January 17, 2021

  I am not a good cook.  I can follow a recipe, but I can't always think through what will happen if I have to adjust the process a little. Case in point: the Rice-a-Roni I made.  Ryan had a basketball game this night, so I had to prepare dinner before the game so it would be ready after.  I simmered the Rice-a-Roni for most of the time directed, but then figured I could just leave it in the hot pan and it would finish cooking while it sat for an hour.  Nope. The rice was still crunchy and the pasta soaked up all the liquid and was completely mushy.  Just disgusting.  (And, yes, I realize that Rice-a-Roni is kind of disgusting even when cooked properly.)  I told the kids to just soldier through and then eat cookies, which is what I did.  The cookies, at least, were delicious.  Also, this pictures makes my kids look old. :/

 It feels like we just went through this with Shelbi and now it's Sydney's turn.  Those wisdom teeth are coming out next Tuesday. Fun.

Brynn discovered all the clips I made for her when she was a baby and spent the day trying on as many as she could.  Kind of reminded me of this picture I took right after I finished making them...

 

Sydney convinced me to take the girls to the Skate Plex Saturday afternoon. It was actually really fun. Here's Bailey whizzing by, practically a pro.

We brought this little Cha Cha with us.  She did better than I expected.  I imagined we'd have to go around the circle just like this, holding onto her and dragging her along. But of course she wanted to do it herself. It was slow going, but she figured out how to skate/walk without too many spills.

She had this exact look on her face the whole time.

A pretty awesome way to watch Stake Conference.

  Floof is awesome.  I don't even know how to describe what it is.  It's foamy, water-soluble, and never dries out.  Brynn loves to squish her Polly Pockets ("Hollies") into it.  Tonight they were making snow angels. When she's done playing, she just scoops it all back up, Hollies and all, and puts it back in the bucket until next time.

January 10, 2021

 Let's try this again...

We picked Shelbi up for Thanksgiving at the end of November, and since her school was going to be online for the rest of the semester, she just stayed home with us through the rest of the year.  It was heavenly. Here's the best of December, although I honestly don't have the pictures to properly show how awesome it was. Definitely one of the best Christmas seasons I've had in a while. With EVERYTHING being cancelled (orchestra/choir concerts, church parties, class parties, piano recitals, etc.) we had a lot of time to come up with our own fun at home and just enjoy Christmas simply.

The boys both made their middle school grade basketball teams.  This is new for us but has been fun to go to their games each week.

At the Amarillo Botanical Gardens

Making Christmas cookies.  Nobody actually likes to eat them, so we decorate them and I throw them away a few days later. It works.

Can you see what Brynn is doing? I guess it's a good thing we don't eat the frosting/cookies.

Erik turned 14.  He really is a great kid.

I feel like this was our most successful gingerbread house night yet. This is a Christmas Eve tradition. All of the houses came together really quickly and each of the kids seemed genuinely happy with the end results.

Shelbi and Jeff worked on the geometry of her yurt for quite a while and got it just right. 

Jammies from Grandma Larson. Always a favorite.

Our goofball children got creative with the wrapping this year.  This "table" was kitchen tools...

And Jeff's "sword" was a tie.

Christmas dinner

The sun setting on the last day of 2020.

Barbies all enjoying a movie together.

I was smart this year and took pictures of different parts of my house that I decorated for Christmas so next year I can just look at the pictures and know exactly how to decorate again. It's too much work to do something new every year.

A very excited 3-year-old at her first dentist visit.

As much as I tried to convince her to stay, she's back in Arizona. Such a pretty campus.

We brought a little Arizona home with us. When we first took Shelbi to school, we saw these Eeegee's restaurants everywhere. We stopped at one for lunch and it has become a legend in our family. An Eegee is a mix between a slushy and a smoothie that somehow just doesn't seem to melt. They have real fruit bits. Shelbi keeps us updated on the Eegee flavor of the month. Jeff and I promised the other kids we'd bring some home to them this time.  

9:00 church isn't so bad when we're home by 10:00 and the kids are out in the newly fallen snow by 10:30. I was inside eating cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate.