Friday, December 18th
The kids flight into Vegas was scheduled to arrive at 3:55 but was delayed about 25 minutes. I was so excited to se them! We waited a while for the bags at the baggage claim and then headed home. We got home about 8:20 and Shelby immediately went to the back yard to see Daisy. Daisy was excited (as was evident by the pee on the ground but then she ran into her dog house. Shelby is one of Daisy's favorite people usually and she finally came out and in the house and was so excited to see Shelby. Lizi and Trey came in and saw the Castle Collage of pictures in the hallway and loved them. Lizi then go her legos out and started setting them up. Judi sat down by her and they started playing Lego just like they always do.
We had a big pot of spaghetti for dinner and then I showed Shelby and Trey the Disney Room which had changed a lot since they had been here last. They loved it and Shelby remarked that the next "Disney Draft" would be interesting! After checking out the Disney Room, Trey and Shelby went to the Christmas Tree and found (and fondled) all their presents trying to figure out what they all are. Shelby also got all unpacked. We then went to bed.
Saturday, December 19th
I heard some doors opening and closing so I knew some kids were up. When I went to see who, I noticed that Trey and Judi's room was empty and then I noticed Trey going outside. It was so cold out this morning that he came right back in. Lizi and Shelby came out shortly after and joined us on the couch. We went in and had breakfast and then Judi got ready for her basketball game. Shelby went to watch her play which I could tell meant a lot to Judi. When Judi got home, she and Lizi colored some socks and Shelby painted a really pretty bird painting. Trey and I went outside and threw the football around and then we went to play basketball. Shelby came out with us and we played a few games of knockout. Trey told me about a scout outing where he won a game of knockout against some older boys. It was fun to hear the story and listen to how how proud he was. Lizi and Judi went outside to play in the sand box while we were playing basketball. The weather was nice - about 58 degrees for the high temperature this morning, but it was a little cold in the shade as we played basketball. We came in and had hot dogs and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. Shelby worked more on her canvas painting, Trey took a nap, and Lizi and Judi pretended to be animals in the yard and would try to sneak up and not be seen by our pets. They then came in and continued setting up Disneyland with Lego. Trey and I then went outside and played frisbee. It was fun to make each other run for the frisbee as fast as we could. We came in and watched Ernest Saves Christmas and then had chili and chips for dinner. After dinner I taught Shelby how to solve the Rubix Cube and she actually did it all by herself once! We watched the Packers and Panthers football game and then got ready for bed. Trey told me that he loves watching football with me.
Sunday, December 20th
We got up, ate, and went to church in the morning. I sang in a quartet which was fun to do with the kids here. Because of Coronavirus, they aren't allowed to sing in their church in Texas so Lizi was surprised and somewhat excited, I think, that we could sing. After church we came home and Lizi and Judi had fun breaking their animals out of the ice that froze overnight. Their hands were frozen by the time they came inside. Shelby, Trey, Liz, and I played knock out. We came in and turned on the football games. Trey, Shelby, and I watched the games and Shelby also worked on solving the Rubix Cube some more. Lizi and Judi worked on constructing their ginger bread houses out of the boxes and Shelby started on hers as well. We had a really good mashed potato and roast lunch and then Trey, Shelby, and I went to the back yard to play frisbee. Lizi and Judi continued playing Lego. We came in and watched a little more football, rooting for Trey's players to do well so his fantasy football team would win the first playoff game. Lizi and Judi did the Christmas Fantasy Parade with Lego making some really creative floats. It was fun to watch. We then watched 6 episodes of the Mandalorian which I thought was really good, and went to bed.
Monday, December 21st
I woke up and found Lizi in the pit trying to pet flower, the rabbit, while Figaro wanted Lizi to pet him. It was a warmer morning considering it's almost Christmas, and soon all the kids were outside with the pets. Lizi and Judi froze some more of their animals in the ice and it was so funny to listen to them play with the other animals all trying to decide who was going to rescue the trapped animals. Lizi didn't want to stick her hand in the freezing water to pull the animal out and I don't blame her! We came inside and had breakfast and then Trey helped me get out my Star Wars cards and set up tables in the Disney Room. We then all went to play pickleball which was really fun. I played against Shelby and Trey while Lizi and Judi played with their animals on the side. Shelby and Trey really gave me a run for my money today! They are a lot better! After pickleball, Trey and I went to hike Aspiration Trail to see if we could find the rocks we placed there last summer. We found mine, Trey's, Shelby's, and Judi's close to the spot we left them but didn't see Liz or Lizi's anywhere. We hiked up a little farther and found them up the trail a ways. While we were on our hike, Shelby worked on solving the Rubix Cube and Lizi and Judi made den's for themselves, pretending to be animals. Trey, Shelby, and I went out to play knock out while Lizi and Judi pretended to be animals and petted our cats. We then all went to the pit and Shelby got on the rope swing and Trey and I pushed her as hard as we could. She was swinging so high! Afterwards she said she had so much fun doing that! We came in and had dinner and watched Home Alone. We paused Home Alone for a couple of minutes so we could go outside and see the "Christmas Star." It was really cool to see. After finishing Home Alone, we watched another few episodes of the Mandalorian which were really good. Then it was time for bed.
