New Year's Eve 2022

We had a low-key New Year's Eve.  It has been raining and snowing a lot lately and the kids have been enjoying playing in the snow that we've gotten it.  Tyler was invited to a dinner party and dance.  Tony took Tyler over to Austin's house at 6:00 pm and then they went over to the region dance to ring in the new year.  Tyler said that he had a lot of fun.  They had games, a waffle bar, and dancing.  He said that they only had a few slow songs, but he did dance with a different girl for each one.

The rest of us hung out at home.  We ate meatballs and snacks and watched the football games.  The kids played their computers, tablets, and the Switch.  We all stayed up until midnight for the first time, probably ever.  I didn't think that Allie was going to make it all the way until midnight, but she did (barely).  

Tony's 42nd Birthday

Tony turned 42 years old yesterday.  Tony and I did some shopping at Sam's Club, IKEA, and Costco in the morning.  We picked up a pizza from Costco for lunch.  The kids were excited about that.  Then we relaxed at home watching different football bowl games before going out to dinner at The Olive Garden with Tony's parents.  

It was kind of busy for big parties, so we had to wait about 45 minutes, even though we got there at 4:30 pm.  It was worth the wait though.  The food was really good, the service was good, and the company was the best.  Tony even got a free dessert and a birthday song before we were done.  He got a new laptop bag for his birthday gift so he can travel better with his laptop.  I think that it was a good day and that he had a good birthday.

Dinner with Clark's, Madsen's, & Sutherland's

Julie's family came into town to go up to the cabin and before they went up, they wanted to get together for dinner with us local peeps.  They wanted to go to Astro Burger, so we all met there.

My parents flew into town earlier this week, so they were here too.  Sherri drove up from Eagle Mountain.  Kevin did not come down from Logan for dinner but did end up driving down later this night to sleep at my parents before going up to the cabin the next morning with the Sutherland's. 

It was fun seeing everyone and the kids always love hanging out with their cousins.  After diner we went back home.  We did get to see Julie and Averee later that night because they dropped off Averee's car to park it at our house while she' s with her family.  She'll drive back with her parents to CA and then fly back to Utah next Saturday to go back to Snow College.  This way she doesn't have to drive back from CA by herself in the winter weather.  It was nice chatting with them before they left.  

Visiting Nana

We had the opportunity for all of us to visit Nana at her place on Thursday.  We haven't been able to do this since before Covid.  They had a rule this past year that you had to be vaccinated to go in and visit the residents, and our girls are not vaccinated, nor do I plan on getting them vaccinated.  

But while Tony and I were there earlier in the week, so told us that isn't a rule anymore.  So, we told Nana that we'd bring the kids and have them play their piano recital numbers for her.  

We invited Margie to come with us and she met us there with some groceries that she had bought for Nana.  

Nana met us downstairs, and we went right to the piano room.  Margie and the boys took the groceries up to Nana's room before coming back down to join us.  Next door to the piano room they were having communion, so we had to wait for them to finish before we had the kids play their songs.  

It wasn't too long, and the kids were each playing their recital pieces on the piano.  They all did really good, and Nana was very impressed.  After the piano numbers were complete, Megan and Allie sang a couple of their Primary songs for Nana.  She really seemed to like all the music and the company.  We enjoyed spending time with Nana and we're looking forward to going back after the kids learn some new songs to share.

Power Outage

We were all hanging out yesterday evening when all of the sudden, the power went out.  When it didn't come back on quickly, we looked it up and saw that it could be out until midnight.  So, we grabbed a bunch of lanterns, and all hung out in the front room.  We started out playing on electronics (without Wi-Fi) and then I made everyone get off of them and do something together.  I had the kids bring up a small table and chairs and we all played Phase 10 dice together.  

Megan was at a birthday party while this all happened.  We got through about half of the game before I had to go pick up Megan.  Tony opened the garage door for me manually so I could drive the van to get Megan.  On our way back to our house the power came back on, and we could slowly see the streetlights and the house lights coming back on.  So, we were pretty happy that we could finish the game with the power on.  It was a little bit of a crazy night, but it was lots of fun.

Christmas 2022

Christmas just feels different when it is on Sunday, a good different.  We woke up and had some breakfast before getting showered and ready for church.  

Once we were all ready, we let the kids open their stockings.  They each had a little wrapped gift in their stocking to unwrap and some other fun toys and gum.  

Tony then took the boys to the church early to get ready for sacrament before coming back for us girls.  

Sacrament was very lovely.  The boys sang with the young men and the girls sang with the primary.  Tyler played the piano while the young men sang.  He hadn't really practiced that song and only had a week's notice, so that part wasn't great, but the spirit was still there.  The primary sounded the best, like always.  

After church we came back and got changed before opening presents. We all took turns opening gifts, and I think everyone liked what they got.  

We then made lunch and enjoyed relaxing at our house.  The kids played with toys, and we watched Christmas movies.  At 3:00 we got on Zoom and chatted with my family.  It was fun seeing everyone on Christmas, even though it was just over the computer.  After chatting with them, we went to Tony's parents' house.  

Once we got there, we did presents before eating dinner.  Tony's parents spoiled us all again.  It was nice hanging out with Tony's parents and Suzanne's family.  It was a low key and stress-free day.  I loved being with family and felt so blessed!

Clark Family Christmas Adam Party

We had our annual Clark Family Christmas Adam party.  With my parents in California, we had the party at my house.  We had Kevin's family and Sherri's family.  We let our kids and Kevin's kids open their presents from Papa G and Grandma Kim before Sherri came (because I didn't have Graham's present, but I had all the others).  My parents got all the grandkids the same gift, so we let them all open their gift at the same time.  

Once Sherri got here, we all ate yummy food and let the kids play while the adults chatted.  Then we all played Bingo and had prizes that Betsy brought.  We all had a good time hanging out with family and keeping the tradition alive even though half of our family lives in California now.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is always a fun day.  The kids wanted to sleep over at Grandma Margie's the night before so that they could help her set up for the Kresser Family Party.  So, Tony and I took them over to her house before dinner.  Tyler got invited to a party that same night, so we took him out to dinner with Tony and me before his party.  We went to Los Garcia and Tyler was pretty happy about that.  After dinner we walked around Costco before taking Tyler to his party.

After Tyler's party, Tony took him to his parents' house for the sleepover.  The next morning Tony and I got some breakfast at Black Bear Diner.  Honestly, it wasn't very good.  I have not been impressed with them the last couple time we've been there.  After breakfast we went to Sam's Club to walk around and see if anything good was discounted.  Not much was found.

Later that morning we went up to visit with Tony's grandma, Nana.  We haven't been for a long time, and I had some caramels for her to enjoy.  We were able to spend almost two hours there chatting with her.  We plan on going back with the kids later this week.  

After we got home, I finished up making my soup for the dinner at Tony's parents' house.  We then got all our presents together and the soup and went to the party.  We enjoyed lots of extended family, good food and fun presents exchanges.  

Margie always gets the kids pajamas and gives them to the kids on Christmas Eve.  We all help pick up her house after the party, the dudes take back the tables and chairs while the rest of us put back her furniture and clean up.  Then it's jammie time.  I love when all the kids change into their jammies, and we take a picture.  It's sad they're all getting so big, but fun to see them all grow.  We then drove home and got ready for Santa to come the next morning.  It was another great Christmas Eve!

Temple Sealings with Family & Josh Baptisms

Tony and I got to go to the Jordan River Temple to do sealings with Suzanne, Tim, Cortnie, and Margie and Lloyd.  It was Cortnie's first time doing sealings and it was fun to be there with her and Tony's family.  It is always the best to do sealings with your family, especially when you are doing family names.  All the names we did, Lloyd had found from his Dutch side of the family.  The sealer did a really good job at pronouncing the names and it was a really good time doing service in the temple.  

After the temple, Tony and I got a couple pictures in front of the temple and in front of the nativity in front of the temple.  It was a cold, but beautiful day.  We all then went to lunch at JCW Burgers.  Their burgers, fries, and shakes are super yummy.  We had a good time chatting with family and enjoying each other's company.  

Josh got to do baptisms for the dead at the Bountiful Temple one Saturday with the young men and young women.  He loved it, per usual.  And he wants to go back many more times.

Piano Recital & Holiday Dinner at Elementary

Tyler, Josh, and Megan had their piano recital on Thursday.  Our piano teacher only teaches her own boys and our family, so that is all that was at the recital (plus some grandparents).  

All the kids did a really good job.  Josh was pretty funny and clapped for himself after each piano song.  One of his songs was the theme song to James Bond and Josh really got into it and it was pretty funny to watch.  

Megan did great at her first recital.  She didn't seem nervous and remembered all of her songs.  Tyler sounded really good as well.  All the kids memorized their songs, and I was a very proud mama.  The kids are good to practice, even though they don't practice as long as I would like them too.  They do practice without complaining.  It was a great night, and I am happy that my kids are enjoying learning music and playing the piano.

We also got to go to the holiday dinner night at the elementary.  A nonprofit company provided pizza, salads, and desserts and they also had a Santa and a conductor from the Polar Express. After we ate dinner then we got to meet Santa and the conductor and got a picture.  After the picture then the kids got to pick a present.  They still had a lot of presents at the end of the night, so they let the kids go back for a second present.  

