Well, before I started out writing this post I figured since it's been so long since my last I would just skim through the last year and only add a few photos.  But as I looked through them all I realized I just can't do that.  There is so much to share since last February!  So many wonderful and a few frustrating things.  I've included a lot of random photos that the kids have taken on my phone this year, and some are out of chronological order, but at least they're here.  I'm finally posting!Who would have thought, back in February, that our lives would soon be changed by a virus called corona, and that so much panic would result.  Aspen had been taking basketball with a few friends (including Faith Crapo, who's family moved during Corona without a goodbye) and had just finished her last game.  Oakley had made his own orange juice, straight from the source.

We had no idea when we went skiing on March 8, with such a pretty night sky, that it would be the last day Bogus would be open for the season.

But then it happened!  The kids' school closed.  Then church was put on hold until further notice. Eric started working from home.  We found ourselves with a lot of free time for a few weeks, and we hiked. A lot.  And biked.  A lot.  And went on walks a lot.  We didn't interact with anyone for two months, though the kids were DYing to play with their neighborhood friends.  A lot of them were still interacting with each other, so our kids felt left out.  

Eric basically decided to take us hiking on the best of the best biking trails in Boise.  We discovered a few that I really loved, including Harrison Hollow.

We had a lot of family time.  A whole lot.  Thank goodness I had bought a package of Costco toilet paper before the pandemic started.  I wasn't too worried about running out.Some hilarious memes arose at this time.  I was laughing all the time from memes my friends and family 

sent.

I did head to the store one day and grab some cleaning supplies in the rush.  Sasha told Demri and I about these foam dispensers she was using to save soap and so I ordered some.

More hiking.  I had decided to take another chance on my hair and color it to cover my grays (just before the pandemic).  Bad decision.  I was not happy; I took on a lot of red and I tried to fix it a few times but ended up instead with very dark hair that then turned brassy.  You'll see the progression in the photos.

I would share any little thing that was interesting with the kids

This day I had so much cabin fever I pushed the kids out the door and we rode our bikes in the cold and rain.  Just to get out of the house.  They found some cattails and we came home with cattail fuzz everywhere.

On the way home the boys lagged behind, and I found out later it was because they were picking flowers from the neighborhood beds for me!  How sweet?!

Hiking Bob's

Sewing. We started sewing some projects that we didn't finish...blankets from some fabric that Grammy gave us.  We also sewed some felt plushes by hand and the kids loved that.

Visiting Shoshone Falls

Playing in Cascade

Aspen and I experimented a bit on her hair.  Poor thing; her mama isn't the best at styling hair.  This one came out decent though as well as the following.

😂Some funny memes I was sent

😂

I was tempted to do this...but just didn't have the heart.  B would have been devastated.

Eventually we were doing online school, with me as teacher.  Boy that was intense.  Trying to keep all three of the kids focused on each of their schoolwork without getting distracted, keeping the boys from interacting, and staying on top of Aspen's math assignments took a lot of time and effort.  I came up with various creative ways to help the kids focus like make them cardboard table stands, separate them, give them all headsets, etc.  A few times Aspen and I were working on math until 9:00 at night, after she'd spent all day doing schoolwork.  I liked playing with them a lot better then being their teacher and disciplinarian all the time.  We did still do some fun things though.

We tried some new games and crafts.

We hiked some more.

Eventually May was around the corner.  The blossoms on the Magnolia tree bloomed, we had some rainstorms, everything was green and bright.  I love this time of year so much.

Some finger puppets, bracelets and felt toys we made

Birch made this Sasquatch and called it Maple.  He then made a white Yeti for Beckham.

Becks came downtown to the park with us one day.  Afterward the kids started to play in the river rocks.  For the first time in a few months I had a quiet moment to myself.  It was glorious!

Oakley loves making little stores with his wares to sell.  I thought his sign was pretty clever!

I decided to reread Mary Mack Smith's biography of her son Joseph Smith again.  I really loved it the first time and that was several years ago so I pulled it out again.  It was just as good as I remember, though there were some amazing accounts in it I had forgotten about.

Easter...it was freezing!

some more photos of things we did during the Spring

rock collecting and painting....

