The Leake's Week-January 8, 2023

 Hello!  Happy New Year...one week late.  :)  I cannot believe it is 2023.  I am only setting one goal for myself this year...but I just had the thought that maybe I should make a goal to try and write weekly again...like I used to do!  Ah!  Anyway...

We fully embraced our Christmas break around here.  Life was slow paced, free from our usual busy distractions, we stayed up late, slept in late, lounged and played and ate and we have been dragging ourselves back through reality this week.  Richard had the week off between Christmas and New Years and that was glorious.  We love having him around more!  

Since it's been two weeks since my last email, I am just going to hit the highest of the highlights; otherwise, this will take me a full week to write!

*Friend gatherings for kids:  I decided that instead of doing little goody bags for the kids to hand out to their friends, we were just going to do friend gatherings instead.  On the first night of the break, Marshall had Johnny over for a late night.  We picked up In-N-Out for them to eat and they just ate here and played and had a great, great time.  I am so grateful for their friendship!  The next morning we hosted a brunch for Bridget and Rachel's friends.  Bridget invited five friends and Rachel invited six.  So it wasn't total chaos over here, but very close!  Ha!  We served cinnamon rolls, a sausage breakfast casserole, German pancakes, and fruit.  It was almost all gobbled up and all those girls had a great time.  They were all so cute and kind with each other and I do think we will make this a new tradition.  Gretchen got the short end of the stick this year...I felt like adding a bunch of kindergartners into the mix would send me over the edge!  Gretchen was a great sport about it though and literally woke up early that morning to decorate the big family room with snowballs and stuffed animals.  :)  

*Toney men paint night:  My Dad has been trying to arrange a Toney boys night for weeks and weeks and he finally pulled it off!  He set up a paint night at Pint Size Picassos in Bountiful and then they all went to Arella's for dinner.  We totally forgot to tell Marshall about it until the night before, and I did not know how he would react.  When we lived in Wisconsin, he had art twice a week in school and hated the art days!  He always complained to me that art made his hand hurt.  Haha!  He was a great sport about it though, and from all accounts, everyone had a great time and I would say they all created masterpieces!  I am honestly so impressed with what Richard and Marshall brought home and I loved seeing the pictures of what everyone else did.  Todd was the youngest painter coming in at age four and the rest spanned in age up to my Dad.  Marshall and Richard both had a fun evening and enjoyed it all.  The girls and I got a real treat that night because Kevin and Todd stopped by for a short visit.  Todd was in heaven playing with toys and I loved visiting with Kevin for a bit.  

*Christmas Eve:  Richard had to work from 3:00 pm-11:00 pm (from home, thankfully!) on Christmas Eve.  We have known this for months though, so we changed up our traditional Christmas Eve and it was actually wonderful.  We had a Christmas Eve brunch together as a family and it was divine.  I made homemade cinnamon rolls (success!), baked eggs, sausage and we had eggnog and hot chocolate and it was so delicious.  After brunch, we went down to the movie room and watched a church nativity movie and then watched Charlie Brown's Christmas.  We all snuggled together on the couch and it was cozy and relaxing.  So relaxing, that Richard and I took a nap afterward!  Ha!  After naps and a late lunch, we frosted sugar cookies the kids and I had baked the night before.  We then said our good-byes to Richard and he went upstairs to work and the kids and I went to my parents' house.  We had a great afternoon and evening with my parents.  We played games, had a delicious dinner, complete with my Grandma's chocolate cake and gingerbread cake-yum, yum, yum.  After all of that, we acted out the nativity with our small little group and it was the sweetest, most tender thing.  We ended by singing Silent Night and after we were done singing all three verses we all sat there completely quiet.  The Spirit was palpable in the room and all my kids noticed it too.  A special moment.  Once we got home, excitement reigned supreme!  We took our pajamas up to our room to unwrap with Richard and then took the traditional Christmas Eve pictures.  I didn't get everyone into bed until close to 10:00 pm-that is late for us on Christmas Eve!  Richard finally finished working about 11:30, we quickly set everything up (SO glad we wrapped Santa presents two weeks before Christmas!) and were in bed just after midnight.  Success again! 

*Christmas!  We had the BEST Christmas day.  We had our usual rule that no one is allowed into our room before 7:00 am, and the kids obeyed once again!  At 7:00 on the dot, Marshall texted me to tell me he was awake!  Haha!  The boy who acted too cool for Christmas with my parents was, of course, the first one awake.  :)  I went down to get him and brought him up to our room.  He snuggled with us in bed and all I could think about was that he has just a few Christmases as a child under our roof.  :(  At 7:10, we heard Rachel's alarm go off-I could not believe it!  She set an alarm!  That girl.  Shortly after that, Bridget woke up and just a little after 7:30 Gretchen was awake.  We had a bed full of excited kids and it was delightful.  Richard went down to make sure Santa had come and that everything was in order, and we moved Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem and placed Baby Jesus in the manger before the kids ran into the big family room.  The kids were elated to see that Santa had brought each of them a Lego set, some new clothes and books, and per the usual, filled the stockings with candies.  After we looked at everyone's stockings, we had an easy breakfast of the cereal that Santa brought, the kids started putting together their new Lego sets and we got ready for church.  I was so grateful for 10:30 church-it was the perfect time for Christmas morning.  We weren't rushed getting ready and took some pictures of us in our Sunday best.  Our sacrament meeting was beautiful-it was completely full of music with just our Bishop speaking for a few short minutes at the end.  The primary sang the first two songs.  Gretchen really wanted my parents there to hear the primary sing, and my Dad was so kind to come to church with us.  It really made her so happy, and I loved sitting by my Dad too.  After the primary, the youth and the youth leaders sang a beautiful song.  We have a big primary, but to see all the young men and young women walk up to the stand, along with their leaders, was quite a sight to behold.  The stage was filled, and they spilled over onto the sides.  After that the choir sang three gorgeous songs, the Bishop spoke, we sang the closing song all together with the organ, piano, and a flute and it was just rich and full and perfect for Christmas morning.  Once we got home, we all changed back into our cozy Christmas pajamas, took some selfies and then opened our family presents to each other.  We scaled back in Christmas gifts big time this year, and it was amazing.  There was not much to open, but no one seemed to mind at all.  In years past, we have always had each of the kids buy a gift for each sibling.  This year, we drew names, so they would only buy for one, and per their idea, they kept it a secret.  Once each of them had opened the gift from their sibling they each guessed who bought for them and it was so fun.  They all loved it!  We will do it again!  The last thing we opened was we gave each of the kids a box to open.  And those boxes gave them a big surprise...a Disney cruise!  Shocking, I know!  Richard on a boat in the Caribbean for six nights!  Richard got the whole thing on video and it was so fun to see their complete shock and excitement.  Bridget was the first one to figure it out.  We fly to Texas this Thursday and board the boat on Friday and off we go!  Richard and I came up with the idea in November 2021 to do a trip for Christmas in 2022.  We had been trying to figure this out since January, and nothing was falling into place for us.  We looked at so many ideas and threw around so many possibilities-we almost booked a cruise two different times earlier in the year.  And then in September, our neighbors told us they just booked a Disney cruise for their family for Christmas through a deal Disney cruise line was running with Disney Plus.  We looked into it and booked it the next day!  So we will be on the same ship as the Atkinsons and Bridget and Gretchen are ecstatic to be on the ship with Avery and Charlie.  Anyway, back to Christmas, after we gave them all the cruise details, we watched a YouTube video all about the ship we will be on and got even more excited.  Yay!!!  We spent the rest of our afternoon eating cheeses and crackers, napping, playing games, putting together Legos, Facetiming with Richard's parents, and visiting with my parents.  For dinner Richard cooked some amazing filets-they were delicious.  It was such a laid back and wonderful day and it could not have been better.  I went to bed with a very grateful heart that night.  