Megan got a puzzle and card game, Allie picked two different stuffed animals, and Tyler got a card game and some baseballs.  Josh went to a party at Brocton's house that night and missed out on the fun at the elementary.  

After we all ate and the kids got their gifts, we chatted for a while with some friends before going home for the night.  It was a fun night, and I am glad that we went.  

Holiday Sing-along

The girls had their Holiday Sing-along at the elementary school.  They both got to sing two songs, and both did such a good job.  They wanted to dress up and be festive.  They looked great and performed great.  

Grandma and Grandpa came, Tony came from work, and Averee even got to see the performance.  She had come the night before from Snow College and then I took her to the airport after the performance.  It was a great program that I look forward to every year.  It was kind of weird just having kids in two classes at the elementary.  Next year will be Megan's last year at Frost, and I'm told Allie will only go until 5th grade and then go to the Jr. High in 6th grade.  That means that Allie would only go to elementary for two more years after this year, crazy to think about. 

Snow Day

Because of the snow overnight, the school district decided to have school start two hours later on Friday.  Friday is already early out day, so I decided to keep all the kids home instead of going for less than three hours of school.  It was probably for the best because some were still coughing and needed more resting.  Megan and Allie went out and played in the snow.  There wasn't tons of snow, but they enjoyed what they had to work with.

Ward Christmas Party & Allie's Award

Our ward had their party on Friday night.  Allie and Josh stayed home because they were still coughing.  Allie seemed worse this day then she had been, so she really needed to stay home and rest.  She was actually asleep on the floor when we got back from the party.  Luckily, she has been doing better since this night. 

Our ward did things a little different this year and just did snacks and crafts and guessing gift baskets.  They also had games on the tables, but we didn't play any of them.  We chatted and waited to see if we won any of the gift baskets.  Turns out we did pretty good and were very close on a few baskets and Tony even won a basket.  The party wasn't what we were used to, but it was still fun to get together with friends and neighbors.

Allie got the Soaring Eagle award for the month of November.  It came with a certificate and a metal.  She got it for high academic achievement and high citizenship.  Allie works hard at school and is always nice to everyone.  She was pretty excited about getting the award.

I Got My Shoulder Shot!

I was able to get an appointment to get the shot in my shoulder for Tuesday afternoon.  I was very nervous getting the shot, because I had no idea how much it was going to hurt.  Tony was able to get off of work to take me.  To make sure that the shot gets in the right spot they wanted me to go to imaging.  Because they used the imaging, Tony wasn't able to come with me to get the shot.  I was bummed about that, but I understood.

I had to change into a gown and then pull out my shoulder once I got into the imaging room.  I laid on a table and they moved a big imaging machine above me and my shoulder.  The PA was telling me what he was going to do.  The first shot would be the numbing shot (like at the dentist) and then he would put in a shot of die contrast and then he would do the shot that goes way down into my shoulder joint.  

While he was preparing the shots, I really started getting anxious.  I started crying and had to take deep breaths.  He said I could take off my mask and that really helped.  I told the PA that I didn't want to watch, but I wanted to know when he was going to start.  I decided to tell him all about the foot issues that I had been dealing with the last month.  Telling him my story helped me refocus my attention and be brave for the procedure.  

He started with the first shot.  A pinch, but not too bad.  Then it was the second shot.  I could feel it, but it wasn't painful.  Then the last shot was the longest, but not painful either.  He did his work while I blabbed on about my foot, then it was all done.  It really wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, thankfully.  

I then went back to Tony and got changed.  We then stopped at Costco and my parents' house before going home.  The PA said that the numbness would last about a half an hour and then it would start to hurt in about 6-8 hours and the pain could last up to two weeks.  I started feeling the pain after about an hour.  Then for the rest of the night it hurt more and more.  That evening I could barely move my arm at all.  It was a crazy feeling.  After a rough night's sleep, I then woke up the next morning with my shoulder feeling much better.  This has been a crazy thing that I didn't think that I would have to deal with, especially this young, but I remind myself that it could be a lot worse.  

Thanksgiving Vacation - Day 5 & 6: Driving Home

Tony and I had not been sleeping very well and kept waking up super early and being wide awake.  So, we told the kids that if we woke up early then we would just get up and start driving towards home and maybe not stay at the hotel we had booked.  But we stayed up so late the night before we actually were able to sleep until like 7:00 am.  

We had talked about going out to get breakfast with the other adults, but everyone wanted to just stay home.  This is the morning that many in our family and extended family woke up sick.  Josh and Megan woke up feeling sick.  Josh was the worst.  They had a cough and just didn't feel good.  So, we decided to just pack up the car and start heading towards the hotel in Wells, NV.

