Turkey Love

It was a fun Thanksgiving. I have still been exhausted from our busy November. But I rallied. I made 2 pies, mint brownie bites, sweet potatoes and stuffing. At first it seemed like I was screwing up everything, but in the end it all tasted good!

Clark's turkey was amazing (as usual). 

I asked Libby to bring some games and she grabbed the cash registers and money I bought in the summer. Libby Sarah and Yukine made a menu of the pies with prices. They made the sour cream lemon really heap because I said I really only make that one for me. It got quite a few laughs when they explained why they made it so cheap. When we sat down to dinner we all had piles of money on our plates. 

We had the usual Nortons and Barrett'sat  dinner. We added the Barbers (who joined us last year), and my client/gardener Anne and her wife (our soon to be contractor for a roof repair) Carol. It was also our 1 year anniversary with Clark's girlfriend Anne Marie since he first introduced her as his girlfriend last Thanksgiving.. He got a chuckle when I mentioned that.

After dinner we played games (of course). Paige and Paul got there for Rummikub. I took 3rd. I don't usually win, but it is my favorite Thanksgiving tradition (right after Clark's turkey and sour cream lemon pie). 

Going around the table for gratitude was fun this year. Derek said he was thankful for a wife he could argue with. And then he had to clarify that we work things out together well. I'm thankful for that too. I was thankful to have delegated away making the rolls. Because they were super yummy!!  

The rest of the weekend was historic!

The Huskies won the Apple cup!

And, my kids earned their first real money!  We hosted a babysitting event for some kids from church. Libby and Sarah (with a little, and I mean very little) planned the schedule and executed the event. It was fun. I think we might do one more now that we have figured it out. They loved putting the cash in their spending bank to use for Christmas gifts.

By the end of the weekend the decorations were mostly up (the sunroom  is still waiting for final electrical work, but our new electrician did diagnose the problem, a wire running into the cement slab under the room with no conduit) so the decor in there is still waiting. I put my Christmas cards in the mail today. Whew!  Gotta be ready for the first Christmas party at our house on Sunday!

We are a WRESTLING Family

Wrestling is now in full swing, and this year that includes the whole family. While Derek is busy coaching the Shorewood Thunderbirds, I am now a wrestling coach too!  I am "coaching" the branch of the Wrestling Rhinos that we started at the elementary school. I planned to help mostly with crowd management, attendance, etc. while our amazing PE teacher and a Rhino coach did most of the work.  But I have actually been on the mat, drilling and working with the Kindergarten and 1st grade group. (They won't know if I don't get it all right, right?)

Anyway, after the first practice where Libby and Sarah had to watch while Ben and I wrestled, they wanted in. So we now have 3 kids wrestling. They are already asking to go to tournaments.  

Libby and Sarah are using some of their dance and gymnastics skills. In fact, Libby had been dubbed "the strongest kid in wrestling club" by the PE teacher. (She is happy to share that with anyone and everyone, btw). 

So far it's all fun and games and no one has gotten hurt. 

These are the only photos I've managed to snap of the action. But you can see they are all happy to be doing something dad loves so much!

All Ben Wants for Christmas is...

Okay, yeah.  His list is 2 pages (or "one page both sides" as he told Sarah the other day.)  But he had dad to scribe and give ideas. Toys, Toys, and a few practical things.  But this kid does the best job of cleaning up his messes (unless the stuff is still part of his "game"), so toys he shall get.  I'm actually pretty excited about what he is getting.  I have such a hard time waiting to give gifts!!!  

He claimed he was having a hard time standing up in this pose.  But I think he looks pretty darn cute!

Of course he wanted some jumping pics too!

All Libby Wants for Christmas is...

For several days all Libby's list had on it was the "Simply Straight Brush."  She's getting so grown up and having straight hair is one of her fondest desires.  Her curls are so amazing.  But I guess we always want what we don't have.  