I started mowing the lawn again and working in the yard.  My hair turned bright orange 😅

One of O's school assignments.  I like the "every useful thing I could find" part ;)

Enjoying the sun warming my feet

Jones really loves Eric.  And Eric loves his dog.  I thought this photo was so cute because Eric used to hold our kids this way!  Jones is my little shadow, but he's also afraid of me for some reason.  We think he may have been abused by his previous female owner.  Jones is really going to miss Eric when he starts working in the office again.  They cuddle all day long.

My lilies sprouting!

My friend Sara had a baby so I made this for little Logan.

Aspen is getting better at styling her hair (lucky for her and me)

Aspen and I were out on the front patio watching a few ducks that were hanging out on our lawn.  One eventually flew onto the roof, and it's mate flew onto another roof across the street.  It was fun observing them.  They didn't stick around as long as we'd hoped though.

Aspen was missing her school friend Araliegh so much!  We put together a little surprise with her mom's help to visit her.  She was out in her driveway sitting in the back of their truck reading when we pulled up so she and Aspen could have a socially distant visit.  Araleigh was so surprised and very happy.  Aspen made her a little gift to give her.

We fished a lot; Oakley was the only one that caught anything.  We were on Orville and Heidi Thompson's property (owners of Scentsy and Eric's bosses) fishing and Oakley caught a bass.  We were so excited for him and hoped to catch something too but he was the only one that did.

Sleepover at Grammy's

Birch's dog

For Mother's Day we went on a walk after holding church at home; it was a beautiful day.  We decided to walk to the park that's across the street from our rental house...it always brings back sweet memories of when the kids were smaller and we'd tell them not to climb the trees ;). Now the trees are huge so the kids can climb them all they want!

We hosted Mother's Day dinner with Eric's family that night, and ate on the back patio.  Maybe one day I'll be better at taking pictures of those special moments!  Annie took one of the boys goofing off...

can you spot Oakley??

Up at the McCall cabin.  There were a few months over the quarantine when McCall wouldn't allow vacation properties to host guests.  So we came up and the kids did their schoolwork there during the day and we'd play at night.  

Once the ban was lifted reservations on the cabin blew up like crazy.  It's been a big blessing for us.  Scentsy's sales have also been through the roof this year.  With people being home so often they invest even more in wax and other items to keep things smelling homey.

Did I mention that Aspen had a Herbst appliance put in her mouth in March?  It's brought out her lower jaw really nicely, and that change coupled with her braces has really made her face change.  She looks even older to me.  But what a beautiful smile and a beautiful girl.  I can't believe the difference those two things have done for her.  When Aspen had the appliance put in I was a little horrified.  It looks so uncomfortable to have that much metal in the mouth.  But she adjusted really fast and has been a trooper.

When covid hit Eric made a goal to ride his bike 100 miles a week.  He has his road bike on an indoor trainer at home, but this means that while we were at the cabin, sans trainer, he would be riding outside, which he did rain or shine.  There were a few mornings when he got up and rode in the rain the entire time.  We're nearing a year now and he's only come short of his goal on one week, the week we came up to the cabin to work on the shed.

We found a pretty and fun bike park in town and had a blast riding around it.  Lots of bumps and burms to play on.

We discovered the Woolly Boardwalk...

And rode along a pretty trail by the golf course and beyond.  Also did plenty of fishing.  But no luck.

Here you can see the change is Aspen's face.  I love the photos and videos I find on my phone that the kids take.   Though often I have to delete them so I don't run out of storage!

We love to take walks around the cabin.  There are lots of cool looking cabins around of all ages and sizes.  We discovered this one on our trip and liked it so much I took a picture.  There is another one similar on the way to the lake that we pass on our way to swim.  Brown siding, red roofing and shutters, white trim.  The one by the lake went for sale a while back, and we jumped online to look at the specs and price.  $900,000!  That dream was laid to rest.

<3

Birch turned 7.  He wanted a Spiderman costume and astronaut costume as well.  My boys still love to dress up, something I'm so grateful for.  They often do this when their friends come over, and it makes for some entertainment for the rest of us.  Oakley has a camo set he likes to wear when playing with laser guns, and Birch often wears a Davey Crocket costume he passes off as a Jedi suit.