While we were driving through the Tahoe area on I-80, a part of the road was closed, and we had to take a detour.  It did take an extra half an hour, but it was a really pretty drive.  It took us right to Lake Tahoe and through the towns right by the lake.  We then stopped for gas in Reno before continuing on our drive. 

We stopped in a small town for lunch.  The food was decent, and we all had our fill.  Poor Josh was really not feeling good, but he was able to eat all his hamburger.  

The rest of the drive went smoothly.  We decided to stop in Elko to go to the Walmart and get some dinner for that night and some cold medicine for Josh and Megan.  We just bought some premade sandwiches and chips and cookies.  We figured that would be easier than Tony having to go out and find us all some dinner.  At this point, Tyler and Allie didn't have any symptoms.  

We then drove to our hotel in Wells.  We checked into our room and then checked out the pool.  Tony, Tyler, and I really just wanted the hot tub.  But they only had a pool.  It was a pretty new hotel too, so we were pretty bummed.  Josh wasn't feeling good at all, so I stayed back in the room with him while Tony took the others down to the pool.  Tyler didn't last very long.  He said the pool was colder than he thought it was going to be.  So, he came back and showered and ate.  Then Megan came back up.  She was done and wasn't feeling very good.  Then Tony came back up with Allie.  They all showered and had some dinner.  

We then watched a movie and then the first half of the BYU game before going to bed.  That next morning Josh and Megan still felt sick, and Tyler and Allie were starting to feel it.  Tony and I took Allie and Tyler down for breakfast and then we went back up to check out of the hotel.  

Luckily Wells is only two and a half hours away from home, so it was a quick nice drive home.  We gave Josh some more meds and he slept the whole way home.  Which was for the best because of his bad cough.  We then got home, unpacked and just spent the rest of the day resting our sick kiddos and doing laundry.  

Thanksgiving Vacation - Day 4: Girls Day & Guys Day

Friday is Girls Day! And Guys Day!  We weren't able to get into the pedicure place until 11:00 am.  So, we had some extra time to get ready for the day.  Wendy did my hair and makeup and then we decided to meet Julie, Averee, Sherri, and Betsy with her girls at See's Candy store.  Wendy bought the girls their own small box of chocolate and then we headed to the nail salon.  

Then of course the nail salon wasn't ready for us, and we had to wait a little while for them to get to all of us, but we all got our toes beautified (except Averee who got a manicure).  After we then went and picked up my mom and Teagan from my parents' house to take them to lunch with us.  Julie's car went first and got us a table at the golf course restaurant.  They got us a table outside, which was nice, but half the table was right in the sun.  So, we switched spots many times when the sun got to be too much.  It was a beautiful day, and the food was good.  After lunch we went back to Julie's house with Betsy's girls and that is where Tony met us with the boys. 

Tony took the boys to play frisbee golf with the older dudes.  After that they went to lunch at Mel's Diner for lunch.  They said that they had a good time.  

Wendy took my mom, Teagan, and Sherri back to my parents' house.  Sherri then left with her family to start going home and Wendy had to go to a doctor's appointment.  

The rest of us then hung out at Julie's house for the rest of the day.  We wanted to do a little white elephant gift exchange with the cousins, so Juile, Betsy, and I went to the dollar store and bought gifts for the exchange and some extras for prizes for the big Bingo game that we were going to have after dinner.  We then brought them back to Julie's house and wrapped up the gifts.  

We had brought back all the leftover food from Thanksgiving to Julie's house and that's what we had for dinner this night.  While we were getting things warmed up and ready to eat, my dad had brought some fun wood animal puzzles for each of the kids.  They loved putting them together with Grandma Kim and Papa G.  After dinner we then did the kids gift exchange and then we did the family Bingo game.  Then we had dessert.  It was also Betsy's birthday that day, so they made brownies and no bake cheesecake for her birthday.  It was all very fun.  Teagan left after the party to head to the airport to take the red eye back to NYC.  

It was getting late so we said our goodbye's and then went back to Wendy's.  We got all our things ready to pack the van in the morning.  Wendy and I then stayed up until like midnight chatting about things.  She was having a really hard time with being separated from Gabe during the holidays.  They decorated the tree that night and it really hit her hard.  It was so hard to see her struggling and not being able to help.  She is one tough cookie.

This was the morning that I was able to walk on my foot again and not have to use my knee scooter.  It hurt to walk on my leg and foot.  It felt really weird to use it again after not using it for three weeks.  I just had to take it slowly and it did feel better if I wore my shoes and not just be bare foot.  It did make things a lot easier to be able to walk and I am hopeful that it will continue to improve and feel better.