*Vernal:  The morning after Christmas, we left our Christmas mess behind, packed our suitcases, and drove to Vernal.  We were there until Thursday morning and had the best time.  We ate so much food, played so many games, spent time with Joe and his family, watched movies, napped, and best of all...Bob taught Marshall, Bridget, Rachel and me how to cross country ski!  Richard grew up doing this, and though he has not been on skis the whole time I have known him, he looked like a pro out there.  The kids and I fell down so many times the first day.  The first time I fell down, it took me minutes to get up.  This is no exaggeration.  At one point I had Bob and Richard on both sides of me, and I eventually told them I was staying there and just to bring me dinner.  I had not been on skis a second of my life before this and it was just nuts to try and stand up while your toes are clipped into these things that are almost as tall as you!  Rest assured, I eventually got up, and the more I fell the better I got at getting myself up!  The kids did great.  So much falling, but also so much fun.  Marshall was the most adventurous, which means he also fell the most, but we had a great time!  The very nice thing about it was the Leakes live on two acres, so we didn't have to drive anywhere for this adventure.  Bob just groomed trails for us in the backyard and out we went!  We went out for another round of skiing the next day and it was very successful.  I never fell (came close multiple times though), and we had even more fun than the day before.  Marshall and I ended up skiing just about 2 1/2 miles that day!  Huge hit.  We look forward to doing it again and again!

*Nile:  Some of you will remember Nile.  We met him and his mom and sister when we moved to Milwaukee.  He was little-like Gretchen's age.  :)  He is now 21!  We have been close to him for years and he has stayed with us multiple times and he was at Utah State for a time.  He has been back in MKE now for two years and we always see him when we go to visit.  He was in Utah on a whim last week, just for one day, and he came to see us.  It was the best surprise to get a call from him and have him on our doorstep 45 minutes later.  He is thriving, and it was a huge payday to see him so happy.  We loved catching up with him.  Even though we just saw him in June, he couldn't believe how big the kids have gotten, especially Marshall.  Which by the way, we measured Marshall in Vernal and he is 5 ft. 5 1/2 in.  Yikes!  Marshall, as you know, is super obsessed with planes and flying and so he and Nile were able to talk all about that.  Nile has his private pilots license and is working on getting his instrument rating next.  He hopes to be a commercial airline pilot in just a couple of years.  He has worked so hard the last two years, and we have complete confidence in him.  

*New Years Eve:  We hosted a NYE party for my family and had a great night.  Every single Utah dwelling family on my side was able to come and it was a blast.  We started at 4:00 pm, ate appetizers all night long, and laughed and played and made great memories.  Highlights were hide-and-go-seek and people's very creative hiding places!  It was amazing!  People started leaving at 8:00 pm (little kids) but Danny's family and my parents stayed until after 10:00, which was most impressive for them!  After everyone was gone, we did some clean up, had the kids put pajamas on, the girls watched a couple of shows, Richard and I played a game with Marshall, and then at 11:50, we poured our bubbly, turned on NBC and rang in the new year at midnight!  It was such a fun evening.  I have a heart full of abundance, joy, and gratitude for all we were able to do and experience in 2022.  There were definitely hard times, but they were also times of learning and growing.  And there was so much joy, and I am grateful for all of it.  

And now we are back to real life, though, thanks to our cruise, it is temporary!  Richard went back to work on Tuesday and the kids were back in school on Wednesday.  Though, Rachel got an extra day and a half at home because she started throwing up Tuesday night.  That was miserable for her, and me, but she is doing much better now.  Bridget went to her first YW activity on Wednesday night and LOVED it.  We realized that at least for the time being on Wednesday nights, Marshall is at YM, Bridget is at YW and Rachel is at dance.  That leaves just Richard and I with Gretchen at home and this suddenly makes us feel very old.  Today Bridget was sustained and set apart as the secretary in her new YW class.  I am so grateful she gets this opportunity.  I love her dearly.  

One other thing, this last week we started watching a show called Makeover by Monday on the Magnolia Network.  Our wonderful friends, the Hassells, have their home on this show as the last episode of the season.  The whole premise is Jenni Yolo, this DIY blogger, who now has her own show, comes in and completely makes over one or two rooms of a house in three days.  Amazing!  The show is all based in Milwaukee and every episode shows the beautiful scenery of that great city and we are LOVING it.  And the accents!  We love hearing those upper-Midwest accents.  Bridget, especially, is loving all the design stuff.  We cannot wait to watch the Hassell's episode when we get back from our cruise!  

Alright, that is it!  Next Sunday we will be in Mexico!

Love to each of you.

Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel, and Gretchen :)

P.S.  Gretchen just lost her second tooth.  Once again, I am in mourning, and delighting in that cute little bottom gap.  She grows!  Pros...she took her first shower ever all by herself this morning, making my life much easier!  And she had me "scale" her this morning too...she is desperate for a booster seat.  She needs to weigh 40 pounds...this morning she was 38.2!  Amazing!  Having her in a booster will also simplify one more thing in my life.  Now, if I could just keep those baby cheeks on her face, I would be set.  Love her.  

The Leake's Week-December 19, 2022

 Hello!  Merry Christmas!  Here we are, just days away from Christmas!  The kids just have school today and then early out tomorrow and then they are DONE for two full weeks-hooray!  We all kind of slogged through last week and I thought more than once that I wished Christmas Break was already upon us, but we pulled through, and now we are right on the cusp of it.  Yay!  All six of us are needing less to do, less things on the calendar, and more fluid lives, so this break from our normal routine will be wonderful.  We can't wait!  

One reason for the slog of last week is I spent four out of my five weekdays at some sort of dentist.  And if you know me well, you know I have HIGH anxiety about the dentist, so I was a bit spent!  And that would be an understatement.  Last Monday I went to the endodontist for my root canal.  I have never had more than a cavity filled, so this was all new territory for me.  My Mom was so kind and came over at 7:45 last Monday morning so Richard could drive me through the snow to the endodontist in Murray.  Thankfully, Richard had the day off-I timed this appointment well.  :)  Richard and I took Bridget and Slater to school for their student council meeting and then drove down to Murray.  My Mom stayed here and helped get Rachel and Gretchen off to school at 8:30.  I was so glad Richard could drive me.  I took my blanket and just wrapped myself up and enjoyed the heated passenger seat of his car.  My root canal actually went great.  I hope I never have to go to an endodontist again, but if I do, I would have no hesitation going back there.  It was fancy-schmancy, even Richard was impressed with all their screens and images.  Thanks to nitrous oxide and excellent numbing, it was painless and SO fast.  From the time they laid me back to start the nitrous oxide until they sat me back up was only 29 minutes!  I was elated to be walking out of there just after 9:30 am.  Once again, on the way home, I wrapped myself up in the blanket, reclined the seat and was just so happy it was done.  Richard took great care of me that day.  He picked up kindergarten carpool, got lunch for Gretchen, ran errands for me, and let me sit and watch Harry and Meghan and nap!  He is a keeper for sure.  He also had his own dental appointment that afternoon!  Thankfully, his teeth are fine!  

On Wednesday afternoon, Marshall had an appointment at the orthodontist.  I had Gretchen with me and checked Marshall out of school an hour early.  We were all anticipating a quick ten minute appointment, but not so!  Apparently, they were planning to put his lower braces on that day, unbeknownst to us!  It took a solid hour.  Marshall was such a good sport, and Gretchen was too.  Within a short time though, Marshall was feeling the pain, but willingly took some ibuprofen and went to his Teacher's Quorum activity that night.  They had a feast, an actual feast, and played games.  Even though it was tricky for Marshall to eat, he came home so happy.  He loved the food, loved the games, and just had an all around great time.  

Thursday morning I had a 9:30 appointment at my dentist to get a temporary crown.  Once again, a whole new thing for me.  It had snowed all night long, and so the schools had a two hour late start.  Once again, my Mom came to my rescue.  Bless her.  I left for my appointment just after 9:00, with all my kids still home.  My kids all took care of each other and played in the snow and finished getting themselves ready for school and my Mom came a little after 10:00 to take Bridget and Rachel to school and then took Gretchen to her house (no kindergarten with late start).  I survived my appointment for my crown.  They told me it would take an hour, but it took an hour and a half.  Even though it was painless, that is a long time to be laying down in a dental chair, listening to the dentist pulverize your molar.  Not fun.  I was so glad to be out of there.  Then, that night at dinner, while Marshall and I were gumming down our dinner, he had a bracket almost pop off!  Ahh!!!  I literally almost lost it.  So, I called his orthodontist Friday morning, checked him out of school early again, and we got that taken care of Friday afternoon.  Unfortunately, our reprieve from the dentist is short lived as all the kids have dental check-ups next week and I go back to get my permanent crown the beginning of January.  JOY!  

If you made it through all of that, you must be a true friend.  Despite the misery of the dentist, we have had wonderful things going on the past two weeks.  Here's a quick catch up by person...

Gretchen has been living it up with friends.  She has had school friends over here to play and has played at their houses.  She and her friend, Naomi, now have best friend necklaces, and it is so cute.  Gretchen has also heard through the kindergarten grapevine that a boy in her class has a crush on her.  Haha!  She just giggled and giggled after she told me this.  :)  Last week Gretchen finished her first semester of Let's Play Music.  I went to her last class with her (post root-canal).  She has learned so much already in four months and is excited to go back in January.  On Thursday, she had a parent day at dance class where parents and grandparents could come and watch.  She has ballet first and then jazz.  I was there for both classes and my parents came to her jazz class.  It was so fun to get all that time to watch her dance.  She is so tiny!  All her sass and spunk came out in jazz class and she was a joy to watch-smiles the whole time.  Speaking of dance, two Saturdays ago I took my girls to The Nutcracker at Ballet West and my Mom came with us.  We went to lunch first at Arella's and then drove into Salt Lake.  We had great seats up in the balcony and got cushions for Rachel and Gretchen to sit on to prop them up a few inches.  When we got to our seats we were delighted to realize we were sitting right in front of Katie Irion and a bunch of her Hutchison family.  It was a real treat!  The show, as always, was spectacular.  This was only Gretchen's second time seeing it and she did SO well.  She was captivated the entire time.  A wonderful Christmas outing.  Oh my goodness...how can I forget the biggest news of Gretchen's life from the last two weeks?!  She has lost her first tooth.  Of course this happened literally right after I had written our Christmas card and included how she has yet to lose a tooth, and I kid you not, as soon as they were all stuffed in envelopes and sealed, her tooth fell out!  I could not believe it!  On Sunday evening she complained to me that her tooth was hurting, and when she showed me which one, bottom middle, I told her it must be loose!  She would not let me touch it, and wouldn't wiggle it much for me, so I really couldn't tell how wiggly it was.  I thought for sure it would be weeks, nope two nights later she was brushing her teeth and out it popped!  She was elated!  She came running downstairs with it to show me and I hugged her and cried and tried to be happy with her too.  Even though I am honestly heartbroken over this milestone for her, I cannot get enough of her new smile with that little gap on the bottom.  When I was the tooth fairy later that night, I just held and stared at that little tiny baby tooth before I threw it away.  I am sure it was the first tooth that popped through her little baby gums, and now it is the first to fall out.  So tiny and perfect.  Ah.  My heart.  Well, if that wasn't enough, Gretchen decided to do one more thing to grow up that week, which elates me!  Ha!  She finally got brave enough to start taking a shower!  This has honestly revolutionized my life, so this milestone I fully support!  

