Dec 28 - 31

 

Monday, December 28 - We spent the day at home enjoying not having work or school or anywhere we had to be! It snowed and froze solid so Simon got the 4-wheeler out and pulled the kids around for about 2 hours on their sleds. I went out for a little bit but then came in to get the fire going and to put water on the stove for hot cocoa. Simon is such a fun dad! These cold weather activities are just not my jam!

Tuesday, December 29 - Simon had some returns to do at Traverse Mountain so we all went with him. They have this super huge Christmas tree in the center of the shops there so that was fun to see. We ran some other errands and just spent the day together. We love having daddy off for the week between Christmas and New Year's!

Wednesday, December 30 - Jenni gave Kendra this cute personalized puzzle for Christmas and she couldn't wait to get it put together. She loves it so much! Thank you Aunt Jenni!

Thursday, December 31 - I don't think anyone is super sad to see 2020 go away! We thought about going to St. George with the McCullough's for the weekend but we just couldn't make it work out so we decided to go to their house for New Year's. We had pizza for dinner, played games, visited, and before we knew it, it was midnight! We couldn't be happier to welcome 2021 and hope and pray this year brings better things than the past 12 months did. Here's to a happy new year!

Dec 21 - 27

 

Monday, December 21 - Since we can't have an in-person ward activity, our ward did a drive-through nativity. They did such a great job! When we got home, the kids worked on a gingerbread house that the Giles gave us as a neighbor gift. What a fun family night!

Tuesday, December 22 - Seriously, my friends know me!! Marisa and I went to lunch today to exchange gifts and have a nice lunch before Christmas craziness ensues. She got me this cute sweater that says, "If it's snowing, I'm not going"! I LOVE it!!! It has already been a great Christmas and Christmas is still three days away!

Wednesday, December 23 - We had a little kitchen mishap today. We were making homemade turtles with square pretzels, melted rolo's, and then an M&M on top. We put the first batch of about 35 in the oven and when it was time to get it out, Nick somehow caught the lip of the cookie sheet on the oven rack and dropped the whole batch on the oven door! Oops! :) So we cleaned that up and made the rest of them before we left for the evening. Finley threw her annual cousins movie night tonight. We watched "The Grinch" and enjoyed some sweets while we hung out. It was another fun evening!

Thursday, December 24 - It's Christmas Eve! I am so thankful that we were able to see our family and get together for Christmas Eve dinner, despite Covid. We went to Grandma and Jim's church and enjoyed our traditional prime rib dinner. Afterward, we sent the kids away to play while the adults all opened our gifts. Then, we got the kids back together to open their gifts from Grandma and Jim and each other. It was a wonderful night and *almost* felt normal! When we got home, we set out our cookies and milk for Santa, got some gift organizing done, then went to bed in happy anticipation for the fun morning.

Friday, December 25 - Merry Christmas! What a wonderful day! I think the kids were pleasantly surprised with their gifts and we had a great morning and early afternoon at home. Later, we went over to Dave and Viv's and got to spend the evening with the Pearson side. It was fun to be with everyone and as always, we all got spoiled! We love this family and love to be with everyone on this special day!

Saturday, December 26 - I was not such a happy camper when the day after Christmas we decided to go to Cafe Rio in Herriman to grab a quick dinner. We ordered it around 6:15, it said it would be ready at 6:50 so Nick and I ran to get him and Ricki food from McDonald's and got to Cafe Rio at 6:49. I was a little frustrated at 7:22 (when I screenshot the time on my phone) and almost irate when finally our food was done at 7:45! An HOUR after they said it should be done! I'm not terribly hard to please but an hour after the app says it should be ready is pretty ridiculous! I felt bad that the other kids' food was freezing cold from sitting in the car for hour before we got home with it! Oh well, good thing we had such a good Christmas! :)

Sunday, December 27 - Simon and I decided to put up our beautiful new picture of Christ. It seemed like a good idea to try to hang it with Command Strips. It's not a heavy picture at all and the frame is also fairly light so it made sense that four Command Strips would hold it. Well, as we were putting it on the wall and trying to make sure it was straight, we stood back to look at it (before we pushed it on really hard) and guess what happened?!? It fell! It was one of those slow-motion, "I can't believe this is happening" things. The left side stuck longer than the right side so it swung by the left side once before it fell then hit the right top corner and put this lovely crease in the top. The most terrifying part was that it fell right next to the stairwell and teetered on the ledge. Nick, Simon, and I were all screaming because we thought it was going to fall all the way down the stairs at the deepest part of the stairwell! Thank heaven, it didn't and the frame is fine, it's just the poor picture. We are planning to replace it because even thought it is just in the top corner, this will bother us now that we know it is there. We're just glad that it didn't end up worse and ruin the picture, the frame, the wall, the stairs, the flooring at the bottom of the stairs, a kid coming up from the basement...etc. 

