Dec 27 - 31

 

Monday, December 27 - Henry and Zack had such a fun time being together on Christmas, they wanted to get together again while they were out of school. Viv was out watching Finley while Gary & Alexis went to the hospital this morning so we asked them to bring Henry and Ruby home with them. They came and played for a few hours at our house. :) We got this sweet picture of Alexis getting to do a "partial hold" of Brooks today. Sweet baby! We took the kids back home then dropped dinner off to Gary & Alexis' before heading home.

Tuesday, December 28 - Mom and Dad gave us this fun new game, Ticket to Ride. Zack and Nick love it so they played a round tonight. I love games that bring our family together!

Wednesday, December 29 - Grandma and Jim wanted to thank Simon and Nick for installing the toilet on Christmas Eve so they took our whole family to lunch at Chick-Fil-A. It was good food but even better company! We had so much fun being out together with them. I love these times together!

Thursday, December 30 - We had Amie, Alex, and the kids over tonight for dinner and games. We weren't able to get together before Christmas so this was our Christmas get together. We love being with the Fraser's. They are so fun! :)

Friday, December 31 - The sky opened up overnight and dumped a fresh 6" layer of powder on every surface outside. Simon and Nick spent an hour or so shoveling and then they got out the 4-wheeler. They were all out there for about four hours sledding behind the 4-wheeler and playing in the snow. I had hot cocoa ready for them when they came in! Tonight, we went over to my parent's house for New Year's Eve. We played games, ate a bunch of snacks, and stayed up until midnight to ring in the new year! Welcome 2022! I hope you have better things in store than last year! :)

Dec 20 - 27

 

Monday, December 20 - Jenni, Meg, Marisa, and I went to Olive Garden to have one last lunch before Christmas. We went to Olive Garden and it was so good! I haven't been then forever! We exchanged gifts and that was really fun too! Marisa gave me a beautiful picture of Christ with a woman and a sweet note about staying positive and keeping my chin up during hard times. It was the perfect afternoon with these wonderful women!

Tuesday, December 21 - I have been working my fingers to the bone trying to get these gnome ornaments made for my neighbors. They were fun to make but after about 40 of them, I am tired. I sent Zack and Ricki out around our circle for a little while to deliver a few of them.

Wednesday, December 22 - Dad, Jenni, and I went and did our annual Christmas shopping for mom this morning. We got a lot done in a fairly short time and then went out to lunch. It is always so fun to be with these two. I love this annual tradition!! Tonight, I finally had all the neighbor gifts ready to go and I took the other kids with me to deliver them while Simon and Zack were at soccer practice. Unfortunately, Kendra was running down a driveway, slipped on some ice, stepped wrong off a curb, slammed into the side of the van, and hurt her ankle. :( It started swelling right away and I didn't want her awake in pain all night so I took her to the InstaCare. Luckily, her foot isn't broken but she will be sore for a few days. This girl and her ankle injuries, poor thing!

Thursday, December 23 - I spent all day wrapping gifts! I want to say that it was stressful and no fun...but I actually love wrapping! :) Simon went to the office today and got so many wonderful gifts! This afternoon, mom came over to get some new Christmas-y nails done and Kenny happened to FaceTime her while she was here. It was so fun to get to talk to him and take a little tour through his new house. I sure miss him this time of year!

Friday, December 24 - We had our traditional Christmas Eve prime rib dinner at Grandma Sharon and Grandpa Jim's house. We had a special treat and got to spend an extra couple of hours there. Grandma wanted to surprise Grandpa with a new toilet in their master bathroom so Simon and Nick installed it before dinner. :) I got to sit and relax and watch a show while they worked hard. After dinner, Grandma did a super cute scavenger hunt for the kids, gave them their gifts, then the adults all opened their gifts from each other. I just love this family tradition! I hope it never ends!!

Saturday, December 25 - Merry Christmas! What a special day this has been! We were able to get up and spend more time than normal at home opening gifts and just being together. We had breakfast at mom and dad's then had the kids open their gifts. We then went to Dave & Viv's to spend the evening with them. I can't believe we have a new baby in the family already! We wished he could have been there with us but we look forward to next year with little Brooks! This has been a great day and wonderful Christmas season! I wish the feelings of our Savior, of love, and of family could be this strong all throughout the year.

Sunday, December 26 - Let the food continue on! BJ cooked this 16 lb. brisket for our family to come over and enjoy on Sunday. It was so good and fun to be together again for another day!

Dec 13 - 19

Monday, December 13- We are so excited that Kendra is getting surprised with a new iPhone 13 for Christmas! She is going to freak out!! :)

Tuesday, December 14 - Happy 1st birthday to our sweet Olivia girl! We went to Livy's house for her party and it was a blast!! We had dinner together, watched her eat this adorable cake, and then she opened presents. We are so thankful to have her in our family! We were sad that Gary & Alexis couldn't be with us tonight. They are in the hospital trying to keep Alexis pregnant for longer. She is only 24 weeks along and baby is threatening to come early. Many prayers going out on their behalf!

Wednesday, December 15 - We woke up to several inches of beautiful clean snow...and a virtual learning day for the kids! :) Simon just happened to have the day off so he took Zack, Ricki, and Zack's friend Jax to the park to sled. They had such a blast! Also, we got a sweet video from Gary & Alexis today. One of their nurses did an in-hospital gender reveal for them. "Little Nugget" is a HE! We are so excited to have another little guy in our family!