Rachel has had the most straight-forward two weeks out of us all.  School, dance, piano.  :)  We forced her to go to Marshall's band concert a couple of weeks ago.  Because of her schedule she hasn't been to any, and she happened to be free...all of us happened to be free!  I had to give lots of pep talks about how we support each other and cheer each other on whenever we can in all of our activities.  Well, Gretchen slept on my lap through almost the entire concert, including all of Marshall's songs, Rachel was a PILL, and had Bridget in tears 20 minutes in.  So, it went really well!  Ah!  We did take two cars, so Richard left with all three girls after Marshall's band was done performing.  And shockingly, Rachel had the hardest time out of all my girls sitting through The Nutcracker!  But, despite all of this, she is still so wonderful.  On Thursday, the late start day when I was trying to get out of the house to go to the dentist, I was trying to reason with Gretchen about changing out of her summer outfit into pants.  Gretchen was not having it, but Rachel overheard me, swooped in, and completely helped Gretchen turn her attitude around.  Before I left, Gretchen was dressed in warmer clothes and was much happier.  Bless Rachel.  

Bridget auditioned for the school musical, Newsies, on December 5th.  She had to sing a short solo and read some lines.  Even though this is her third year doing the play, she was still so nervous for the audition.  A few days later she found out she was cast as Darcy, which is a part she really wanted!  She was so happy.  Darcy is the photographer to Katherine, the character who reports on the Newsies.  One of her best friends is Katherine and then the other two reporters with her are our next door neighbors, Avery and Nolan!  Ha!  It was so fun to see all their names in a group.  It will be a fun little dynamic for those four I think.  Bridget has already had one rehearsal, and they passed out the script to the entire cast.  She came home to look through it to find her lines and was disappointed to see she only has one line.  A bit of a blow.  She will still be in lots of musical numbers, and have plenty of stage time, she just wishes she had more lines.  But, she is being a good sport about it, and I know she will still have lots of fun.  On Friday night, she and her friends went to Claire's house, they each took their script, and acted out the entire play.  :)  Bridget has been having a huge few days in school, so many field trips and so much fun.  Because she is in a 5th/6th grade split class, they get to go on all but one of the 5th grade field trips-so double the fun!  Four days after I took the girls to see The Nutcracker, she went again for a field trip.  She had been SO excited about this, and had the best time.  They just performed the second act, but even though she is not a dancer, she genuinely loves The Nutcracker, so she loved seeing it again.  After the performance, the bus took them to City Creek and they were all able to buy their own lunch.  She LOVED this part and felt so grown up and independent.  She and her friends had the best time.  Last week they also went on a field trip to watch an IMAX movie and today, I am pretty sure, they went over to the high school for a Christmas band concert.  She also had her student council party this morning and is wearing an ugly Christmas sweater to school.  Party!  On Saturday night I took Bridget, Cambria, and Cambria's mom to see The Piano Guys at the Vivint.  The four of us had such a fun evening together.  Melanie's husband works at the Marriott that is attached to City Creek so we were able to park there for free and had zero traffic getting out of the parking garage-a miracle considering the time of year.  We ate dinner at the Vivint and enjoyed a delightful show.  None of us had ever seen The Piano Guys in concert before, and they were fantastic.  Beautiful music sprinkled with comedy and heartfelt stories-it was wonderful.  Bridget and Cambria loved it and I loved catching up with Melanie as well!  It was a great night.  We got home just before 11:30 and went straight to bed.  

Marshall has been busy with school, soccer, and watching the World Cup.  :)  Frankly, I am glad that is done!  It has sucked too much of his life away, and he has some missing assignments to show for it!  He assured me this morning though that all is well and he will get all caught up.  Fun Christmas break for him.  :)  As I mentioned earlier, he did have his band concert a couple of weeks ago.  It is very fun to hear the progression of the bands in their skill level based on how long they have been playing.  He did have to be at school early two days last week, one because the band recorded a song for a competition and the other day because the band played in the school Christmas assembly.  He is getting used to having braces on his upper and lower teeth-I think it has been a couple of days since he has had to take ibuprofen.  Aside from watching the World Cup, he had a whole lot of fun Saturday night watching the BYU bowl game.  Both he and Richard were expecting a loss, and were very happy with the win!

As for myself, aside from surviving the dentist, I have had a good couple of weeks.  With the help of my kids, we hosted our fifth annual service day.  We put together 15 bags of food for kids at Foxboro Elementary to take home over the school break.  My girls helped me make most of the cookies the day before.  The turnout was the lowest I have ever had, but that was partially my fault because I forgot to put it in the RS newsletter.  Winning!  But, despite all of that, the people who came stayed and visited and that was wonderful.  Richard went shopping for the rest of the items we still needed, which was a lot, and then the girls and I packed the bags last week and I delivered them last Wednesday.  I was filled with emotion as I drove through Foxboro, where we lived for two years.  I am so glad we don't live there anymore!  But, I am also grateful for the good things we did experience there.  I also enjoyed our ward Christmas party, which was an adult only progressive dinner!  I loved an evening out with Richard and neighborhood friends!  

Richard and I have successfully wrapped up pretty much all things Christmas.  This is the most on top of it we have ever been!  I completely appreciate his involvement in all gift giving and celebrating.  He is all in and I love it.  Two weeks ago Richard got back from Disneyland with his Mom.  They had the best time.  I was so proud of him for how many pictures he took.  They made fantastic memories that will last them forever.  

Two other fun Christmas events I want to write about and then I am finally DONE!  On Saturday we went to the Yancey Christmas Recital/Party.  I have the best memories of this Christmas recital for all my growing up years and I am so glad my Mom and her brothers have kept the tradition going.  It was so wonderful visiting with my Yancey cousins who I rarely see anymore!  The kids had a ball with their cousins.  Bridget, Rachel and Gretchen all performed and I was so proud of them.  Bridget and Rachel both played piano solos and Gretchen played Jingle Bells on the bells with Cal.  :)  Budding musicians.  We had a great lunch afterward with loads of delicious desserts and it was such a fun afternoon.  

