Monday, November 23

The littles and I went to see daddy at work today during lunch (along with some Christmas shopping in Jordan Landing). Then tonight, our awesome home teacher showed up with shakes! Best FHE treat ever! 

 

Tuesday, November 24

Dad, Jenni, the kiddos we have during the day, and I went Christmas shopping today then to lunch at TGIFridays. We helped dad pick out mom's Christmas gift. So fun!! I love this annual tradition! Tonight, Simon, mom, dad, Trevan, and I went to see Mockingjay Part II. It was a full and fun day spent with my daddy and others!

 Wednesday, November 25

I had someone tell me just the other day that all of my kids look alike. I was curious how much they looked alike at the same ages so I looked up Nick and Kendra when they were Zack and Ricki's ages. Oh my word, they are so similar! They really do all look alike!

Thursday, November 26

Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for so many things. My family, friends, home, life, the gospel...the list could go on and on. I am SO grateful to have these special little people that call me mom. I was in heaven doing my daughters' hair today. Time I spend with them is always time well-spent and I am thankful every single day that they are mine for eternity!

Friday, November 27 

With the kids off today, I made them a deal. If they did everything they could to help me clean the house in a couple of hours, I would get them chicken nuggets, fries, and a Redbox movie. They were honestly amazing!! Zack picked up toys, Kendra vacuumed and helped pick up things, and Nick cleaned mirrors and helped dust. We cleaned the entire house in 2.5 hours!!!! That is a record! You bet they got everything promised to them! They watched RoboRex which ended up being really fun because it was filmed in Utah.

Saturday, November 28

Simon got free tickets to the final UofU home game. Originally, I was going to go with him but after further discussion, we decided Nick should go on a one-on-one day with his dad. They bundled up and went to the game. It was super cold though and they ended up leaving about half way through the 4th quarter. They were just too miserable. Meanwhile, after Ricki went down for a nap, Kendra and I did her nails. They turned out pretty cute and Christmas-y!  

 

Sunday, November 29

Dave & Viv drove home from Vegas today so we offered to have them over for dinner. We purchased Papa Murphy's pizzas yesterday and I raised Rhodes Rolls into bread sticks for dinner. When it came time to cook the pizzas to have them done by dinnertime, the oven wouldn't preheat. We're not sure what is wrong with it but Zack and Simon are on the case so I'm sure it will be solved soon. We had to take our whole dinner over to Dave & Viv's after all and we ate over there. It was super fun but I felt bad taking the craziness to their house when they weren't planning on us.

Monday, November 16

I had plans to get some things done at home today but Aunt Jean called first thing in the morning and asked me to sub at bowling. My Aunt Phyllis' team was not showing up and she didn't want to bowl alone. I went and it was a fiasco trying to get there as well as Ricki was super naughty while we were there. Despite those things, I got a turkey in the tenth my first game so I was super happy about that! I took this picture and walked down to my last year's team to show them. It was a big joke with us that I rarely show up for a game but can pull out a "turkey in the tenth" when we really need it. If that were true, I think I'd be a much better bowler! :) 

Tuesday, November 17

I spent hours...like HOURS...creating this monogram on a program called Cricut Design Space only to find out that the Cricut I had access to was an Expression 2 and I needed an Explore. Grrr!! Now, I can't find anyone to cut it out! I did this project to learn the features of the Expression 2 because grandma Sharon has an opportunity to buy one for pretty cheap. It's a pretty cool machine and grandma and I played around with it after doing nails and lunch today. So fun!

Wednesday, November 18

Zack was in the mood for a play date so we had cute Chase Coles over for a while. They were so cute playing together. They played an entire legit game of Candy Land. I was impressed that they didn't need any help!

Thursday, November 19

My mom was super worried about our family's health so she surprised us with a visit today and loaded us up with "Omegas"! :) Haha, we had a good laugh about that! Our omegas were yummy!

