kids that the Thorsteds would come over to our place and ring in the New Year playing games.  Last year, we escaped to St. George instead and when I told Annie we were planning to do the same again this year, she politely informed me that she doesn’t like how we always ditch them for St. George on New Years now.  So my reply was that they should come with us, and she said maybe they would. 

So the Thorsteds (minus Jens who got to fly to St. Lewis to hang with his cousins for New Years as a Christmas present) and Marshalls loaded into cars on the Friday afternoon before New Years.  Derek and I ended up with all the kids in our car and Tyler and Annie had a quite car to themselves which we figured was fine because it was their anniversary weekend after all.  Saturday, Annie and I went on a run together in the morning.  Then, Tyler, Derek, Annie and I all did some sealings of family names in the St. George temple while Mom and George took the kids to the Children’s Museum.  The first place Annie and Tyler ever laid eyes on each other was at a mutual friend’s wedding in the St. George temple, so it seemed the perfect way to start our their anniversary day.  After the temple, I took all the kids to the pool (I myself sat in the hot tub the entire time), and all the other adults went to play Pickleball. 

The entire weekend included all of us enjoying the Classic Nintendo Santa brought Camden for Christmas this year.  I think the adults enjoyed playing all the games of our youth more than the kids.  And, the kids loved having us play for them because we were all far more skilled than them.  Every night we stayed up late playing games mostly Wizard with a little bit of Mexican train mixed in.  Mom made drop donuts for all the kids one night.  The got eaten as fast as she made them.

Sunday we all went to the SunRiver ward with my Mom.  The kids rode in the golf cart with Babi to church and they all adored primary as usual.  They did the PBJ prayer sandwiches and got all kinds of treats and coloring pages and such.  Babi took Annie and the kids (and dog) to the dog park after church.  That afternoon, we took our kids to go visit Derek’s old boss Mark Robinson and his wife.  That night we did cheese fondue and chocolate fondue and steak which as fun.

Monday morning Annie and I were able to squeeze in another AM run.  Then, we took the kids to a park to play so all the adults (including me) could to play pickleball.  It was fun to play a team sport with my husband, though he is a little overly competitive.  That afternoon, Annie, Mom, and I all got Chinese massages which were awesome at the foot palace.  I love that place--a full body massage for $30!   This was New Years Eve.  And my Mom had it in her brain to do Chinese food.  She really wanted to make homemade egg rolls and Sweet and Sour pork.  Annie chopped crazy amounts of celery and I cooked up the filling the day before then New Years Eve we rolled them all.  They were good, but so laborious.   

And Olivia came up with the bright idea that we should make Papou his favorite cake, so I made a Czech apricot cake for him.  

After dinner we did a dance party with the kids complete with the limbo and watched an early count down at about 10 pm and sent them to bed.  Mom made all of us her famous margaritas and then we always forced ourselves to stay up till midnight playing games.  As soon as the clock struck twelve, we all couldn’t wait to climb into bed.

The next morning, we went to visit Derek’s Uncle Alan who lives just a street away from my Mom in Sunriver.  We had a nice visit with them and then packed up for home.  It was a great little slightly warmer get away.

Christmastime 2018

We had a great Christmas Season.  Despite our incredibly busy schedule we made some time for lighting the world.  We went caroling to some of Derek’s family who all seemed to love our visit.  We were also able to carol to our bedridden with MS neighbor Debbie Harrison, the day before she ended up passing away.  Olivia sand Haul out the Holly, then the boys sang Christmas Bells are Ringing, and then we all sang We wish you a Merry Christmas.  Then, the kids would ask the people we caroled to to tell them of some of their Christmas memories as children.  It is a great yearly tradition we have going.  One night we spent cleaning Steve and Diane’s basement room for them.  Because we didn’t have time to make it up to temple square to purchase items from the light the world vending machine, we pulled up the same purchaseable items online and let our kids pick things to buy and send to children in need across the world.  They picked tarps and warms blankets.  One Sunday I let all the kids make their own craft Christmas tree ornaments and then we made 12 assembly kits and I dropped them off at the children’s floor of Utah Valley Hospital one day when I was working there.  We had one dinner where we went around the table and told each member of the family why we loved them.  We invited a new family that recently moved into the neighborhood over for dinner.  A bunch of kids in the neighborhood got together and arranged to sang Christmas songs at the assisted living facility in the neighborhood.  And on Christmas Day we took sometime to divide up verses and go around the room reading Luke 2.  I will say that with the way our schedule looked, I started the season thinking we had no extra time to go above and beyond trying to act as our Savior did and participate in the light the world challenge, but I quickly decided that if we didn’t have time for that then we were for sure spending our time unwisely.  So, we made time and had a great Christmas Season with the Spirit of Christ abounding in our home and making it all the better.