We often go to Cascade near B's birthday since it falls over Memorial Day.  The weather was beautiful and we got outside a lot, which we needed after having so much cabin fever from schoolwork!

Eric has always been a Jeep guy.  His first car was a silver Cherokee, and his second a really cool bright blue one with red and black accents (this is what he was driving when we met and boy I thought it was the bomb).  When he and I got married his parents gifted us the purple Cherokee we still have.  But Eric's dream has always been to have a Wrangler, so he could drive us around in Cascade with the top off.  He has talked about this many times over the years.  We have also dreamed about owning a truck...so, when Jeep came out with a Wrangler/truck combo, it was a dream come true.  Should we buy one, we asked ourselves.  Should we wait?  After debating for some time, we to go for it.  We could use the money from Eric's side business (he runs a law firm with his buddy and associate Ryan McFarland) to pay off the truck.  If we drove it 50% of the time in the first year just for business, we would get a tax deduction.  It was a good decision.  Eric loves his truck!  He is the only one (until just the other day when Aspen and I spotted another one) to drive a bright orange Gladiator.  So if you see one around, you know it's probably him.

I like it because it makes packing for trips so much easier.  And for other reasons like this ;)

There is a trend among Aspen's friends (and maybe all teenagers??) to color their hair bright colors.  Usually only a strip of hair.  We decided we were comfortable with her dying the tips, so that if she changed her mind she could easily trim off the color.  She earned it with her good grades, and so chose blue and colored her hair.  It's now faded to a yellow green, and she says next she wants to try red.

At about the same time, Oakley claimed he wasn't going to cut his hair until he could put it in a ponytail.  This was harder for me than Aspen dying her hair blue.  His hair was always in his eyes and it was impossible to style.  But I bit my tongue and let it grow, because hair is just hair.

Photos of Silver City, an old mining town that's been preserved the way it was in the old days.  Very fun and the kids loved it more than we thought they would.  Fun day trip.  Weird thing though is that there were tons of large crickets all over the road nearing the city.  For miles we drove on millions of crickets.  When we got back to Meridian we took the truck to the car wash and washed them all off.  Yuck.

The second week of June Eric and I drove up to McCall to meet Dad and Lisa.  They were coming to Idaho to help us change the old cabin shed from a dumping center to a rustic nook.  The crazy thing is, it was snowing on our way up, and continued to snow/rain/hail the entire week!  And it was June.  We did get some clear moments, which were much appreciated, but for the most part had to work through lots of mud and water.

We had a few days without the kids, and went to work.  The kids were finally out of school for the year and were with their other grandparents.  I was pretty much the errand girl, driving back and forth from the supply stores and the cabin.  I must have made three trips a day.  Lisa had to work a lot of the time, but I had a great time chatting with her when she was free.  She chose some amazing sourdough bread at the store and we made some incredible sandwiches for the boys each day.  I remember how she would constantly look out for my dad.  "Do you think Tim needs his jacket?  I think the boys must be hungry by now.  Sweetie, would you like a snack or some water?  Be careful up there!"  She was so sweet.

I got to help sometimes and loved every minute working with Eric and Dad

Eating at My Father's Place.  So delicious and I think we went there three times that week! 😬They have a gluten free burger that's to die for.

Dad and Lisa bought me this plate at a thrift store nearby.  I love it so much; it reminds Dad and I both of some plates we had on the wall in our Florence, OR cabin when I was growing up.  

Eventually the kids joined us, and Lisa spent all the time she could spare with the kids.  They loved that time.

The insulation was the worst part.  Being together was the best!

I think the day Dad and Lisa left was Father's Day.  Sasha, Demri and I got Dad books for Father's Day, just like we do each year.

We held church in the now pretty shed, as the snow came down.  Dad and Lisa had left but all the love they had shared with us in transforming the shed will always be there.