Dec 14 - 20

 

Monday, December 14 - Welcome to the world sweet baby Olivia Jane Pearson! She was born 8:45 pm and weighed 7 lbs 0 oz. and was 19" long. Most importantly she and her mamma are doing great even though her birth took place in the middle of a worldwide pandemic.

Tuesday, December 15 - Mom came over to get her nails done (Grandma is in rehab working on getting strength in her shoulder after her fall and breaking her collar bone). She let me try a fun tree on her nails and it turned out great! Thanks Nick for finding the idea on the internet! :) Afterward, we had dinner from Kneaders. Mom bought us a loaf of pumpkin bread. As she was slicing a piece for everyone, Zack asked for one so she was joking with him asking him if he wanted a huge piece. He said yes and to everyone's surprise, she cut his piece that big!! He laughed so hard he was crying! We all got a good laugh and have a fun story now each time we get pumpkin bread!

Wednesday, December 16 - Although the weather has been really cold, there has been very little snow this year. It ended up being a snowy and cold day today so it seemed like a good day to have all of Simon's co-worker's Christmas blankets delivered to our home! :) We had an at-home day, thank heaven! 

Thursday, December 17 - We got Ricki this cute Christmas unicorn outfit at Sam's Club the other day. It makes me sad to think that our baby is only going to let us dress her this way for a bit longer. It was also Grinch Day at school so we did "Cindy Lou Who" hair. :) Tonight, we did a Zoom call with Ryan and Ashley so that our kids could meet Olivia. We would rather get together in person but with the virus and everything going on, we are keeping our distance. She is so dang cute! Ruby is obsessed with her! It was a lot of fun visiting with them and watching them interact with the baby. We love her!

Friday, December 18 - Kendra and Zack had their first piano recital with Kaylee Price as their teacher. Just like everything else in our life, we had their recital on Zoom. We invited our family to join us and then watched all of her students via Zoom. They all did a great job. After the recital was over, Simon and I loaded up dinner and went out to Ryan and Ashley's. We held Olivia while their family ate dinner and we visited with them. Oh my goodness, she is the sweetest little thing ever! 

Saturday, December 19 - Tonight, we went to Amie's for dinner, games, and a gift exchange. I was so excited to give Amie our "Office" themed gift! She thought it was funny. She gave us an ice cream basket which was so cute! Also, she gave me a BFF ornament that I LOVE! I'm so glad that no matter what happens, we stay close. She is my person!

Sunday, December 20 - Do my friends know me or what?!?!?! Liz brought me a gift and I couldn't believe it when I opened it! It was two Diet Coke shirts! I love them both and am excited to get to wear them!! I love my friends so much!!

Dec 7 - 13

Monday, December 7 - Our young women have been doing a "Light the Ward" all month and it has been so great! Today, they went and decorated the doors of two of the girls in their class. I'm so glad they are having so much fun!

Tuesday, December 8 - Today, the girls took care packages to all the healthcare workers in our ward to say thank you for all they are doing during this horrible pandemic. We have several in our ward and they are true heroes! 

Wednesday, December 9 - This was a day of ups and downs. Well, only one down. I have been having some weird pain and tooth fragments coming out of my sore gums where I had my tooth extracted. I went in to see what was going on, fully expecting them to poke around with a tool for a minute and be fine. Ummm, no. They did a surgery! They numbed me, pulled back the gums to expose my bone, removed a bone spur, smoothed the bone back out, then sewed my gums back down. I was not expecting that! Haha! For the ups though, while I was driving to the dentist, I got a call from Kendra's school telling me that she was chosen as "Student of the Day" for the school today! YAY! Then, after my appointment, I went out to Ashley's house to paint her nails before baby girl gets here. I also got to do sweet Ruby's nails. It was so much fun being there with them today. Despite the dentist, it was such a great day!

Thursday, December 10 - It was time for our annual Knotted Fern Melting Pot Christmas Party! I can't believe that Liz treats us to such a wonderful dinner! We have so much fun visiting, relaxing, enjoying the food, and just being together. In this picture are Sarah (accounting), Jen (seamstress), Megan (marketing), Liz (boss), Marisa, and I. :) It was a truly enjoyable evening!

Friday, December 11 - Kendra needed to make a treat for a Young Women's meeting tomorrow so we made double chocolate cake mix cookies with peppermint buttercream frosting. These girls love to bake! Well, Kendra loves to bake then Ricki likes to taste what she bakes and "decorate" a cookie herself. Love my girls!

Saturday, December 12 - We took the kids on a long adventure today. We drove up to Woods Cross to pick up our beautiful new picture of Christ from the artist. I LOVE it!! While we were out, we stopped at a few stores and when it got dark, we drove around to a bunch of houses and streets with Christmas lights. We even went to one that gave out bags with coloring books, crayons, and candy canes. Some people are so creative and generous!

Sunday, December 13 - I have been working on getting these ornaments ready to take around to our neighbors. I made about 24 for Jenni and about 30 for myself to take around. They are one-star 2020 ornaments because let's be honest, I do not recommend 2020! :)