My Dad came out the first weekend in December to see Olivia’s Christmas Carol performance.  We took them to Funtopia to show off the kids’ favorite rock climbing place.  Then, we all went to festival of trees on Saturday.  The kids got to put their Christmas orders in with an elf on the phone.  Then, Dad got all the kids ugly Christmas sweaters to wear to the ward Christmas party where the two boys sang and Olivia missed due to two shows that night.  My Dad got himself and all the kids ugly sweaters to wear to the party.

We had a great time decorating the Christmas tree together on a day when Olivia was finally home. 


Camden was thrilled to get to put the star on top.  

Once decorated, lying by the lit up Christmas tree seemed to be London’s favorite place of rest through the Christmas season.

Steve got us all tickets to ride the polar express train his neighbors do.  

Derek didn’t get to go with us last year, so this was his first year with us.  

We all squished in this little train together, rode to the north pole, sat on Santa’s lap, and then on the way back to the station they place music about Christ as you ride through fields with beautiful paintings of the Savior displayed.  It was a good night.

I got to volunteer in both the boys class and Olivia’s class for their Christmas parties.  The boys got to come with me to Olivia’s Christmas party.  They had fun rotating around the stations with Olivia.  I got assigned the treat so I brought these Grinch fruit skewers and we made reindeer candy canes too. 
In the boys class, I got to assigned the Christmas bingo station.  I brought cinnamon rolls into mine and Derek’s office as a little Christmas thank you.  Derek gave all the partners at his firm summer sausage and cheese with cheese boards.  We gave all our neighbors a bottle of sparkling cider and the kids teachers the same with notes that said “Cheers to great neighbors or a great Teacher.”

The first day that the kids and I were home together, we made cut out Christmas sugar cookies.  They had been begging me for days and when we finally found the time, we had a great time doing it.

We had a full house for Christmas:  Babi and Papou, Nay and Benz, and Aunt Kylie.  They came up for Liv’s last show on Saturday night.  Sunday, Benz and Mom came to church to watch me and the kids sing in the sacrament program while Kylie, Nay and Papou went cross country skiing.  That night we had a nice ham dinner with the Honey Baked Ham gift certificate Aunt Kathy sent out to us.  Christmas Eve I was on call and in and out all day.  But, I was able to catch half of Mary Poppins returns which I absolutely loved (I am dying to see the rest of it), and we exchanged presents.  Nay gave Carter a puzzle and each boy a lego set and new pjs which they loved.  
He gave Liv a lava lamp which now serves as her new night light, and some new clothes as well.  Kylie gave everyone cute outfits from New Zealand.  Babi and Papou got the kids clothes and legos and they gave us a new platter (which is perfect for George’s big fruit platters) and a sous vide!  We played a lot of games every night.  

Aunt Kylie and Babi played a particularly emotionally intense game of Sorry with the boys.  



Nathan helped Carter put together his 300 piece puzzle.  Kylie bought crab and clams for all of us and we had a crab dinner no plates required--just pounded them open on the plastic wrapped table.  
Then, Christmas morning we had breakfast casserole and enjoyed all the fun things Santa left for us and then everyone headed home.  It was definitely a full house, but I loved Christmas with all my family this year, and I know my kids did too.  

And, I was so glad they were all there to hang out with my kids while I was working most of Christmas Eve.  Pretty sure my kids didn’t even notice I was gone. 

Christmas Day Derek and I took the kids to see the new Grinch movie.  They loved it, but both Derek and I, exhausted from all the weeks leading up to and through Christmas, both fell asleep in the movie theater for a large chunk of the movie.  Santa brought the kids Christmas painting crafts so they all sat at the counter and painted those.

 That evening we had Derek's parents over for dinner to help us eat all the left over ham we had with my family.  It was overall just a fantastic Christmas season this year filled with family, fun, and remembering our Savior Jesus Christ and how he lived.

We Have Chickens

Christmas break was the best.  Somehow, we got talked into taking 7 year and half old chickens from our neighbors who were replacing their chicken coop with a dog run for the puppy they got their kids for Christmas.  

The chickens are supper fun.  Every day we had them we would excited guess how many eggs we would find in the morning and every morning there were now.  We added a light to their coop, put apple cider vinegar in their water, got chicken scratch...nothing seemed to work.  As soon as we had given up hope of finding any eggs until spring, on a very snowy Sunday that no one checked for eggs I finally decided to double check late in the day and after 2 weeks we finally got our first eggs!  And they weren't frozen.  I fried them up right away one for Carter and one for Olivia.

We have already been initiated into the club of backyard chicken owners by being awakened at 2am one morning by our chickens squawking up a storm because of a cat that got into their coop.  I was up running around the snow covered yard at 2am trying to get all the chickens back into their coop and safely closed inside.