I spent all my free time Friday through Sunday baking four gingerbread houses.  I could not talk my kids into sharing, which is understandable, but it sure made for a lot of work!  I have never made four houses before and I was continually thinking of my own Mom who made five houses for years and years!  A saint!  We finally assembled and decorated the houses last night and it really was so fun.  Richard and I each had a frosting bag and just moved from child to child.  The kids were creative and it was so fun, despite all the work!  

Well, that is it!  Merry Christmas this week!  We love each of you!

Love,

Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel, and Gretchen :)  

The Leake's Week-December 4, 2022

 Hello!

Happy December!  The holiday season is officially here and we are in full Christmas mode.  It also helps that we have had two snowstorms this week, both of which have resulted in late-start school days and kindergarten being cancelled.  It has been nuts!  But we are grateful for the snow, and we do hope it continues through the rest of the winter!  

We have had a good week.  Here's the rundown...

Richard was around for the morning and most of the afternoon on Monday.  It was so great to have him home, and the two of us ran errands and got a lot done!  It was great.  That afternoon, I went to music class with Gretchen and Richard went into work.  It was lightly snowing when Gretchen and I drove to music class, but it really picked up while we were in class, and we drove home in a complete blizzard!  We always have time to go home between music and school pick up, but we just went straight to the elementary school because of all the snow and how slowly people were driving, thankfully!  Of course the kids were all overjoyed with the snow.  Bridget was our only one who had a pretty free Monday and she spent time outside sledding with neighbor kids most of the afternoon.  She was in heaven.  On Monday evening Rachel and Gretchen had their Christmas dance recital.  I have been looking forward to this night for weeks, and it did not disappoint.  Gretchen was in the 6:00 recital and Rachel was in the 7:00 one.  I didn't mind a bit being there all night long, especially because the girls were each able to sit in the audience and cheer the other on.  It was so fun getting both of them ready.  Gretchen always wears her hair down, but for the recital it had to be up in a high ponytail and curled and she looked so different, but still completely darling.  Gretchen was both excited and nervous, but Rachel was so cute with her all afternoon until we dropped her off backstage.  Dancing sisters!  My heart.  My Mom and I were the only ones who were able to go to the recitals, (soccer for Marshall and farm for Bridget) but both Marshall and Bridget asked to see the videos as soon as we got home.  Gretchen was in two dances, one for ballet and one for jazz.  She was radiant up there!  A huge, happy, and genuinely delighted smile-for both dances!  It was SO fun to watch her!  Rachel also did so great.  I have not seen her dance on stage since May, and I can't believe the growth I saw in her Monday night.  Clearly dancing seven plus hours a week yields major progress!  Can you tell I was just on Cloud 9 about it all?!  It was a dream come true for me.  

Tuesday was our first late start day.  I didn't get the call until 6:25 am, and Marshall had just woken up.  Thankfully, I got to him when he was still pretty groggy and he was able to go back to bed and fall asleep.  The kids were all elated with the amount of snow and the late start day, and even though Gretchen loves kindergarten, she was so happy to get the day off!  I spent my entire morning shoveling and salting our very wide driveway and taking a bunch of junior high kids to school (confusion with the bus schedule) and Bridget and Rachel.  I wasn't done with all of that until 11:45!  It really threw my groove off for the whole day!  After school, Rachel had dance and then we experienced a Christmas miracle.  There is a darling Santa Claus we have been going to see since our first December back in Utah in 2016.  He is at the Whitaker Museum in Centerville for just three different days.  Since Covid, you have to reserve a time slot, which is actually wonderful, but by the time I got around to it this year, all the slots were full.  I was so mad at myself!  But, I decided to attempt walking in, and Tuesday was the very first day Santa would be there and I figured that was our best shot.  Piano ended up getting cancelled for Marshall and Bridget, which was perfect.  The girls and I picked up Rachel from dance and then went straight to the Whitaker Museum.  I was so happy to pull into the parking lot and only see two cars, I figured that was good for us.  Luckily for us, a large family had filled two time slots, but ended up with the stomach flu, so they cancelled and we arrived right when they would have been getting there!  The volunteers were so kind and ushered us inside and made us feel so welcome.  We got a full 20 minutes as the only people there.  The girls each got time with Santa without any rush or crowds and it was so wonderful.  They each wrote a letter to Santa and Bridget did a craft and it was perfect.  I am beyond glad that it worked out!  By 6:30, we were all finally home together, and that was lovely too.

Wednesday was a day of stress for me.  Weeks and weeks ago I got a large cavity filled and the dentist told me a root canal was a possibility.  I thought I was in the clear, but the last couple of weeks have told me otherwise.  I had a dentist appointment at 4:00 that afternoon to get it checked.  Due to my high stress with the dentist, I decided to approach the rest of the day with comfort and love.  :)  Richard had the day off and I stayed in pajamas until about 2:30, we wrapped Christmas presents, prepped the advent calendar for the kids, did online  Christmas shopping, and then he was so kind and ran errands while I reluctantly showered and got ready to go.  Turns out, I was right, and I do need a root canal, but I didn't have to get it done that night, so I was glad I could just come home!  Ah!  Teeth...who needs them?!  Richard was so helpful and picked the girls up from school and got Bridget to horseback riding while I was gone.  Rachel also had dance that night.  

Thursday brought dance for Gretchen in the afternoon and piano for Rachel after school.  Richard had a work meeting after work, so he was gone all day and most of the evening.  Marshall went ice skating for his first time ever with the Teacher's Quorum.  We have possibly failed him as parents seeing as he is 14 and has never been on ice skates.  Earlier in the afternoon, he was very reluctant to go, but I told him this was actually a great time to go and learn a new skill:  small group, where there will probably be some people not that comfortable on ice skates!  I also reminded him that Bridget learned how to ice skate last winter at a primary activity!  Thankfully, he turned his attitude around and went and had a great time!  He only fell once, but he said he felt fairly comfortable once he got the hang of it and he was not the only one new to ice skating.  Success!  

