Lights at the Ballpark

When we were at the Sing-a-long, Marshall got free tickets for Lights at the Ballpark. I'm not sure who was handing them out but it was lucky he got them. He had 8 tickets. We took Betsy, Gio, and Hayden. James and Lynnlee were busy that night. It was at the new baseball park near Betsy's so it was not far for her to go. It was a very cold night. It's funny because the rest of the week was warmer, like the night we chose was literally the coldest it had been but that is what worked. So we bundled up and only stayed for about an hour. 

It was a fun place. They had fun activities throughout, cool displays, and fun backdrops. I don't know if I would pay full price to go but it was fun to go one time.

These lights were fun to jump around on.

We walked under this large Christmas tree that was on the baseball field. It was so pretty!

We were freezing after but we still went to Rita's. Sadly I can't have anything there now but it was still fun to hang out with everyone. 

Christmas

James's cross country team invited him to a Christmas run at midnight on Christmas morning. They all met up, went for a 3 mile run or something like that and then he came home and went to bed. 

Everyone else started waking up around 7:30 and then we all got up at 8:00. 

There are less surprises now that everyone is in on it and they pretty much tell me what they want but I did include one surprise gift for James and one for Lynnlee. For Lynnlee it was a shirt and for James it was a Twenty One Pilots blanket. 

Everyone was excited to head to Grandma's so we left around 1:00 and spent the rest of the day in Heber. We were grateful for the stockings and money from Grandma Ruth and Papa Kelly. After gifts we had our smorgasbord. I brought taquitos and we had the rest of the yummy food....bacon wrapped water chestnuts, Swedish meatballs, salad, turkey, ham, rolls, potatoes, and probably more. Also white Christmas punch. I can't have that anymore but I was happy I could have everything else.

We enjoyed playing Dr. Mario that night and then went home late.  

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve bowling was stressful for me this year. Since they don't take reservations we go early and wait outside. This year we got there even earlier than normal, around 9:45, and there was two other families there. So I waited with the kids while Marshall took Chewie to my parent's house. Kasey arrived soon after, Grace, and Ali. We were freaking out because the bowling alley let us come in at 10:00. Then they said we could start bowling as early as 10:30 if our whole group was there. So then we were furiously texting everyone to get there. We knew if the other groups got lanes before us then we would have to wait 1-2 hours before bowling. So we were making split second decisions. Ali and I hadn't talked to Kasey and didn't know he talked to the bowling alley worker and had it all figured out. So Ali and I thought we should just get lanes with those of us who were there. We told the worker and he didn't realize we were with Kasey. Kasey had stepped into the bathroom at this exact moment. The worker told us the lanes were all taken and we would have to wait. I freaked out at him. Thankfully Kasey came out of the bathroom right at that moment and cleared up the confusion. I then felt relieved but so stupid and embarrassed. I couldn't eat anything there so I stayed and hid on the far side the whole time we were there.

Wes won this year. Thankfully him and Trae are in the family now so they can win the trophy and take it home.

Kia, Ericka and their families came after not coming for many years so it was fun having them back! Uncle Tom treated to food and bowling. 

We spent the day at my parent's house and took it easy playing games and watching shows. We had soup for dinner. We headed back to Lehi sometime after dinner. We opened Christmas jammies, read the nativity, and then watched Christmas Vacation. It was from YouTube TV so it was edited. Most of my kids had never seen it. There are so many funny parts.

Everyone talks about sleeping in the basement but in the end, everyone wanted to sleep in their beds. Marshall and I were up late. Usually I wake up early Christmas morning and go for a run but I did not have the energy to this year. I'm learning it's ok to take a rest day on holidays.

Lily and Trae's Wedding

Lily and Trae had a civil marriage in Midway and then were sealed in the Logan Temple a few days later. Jack officiated at a club house at Whitaker Farms. It was a cold and rainy day but inside the clubhouse was beautiful and peaceful. Trae's horses were there peaking through the window.  

Ivy was the cutest flower girl!

The reception was at Soldier Hollow and I was so happy to get an updated family picture.

We missed Taylor.

It was fun having Charlie and Ashlyn in town!

The sun came out for the reception and it was a beautiful afternoon. 

The sealing in Logan was also a special event. It was fun to be inside the Logan Temple again since Marshall and I were temple workers there and that is where I received my endowments. So many good memories of playing the keyboard in the chapel, helping with sealings, initiatories and endowment sessions. I would love to go back and do an endowment sessions there. 

We met up at Pizza Pie for a casual lunch after the sealing. They made a gluten free pizza for me and it tasted great! 

James's Wisdom Teeth

James had his wisdom teeth removed. We got there at 10:00 and we were headed home shortly after 11:00. It was quick! He did great. Thankfully he can handle anesthesia without any side effects. Lynnlee came with because she was hoping he would say some funny things afterward. She filmed him while he was waking up but he didn't give her anything. He was very happy though. He was just extremely happy and relaxed. 

The rest of the weekend was very chill for him. We had a lot of screen time. He ate a lot of smoothies, soup, and orange julius for the first week. He really didn't want dry socket so he was very obedient to a liquid diet for a week. Then he introduced soft foods for a few days. Then around two weeks he was back to a regular diet. I'm so happy and grateful everything went well and it was best case scenario!

Lynnlee's Friends Breakfast

On the last day of the term, also the last day of school before winter break, school was scheduled for a half day. Most high school teachers don't want students to come to school. I told Lynnlee I would drop her friends off somewhere for breakfast, if they wanted. So I dropped them off around 8:00. Then I ran errands and picked them up around 9:30. 

Christmas Sing-a -long

We went to the Christmas sing a long at the Delta Center. Betsy met us there as well as Kasey's family. Betsy got in line outside the arena and we met her there right at 6:00 when the doors opened so we could help save seats. It is always really hard to make it there earlier with everyone getting home from school, eating, and such. James had plans with friends and so he didn't go with us. 

We made it on the Jumbotron near the end. That is a goal every year. I put on a Santa hat and some of the kids wear one too so we can draw some attention to ourselves. 

Aunt Jill played in the symphony so that was fun to wave to her. The guest performer was the Low Lights. They are a folk band and the members change and are local performers. 

Near the end, all of the mascots came out so that was fun!

Grandma Ruth is always so kind and thoughtful to treat us to ice cream afterward. We've tried out different places but the Arctic Circle in Draper has been our favorite the last few years. We'll see though because one worker was rude to us when we got there. We placed our order around 8:50 and she told us the dining room was closing at 9:00. So we said we would take it to go even though we would have enjoyed staying and sitting inside. Then a different employee brought our food out and asked if we wanted it to stay or to go. We told her we wanted to stay but that the other employee told us we needed to leave because the dining area was closing. She said that since we were already there that we could stay and eat inside. She was much nicer and more friendly. So we got to stay inside and we made sure to clean up after ourselves and not cause any trouble.