Tuesday, December 22nd
Lizi woke up first again this morning and went outside briefly before realizing how cold it was so she came in to grab a jacket and then went back outside. Trey woke up next followed by Shelby. We ate breakfast then went back outside. I pushed Shelby, Lizi, and Trey on the rope swing, and then Shelby, Trey, and I rode bikes while Lizi and Judi pretended to be animals in the back yard. Trey and I then played wiffleball in the back yard, Shelby broke her record solving the Rubix Cube (in 2 minutes and 32 seconds), and Lizi and Judi played animals inside, making a really cool "den" in Lizi's room. We then had pizza for lunch and Shelby, Trey, Liz, and I played knock out. Then Lizi and I played frisbee while Shelby worked on the Rubix Cube and Trey petted Smokey. We then worked on our ginger bread houses. Lizi made Splash Mountain which looked really cool! Trey made a Pyramid which was very creative. Shelby made a really cute house, Liz made the Disneyland Castle, Jenna made a cute house, and Judi made a princess castle. After we made ginger bread houses, I had Lizi vacuum the floor, and Trey, Shelby, and Judi unloaded the dishwasher. We then went to look at Christmas Lights and came back to watch the Mandalorian and went to bed.
Quote of the Day - Trey: After a big dinner, as we were driving around looking at Christmas lights, Liz asked Trey if he wanted some candy. Trey asked, "What is it?" Liz said, "It's a secret." Trey then responded, "I may not have room for anymore secrets."
Wednesday, December 23rd
We all slept in a little longer than normal today because of the late Mandalorian night we had last night. Trey was the first one up and we started going over our Star Wars Cards and traded a few. Lizi and Shelby then woke up and we ate breakfast. Trey and I finished trading our cards after breakfast while Shelby practiced the Rubix Cube and Lizi and Judi read books. We then watched the Disney Christmas Special. We then had lunch and Liz, Shelby, Trey, and I played Clue which Shelby won! Lizi and Judi read books some more. After Clue, Shelby, Judi, Trey, and I played Skipbo and Lizi built another den in her room with blankets and things. Then Shelby, Trey, and I came in and played Pacman and Judi went into Lizi's room to build dens with Lizi. Lizi and Judi then came in and watched us play Pacman. We then all went out to watch Home Alone 2 and had dinner part way through the movie. I then taught Lizi the first step in solving the Rubix Cube. The kids then petted the pets who were mostly all inside. We then watched the last 2 episodes of Mandalorian and went to bed.
Thursday, December 24th
We woke up and had pancakes for breakfast. The kids played with playdoh for a little bit - Lizi and Judi made some really cool safari backgrounds for their wild animals. Trey and I then went outside to bring the garbage cans in from the street and then Shelby, Trey, and I rode our bikes to check the mail. Lizi and Judi played wild animals inside. When we got home, Shelby, Trey, Liz, and I played Clue. Trey won both games! We then had lunch and then I taught Lizi how to do the first 2 steps in solving the Rubix Cube. Trey and I then played Star Wars Card Game while Shelby did her nails with Jenna and then petted Smokey in her room. We watched Lady and the Tramp and then decorated sugar cookies. After cleaning up the sugar cookie mess, we opened our Christmas Pajamas and I also had a special Limited Edition Disney pin for each of the kids. We then watched Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-nose Reindeer, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Trey, Liz, and I played 2 games of Clue, and we got Santa's cookies ready for him, talked about the importance of Christmas, sand Ukulele Christmas songs, and then Lizi lost on of her molars. The kids all slept out in the living room, preparing for Christmas. I was so proud of how self-less and caring the kids were tonight. When they were trying to decide who was going to sleep where, they were more thinking about each other than themselves. Trey was the first one in the living room and when the girls came into the room, instead of saying, "I claim the couch" which would have been a typical statement when some of the older girls were still living at home, when Lizi came in to the living room, Trey asked, "Lizi, do you want to sleep on the couch?" And then Shelby came in and Trey asked her the same thing. None of them was selfish about it. It was so nice to hear them talk about it and figure it out in a Christ-like way.