Friday, November 20

I feel like I'm cheating putting this picture on for Friday because in my mind, it was actually Thursday night. However, this lovely picture of my adorable baby was taken around 1:45 am. I don't know if she's sick or what but she was not in the mood to sleep! She just screamed and screamed but would not go to sleep!! Just after this picture was taken, we went out to the kitchen and she pointed and whined for pretzels. Once she had those, she was a happy camper and went straight to bed. Crazy girl! She made me miss running in the morning thought. 2:00 bedtime then 5:50 wake time just isn't enough sleep for me!! Oh well, it was raining at 6:00 am anyway.

Saturday, November 21

For our super duper fun date night, we dropped the kids off at Dave & Viv's then headed out to dinner at Rumbi. Our goal was to hit Floor & Decor then Ikea to shop for our front room remodel. We did accomplish both things but we had very limited time at Ikea. This is Simon in the checkout line at about 9:15...15 minutes after they closed. Someday our dates will be actual dates and not trips to Home Depot and other like stores. :)

Sunday, November 22

Yay! We got a home day with Kenny!! Mom made amazing homemade spaghetti and we hung out until he had to go back at 6:45. He looks amazing and is in such better spirits. He is back up to 160 lbs. We sure do love this boy!

Monday, November 9

Apparently, if I died, the toilet paper would never be on the toilet paper holders. It's awesome when you're the only one in the house that can (or is willing to) do something that I'm sure a monkey could be trained to do!

Tuesday, November 10

The kids and I had lunch with Grandma and Jim then I went shopping for pie-making materials. For activity days today, we had a special 2-hour activity. We did a pie-making demonstration. It was really so much fun! We made 2 pumpkin pies, a banana cream pie, and mini banana cream and chocolate silk pies for the girls to take home. While they were baking or forming in the fridge, we wrote thank you notes to friends or family that we are thankful for. I think the girls really enjoyed it!

Wednesday, November  11

These sweet little young women came to our door tonight and offered to do some service for a service scavenger hunt they were doing. They cleaned a toilet, a mirror, and changed Ricki and got her ready for bed. They made my night by choosing my house to serve at!

Thursday, November 12
This may seem like a small thing but I finally got a volunteer badge for Nick and Kendra's school. It is so nice to have this rather than putting a sticker on each time that eats my hair! I qualified for this printed badge once I hit 10 hours of volunteering. Yay!

Friday, November 13

I was going to take the kids to see Minions at the dollar theater but when we asked the Nyholm's to go with us, they didn't want to see it again. Instead, we went to McDonald's for ice cream and play room time. The kids had a blast together and we ended up taking Jackson home for a few hours while Zack and Kendra went home with Jenny. It was fun to have these boys together. They have so much in common! We're thankful the Nyholm's moved into our ward!

Saturday, November 14

I am still sorting out my feelings about the top picture. Nick LOVES to get up on the roof with Simon! My heart skipped several beats with him up there but I grinned and bared it because he was outside doing something productive. The other kids and a few friends from our street raked leaves, jumped in them, then cleaned them up. Thank heavens for gorgeous days in November!

This afternoon, Mom, Jenni, and I took our girls to see Disney On Ice. It was so stinking cute! The girls absolutely loved it and it was even entertaining for us mommies. I'm glad we have little girls to go do these sorts of fun things with!

Sunday, November 15

Happy birthday Dave! His birthday is actually on the 10th but we celebrated at family Sunday dinner. I made him a banana cream pie and also an Oreo cookie pie. It was fun being together and celebrating this wonderful man. I sure am thankful for Dave!

Monday, November 2

My week has been spent gathering and placing around $500 in Scentsy orders! We are going to have an amazing month and I attribute a lot of that to this gorgeous winter warmer! It is the warmer of the month and I love it!! I think it will sell out so I have pushed it and sold 4 of them!

 

Tuesday, November 3

Jada was at our house playing when her dad came down and said they had to go to Lexy's soccer practice. The girls weren't done playing so we said that she could stay late at our house until her dad and sister got home. We don't normally do late nights with friends on school nights so these girls were so excited! They had a lot of fun until almost 9:30!

 

Wednesday, November 4

Winter is on it's way. The snow has not stuck to the ground too much but it was whipping us in the face on our run. It was a little miserable but I did take a moment to enjoy the beauty of this season when I was out. I enjoy the fresh cool air in my lungs early in the morning. It helps to clear my head!