Haha Pete had bought this shirt and was sent two, so he gave one to Eric.  He came by one day and they happened to both be wearing theirs. 😅

Aspen and I went for a walk one day and she found a little bird around the corner from our house.  It was a sparrow, and so small and new that it wasn't flying.  Aspen was sure it was injured, and regardless of what I said decided she was taking it home to care for it.  I knew if it was injured it would need more help than she could give it, but I waited things out, and sure enough that afternoon she told me she wanted to take it to a bird sanctuary.  This was a hard choice for her and I was proud of her for making it.  She had told all her friends about the bird, and they had all come over to see it.  So we all piled into the car and I drove the 35 minutes to the sanctuary.  When we got there and pulled out Carl (Aspen's name for him) we were told that he wasn't injured at all, just still learning to fly.  Aspen had actually taken him away from his mother.  We were scolded to never do that again, but the sanctuary said it would take Carl and help him learn to fly.  We all learned a lesson that day.

We get lots of rain in June, so things are really pretty

Sooo...remember when I mentioned I'm not good at braiding/styling hair?  Yeah.

I'm including this photo because there's a funny story about it.  Ian's younger son, Foster, has a fear/fascination with Eric.  He is terrified of him, yet each time he sees him eventually warms up to him and enjoys being around him.  Then we are apart, and the next time we all get together the cycle runs all over again.  One day, a week or two after seeing Foster, Ian asked me to send him a photo of Eric, and I sent this one.  Ian showed it to Foster and asked, "Who's that?"  Foster looked at the photo, thought, and said, "It's him."  I still laugh about that.

Mom came out over the 4th of July and we took her up to the cabin.  This time we just got to relax and enjoy being there.  It was great.  We had a fabulous time playing at the beach, fishing, going on walks, 

setting off fireworks and watching them from the dock at the lake.  The city fireworks had been cancelled because of covid, but that didn't stop anyone from setting their own aerials off.  We had someone behind us light theirs off right above our heads.  

Some wildflowers Mom and the kids picked for me. 💙

zzzzz

Gideon and me, twins. We went to UT for Ezra's baptism.  It was so great to get out of Idaho and see family!  It was really hot while we were there, but we had a great time.  You can see in the photo below how long Oakley's hair was getting.  The baptism was wonderful; we were all very happy for little Ezra!

We all visited BYU campus and went to the bookstore.  

We also had ice cream at Brooker's, which was delicious!!  

And a day at the park

At Sundance

Eli...too cool to look at the camera ;)

After we got back from Utah Oakley and I went fishing one day at a pond not too far away.  He had his line in the water and I was prepping mine when he started yelling that he'd caught a fish.  I couldn't believe it...he'd put his line in just a moment before!  So we reeled it in and thought, wow this is the place to fish!  Well after 20 minutes of stifling heat and not another bite we decided to go home and cook up the fish.  It was beautiful, and we had brought it home in Birch's lunch box because that was all we could find (next time I'll be prepared!).  We knew if he found out he would probably never use it again.  That boy is quite the germaphobe.

miniature golfing with Eric on our anniversary.  It was our 15th, and we had grand designs of going to Boston.  But had to change plans...maybe next year.

One of Eric's friends, David, invited he and the boys to go backpacking with him and his son and another friend and his boy.  It was the boys' first official backpacking trip, and Eric found some nice used backpacks for the boys to use.  Fun thing...one of the backpacks had a monogrammed pocket knife in it, labelled Isaac.  That was David's son's name, and it just happened to be his birthday!  Isaac and Birch are good friends and it was the perfect gift.

They had a great time.  Aspen was gone that weekend, spending time with Mom in Utah, so I had 2 DAYS to myself!  It was glorious!  I got so much done in the yard, did a little shopping, watched a little Father of the Bride and got all the laundry folded, and had a great workout the next morning.  I told Eric I needed a weekend like that at least every 6 months ;)

We had a lot of visitors this summer.  Dad and Lisa came through a few times, as did Ian and Kaylene.  Mom came to visit, as did the Egglis.  We had a great time with the Egglis as always.

Gid napping

dinner with the boys

Look at these two.  They really love each other!

Snow cones

As soon as the Egglis left our friends the Astons came to visit.  One night we had about 5 extra kids over here, plus the Astons' 5 kids, some upstairs and some downstairs.  Girls were down, boys were up, all playing games.  I baked some cookies and chatted with my friend Danette and it was so much fun.  Eric and Danette's husband Jeremy were backpacking with some friends while we held down the fort.  

