Hello! January 2024-another new year, and I can hardly believe it. Here's what we've been up to this last week...
We spent several hours at my parents' house on New Year's Eve. All Utah family members were there and we had a great time. We ate dinner, played games, talked and laughed and had a great time! We got home around 9:30, watched some funny Instagram reels, played games, and barely got bubbly poured and the TV on in time to ring in the new year. The kids thought we were going to keep partying after midnight and were a bit disappointed to realize the plan was actually to go to bed! Ha! What a disappointment.
We all slept in on New Year's Day and that was heavenly. Once everyone was awake, we had scones for breakfast. I honestly don't remember much else of the day, but I am sure it involved TV, legos, a puzzle, and naps. Oh, we did take down our big Christmas tree. We all pitched in, and Marshall even obeyed when I told him he would be disassembling the tree with Richard! Win! Bridget did have to work at the farm that night, and it was my turn to go with them. A great way to kick-off the new year! Ha!
Richard was back to work on Tuesday morning, but the kids had the luxury of two more days off of school. Tuesday and Wednesday was spent slowly taking down Christmas decor, begging the kids to finally put away Christmas gifts, and more relaxing and playing. Bridget had all her friends over both days. Rachel and Gretchen both went to a friend's house on Tuesday and had a great time. Marshall did have soccer practice on Tuesday night and also ran both days. I am always grateful when the kids don't go back to school on the 2nd, and it was nice to have even one more extra day!
Thursday we were back at it. I was a little worried it would be a rough morning with at least one child not really wanting to get ready for school, but they all surprised me and eagerly got ready! It was smooth sailing and by 8:20 Rachel and Gretchen were out the door and I seriously danced around the kitchen. I was so happy. It had been a really great Christmas break, but it was also nice to send everyone back to routine! My Mom and I Marco Polo'd each other back and forth throughout the day (we should have just called each other!) and she kept telling me I sounded absolutely giddy! Ha! Anyway, I spent my school day doing laundry, running a couple of errands, and working on the 2024 calendar. The school day flew by, and before I knew it, I was running kids here and there. Marshall is back to official team practice for indoor track, Bridget had piano, Rachel had dance, and Grizz was just home. :) A good day!
The girls completely lucked out and just went to one day of school for the week because on Friday morning I took them to St. George for a girls' weekend! We sent Marshall off to school with a big hug, and then we were loaded and out the door by 9:15 am. We picked up Melanie and her girls, Cambria and Naomi. In case I have not written out this relationship before, Melanie and I went to high school and danced together. When we moved to Centerville, Bridget and Cambria ended up in the same second grade class and have been inseparable ever since. Gretchen and Naomi were in kindergarten together last year and became good friends too. Melanie and I have been trying to find a good weekend for both of us to get down to St. George to see our friend Debbie, who has a jewelry shop and online business (we pretty much buy all our jewelry from her). This has been months in the making, and even though I would say the first weekend in January is not an ideal time to take a trip, I am so glad we were able to make it happen!
We all drove down together in my van. The girls traveled great! They watched movies, played, laughed, and Bridget and Cambria took loads of crazy pictures on their phones. We had a very uneventful drive down, stopped at Culver's in Cedar City for a later lunch, and then made it to St. George by 2:40. We checked into our hotel, got in our rooms, and just after 3:00 the girls were swimming in the outdoor, very well heated pool! They had a ball all playing together. We dragged them out of the pool at 4:30 and after showers we were off to dinner. We ate at The Pizza Factory, which was recommended to Gretchen by a classmate. :) She was so happy to be going. The food was great and we all had a wonderful dinner. Even though it was dark, the girls were begging to go somewhere to run and play. Melanie knows St. George quite a bit better than me, so she directed us to a park right downtown. It has huge open grassy spaces, and a huge water feature area (obviously not on), but the girls seriously ran and played in the dark for an hour. Fortunately, it was not too cold, and bundled up in our coats Melanie and I were fine to just stand and talk. After that, we drove back to the hotel, played games in our room, watched two episodes of I Carly, and then called it a night about 10:30.