Friday brought us the second snowstorm of the week and yet another late start day.  The kids were actually hoping for this when they went to bed Thursday night, so as I snuck into their rooms before 6:00 am Friday morning to turn off alarms, most of them woke up a bit and were so happy to hear of another late start morning.  Sheesh!  Thankfully, we figured out the bus schedule on these snow late start days and I didn't have to make a trip to the junior high that morning!  However, I did go to the junior high that afternoon to work in the Charger Store.  This week and next instead of doing the Charger Store, we are helping the class officers raise money for Sub for Santa by selling other things.  Friday was Little Caesar's pizza.  You can imagine what it is like selling pizza by the slice or box to crazy junior high students.  Marshall had told me it would be nuts, and I definitely appreciated his warning!  The school had bought 50 pizzas, and they could have bought 100 and we would have sold them all.  We had to turn kids away both lunches.  It was bananas, but also hilarious.  While I was at the junior high, Gretchen played at Naomi's house and had the best time.  On Friday's, the elementary school has early out, and so with late start that morning, Bridget and Rachel were at school for 2 1/2 hours.  Isn't that nuts?!  Ha!  Bridget was elated with the snow though because the night before she had arranged for Avery, Claire and Cambria to walk home with her so they could sled on the hill and play in the snow.  Thankfully, the weather cooperated and when I got home from the junior high those girls were having the time of their lives outside.  Unfortunately, Bridget and Marshall had piano at 3:30, so at 3:00 I killed the fun, much to the girls' dismay.  I told them to keep praying for snow and that they can come anytime!  After school, Rachel went to her primary activity and had a great time.  She hasn't been able to go to the last couple and this was her last activity with the younger group of girls.  Grandma Becky got to our house a little after 5:00 on Friday and Richard got home about 5:45.  We had a quick dinner all together and then Bridget and I left for the farm.  Her happy place.  :)  I wish I could say the same for me!  This is my first full winter at the farm and I can honestly tell you I can't think of many other places I loathe more than that...except the dentist!  But, Bridget and Cambria worked really well and we were there for just about two hours.  :)  Richard and Becky left at the airport at 7:00 pm and flew to California for a weekend in Disneyland-lucky ducks!  Marshall went to Johnny's house at 8:00 that night and had a great time.  

It seems that Richard and Becky have been having a great time at Disneyland.  Richard has been texting pictures of food and rides and the magical Christmas decor all weekend long.  Even though things haven't been nearly as exciting here, the kids and I have still managed a great weekend.  We had German pancakes for breakfast Saturday morning and Bridget and I ran errands together.  She is turning into quite a shopper and bought herself a new pair of Nikes.  :)  I forced everyone into doing jobs yesterday afternoon, and even though it took awhile, everyone was compliant!  After dinner last night, we popped popcorn and cuddled up on the couch, and when I say cuddled I literally mean all five of us and the dog were in one corner of the sectional.  Sometimes it is suffocating, but it always feels good to feel very loved!  We watched Home Alone and had a great time laughing together.  A classic.  

We have had a good Sunday.  We had an early dinner and then drove up to Ogden to Kevin and Audrey's to celebrate Clark's second birthday.  My parents and Danny and Stacie were also there with their boys.  We loved seeing Kevin and Audrey's new house and the cousins had a ball playing together.  I took two pictures tonight of Marshall playing with a dump truck, legitimately playing with it, and then playing cars with his cousins.  It made my heart so happy.  I loved catching up with the adults, and of course, the cookies and ice cream in honor of cute Clark.  We stayed way longer than I thought, but we had the best time.  

Richard and Becky fly home tomorrow night and we can't wait to see them.  Tomorrow kicks off another big week of our usual crazy.  Here's hoping I survive.  Also, I have to call the endodontist Tuesday morning.  Insert sobbing emoji face.  And on that note, we love each of you.  :)  

Love,

Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel and Gretchen :)

P.S.  I also have to record that this is the first winter Gretchen has liked playing in the snow.  She has played once with Bridget and once with Rachel and has loved it.  Little Bear Cub.  :)

The Leake's Week-November 27, 2022

 Hello!  We hope that each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and weekend.  Our kids are already counting down to Christmas break and Rachel was disappointed to look at the calendar today and realize there is more than one week of school between Thanksgiving break and Christmas break.  :)  Clearly, this all indicates that we have had a fantastic break and time at home.  It has been fun, but low-key and has offered us plenty of time to relax, play, and laugh together.  Here's a rundown of our week...

On Monday, Ziggy had an appointment with the groomer.  I did not have high hopes for him keeping much of his fur, and I was right.  When I picked him up I was greeted with a mostly shaved dog, with the exception of a perfect plume at the end of his tail.  This wasn't the first time he's had to be shaved, and I am certain it won't be the last.  However, this is his first time with minimal fur during cold weather and after watching him shiver the rest of Monday, I bought two sweaters for him at Target on Tuesday morning.  He LOVES them and we are in love with Ziggy in clothes.  He is much happier in his warm state.  :)  Monday was also my Dad's birthday, and I was able to swing by my parents' house that afternoon and give him a hug and a birthday card and visit for a few minutes.  I am so grateful for him.  The rest of our Monday was busy and filled to the brim.  I went to music class with Gretchen, Marshall finally went back to soccer after missing all of last week, Rachel had dance, and Bridget had the farm.  Rachel's carpool friend is in New Zealand for two weeks so Richard and I are the sole drivers for dance and I cannot wait until Sara's family is back!  I had to be at the farm with Bridget and Cambria that night and it was COLD!  The cold temperatures do not entice those girls to work any faster, and with all their laughing and fun, they stay nice and warm!  I was a popsicle by the time we got home just before 9:00 pm.  Sigh.  Oh, one funny thing from Gretchen.  She was with me when we picked Ziggy up from the groomer.  Obviously, he looks alot smaller when he is shaved.  Also, just recently, Gretchen has started mixing up her pronouns, after saying them correctly for years!  This is a great throwback to how Rachel talked for so long, so we only half-heartedly correct her.  Anyway, as we were driving home from the groomer, I heard Gretchen say to Ziggy, "Ziggy!  Did hers use a shrinker on you?!"  Haha!  It cracked me up.  