Eric had fun but told me he was a bit tired of backpacking just then and would have rather stayed home.

We took the kids bowling...(can't believe I don't have a photo of Danette!)....

See that boy next to Oakley?  It looks like Birch, but it isn't Birch.  It's actually his buddy, Finn.  But they are the same size and both toe heads.

We went swimming a few times with them too until the boys came home.  After almost a week of the Astons visiting they headed out to stay with family.  After spending time with my family in Utah, then the Egglis for a few days, and then the Astons, the house was so quiet.  I thought I would enjoy it but boy we really missed everyone.  The Aston kids get along perfectly with ours, so that whole week there was hardly any fighting, and everyone had a great time.  I asked Danette if they needed a place to stay before heading home and they did, so we got to see them for another night before they left for Arizona.  

kids with Dryson

hanging at the park

Oakley started mowing Pete and Ami's lawn over the summer.  One day I took him over there while they were out of town.  Oakley made me check the lawn several times before he was satisfied he'd done a good job.

date night with Eric...we discovered a beautiful little walk at Dry Creek in Eagle.  We loved it so much we decided to take the kids there a week or two later.  On our date, driving to Dry Creek, we started talking about Disney World, and how they were limiting the number of people in the park.  I made some joke about it being the time to go (Disneyland is closed), and not long after Annie texted us that she was taking Beckham to Disney World and what did we think?  She said the price was low, the airfare was low, and it was the time to go.  We laughed at the coincidence but couldn't help but mull it over.

Eric took Aspen to the church parking lot so she could get a feel for driving the Cherokee.  She can get her permit here when she's 14!! Not far away.

park time

Aspen hates to clean her room.  Sometimes her friends get so tired of waiting for her that they come over and do it for her!  She has amazing friends.  You can see Audrey organizing her pens 😅

After taking some time to think it over, we decided to head to Florida.  It was the chance of a lifetime: visit Disney World with low crowds at a cheap price, and we'd probably never go otherwise.  Plus we'd get to be there with Annie and Beckham.

Downsides:  it was hot.  And we had to wear masks.  At times I thought I might pass out from lack of oxygen.  

But the crowds were indeed low, and the park so different from Disneyland!  I couldn't believe how different.  I'd been there before as a nanny but it was years ago and my mind was on my job.

We had some rain every day, and wearing a poncho over my sweaty heated body was rough.  But sometimes the rain cooled things off, which was nice.

Some things were much better than Disneyland, such as the waiting areas.  Peter Pan was better; there was more to see.

Rise of the Resistance was my favorite ride; you felt like you were on a movie set.  It was incredible!  But we could only do it once, those were the rules.

One of my favorite parts (and parks) was Animal Kingdom.  I felt like we were in another part of the world.  It was breathtaking!  We took a safari ride in the morning, and saw all kinds of animals.  We saw gorillas that day, and so many other animals.  I wish I had the energy to write more about it.  I have more photos of our trip at the end of this post.

When we got home, we decided after spending time in Disney parks 4 times over the last 4 years (phew! and yes, we have a problem) we were okay to take a few years off. I really want the kids to see some national parks. 

Literally the morning after we got home, Birch and I headed to Utah because Demri was visiting with her boys.  I hadn't seen Demri in 18 months and was so ready.  The original plan was to go alone, but Birch had mentioned wanting to come and I thought it would be fun to have him join me.  He had planned to go to CA with his daddy earlier in the summer and it hadn't worked out, plus it would be fun for him to get some time to play with Sasha and Demri's boys.

The Sunday we were there, little Scottie stood at a table and gave us a spirited sermon.  We couldn't understand most of what he was saying, but he must have stood there for a good 15 minutes, talking mostly to himself.  It was so funny; I recorded most of it on my phone, and the kids and I watch it now and then and have a good laugh.  I really love Demri's boys and have loved getting to know Scottie over the years.  I love his low, raspy voice and how animated he is all the time, especially when he's talking to someone.

