Picnic and Parks

The weather has been so much warmer than it normally is in January. I am praying for snow but I am going to enjoy the warmer sunny days until then. 

On Sunday afternoon we took a stroll around the neighborhood. The field behind us will be developed in the coming months so it's fun to get a picture like this before it changes.

The next day Lynnlee had a fun idea to go to a park and have a picnic lunch and rollerblade, play pickleball, soccer tennis and tennis. Unfortunately it wasn't as sunny and warm as the day before but it didn't seem to bother my kids. I lasted an hour and a half and then I warmed up in the car.

Sometimes I over promise. That morning we were deciding between two parks. It was hard to decide so I told them we could also go to Patriot Park after the first park. I was so cold after the first park though I wish I hadn't said that. Kaden, Taggart and Sienna were set on going to Patriot Park so I stuck with my promise. I took a mug of hot cocoa with me and that helped me stay warm. There was a really cold wind but thankfully the sun was out. 

It's a unique park. It's at some baseball fields and so it's all baseball themed. The kids had so much fun! 

 

It really is so crazy to me to be going to parks in January.

Kade's Reward

Kade loves Chuck A Rama's mac and cheese!!! I have tried to find similar recipes so I can save myself some money but they just aren't the same. We told him if he could memorize half of his multiplication facts he could go with one of us to Chuck A Rama and when he finishes the other half of his multiplication facts he can go again. 

The first half of the multiplication facts are 0, 1, 2, 5, 10....basically the easiest ones. He memorized them and so he chose for me to go with him to Chuck A Rama.

 

It was freezing in the restaurant. I think if they made it warmer maybe people would eat less. Or maybe they keep it so cold so you won't want to stay there very long.

Darth Kader

The Yeti

We loved our gray suburban and had it for almost 7 years. The miles were getting up there though and it was time to sell it. Marshall knew months ago that it was time but it took me more time to get onboard. Once we were on the same page we found a new Suburban very quickly with my parent's help. They found one at the dealership in Heber and it was too good to pass up! Hopefully this one will last us many many years and long road trips. We named it the Yeti.

We sold our old one -The Tank- on KSL Cars. Thankfully it only took a few days! 

Right before the buyer came some of the kids wanted a picture with it :)

NIghtgowns

I finally finished sewing the girls nightgowns over the break. I bought the fabric way back in August or September. They each picked a color. Lynnlee-teal and Sienna-purple. 

I couldn't find the pattern so it took me awhile to get a new one. Then I couldn't read the pattern so I went to Heber one day so my mom could help me :) 

I sewed here and there before Christmas trying to get them done but there were too many interruptions and not enough time. I'm not one to stay up all night finishing a project and so I decided it would be fine if the girls got them sometime after Christmas. I think having twins has ruined my sleep in that I am hyper sensitive to lack of sleep and rarely stay up late anymore. I was so sleep deprived the first two years that I really don't like being short on sleep.

There was enough fabric for them to have each color but I only got a picture of them wearing the teal ones.

New Years 2021

We had so much fun in Heber that we went back to celebrate New Years.

My dad got this track for Christmas and everyone had fun taking turns racing. They continued to put additions on and by the end it filled up the floor.

 

That night we let everyone stay up until midnight. Marshall and I were so tired we both fell asleep around 11:00 when they were playing Dr. Mario. Then we got up by 11:45 so we could ring in the new year. We gave this Christmas musical candle to my dad for Christmas and lit it that night and it played music and spun around while we waited for midnight to come.

Happy New Years!

We all slept in New Years morning. I have no problem with letting my kids stay up late when they all sleep in the next day. Balance restored. 

We went to the hot pots later that morning. They've added a fourth tub and turf so your feet stay cleaner, more tables for your stuff, and neck rests. So nice! It felt so good to soak in the warm water on a cold day.

We had to capture Lynnlee and Grandma Ruth's matching sweatsuits. 

 

We hung out the rest of the day and took it easy. It was fun having Ali's family there! We slept over again and then headed home Saturday morning. We were sad that we didn't get to see Betsy because she had two Jazz games New Year's eve and New Year's day. We met up with her Saturday night at Rita's and enjoyed our Italian ice in the parking lot in our cars. 

Moriah Elizabeth

Lynnlee loves watching YouTuber-Moriah Elizabeth. She is known for her squishy makeovers. Lynnlee wanted to do a makeover for one of her squishies. We got some fabric paint. Lynnlee, her friend, Taggart, Sienna, and Kaden each painted one squishy. I didn't get pictures of them but Lynnlee put these before and after pictures on my phone.

 

Handstands

Lynnlee gets to do a little bit of acro in her dance class. She loves practicing handstands at home and she has taught all of her siblings. It's very entertaining!

 

Fun at Ross

 Did you know during the holidays Ross is open from 7am-1am!? We didn't either until Lynnlee and I went shopping there one night. We saw the posted hours and asked the door greeter if people really came shopping til 1:00am. He said no one came shopping that late. 

We were very entertained while we were there. These pink boots were hard to pass up on ;)

Lynnlee's mask blends in with this hat so it's hard to tell that she's trying on one fluffy hat with a big ball on top.

These ear muffs look like Cruella De Ville and a skunk.

Lynnlee got this to give to Chewie for Christmas.

This is the largest salt grinder we have ever seen.

So much fun at Ross!

Taggart's Jr Jazz

Last year Taggart was mad I signed him up for Jr Jazz. As time went on he realized he really does like basketball and wanted to sign up this year. The rec center didn't have a volunteer to coach his team so they emailed all of the parents. No one responded. I love basketball but I've never wanted to coach basketball. Then the rec center started calling every parent on the list. My name was half way down the list and I couldn't say no. It ended up being a fun experience for Taggart and me. First graders just need the basics - dribbling, passing, shooting. To make defense simple each player wears a certain color of wrist band. You guard the person on the other team with the same color of wrist band. I had a set practice routine before each game that involved dribbling, passing and shooting. It was fun to see them make progress each game.

 

Matchy Cousins

Sienna lost her front teeth right after her cousin Kyler lost his. Then they each lost a tooth on the bottom so they mirrored each other. When he came to visit I was so happy we got a picture of them together!