Friday, December 25th
Liz went to work at 6:00am and the kids slept in a while - all in the living room by the Christmas Tree. Trey ended up going to his bed early in the night and Judi came in to sleep in my bed after Liz left for work. Trey and Lizi woke up first and we ate some cereal for breakfast. Judi then woke up and ate as well. Trey, Lizi, and I went outside since it was a little warmer than it had been. The ice that Lizi had been putting her animals in was really thick this morning and Lizi and even Shelby, when she came outside, were able to walk on it! We went back inside and watched Soul on Disney+ which was ok. After Soul we had lunch and then Shelby, Trey, Judi, and I watched Disney's Once Upon a Christmas. Lizi played in the sand box with her animals. Trey, Shelby, and I then rode bikes in the pit while Judi joined Lizi playing with their animals in the sand box and in the ice. It has been fun riding bikes - a couple of days ago, Trey made a jump and we also created a new trail since the peach tree has overgrown the other way we used to go. We came in and watched the Vikings/Saints football game and Liz surprised everyone by coming home early from work. Jenna had just finished cooking dinner when she got home so we ate dinner and then did "Green Beard" (the treasure hunt for the stockings). Then we opened presents. It was really fun to see how excited Lizi got for her presents. As a parent it sure means a lot when you feel like you have really made your kids happy and Lizi made me feel like that as she was opening her presents. Some of her "bigger" gifts were a Disney Cinderella Lego castle, an Elves baby dragon set, a Friends Lego set, some plastic toy animals to play with in the sand box, and a pin bag. Trey was really excited about his "Santa" present which was the Tantive IV Lego set. He also got the Death Star Lego set and Ewok Village Lego set, along with a pin bag. Shelby's big gift was a lap top. She also got a pin bag and a crystal 3D puzzle. Judi got a dog sleeping bag, a small pin bag, a lot of littlest pet shops, plastic animals like Lizi, a lego set, and a penny press book. It is such a blessing to have kids that really appreciate what you give them. After opening presents, I helped Shelby set up her lap top. Trey went to the Disney Room to start assembling his Death Star Lego set and Lizi started on her Cinderella Castle Lego set. I had so much fun going back and forth helping each of them build their sets. Judi started putting her lego set together but then decided to play with her littlest pet shops. We were having so much fun I lost track of time and by the time 11:00pm came around I realized what time it was and we went to bed.
Saturday, December 26th
We slept in for quite a while today. When I got up, Lizi was up and working on her Lego Cinderella Castle and Trey was in the Disney Room working on his Lego Death Star. I helped them both until Judi and Shelby got up and then we ate breakfast. After breakfast, Lizi and Judi went outside to play in the sandbox and I helped Trey on his Lego set some more. Shelby went to get her toe nails done with Jenna and Liz. I went outside to throw the football with Lizi and it was so much fun watching her run after and catch the ball. She can really throw a good spiral too! When Shelby got home, we went to walmart to try to find a lap top case for her and to look for the discounted Christmas candy. After trying both the Walmarts in Hurricane and St George, we didn't have any luck so we stopped at Albertsons to grab a couple of things and came home. While we were gone, the kids kept working on their lego sets and I helped them when I got home. Shelby started reading her cousin Kiley's book that she's been writing and then she started working on her own book. Alley and Stanton came over and played Settlers with Liz, Jenna, Trey, and I. When we were done with our game, Trey and I went to the Disney Room to keep working on the Death Star. I also helped Lizi here and there with certain things and even Shelby asked me a couple of questions for ideas for her book. It was fun helping Shelby with that. We headed for bed but ended up talking about Disneyland and Walt Disney World for about an hour before finally deciding at 12:30am that we better get to bed!
Sunday, December 27th
We slept in again after another late night of lego building. Judi was up first, followed by Trey, Lizi, and then Shelby. We ate breakfast and then started on lego. Trey and I worked on the Death Star, Lizi worked on her Cinderella Castle and Shelby built Judi's complicated set for her. Lizi and Judi took a break for a little while to paint their plastic animals. Trey and I finished the Death Star about 1:30 and I started helping Lizi finish her set while Trey started working on the Tantive IV Star Ship. We had our "Christmas Dinner" at 3:30 (since Liz had to work on Christmas Day) which was really good. After finishing Judi's set, Shelby worked on her book some more. We also turned on the Sunday Night Football game and rooted for Trey's receiver to do good which he did. Lizi and I finished her Castle at about 8:30 and then Lizi set up the lights on it. They look great! We then got ready for bed. It was a Lego day!