He pulled this out and pinched me with it, then said, "I grabbed you on your butt!"  😅

I told Demri she should leave Scottie and Jesse with me so she and Mom could go have time alone without the boys.  They left one morning when Birch was at Sasha's, so it was just me and Scottie (Jesse was taking a nap).  When Scott realized his mom was gone, he started throwing a royal fit.  I sat down and grabbed my phone, and waited while he yelled and cried for Demri.  I tried to help him calm down but nothing worked, so I just continued waiting.  After about 10 minutes we heard a train in the distance, and that caught his attention.  After hearing the train and talking about the train, and then trains in general, he was happy once again.  I loved my time with him.  We read lots of books and just talked.  I sure miss that boy!

It was so good to see Demri and the several days we were there we spent playing in the water, going to the park, and chatting.  I don't know when I'll see Demri again, maybe this summer.  I don't see her enough.  We've talked about RVing to Kentucky...we'll see.

Eli's face ;)

I'm glad I took Birch with me.  

One day our little friend Toby came by with a jalapeno pepper his mom (my friend Leslie) had grown in her garden.  Oakley decided he was going to try it.  We warned him how hot it was, but he was determined.  We grabbed some milk for him and started filming.  Toby had actually brought over 2 peppers, one that wasn't spicy in addition to the jalapeno.  Oakley tried the other one first, us not realizing it wasn't spicy.  I was so impressed with how well he was holding up!  Then he took another bite, this time of the jalapeno.  I tried the jalapeno as well.  We suffered for some time.

I told Eric I wanted to sleep in the back of his truck some time.  We found a weekend and drove to Garden Valley, a cute little rustic town an our or so away from home.  We had dinner at a restaurant we had eaten at on our first official date.  We found a quiet spot to park the truck, and eventually went to sleep.  Eric slept, that is.  It is getting harder and harder for me to sleep anywhere other than my bed.  I was awake most of the night.  But now I can say we slept in the back of the truck.

First day of school, which was remote, so I told the kids to stand in front of the door as they were.

The church missionaries in our area held a day at the building for anyone who wanted to come and make chalk creations.  The kids and I had a fun time.  Aspen quoted a song from Hamilton, something she was incredibly obsessed about over the summer.  Good thing for Hamilton or she may have gone crazy.  We, on the other hand, were going crazy from Hamilton songs being played over and over and over again.

First day of school, in the classroom

Oakley loves to wear socks with his sandals.  

One day as we were making quesadillas Oakley said to me, "Mom, if I had to choose someone in our family to be famous, it would be me.  I could use the money." 😅I love the things that come out of my kids' mouths sometimes.

park time

carving faces out of apples

Eric gave each of the kids pocket knives, and they went through a whittling phase.  They whittled almost nonstop for a week or so, and each their own stick.  💚

Biking home from Waffle Love, just down the street.  Eric has always dreamed of a restaurant being built close by so we could bike to it as a family.  His dream finally came true.  And Waffle Love is irresistible so we'll be going back for sure!

I have been using our push mower for years.  It's the only mower Eric and I have owned.  It was getting so rusty, however, that even when I took 90 mins to mow the lawn parts of it looked the same.  I loved the workout I got, and how quiet it was.  But we eventually decided to buy an electric mower.  I love it!  It's quick, easy to push (so the kids can do it now!) and pretty quiet.  No gas needed, and the edges look great too.

Found this in a pear.  

Celebrating Pete's birthday and watching BYU football

The boys wanted me to take photos of them throwing leaves

We went back to McCall to celebrate Eric's birthday.  I love it up there in October.  Its so quiet.

Hiking to Deep Lake

It was a gorgeous hike!  First time for us and we loved it.

Crazy kids!

Eating My Father's Place burgers

Taking some photos for our Christmas card.....

I wanted to include these in our card but Aspen didn't love this one of her so I left them out.  I really liked these though.

Shakes

Getting ready for Halloween at Grammy and Papa's house

There came a day when Oakley was being quite the stinker.  Eric and I were at our wits' end as to what to do with him.  Finally in exasperation I told him as a consequence I was going to cut off his hair.  He thought I was joking, but I was not.  As soon as we got home into the bathroom we went, and off his hair came.  