Taking pictures of Libby is so fun right now because she loves to pose.  But she changes poses a bit too quickly sometimes to capture.  I loved this one.  I think it really captures her personality.  Adorable and always checking out what she will move on to next!

She also found a set of Roald Dahl books on Amazon that she really wants.  She thought she had read all his books, but then in the boxed set she found a few she hadn't read!  

All Sarah Wants for Christmas is....

She wrote her list and then said, "8 things.  I think that's enough!"  And the obsession with Emerald Green?  Not sure where that came from!  I'm caught between I love buying gifts for my kids and I DON'T WANT ANOTHER TOY CLUTTERING UP OUR  HOUSE!  

I took a few pictures for our Christmas cards (to add the the wonder of Jenn Reese's work on our family picture).  Sarah's turned out really cute.

FishBoppsTietheKnot

Teachers don't have favorite students.  Right?  Okay, maybe they like some a little more than others?
Well, I really loved my students Zach (who I called Bopp) and Lauren (Miss Fish).
We have stayed close in the 10 years (gulp, has it been that long?) since I taught them.  Miss Fish has been our babysitter (when she had time), and I have loved following their relationship on FB.
It was one of those times when I was SO HAPPY to be right.  I knew they were meant for each other, from way back to their AP Euro study sessions & especially the end of the year marshmallow fight.
Zach only brought back one souvenir from our trip to Europe that summer.  It was for Lauren.
When they invited my kids to be in their wedding I couldn't have been more excited.  It ended up being SO SO fun.

Ben was super funny about the fact that they wouldn't let him carry the actual rings.  He made everyone who heard laugh when they asked for the rings and he announced that he didn't have them. I learned that Ben is a shy guy about dancing.  He got so embarrassed about dancing down the aisle.  But he danced the slow motion part.  My kids also got a chance to eat 2 fancy (for us) dinners between the rehearsal dinner and the wedding.  We have some manners to work on (for sure!)  

We may have gotten a little too into the photo booth at the wedding!

 

Grandma's Funeral Trip

I don't do spontaneous things.  Ever.  

So getting to Utah with only a couple of days notice, and then having to come back and jump right into a wedding (see next post)--WOWZA!  This week just about took me out.  But we made it!

We drove to Utah on Monday. We spent that night at my parents.  Got up the next day and headed to Logan.  We spent the day at the cheese factory, swimming in the hotel pool, eating at Chuck O Rama, learning that my brother Dave is getting married this week (and then having a celebration this summer in Barcelona), and going to Grandma Louise's viewing.  Derek took the kids to a movie after a little while at the viewing.  After the viewing, my sister and two of my favorite cousins spent a few hours catching up at Taco Time.  (Fulfilling pumpkin pie empanada fantasies for my cousin Wesley!)  

We slept that night at the Marriott in Logan.  In the morning we loaded up the van, went to the funeral (which was very lovely!) ate lunch with the family at the church, at hit the road again.

Homeward Bound!

We drove to Baker City and stayed at the Best Western.  Libby: "Mom, this doesn't look as nice as where we stayed last night."  Ha.  Yeah.  Not quite the Marriott.  We watched an episode of Property Brothers and went to bed.  The room may have been so so, but the breakfast was awesome.  After breakfast we made the final leg of the trip.  We pulled back into Seattle just in time to shower, change, and get to the first wedding rehearsal.  Exhausted.  But so happy we went.   

In the car Derek and I listened to a mystery novel that was so so.  Then we listened to most of Think Like a Freak  by the authors of Freakonomics.   It was AWESOME.

The kids listened to Evil Spy School, The Lemonade War, The Lemonade Crime, & started Floors.  They also watched several movies in the car.  Not so much of doing homework. Oops.  Had to cram that in tonight.  

The kids were super excited to play with cousins!  

Swimming!

This is a picture of my grandma & grandpa with their oldest 3 kids that I had never seen.  They are standing, (we think), right where my parents house is now.  That house in the background is our neighbor's house.   