 

Thursday, November 5

How cute are these kids!?!? I did a comparison from last year's pictures to this year's. I can't get over how much Nick has grown in a year. He no longer looks like a little boy. I love these sweet faces!

Friday, November 6

Girl's Trip! Wahoo!! We drove to St. George on Thursday then went for a little hike Friday. I just absolutely love St. George! It is so beautiful!! Meanwhile, Simon was at home having his own fun. He got to meet and spend some time with Mark Eaton, a famous Jazz basketball player. I can't get over how tall he is! Mountain America rocks!

 

Saturday, November 7

This day ruled! It started out with mom, Jenni, and I heading to Time Out For Women. We got great seats and were able to save some for Marisa and her mom and sister. Aside from a very embarrassing Diet Coke spill, it was a great morning. At 9:40, I left the conference and headed to the finish line of the Snow Canyon Half where Gary, Ashley, and Ryan were all about to finish the race. They did amazing! They all finished between 1:30-1:40! So amazed!! I also ran into my ward friend Amy Earnest whose husband was running as well. I went back and finished the day at the conference. It was inspiring, uplifting, and made me feel refreshed in my role as wife, mother, and member of the church.  Later, we did a little shopping then I was able to have dinner with the Pearson clan. To cap the day off right, us gals got shakes from Arctic Circle, crafted, then played cards until 1:00 am. Girl's trip is my favorite time of year!

Sunday, November 8

The perfect end to the perfect weekend. We finished out our girl's trip with a very humorous breakfast and ride home! When we got home, Jenni, our husbands, and I got the privilege of visiting Kenny in rehab. He seems to be doing very well and has put a lot of weight back on...thank heaven! Afterward, we all joined up at Grandma and Jim's for a yummy Sunday dinner surrounded by family. It really was the best weekend ever!!

Monday, October 26

I was invited to do a step challenge. I have done several of these and never come close to winning. However, today was an awesome day! I ran in the morning then spent my day cleaning the house, doing laundry, etc. I never sat down during the day! I was SO happy when I got the notification that I had won the step challenge! Yay!! 

 

 

Tuesday, October 27

It was an interesting day... I got visiting with Jenni on the phone while Zack was in preschool and lost sight of Ricki for a minute. When I finally found her, I found a lovely piece of artwork on the wall in her room! At least it was pencil and came off really easily! We had fun going and picking Eva up from preschool then having an afternoon play date with her. She and Zack have been friends since the day Eva was born! :)

 

Wednesday, October 28

I went to church volleyball then over to Marisa's to work on crafts later in the evening. Simon texted me around 11:30 to let me know that Kendra was still up (she had missed school because of a stomach bug) and that Zack had just thrown up. Great! We kicked daddy out of bed and sent him downstairs to get some sleep, made a bed on the floor for sister, then Zack and I had a barf party in my bed (I felt fine, he did all the barfing). After about 2:00 am, his tummy settled down and we were able to sleep until morning.

 

Thursday, October 29

Since I was hanging out all day with sick kiddos, I decided to finish up my Halloween craft (not a moment too soon)! The upper pic is the idea photo, the lower is my finished craft. It was so fun!

 

Friday, October 30

Simon joined us this morning at the kids' Halloween parade at school. After the parade, I headed to Kendra's class to do the Halloween party. I am the room mom so this party was lots of stress leading up to it but SO much fun once we were there! In the evening, Simon and I were supposed to go to an adult Halloween party but as we were getting ready to walk out the door, Ricki started throwing up! All over the kitchen floor!! (I was thankful she did it on the tile and not the carpet!) So...I ran my dessert over to the party, said hi to everyone, then came home, jammied up, and watched "Pixels" with my family. It was a nice evening, even though it didn't go the way I wanted it to.

 

Saturday, October 31

Happy Halloween! Love, The Gru Family

(The cast of Despicable Me 2)

 

Sunday, November 1

We haven't had any communication with Kenny since he went to rehab 3 weeks ago. Mom, Dad, Grandma Sharon, Grandpa Jim, and Jenni were able to go visit him. He looks SOOOO much better! He's finally put some weight on and looks great!