B wanted to carve a traditional jack-o-lantern, Roo a cat, O a Mandalorian symbol.

Dress up day at school.  It was decades day.  Can you guess who Oakley was?  He said one or two of his teachers actually guessed right!

Aspen wanted to have a Halloween party this year, so we said heck yes.  We remember going trick-or-treating with our friends when we were her age; we wanted her to have that experience too.  The girls went out in the neighborhood for a while, and then came to our place to trade candy and watch Hocus Pocus.  Annie and Becks had come with us, and we all came back to our place afterward.  One of Aspen's friend's friends had come to the party.  She came downstairs (the party was upstairs) and started chatting with us.  She must have been with us for a good 20 minutes, just chatting and chatting.  We were trying to watch the BYU football game on Eric's laptop, but she just kept talking.  Annie and I smirked at each other; it was pretty funny.  I was just about to run upstairs and tell Aspen she needed to come down and rescue us when our little visitor decided to rejoin the party.

Aspen's Day of the Dead costume

Our friends the Leavitts invited us to a Harry Potter murder mystery party before Halloween.  They assigned Eric the part of Hagrid, and me the part of Professor McGonagall.  Leslie was Professor Trelawny (nailed it!), and Matt was Peeves.  Anyway, when we got the invite I thought "There is zero chance Eric will go for this."  He doesn't like that kind of thing at all, and isn't a Harry Potter fan.  When I showed him the invite, to my amazement he thought it sounded like a lot of fun, and instantly started researching all about Hagrid.  We went with the Howes and Amanda grabbed a photo before we left.  I didn't know until I got there that my part was the detective, and to run the show.  I was very much out of my comfort zone, but we had a great time.  

At the end of October our church congregation was split.  There was a neighboring ward that was getting too large, but too small to be split in two, so part of our ward was used to supplement theirs.  We lost a lot of friends and neighbors to the other ward, and ours was now much smaller.  This also meant that a lot of callings (responsibilities) in the ward that had been filled were now vacant and those of us left would need to fill them.  

I was asked by the Bishop of our ward to come visit him in his office.  I knew a new calling was coming for me, and Eric teased me that I would be called to be the Relief Society President, as the previous one was now in the other ward.  The Relief Society is the women's organization within the ward, and gives relief to those in need, as well as strive to strengthen the sisters' and their families' relationship with Christ.  The President is in charge of organizing relief efforts, managing welfare to those in need of food, ministering assignments, visits with each sister at least once a year, and visits about ministering assignments, among other things.  They take care of funerals, give talks in church, run meetings with counselors and secretaries they choose, and more.  I had been one before when I was a student, and had served as a counselor 3 times.  But I didn't think that was what was coming for me, or at least I couldn't admit it at that point.

When I got to the Bishop's office we chatted for a few minutes, and then he asked me if I'd serve as the Relief Society President.  He said he and his counselors felt spiritual guidance that I was right for the calling. Most presidents serve for 3 years. 

I could have said no; it was my choice.  No one would know if I decided it wasn't the right thing or the right time for me.  But I knew it was what the Lord wanted me to do.

A few weeks before, I had decided to go for a run on a cloudy day.  I was feeling frustrated with my weaknesses, and was seeking guidance from God.  What did He want me to do with my life at that point?  Was He pleased with me?  Did He still love me?  I ran to the spot where I would turn around; a little pioneer cemetery in the center of a nearby neighborhood.  I loved that spot and decided to say a prayer.

As I prayed for help and guidance, I could feel the sun come out from behind the clouds. It warmed me inside and out.  I knew in that moment, as I'd felt before so many times, that God knew me and loved me.  He heard me in that moment.  I finished my prayer, pondered for a minute, then went on my way.  I had been running maybe a minute when the sun went back behind the clouds.

So in the Bishop's office, I knew this was an answer to my prayer.  I accepted the calling, and it's been amazing.  Lots of work, prayer, and time, but I have had so many amazing spiritual experiences in the short time I've served.  I spent a lot of time making new ministering assignments (see above); each sister in the ward who volunteers has a ministering companion and two sisters they are assigned to minister to.  They are asked to watch over, reach out to, and care for their sisters.  This is one of my favorite things in the world.  I have built some amazing friendships through my ministering assignments over the years, and it brings me a lot of joy.