All the sibs together.

Everyone we could corral for a moment.  Not as pretty as the pics we got 2 weeks ago.  But it was fun to get together again!

3 kids, one king bed.  You can imagine there was some arguing and flailing about before they settled down for the night.  

Running Club

It was a great day for running!  (A chilly almost drizzly kind of Seattle fall day.)  I accompanied the group on their walk from the school to the park where they run.  It was about a 45 minute walk.  I learned that my hip is not ready for such adventures.  Wow.  Was I in pain the next day.  Pain like I haven't felt for a year or so. (although I also walked on a treadmill for about 15 minutes in the morning and that could also have been the culprit. When I was having the most hip pain I was walking on a treadmill often.)  Luckily the pain got better pretty quickly (I'm still not 100%, but I guess I never will be, sigh).  But, I digress.  This post is about Libby and not about my hip.  She is a good little runner!

MP's team.  I learned from chaperoning that even elementary grades 4-6 are still too young for me.  Drove me batty.  High Schoolers for me please!

Libby about to cross the finish.  She wasn't into sprinting to the finish, but she did finish!  (Dad said 3rd place girl.  Her time would have put her on pace for less than a 7 minute mile, not bad!)

Love his girl!

School Pictures 2016-2017

I love these 3 kids.  So Much.  And I love sending them to school.  The teacher in me wishes that some things were done differently while they are there (in the non-hicap classes especially).  But they all 3 love school and are thriving there.  

Ben is a pretty popular little guy.  A mom of one of his friends said that at Parent Teacher conferences her son said that Ben was his special friend in response to a question from the teacher.  The mom told the teacher that her son really loves Ben.  The teacher told them mom, "All the kids have said Ben is their special friend."  It is a talent.  He makes people feel loved and happy.  He told his teacher that his nickname is "Benny Wenny."  So, the kids call him that.  It is so cute!

This lady just finished her first school race!  She was in running club and competed in the 1/2 mile.  She was the 3rd place girl (I think, I couldn't keep track, but that's what Derek saw).  School pictures were on her first day of running club.  She was sure she'd need retakes, but they look pretty good.  She has finally earned her "self-manager" badge this year.  (Maybe due to a bit of begging on her part.)  She seems to be enjoying lots of things about this year, except for the way her teacher calls on kids who don't know the answer and then makes everyone wait and wait (her description).  We let her tell her teacher how it was frustrating her at PT conferences and they brainstormed some solutions.  So far no friend drama this year (whew)!

Sarah is loving school.  She has a great teacher this year again.  The Highly Capable program is just perfect for Sarah.  She is challenged and energized academically.  Luckily she is in an easier spelling group this year because we almost never remember to study and she still gets 100%.  She is doing so well with piano too.  She is good at putting her head down and going to work.  

Being a mom is hard work, but I love it.  Most of the time.

Remembering Grandma Louise Randall

When I was born my parents lived in Logan, just a few blocks from my Grandma Louise.  Then my parents moved to Hyrum, just a short drive away.  During that time, my grandma used to take me (and then my siblings) on Fridays so my mom could have a day to get things done.  Isn't that amazing?  What a blessing to my mom (who had lost her own mom several years before).  

When we moved to the Salt Lake area, we still spent lots of time with my Randall Grandparents, going up to skate, can veggies & make applesauce, getting perms and haircuts, and spending Thanksgiving and Christmas eve there.  

I admired my grandmother.  She sewed amazing clothing, for me.  Her box of Barbies and Kens was legendary!  She crocheted amazing clothes for the dolls. They each had their own slot in the homemade box.  The smell of Barbie plastic brings back memories of playing with those dolls!

I lived with them for 2 quarters of college before my mission, and for 2 after.  It was a time where I realized just how alike my grandma and I were (in ways that didn't necessarily make it easy to live together at times).