Thursday, December 16 - Ricki was awarded the Leader of the Month for her class today! I was so excited to be able to go to see her get her award, read the sweet note from her teacher, and sit with her while she got a special kid's meal lunch from McDonald's. I'm so proud of this girl and her leadership skills. She is a really good friend and looks for others that she can play with and help feel included. She's just a really great person and I'm happy she was able to receive this award!

Friday, December 17 - Baby Brooks Levi Pearson entered this world way too early (25 weeks) around 5:45 this morning. He weighed in at a whopping 1 lb 13 oz. He is doing pretty well, as far as one pound babies go, and he's fighting to stay alive. Alexis is doing well from the delivery. Sweet Finley stayed the night with us tonight. She was an absolute joy to have! She is sweet and kind and loves to play with Ricki! She got sad once, wanting her mom and to go see her brother, but we snuggled for a while and she was fine. She's a strong girl and I pray that Brooks brings nothing but joy to their family. They deserve it more than anyone I know!

Saturday, December 18 - We had to cut our day short with Finn so we let them stay in their jammies and play as long as we could. We dropped her off at Dave and Viv's on our way to meet my family for lunch. Today is Jim's birthday so we all went to Chili's together. After lunch, Mom & Dad, Grandma Sharon, and our family went to see the final performance of "The Forgotten Carols". It was as magical as ever and we all enjoyed it very much.

Sunday, December 19 - We got to celebrate Grandpa Jim's birthday tonight. We had meatloaf for dinner (a rare treat for me because I'm the only one in my family that will eat it) and then had cake and ice cream. He got a lot of nice gifts for his big day. I love that we get to celebrate everyone's birthdays together. I just wish Kenny, Katie, and their family could be here. Happy Birthday Grandpa Jim!

Dec 6 - 12

 

Monday, December 6 - Some sort of cold or virus has been going through our family. I got nervous today so I took Kendra to be tested for Covid. She didn't have a fever but she did have a dry cough, sore throat, and runny nose. Luckily, it came back negative so she is fine. I just wanted to make sure to put my mom-anxiety at ease.

Tuesday, December 7 - Simon and his boss Kristen bought these super nice meat and cheese gifts from Hickory Farms for their employees. They wanted to make them look somewhat festive so they asked me to put bows on all of them. It didn't take too long and it spruced them up just enough to make them sparkle. :) He had his work party tonight and so did I! I got invited to my new boss' house for dinner and to visit for a couple of hours. It was really fun to get to know these new co-workers of mine. I found out that Teresa, my boss, loves gnomes and makes them. She brought out her collection and I was in awe. They are so stinking cute and she has them for every occasion! She's very creative and crafty. It was a really fun night and a great way to get to know these ladies on a more personal basis.

Wednesday, December 8 - Simon and Zack go to an indoor soccer facility every Wednesday to practice during the winter months. Tonight, Simon needed gas so he ran to Sam's Club after practice. I informed him that we didn't really have anything for dinner so if they wanted to eat there, that was fine with me. This is the picture I got letting me know that they had decided to do just that. :)

Thursday, December 9 - Marisa and I had a fun-filled day! We started out at Kneader's to celebrate Jenni's birthday. We had a yummy breakfast and it was the perfect way to start the day! Tonight, I got to go with my Knotted Fern friends to The Melting Pot downtown and enjoy dinner and delightful conversation with these wonderful women. It was such a good time. I am sure going to miss being a part of this great team!

Friday, December 10 - When I was doing laundry this week, I opened the dryer and heard something fall inside the door. After that, the little mechanism that the door latches to didn't line up quite right and the door was hard to shut. Sure enough, there is a plastic piece in there that holds it together and it broke so that is what I heard fall. Simon ordered a new part and it should be here within days. I'm so thankful he's so handy! If it were up to me, we'd probably be getting a new dryer! Haha! While he was working on that, I was out Christmas shopping. I found this glass moose mug like off of Christmas Vacation. I bought it for our "favorite things" party tomorrow night. That movie is one of my Christmas favorites!

Saturday, December 11 - Nick went to his second school dance tonight. He took a girl named Maddy that I have never met before. He went in a group with his buddies and it sounds like they had a really great time. I am so glad that he is enjoying these fun high school traditions and making these memories. I still fondly remember my school dances and I don't regret going to a single one of them! While he was there, Simon and I were at the Olson's annual Christmas party! We played some fun games but the one pictured was a bit peculiar. We went up as couples in groups of three, got blindfolded and then had to blindly find our spouse and kiss them. The fastest couple to kiss won the game. It was a little scary worrying about kissing the wrong person but it was very funny to watch!

Sunday, December 12 - Simon took Kendra on Tuesday to have her warts looked at again. She had them frozen. Last time (about a year ago), it came completely off within a couple of days and we thought it was gone for good. This time, it's been nearly a week and still hanging on strong. Poor girl, she just keeps getting them and they won't go away! Later tonight, I had to leave dinner at the Pearson's a little early to go to our Primary's Priesthood and Temple Preview night. We had the kids that are leaving the primary come and meet their new leaders. It was a fun and successful night.