Saturday we were go-go-go, and it was pretty much all driven by the girls. I was honestly shocked by their energy (this is not usually the way our family vacations are!) I think they were just feeding off each other's energy and they pretty much wanted to be in constant motion! Ha! Anyway, Melanie and I did have to wake them all up to get to the hotel breakfast by 9:00 am, but after that, we took off! So, we had breakfast, finished getting ready, and then we were out the door by 10:15. First stop was Debbie's jewelry shop, Tom Design. Debbie started this business all by herself 17 years ago. After a few years, it took off, and her husband quit his job as an attorney and started working for her ten years ago! For the last five years, I have only bought jewelry from her and I love it. It was so fun to visit her shop. Rachel and Gretchen each got a clasp bracelet, Bridget got two permanent bracelets (matching with Cambria), and I got two permanent bracelets and a clasp necklace. We are all loving our new jewelry! It was so fun to visit with Debbie in her shop and she was so great to help each one of us with our individual pieces. After jewelry, we picked up lunch at Chick-Fil-A and drove a couple of minutes to Thunder Junction Park. It was cold, but we had our coats, and the girls ate and played. We then went back to the hotel real quick, Bridget, Cambria, and I changed into dresses, and we got back in the car. We dropped Melanie and the younger girls off at the Children's Museum and then I took Bridget and Cambria to the temple to do baptisms. I thought of this idea just on Thursday morning and was elated to snag an opening for Saturday afternoon. The baptistry in the temple is stunning! At first glance, the font looks black with gold accents, but once we got in there, it is a dark, dark bronze, but SO beautiful. We spent a lovely hour in the temple and I am so glad I was able to take the girls. After we were done, we picked up the museum crew and drove straight to a park we went to in November. The girls spent another 45 minutes running and playing and enjoying the 40 yard dash and obstacle course at the park. After that, we stopped at Pinkbox Donuts, after a recommendation from a temple worker! It did not disappoint and we all enjoyed those over-the-top donuts. After a short bit of downtime at the hotel, we met Debbie and her two youngest girls at a Mexican restaurant. Between all of us, there were TEN women and girls! It was nuts! Ten! We had a great dinner and then Debbie had us over to her house. Debbie's youngest is seven and that morning had told us she is a friend to all, and sure enough, Gretchen and Naomi fell right in step with her at dinner and rode in Debbie's car after dinner (this is a big deal for Gretchen who is usually reserved and shy with new people!). Anyway, we had the best time at Debbie's. The girls all played night games together in Debbie's backyard and Melanie and I were able to catch up with Debbie. We finally said our good-byes well after 9:00, drove back to the hotel, and within minutes everyone was in swimsuits and we were in the hot tub and pool. Those girls...endless energy! We dragged them out of the pool at 10:45, and were all finally in bed just after midnight.
We were on the road by 10:00 am yesterday and drove through less than favorable driving conditions for the majority of the drive. It doesn't snow all winter and of course a massive storm hits the weekend we have travel plans! We saw well over ten semi trucks and cars that had slid off the freeway and with each one we passed, I said a prayer of gratitude! I was SO happy to be home safe and sound just after 4:00 pm. Richard had to work all weekend, so we received a VERY exuberant greeting from Ziggy AND Marshall! He does love us, and he clearly missed us. :) Last night, Marshall was ordained a priest (I have been weepy about this for months). But, it was a very special evening. Richard's parents, my parents, and our bishop all gathered at our home and it was a special time to be together and Richard gave Marshall a beautiful blessing. Marshall has grown so much (in all different ways) the last six months, and I am excited he gets to keep stepping into new things. Love that boy!
While we were gone, Richard and Marshall did get a bit of time together Friday and Saturday evenings. Marshall also ran with the cross country team on the new West Davis Corridor freeway. Farmington hosted a fun run with hot chocolate and donuts at 10:00 am and then the freeway opened at 11:30. Marshall, of course, loves that he can now say he has run on a freeway. :) He also had a soccer game Saturday evening. So a good weekend for all.
Okay, that's it! Happy January, the snow has finally found those of us in Utah. Love each of you.
Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel, and Gretchen :)
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