New Years' in St. George (again)

Seems to be a running tradition to spend New Years’ Eve in St. George and this year was the same. We headed down Friday after sending Poppi and Kylie, Jordan and Dean on their way to Arizona in the morning. I actually spend the morning of our departure quite sick and feverish and unable to move or get out of bed/off the couch. I finally enlisted the help of Camden to bring me some Tylenol and then I felt better and was able to do the bare minimum to get ready to leave. I warned Mom I might be coming sick and she said come down anyways and she would let me rest and take care of me. After Derek got home from work we headed down. I went to bed early that night after arriving. The next day I did a lot of laying around and took like 3 naps. We did make it to the near by park where the kids and D did the weight machines and Derek played lawn Chess with Carter. Mom, and Derek and I did a little loop in the wash/BML with Kota. She loves walking off leash. We played Blank Slate a new game Ally Pete gave Mom. Then, we ordered Thai food for dinner. That night was Wizard night. 

Sunday I felt much better just a touchy stomach. We all went to church with Babi then Liv and Babi and I did a little shopping. We had smash burgers for lunch, did another wash/BLM loop with Kota. We begrudgingly got Olivia to come with us that day. We got everyone to play cranium. For dinner George make a Greek lamb chops, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, green pepper meal. It was delicious. 

 Mom made us all virgin margaritas. 

The boys lived in the pool the whole trip jumping in about 3 times a day. On New Year's Eve we all played a rousing game of Marco Polo.  

That night we introduced the kids to Pit and then rang in the New Year with sparkling cider and messy confetti poppers. In the morning, I got up and made crepes for everyone (I called it Mom and George's anniversary gift as their anniversary is New Year's Day).  Then we packed up and headed back home. 2023 was a great year!

Christmas

The last day of school before Christmas break. Martha came home with us and she and the boys put together her gingerbread house that she had received as a gift from a classmate. 

 Poppi came for Christmas with his 3 dogs. He arrived on the day we hosted the annual Thorsted ugly sweater, waffle, white elephant party. It was a huge crowd as usual. Dad participated which was fun. Earlier that day the kids helped me pick out white elephant gifts at the Provo Riverwoods candy store (which also turned into a new Christmas dress for Liv and a new lonely ghost beanie for Carter). We found sour cream and onion candy canes and baft soda.

 Saturday Dad and I got a hike in up Dry canyon. It was a little muddy but lovely. Sunday, we all went to the one hour music Christmas sacrament meeting at church. The primary sang I got a little tearful thinking about how that was my boys last time ever singing with the primary. Then, Carter and I sang with the ward choir and he played the bells for one number which he was nervous about, but he did great. Dad made us a lovely prime rib dinner. We then read the Christmas story in Luke 2 and then opened family gifts: Dad got the traditional calendar we make every year- this year Liv made it. He gave us all silver coins. Lynn sent amazon gift cards for all the kids which they were excited about. D and I gave the boys white shirts and racketball rackets/balls/goggles because they have been playing racketball at the gym. Liv got tickets to Six and all the kids got splash summit passes for the summer. Derek got a dry erase clipboard with a basketball court on it for use coaching the boys’ basketball game and I got some snow tracks to hike in. Christmas morning Santa came we discovered that hardly anything was a surprise because all the kids has checked out amazon orders and Camden has brought ladders into our closet to climb up and check what was in all the boxes at the top of the closet. In addition to our families stockings--Stockings were set out for Poppi, Kylie, Jordan, Dean and Ruby, Jessie, Buford, and Kota. The dogs got balls, and toys and treats. The boys got soaps, and dental flossers, bathroom spray, chapstick and and listerine mouth paper. The girls got socks, chapstick, hair ties, eye masks, and make-up wipes. I got airpods, a new toaster and a bunch of dark chocolate and herbal tea. D got some cologne and air pods. Liv got airpods (all she really wanted and she has had them in her ears ever since) and Nike socks. Camden got an electric distortion foot pedal for his guitar. Carter got some new Air Force One Nike shoes. Both boys got Nike socks as well. All the kids got a Pop a Shot which is super load, super fun, and making holes in my wall downstairs. And after all that was discovered we let the kids know that their big present of the year was a family trip in just a few weeks to Orlando Florida (Disneyworld and Universal Studios) with the Watkins family! We are all looking forward to that. Christmas morning we had Steve, and Steph and Jon and Chase over for breakfast. Derek made stuff on the blackstone and Steph brought her famous sweet rolls which all got eaten. Chase loved the Pop a Shot and helped put it together and played it forever with the boys. That afternoon, Liv, Poppi and I picked up Kylie, Jordan and Dean at the airport. We had our traditional crab and clams dinner. And then I made molten lava cakes for everyone for dessert.

The kids taught Kylie and Jordan how to play the Mind. Tuesday Jordan went to the gym with the kids and then somehow they ended up at the Nike Outlet where he got each of them a pair of shoes and a pretzel to share from Annie’s Pretzels. Then, the met Derek at the indoor golf simulator. Ky and Dad and I went on a hike with dogs. We had fondu dinner that night and then Liv and went to see Elf at Hale in Sandy. I had to work Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday after work I met up with my college roomates- Debbie and Becky for lunch. It turned into a 3 hour lunch, but it was fun to catch up with them. 