Monday, December 28th
Trey, Lizi, and Judi woke up and started playing with and working on their lego sets while Shelby slept in a little longer. I helped Trey find some pieces to the Tantive IV and then worked on building the Carrousel for Lizi's Lego Disneyland. Lizi really made it look cool! We ate breakfast and then it was back to working on Lego for Trey and Lizi. Shelby got up and ate some cereal and then we all watched Walt Disney's Man on Wheels from 1967. After the movie, I took Shelby driving for a little bit. She did good again as usual. She even tried backing into a parking space today! When we got home, Jaden called and Trey showed him all his Star Wars Lego sets. It was funny to hear Jaden's reaction to seeing them - "Woa Momma June!" Trey brought all his Star Wars Lego sets out to the living room and he set up a big war. Lizi and Judi joined him in playing. I went in to read my Disney book - "Cleaning the Kingdom" with Shelby in her room who was reading on of the Kingdom Keepers books. When I came out to the living room, I laughed when I saw Lizi's lego airplane lined up with a bunch of x-wing fighters ready to blow up the Death Star - probably more than the poor passengers on her plane signed up for! I also laughed when I saw Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck piloting an imperial walker. I turned on the Monday Night Football game and we all watched it together for a little while. At half time, Trey and I went into the Disney Room to open his Star Wars Cards. He got some really good ones - Han Solo, Chewy, Princess Leia, IG-88, Dengar, and more. I really love watching football, building Lego, and playing Star Wars cards with Trey! Shelby was working on her book on her lap top, and Lizi and Judi were playing with their plastic animals in the living room. Trey and I came back into the living room and finished watching the last few minutes of the game. Lizi and Liz went outside to see if it started to snow. We are hoping to get some so we can go sledding tomorrow! Then we all went to bed.
Tuesday, December 29th
We woke up, ate breakfast and then got ready for sledding. Making sure everyone had enough warm clothes was a task. We got everyone a snow suit, boots, gloves, and a beanie, and headed on our way. We went to our normal spot in Cedar City. It snowed last night and when we got there, many people had the same idea as us. But we found a fun spot and went sledding. Lizi and Shelby built a ramp but we only used it a few times. We had a lot of fun having a snowball fight - Trey and I against Shelby, Liz, and Jenna for the most part. Lizi and Judi had fun playing wild animals, licking the snow and burring their heads in it. Liz made hot chocolate for the way home and when we got home, Shelby and I rode our bikes to the mail and then we all had some warm turkey soup. Trey went in and had a nap, Shelby broke her record on the Rubix Cube at under 2 minutes, and Lizi and Judi did cartwheels outside for a while and then came in and painted their plastic animals. Shelby also made some of Grandma Judi's cookies which turned out so good! Maybe the best I've tasted them since Grandma Judi was alive. When Trey got up from his nap, he worked for a little bit on his Death Star (he had taken in apart so he could pack it up but decided that he should put it back together so he didn't lose any pieces). Then Liz, Trey, Shelby, and I played a game of clue while Lizi and Judi watched the movie White Fang. Shelby really wanted to watch Hunger Games so after we got Judi to bed, Trey, Shelby, and I watched Hunger Games 1 and 2 while Lizi watched some movies on her tablet. We then went to bed.
Wednesday, December 30th
Everyone slept in after a late movie night last night. When we finally got up, we ate breakfast and then went outside to play since the sun was out. It was still a bit cold at 48 degrees, but in the sun it was manageable. Lizi and Judi played with their animals in the sandbox while Shelby, Trey, and I threw the football. I love doing this with the kids. We'll all start on one end of the yard (usually the end away from the swing set) and I'll say 'go.' Then Shelby or Trey will run as I throw the ball over their head and they try to catch up to it and catch it. We also went down to the swing in the pit for a while and pushed Shelby on it. After playing outside, we came in and Shelby, Trey, and I watched Hunger Games 3 while Judi played on the ipad and Lizi watched a movie on her tablet. Lizi and I then worked on solving the Rubix Cube and she actually did it a couple of times! Shelby worked on her story for a bit and then I started some dinner. While we waited for dinner, Shelby, Judi, and I rode our bikes to check the mail. I then helped Trey put together his Death Star again a little bit to make sure we had all the pieces. Liz, Trey, Shelby, and I played a game of Clue which I really love and then after Judi went to bed, Shelby, Trey, Liz, and I watched the last Hunger Games movie while Lizi watched Princess Diaries on her tablet. Then it was off to bed.