During that time she served as the Relief Society President.  I remember her getting out a TV tray and her Visiting Teaching route notes and the phone.  She was her own VT supervisor and coordinator.  She spent hours making sure that her sisters got visited and that the visits got reported.  Since I am currently serving in this same calling I feel close to her as I work on Visting Teaching--although I have a wonderful team working under me so I don't have to do it all!  

She wrote me letters every single week on my mission.  She added $5 cash, every single week.  I saved up that money and bought lots of things that I needed.  And her letters were delightful.  Full of the everyday things, weather, activities, and full of love.

My favorite story from one of her letters I think captures everything about my grandma's attention to detail, love of work, stubborn determination and resilience. She was cleaning the windows in one of her upstairs bedrooms (the yellow room, I think).  She needed to clean the outside of the window.  So she lifted the lower half of the window and sat down on the sill facing the house.  Legs inside, body outside.  She carefully lowered the window so she could clean as much as possible.  Then, satisfied with her cleaning, she went to lift the window back up to climb in.  It was stuck. She had lowered it enough that one of the pins had caught.  She tried calling to Grandpa Kay, but he didn't hear (probably absorbed in the garden or with his video work).  So, she just starting contorting her body and pushing her arm up inside as far as she could to see if she could reach the pin to release the window back up.  Eventually, after a long time, she was able to reach the pin and release herself.  As I read the letter, I could almost hear her laughing at how funny it must have looked if any passerby had seen this body of a 70+ year old woman hanging out of an upstairs window.  

I love you Grandma.  I've been praying you could go back to your husband and a place where you'll remember again.  Until we meet again--I'll try to be the kind of woman that you were.   

She was there for me from the time I was born!

Christmas Eve was always a special time in Logan.  We would do a little show.  She always watched appreciatively.  

She sewed many clothes for me.  My favorite memory were the "butterfly" shirts.  I don't think I have a picture of those.  

Libby wearing the dress pictured above in 2009.  The slip that goes under it was Libby's favorite clothing item for about a year.  She wore it all the time we were at home.  

My grandma gave me perms a couple of times a year until Junior High.  She wasn't a pro, but learned the craft just for her granddaughters.  

Grandma and Sarah Louise.  

I'm truly thankful for my Aunt Arvae who spent the last few years taking care of my grandparents.  What a wonderful daughter!  

This was the last time I saw my grandma.  She was smiling and delightful.

Halloween 2016

There was, as usual, a year of negotiating leading up to our Halloween theme.  In the end, Star Wars was the winner.  Sarah had already used her allowance earlier in the year to buy a Leah costume.  Then, at Costco I spotted a Yoda costume that would fit Ben.  It is a toddler yoda costume.  But it fit his head perfectly.  He is a bit too tall (especially when he was wearing shorts, ha!), but no one seemed to mind.  Derek and I really wanted to be C3PO and R2D2.  But we couldn't find any male costumes for these droids.  So, I got the sweet BB8 costume and he got the Jedi robe.  He really wanted a full on Obi costume, but I felt cheap by the time I was buying his costume (the last to be purchased), so he got the robe only.  Which turned out to be fine since he worked an OT shift on the night of Trunk or Treat anyway.
We did have dress up events on Thursday Night (a housewarming party and the "Culture Festival"), on Friday (class "Harvest Parties"), Trunk or Treat on Saturday and of course the actual Halloween on Monday.  I was totally burnt out by Monday.  I was so glad my costume was simple and comfortable!

Thanks again to Kim Barlow for the amazing Trunk or Treat pics!

I love this costume! Grammy and Grandpa as Granda!  Emergency Prep Crew!

I helped a bunch with Ben's class "Harvest" party.  Per his request I did the "Stirring and Stirring my Brew" song that I had done for Sarah's class.  Also, earlier in the day she had them make grave stones (with my instructions above) and we did a "grave walk" instead of a cake walk.  It was pretty fun.  Both the girls were mad that I didn't come to their parties.  But it was Ben's first!