Taught the kids to play 21...so they started a gambling ring.  Just kidding.  But they do love it.

Eating dinner at Grimaldi's Pizzeria.  Wish their gf pizza was better, but just love the atmosphere there.

Sleepover in Oakley's room

Oakley's bday...10 years old!

My new favorite Christmas scent.  Couldn't get enough of Christmas Cactus this year.

Doing the virtual NF walk for cousin/neice/granddaughter Ellie

Eric went with his buddy David out camping again with the boys.  This time they hiked to a yurt in the snow.  They thought it was the best thing ever.

Doing dishes

Ok so I have wanted new dishes for years!  Literally years.  I think Dad and Lisa even gave us Christmas money one year to buy new dishes, which I never used.  I couldn't find ones I liked enough to commit, so Eric and I were still using the ones remaining from when we got married.  Pretty sad, mismatched and chipped.  I had seen this set before, but for some reason the time just wasn't right 😅We were going to be hosting Dad, Lisa and the Egglis for Thanksgiving, so Eric had a talk with me and told me I must choose new dishes.  I decided to go with these ones and I love them so much!  I'm happy each time I open the cupboard and there they are, so pretty and blue.  Why did I wait so long?

Fun over Thanksgiving week

Eating at Grimaldi's

How cute is Gideon honestly

At the Village Christmas tree

Snowshoeing in Idaho City

snowball fight

Food prep and See's chocolates...my absolute favorite

The tables

In the park with Sash.  Dad and Lisa had headed home already and we missed them.  That day was so nice and low key.  We went to a cute little Christmas shop.  We played games.  We headed to Scentsy that night to look at the lights.

Scentsy tree and Sash

Bogus

I decided to flock a tree this year.  It was super easy, and we loved the way the tree looked!  Extra bonus: the needles didn't fall off at the end of the month.

Snowshoeing with Eric in McCall

O took this; thought it was fun

O sneaking a picture of Birch at church.  We are able to go now sometimes, otherwise we watch it on zoom.

Looking at lights with the Ritter family

I made this blanket for Leslie and her family this year.  All I did was buy some amazingly soft fleece and edge it with pompoms, but I love it!  May have to make one for myself....

Birch and his buddy Isaac making their duck face

Night skiing the week of Christmas

Christmas morning.  We got to wake up at our own house, a rare thing for us.  It was quiet, but really nice.

Christmas jammies.

Christmas evening we hosted Eric's family for dinner.  Ami let me borrow her mother's tablecloth...isn't it pretty?  And I found matching napkins....I couldn't believe my luck.  It was a fun, relaxing dinner and we played Disney Codenames afterward; a new favorite.

Heading to the cabin after Christmas.  It was a magical drive; everything covered in sparkling ice.

We played games, (Ami and Annie taught me to play peanuts.  I'm so addicted; its so much fun! Solitaire meets Skip-bo) watched movies, and played plenty in the snow.  It was the perfect weekend.

sledding

snow fort and snow fight

snowshoeing with Eric

B's snowman, which never fell off the fence!

more snowshoeing

On our way home we stopped and snowshoed at a trail I'd never seen before.  It was breathtaking!  We were short on time but we are planning on going back when we have more time to explore.

The kids making movies.  I love that they're getting into this.

B eating a tomato before dinner

I buy myself flowers every first Monday in January.  I love this tradition; it makes saying goodbye to the year before easier for me.

Eric says its Jeep culture to park next to other Jeeps.  Also to wave.  But Wranglers don't wave to Cherokees; only to other Wranglers, and the same with Cherokees to other Cherokees.  Funny.

B skiing with Becks.  Eric said they were on fire that night.
Okay for some reason these photos from Florida didn't go where they were supposed to, so I'm leaving them here at the end.

Its a Small World

Epcot...so lovely!

Animal Kingdom

Can't remember which park this was in...but it was a Toy Story land.

No one in the streets...so quiet!

Phew I will never go this long without posting again!!