Christmas Carol at the HCTO

Well, we survived the crazy rehearsal and performing schedule Olivia had for the Hale Center play.  It was an exhausting but amazing experience for her.  I think she performed in 25 shows between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I learned a little bit of the behind scenes things that go on that make Hale Center shows a step above the rest.  All Thanksgiving week she had late rehearsals till close to midnight every night.  After a show was run they would have hours of notes from all the different directors (sounds, light, dialect, choreography, music, costume, etc.) and each would have very specific corrections related to their niche.  Olivia loved every performance and never got tired of it, she especially loved her free access to soda (with without Mom and Dad around to say otherwise was generally Diet Coke) and wassail backstage.  She loved all the friends that came to watch and support her.  Derek and I each saw the show 3+ times.  I only took a few pictures who catching a bite backstage between scenes.  

Her and Wren being silly and getting excited about the snow the first night the had it set up.  


 Kailey, who was the sweetest young adult that totally made Olivia’s experience the very best by entertaining her backstage with movies on her ipad and endless games of misspelled hangman words, sent me this picture of them one night. 

Luckily, Liv ended up in a few of the pics the theater photographer took for publicity.   Happy Cratchit:




Sad Cratchit:
I was worried that Olivia would get bored with so much time back stage and hardly any time on
stage, but she seemed to love the backstage time just as much as the onstage time.   She particularly loved having dinner with the cast at the theater between shows and excitedly came home every night telling us all about what they had for dinner that night.  One night was pie night and she literally only ate pie for dinner—the benefit of being in charge of feeding herself dinner without the watchful eyes of Mom and Dad.  My Dad and Lynn made it out for one of Olivia’s performances and Aunt Kylie, Babi and Papou, and Nay and Benz all caught her last show.   So Olivia excitedly left her mark on the wall the evening of her last performance.  

Tradition of the theater is that after you perform in your first adult show cast, you get to put you painted handprint on the backstage wall with your name and part.

Olivia loved the whole experience and got to know everyone by name.  She loved getting to hang out with all the big high school and college kids and adults.  At the end of the run, she wanted to bring closing night gifts for all her friends, and when I had her list all the people she wanted to bring the to, I realized the had named almost everyone in both casts except maybe a handful of boys in the opposite cast.  We got little sparkling cider’s for everyone in both casts with the saying, “Cheers to a great run.  “I’m sure your Christmas will be very merry and very happy indeed.” (a quote from the show—Olivia’s idea) Love, Olivia Marshall tied on.  

When I asked her near the end of the run if she was sick of it, she said “nope but she would be sick of not doing any shows when it was over!”  She got to attend a late night cast party closing weekend where she received a red scarf embroidered with the Hale Center’s logo.  On the final night, she received her check of $360.  She decided to pull all of it except $36 for tithing into the bank.  She is already asking me if she can try out for HCTO’s Christmas Carol again next year…I told her to ask me in July. 

Starting the Winter Off Right

Mom gave us a gingerbread turkey kit this year, so I made this with the kids and Martha the day after Thanksgiving.

Then, we went to see Wreck it Ralph 2 with the kids and they were so excited that Karlee and Tanner and Chase joined us. 

My kids love to play beach in my front room which involves taking every clean towel in the house and lying it on the floor to create a beach and then lounging around in their swim suits.  I don’t blame them.  In the winter, I would like to pretend to be on the beach instead of in snowy Utah too.

Speaking of show here is a pic of Camden outside helping Derek shovel the first snow of the season.

 

Despite the snow, Tuesday hike days with Annie and often Amber Watkins and Paula Whitmer continued.  The 3 dogs love these hikes as much as us.

 

Somehow Olivia talked me into 2 class girl parties this year.  In addition to her pizza party she also threw a Christmas movie night with the girls in her class.  They watched Eloise at Christmastime.

Annie, Gelic, Kassie and I all attended Caitlin Sangsters book signing party for Shatter the Suns and purchased our copies of the books and then waiting in line for her to sign them for us.

Christmas Break was super fun. Aunt Stephanie gave the kids money to try out a new indoor trampoline gym which all the kids enjoyed.  Liv got a gold hoverboard from Dad and Lynn which was her Santa wish,  but she accommodatingly said she would let Santa surprise this year instead.  So after Christmas Carol ended, we invited Wren and Kelsey (our carpool buddies who also have hoverboards) over for a hoverboard dance party in the garage.  Those girls listened to music on Alexa and danced their hoverboards all around our garage for 2 hours straight.  I took all the kids plus Kenadie and Cooper sledding up at Big Springs on the day it snowed which was super fun as we pretty much had the hill to ourselves.