 Ashely was supposed to join us but her Dad unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack in his sleep and she had to fly to Chicago to be with her mom and help with funeral preparations. Jordan took the kids to the Provo Beach resort that day. And everyone worked together to smoke ribs for dinner. Then that evening everyone except Kylie and I went to see the new Willy Wonka Movie. Ky and I stayed home with sleeping dean and watched a hallmark movie while I finished all my chart notes from the work day. Thursday after work, I met Kylie and Liv for mani pedis, then we all loaded into cars for a very cold hike by Deer Creek Lake. That night Poppi made a great bean soup for us all. Then, then next morning Dad took off for Arizona and I took Ky and Jordan to the airport to fly to AZ early in the morning. We had a great time celebrating with them, but I am not sad to have a few less dogs in my house.

Back in Rise Up (and Ignite)

It has been fun to be back in Rise up this year with all the friends we loved there. Carter has been doing the junior choir, Ignite, and seems to be enjoying that as well.  He has learned so much and seems to love singing.  Liv tried out for a solo for Rise Up’s first music video of the year and they gave her one! So she had fun recording that. 

But mostly she loves hanging with her rise up friends at recordings.  

And Carter got to help record some Ignite tracks for the first time as well.  

Rise Up filmed Celebrate at the Valore in Provo and it was basically a big New Years party all night.  

Carter filmed his first music video with Ignite and got to be in a little cameo with kids sipping hot chocolate. 

 He is learning so much about singing harmonies and they have offered him a spot in the main Rise Up choir with Liv in January, so that will consolidate our schedule a little (which I am super excited about). I love listening to them practice their songs in my kitchen before rehearsal.  Christmas was super super crazy with both of these choirs.  Both kids performed at the Christkindlmart in SLC.  Carter and I had a fun day getting out of school early and driving up together and wondering the booths and getting some German food. 

 Liv performed on Saturday and it was a madhouse.  Parking took 30 minutes and there were mobs of people we couldn't get out of there fast enough.  But Liv did a great job on her solo in I Saw Three Ships with Audrey and Brynlee Dalton.  

Liv performed with Gentri at the eccles in Salt Lake over Thanksgiving weekend and in Logan as well.  Logan they made into a little tour and rented a house for all the rise up kids to stay in.  I went along as a chaperone.  I sort of took on all the food buying/planning for the group which was slightly overwhelming, but I think went over ok.  The kids had so much fun in the house and stayed up way too late every night. It snowed a ton up in Logan I was so glad we stayed up there and weren't commuting back and forth.  

 They performed beautifully and it was fun to watch the audience go crazy when Rise Up sang I Saw Three Ships each night.  Liv brought her guitar and led a sing along one day for all the kids at the house.  On impulse the kids decided they all wanted to go to the temple to do baptisms.  Most them only had their choir dresses/suits to wear so we took all these matching kids to the temple and they did baptisms.  

3 of the girls up there had been given callbacks for Freaky Friday at the HCTO (their youth production), so we set up a make-shift audition room and recorded all their video callbacks to send in.  Then, we took all the auditioners for Starbucks to reward their efforts.  

Carter performed with the jazz orchestra, Mom and George came up for that performance.  It was super fun and he seriously seemed to just love singing up there on stage for a big loud audience.  Liv performed at the 1st Presbyterian Church one Sunday evening which was a neat cultural experience for my kids to be in a different church building than they were used to.  Both Carter and Liv performed in temple square.  Steve came up to enjoy the performances with us and then Stephanie and Jon drove up to take him back home.  Carter sang at the church history museum and Liv got to sing in the tabernacle. 

 We decided to spend the night at the near by Hyatt as we had a free hotel room to use before the end of the year.  So in between performances we walked back to the hotel with the boys and Steve and hung in the club room.  The boys (and Steve) loved the free snacks, drinks, and games.  

Then, we walked back to the tabernacle to watch Liv.  She was given a solo that night, but unfortunately her mic didn't work.  Sad.  But it was still awesome to hear the choir sing in the Tabernacle.  

Afterwards we walked around and checked out all the nativities- they had one from Poland which I thought was cool. 

 We had dinner at the City Creek food court and then went back to our hotel room to sleep and were headed back home in the morning.  

Fall Happenings

We let Liv ditch school one day with her friends to go boating with Bentley as a sort of birthday celebration. Seemed like the girls all had a blast. 

There were lots of BYU football games with the family squished in all around us.  

 The boys finished off flag football and soccer. 

 Then started an indoor rock climbing class with the Watkins kiddos. The weather and leaves were so lovely this year and I had several slower days at work so I found myself in the mountain with Kota often sometimes with friends and sometimes just the two of us.

 We have done so well with the kids helping with dinner this year. One day Liv was in charge of fettuccine alfredo and we happened to have a housefull of neighborhood kids, so we just made enough and she fed them all. 

 The Taylors sent us this cool pic of our house with a rainbow landing on top of it one day. 

I roped Tyler Thorsted into taking our family pictures for the Christmas card this year.  

And now that it is getting dark earlier and colder and sports have ended freeing up our evenings we have been spending lots of time at the rec center. I often take a class or walk with Derek on the track. The boys have found a youth weight training class that they love.  Mostly because when they take the class they are able to use the adult areas.  

  Liv will often go with a friend. The boys also love to play racketball.