Tuesday morning I volunteered in kindergarten.  Energy was high that day with it being the last day of school before Thanksgiving.  Things were going pretty smoothly until it was time to line up to go home and a little boy punched another boy.  The offender refused to go back to his chair or apologize and for a couple of minutes there were two crying boys on the ground with Mrs. Conners in the middle-bless her!  Me and the other mom and the classroom aide were trying to pass out cornbread and it was just bananas for a few minutes!  Ha!  Once we finally made it out of the classroom, I drove carpool home and dropped Gretchen off at Charlie's and picked my Mom and Ben up and we went to the movie theater to see "The Chosen".  Ben and my Mom, as well as other adults in my family love this show, but I have not watched one single episode, but after seeing these two episodes of season two, I think I am hooked.  It was a fun afternoon out with them as well, and I honestly don't remember spending time with just my Mom and Ben since I was in college...so it's been years!  I got home just in time to pick up my girls from school and then be the chauffeur for dance and piano.  Once everyone was home by 7:15, life slowed down and we had a nice evening at home as a family.

On Wednesday, Richard didn't have to start work until 10:00 am at home, so with the kids out of school, and work later in the day, that gave us all a slower morning, which was so nice.  The majority of my day was spent in the kitchen doing Thanksgiving food prep, but I was never alone.  This is our third year where the kids have helped with all the food for our feast, and it was another success.  Bridget and Gretchen helped make the apple pie that morning and it turned out great.  Bridget and Gretchen did the filling completely by themselves while I worked on the crust.  Bridget was so cute with Gretchen, and I loved watching from the sidelines.  After lunch, Bridget was off to Cambria's and spent the rest of the day there.  Rachel helped me make the sweet potato souffle, rolls, and pumpkin pie.  Marshall helped with the raspberry pretzel jello.  By the end of the day I was beat, but I was happy we had gotten so much done!  Bob and Becky arrived a little before 5:00 and Richard was done working shortly after 7:00 pm.  Becky had made an excellent cheesecake dessert for us, which we enjoyed after dinner while playing games.  

Thursday morning we slept in a bit and then Richard went to Dicks to pick up cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  :)  I got started on rolling out the rolls, which Rachel and Gretchen both helped with.  At 11:00, Richard and I started on a brand new quest for us...prepping the turkey.  Thankfully, we had Becky in the kitchen with us for moral support!  It was an adventure for sure, but in the end, the turkey turned out great.  While we waited for the turkey to cook, we walked the dogs and played with them outside, and we played games inside.  It was a great way to pass the time.  When the turkey was almost done, Bridget helped with the mashed potatoes and gravy, Marshall did the stuffing, and Rachel and I finished the sweet potatoes.  We finally sat down for our feast just before 4:00.  We ate on my Grandma Yancye's china, and it was a delicious meal.  The adults talked about favorite childhood Thanksgiving memories and we also tried to teach the kids some manners.  :)  The three older kids ate great and I am pretty sure they all tried some of everything.  Gretchen, true to her word, just ate rolls and the whipped cream off the chocolate pie.  I am pretty sure she had five rolls at dinner.  :)  When we were done eating, Becky and Richard were so kind to do all the dishes while the rest of us played outside with Leo and Ziggy.  Once all that was done, we played more games and eventually dug into the pies.  Divine.  We all went to bed tired, but very happy that night.  We have so much to be thankful for.  

Friday morning Richard had to get up and was off to work just after 7:00 am.  The rest of us got to sleep in, and we certainly did-the kids and I did not wake up until after 8:00 and it was heavenly.  Bob and Becky left just before 9:00 to go back home, so we were on our own.  We loved having them here with us for Thanksgiving.  They were so helpful and fun and we loved all the games we played and conversations we had.  Our Friday was a completely relaxing day, and while the kids probably watched way too much tv, it was exactly what I needed!  I picked up a Target order, caught up on laundry and took the girls and the dogs to the park that morning.  It was great weather and we played for over an hour.  All the girls took bikes or scooters and they had fun riding around while I walked the dogs.  Leo is so much fun to play fetch with and Bridget and I loved throwing balls for him all week long, especially at the park, where he had so much room to run.  After lunch, I left the kids and went on a bike ride!  I got an electric bike for my birthday, but I was too scared to ride it for a while!  I finally got the guts to try it out Halloween weekend, but we haven't had great weather to ride in since then, but Friday was my day!  It was so much fun!  I rode about five miles and made a stop at my parents' house for a great visit with them.  It was the best way for me to spend an afternoon.  That night, we door-dashed dinner for the kids and I met Richard at Station Park after work.  We crushed some Christmas shopping and then had a lovely dinner at Twigs.  All went well here at home, and there was only one complaint about Marshall, which is pretty good.  :)  

Saturday morning we all slept in, this seems to have been a theme for our break!  Richard has had the weekend off, and that has been wonderful!  We had a late breakfast and then got the dogs out for walks and play time.  After lunch we got our house all decorated for Christmas.  We have had our trees up, but nothing else.  Everyone pitched in and before long it was done!  Our friends came to get Leo at 5:00 and he sure was happy to be reunited with them.  He is such a good dog, but has way more energy than Ziggy.  I fear we might have been boring for him, but we sure enjoyed watching him.  After they left, we loaded our winter clothes in the van and drove up to Layton.  We grabbed a quick dinner at Culver's and then met Danny's family at the park in Layton that is all lit up.  We all bundled up and had the best time walking around to see all the lights.  We were worried it might be crowded with it being Thanksgiving weekend, but it was not crowded at all and we had a great time!  After the lights, we went to Danny's house for hot chocolate and cousin playtime.  Our kids had so much fun together.  All seven of them were playing together, and while it was loud and a tad crazy, it made me SO happy to see kids ranging in age from 2 to 14 running around and playing all together.  We could have stayed twice the amount of time we did if it weren't for the BYU football game at 9:00 pm!  We made it home just before kickoff!  Richard and Marshall stayed up and watched the whole game and were happy with the win, though not overly impressed with the team as a whole.  :)  

We have had a good Sunday today.  Marshall was sustained and set apart as the first counselor in the Teacher's Quorum Presidency.  We are very excited for this opportunity for him.  My parents came over for a little bit this afternoon, and though there were quite the antics going on over here, we sure enjoyed having them.  We are gearing up for the return to real life-I have mixed feelings.  I am happy for some alone time this week, but getting stressed with the usual quick pace of our life...and all the Christmas things!  Maybe I will hibernate until January!  But in all seriousness though, I and we have an abundance of things to be thankful for.  From the simple moments of laughter and snuggles to the big and the grand of gift giving and vacations.  Our life is full, and I am so thankful for it.  And, of course, for each of you.