Thursday, December 31st
Judi and I woke up and put the first Star Wars movie in about 9:30. (Our New Years tradition has been to do a Star Wars marathon). Trey heard it and came out to watch it first. Lizi came out not too long after. About half way through the first episode, we noticed that it had started snowing outside so we woke up Shelby and went out to see the snow. It did snow hard and none of it stuck, but it was fun anyway. After Episode 1, we watched episode 2, skipped Episode 3, and then put in Episodes 4 and 5. While watching the movies, Lizi and Judi tried solving the Rubix Cube a few times and Lizi did it all by herself for the first time. During Episode 5, Shelby and I rode our bikes to check the mail and Lizi and Judi went to Lizi's room to play wild animals. We came home and finished Episode 5, and put in Episodes 6, 7, and 9. Part way through Episode 9, it hit midnight so we paused the movie and went outside to listen to the fireworks. Trey yelled, "Happy New Year!" We then came back in, finished the episode and went to bed! Something funny - as Lizi was walking outside the front door, she stopped and said, "I Love You, Daddy. I was the first person to tell you that this year."
Friday, January 1st, 2021
The first day of the new year! Trey and Judi were up first and we ate some cereal for breakfast. Just as we were finishing, Shelby came out and started eating and shortly after that, Lizi came out. After breakfast we started packing a little so we wouldn't have to do it all tomorrow morning. I helped Trey take apart the Lego Death Star and carefully pack it in his suitcase. We ziplocked some of the different sections and bubble wrapped others. We'll see how it ends up back in Texas. Lizi and Judi played with playdoh, making cool areas to go with their plastic animals. I took Trey out to the golf course to pick up Rob's Fantasy Football money. It was fun to see everyone again and to see that a lot of them even remembered Trey. When we got home, Shelby, Trey, Liz, and I played a couple of games of knock out and then we had lunch. Lizi and Judi played for a short time in the sand box - it is pretty cold outside. When we came in, Lizi and Judi played wild animals and built "dens" in Lizi's room. Shelby and Liz played a couple of songs on the piano and then Trey, Shelby, Liz, and I played 2 games of Star Wars Pictopia which was really fun! I then had a really fun time just talking - first with Lizi in the Disney Room; then Shelby and Trey came in. We talked about the different things in the Disney Room and then just about life. We then had some dinner and continued talking after dinner at the table. We then watched Nacho Libre and went to bed.
Saturday, January 2nd
Shelby told me last night that she wanted me to wake her up at 6:00am this morning so she could spend as much time as she could on her last day. I told her that I'd wake her up between 7:00 and 8:00 and I ended up heading in her room about 7:50. I then got ready for the day and went back in to check on her and she was still in bed at 8:45! Haha! So much for 6:00am! :-) I thought it was fun that she wanted to get up early so have more time in Utah. We all woke up and had breakfast. I then showed the kids the home videos DVD I made from my Grand father's recordings when I was 14 and 15. They seemed to like it. After the videos, Shelby, Trey, Liz, and I played Clue in the Disney Room while Lizi and Judi built some amazing animal caves in Lizi's room. We then cleaned up their room, got everything loaded into the van, said goodbye to the pets, and headed to the airport. I sat in the back with Shelby, Lizi and Judi sat in the middle, and Trey sat in the front with Liz, who drove. I had fun talking with Shelby on the first part of the drive and then Shelby, Trey, and I played UNO while Judi and Lizi played with their stuffed animals. When we got to the airport, I got a gate pass and took the kids through security. With the whole Coronavirus crazy, many of the places to eat are closed. We planned on getting something to eat by the gate but everything was closed except for a restaurant/grill so we decided to walk about 15 minutes to the "C" Concourse only to find everything closed there. So we walked back and decided to head back to just past security and eat a burger place there. The line was long but I thought we would have enough time and, besides, the kids were really hungry. So we got in line at 2:00pm, and the line moved at a decent pace. We ordered our food at about 2:12pm and were told our order number was 81. When Trey and I waited by the pick up window for our food, the first number we heard called was 41. I couldn't believe it! We finally got our food at 2:35 (boarding for their flight started at 2:30) and high-tailed it to their gate. Their group was boarding as we got to the gate so I told them bye and they headed down the ramp for the plane. We had such a fun visit!
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