All our love.

Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel, and Gretchen :)

The Leake's Week-November 20, 2022

 Hello!

I am bound and determined to pound this out and send it out on Sunday!  Here we go!

Last Monday Marshall was sick and miserable.  He stayed home from school and hardly said ten words to me the entire day.  He was so congested and just generally feeling terrible.  I just dispensed medication and kept him well supplied with water.  Thankfully, he is a good and motivated student, so he was able to get through his school work on the computer and then he just read, laid around, and played video games.  Thankfully, the other girls were good and were off to school.  Gretchen and I went to her music class after kindergarten.  After school, Rachel went to dance, and Bridget worked at the farm.  Thankfully, I only had to be at the farm for 30 minutes and then Melanie came to relieve me!  Chicken waters are the bane of my existence!

Marshall stayed home from school again on Tuesday.  I could tell he was doing better though, because he was more talkative and that evening he started to torment his sisters-a sure sign of improvement!  Ha!  That morning, I did my usual volunteering in kindergarten.  I seriously love it.  Gretchen still gives me the biggest hug every time I come in.  She has my heart!  After kindergarten, she and I had a quick turnaround because she had an in-class dress rehearsal for her dance class.  She was SO excited to get dressed up in her costume and I am literally counting down the days until the Christmas recital.  I had a mom-fail that afternoon with her dance class though.  She usually has dance on Thursdays, but for this week only they switched it to Tuesdays.  I wanted to go early to pick her up because I thought it would be fun to see them do their dance in costume.  After I dropped her off, I ran a couple of errands before going home and I set an alarm on my phone to get me to class ten minutes early.  After the alarm went off, I hopped in the car and on my way to the studio, I realized I had the time ending time wrong and instead of being ten minutes early I was going to be ten minutes late!  Ah!  Sweet Gretchen was just hanging out with her teacher, and her teacher was so forgiving.  Gretchen seemed mostly unphased-bless her!  After school, it was back to the dance studio with Rachel and Bridget had a primary activity.  Marshall and Bridget did their piano lessons on Zoom that night, and even though it was slightly chaotic to have that going on for an hour, it sure was nice not having to shuttle them to and from.  For the most part, our Tuesday evening was quite relaxing because we were home!  A rarity these days it seems!

On Wednesday, Richard didn't have to work until 3:00 pm-it was so lovely having him around for a good chunk of the day.  After school, it was just horseback riding for Bridget and dance for Rachel.  I forced Marshall to go to school on Wednesday, and he survived, but he did come home pretty wiped out.  He decided to skip both soccer and YM that night.  Richard got home about 11:00 pm that night.

After I got everyone off to school on Thursday I went to the temple and did an endowment session.  Per Richard's suggestion, I drank a Coke that morning to try and help me stay awake-and it worked!  This is going to become my new trick.  That afternoon, Gretchen and I went over to my parents' house and had lunch with them.  It has been weeks since I have seen my parents in anything but a large group of people and it was a real treat to have some time with them.  My Mom made us a delicious lunch and dessert and it was a great way to spend an afternoon.  At first, Gretchen did not want to be there, but when it was time to leave, she did not want to go!  I told her she could come with me, go to the car place with Grandma, or sit in meetings with Grandpa.  When presented with those options, she chose to come home with me!  I got home just in time to get the girls from school and then it was off to piano for Rachel.  I had a RS Christmas activity that night and walked out the door just as Richard was walking in.  It was a wonderful activity with dinner and songs and Christmas messages.  Richard held the fort down at home and all was well.  

Friday I conquered something I have been gearing up to do since my birthday-bake sourdough bread!  For my birthday, I asked Richard for a sourdough kit from Ballerina Farm.  I have been rehydrating and feeding my sourdough starter, named Willa.  :)  I have used it for other things here and there, but I have been too intimidated to make actual sourdough bread.  Friday was the day though and it turned out fantastic!  I will not hesitate to try again after Thanksgiving!  Our Friday afternoon and evening was chill and exactly what we needed-though we all went to bed entirely too late.  After dinner, Richard and the girls went to At Home and bought some more ornaments for our big family room tree.  The girls have never been to At Home and I am so elated that Richard got to experience that with his daughters.  They were in awe and so amazed at everything they saw!  :)  When they got home, we all pitched in and finished decorating that tree.  We love it and it looks great!  

Saturday morning we slept in and then I introduced the kids to sourdough pancakes.  Their reviews:  Marshall, best pancakes he's ever had.  Bridget says she liked them, but not sure how she could taste it through the whipped cream.  Rachel, not a fan.  Gretchen, asked for whipped cream, and then informed us that was all she was going to eat-she was true to her word.  :)  We are dog-sitting Ziggy's bestie for a week and Leo arrived Saturday morning as well.  We get an entire week to experience what it would be like to have two dogs.  Ziggy loves Leo, except when it comes to chasing balls.  Leo is far superior to Ziggy and Ziggy knows it.  He tries to keep up for a minute and then sits and pouts until we go in.  :)  After breakfast, we forced our kids to bundle up and help us clean up the garage!  We sorted through winter things and figured out who needs new boots and snow pants.  It was super successful and I can only hope our "mudroom" part of the garage stays clean for at least a week.  It would be a miracle.  At 11:30, Richard and Marshall left for the BYU game with Scott and Will Ford.  Will and Marshall played soccer together for years and Richard and Scott have become good friends.  They had a great time together and were happy to see a BYU win.  While the boys were gone, Bridget went to Cambria's birthday party and had a great time.  I got things done around the house and enjoyed relaxing with the younger girls too.  

We've had a good Sunday.  Richard didn't have meetings after church and that is always our favorite Sunday.  We decorated our living room Christmas tree this afternoon, the one with all our sentimental ornaments, always so special.  We had an early dinner and then went to Danny and Stacie's to celebrate Chase's birthday.  The girls had so much fun playing with Jaxon, Cal and Chase and the rest of us loved hearing of their recent adventures in Disneyland.  

We are so looking forward to Thanksgiving!  The kids just have two days of school, Richard has Thanksgiving off, and Bob and Becky are coming to spend Thanksgiving with us.  We have our menu planned and all the kids know what they are cooking with me and we are excited!  

Love to each of you.

Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel and Gretchen :)

I have been terrible at taking pictures the last two weeks.  I need to remedy that!