Thursday, 19th
I happened to wake up at 4:10AM and realized that Shelby should be on her way to the Idaho Falls Airport so I sent her a text to see if she was on her way. She didn't respond for a while so my mind started worrying that maybe she had slept in. But she eventually texted me back to met me know that she made it to the airport and was in line at security. She texted me about 5:30am to let me know she was boarding and again when she landed in Salt Lake. She had about a 2 hour layover there and at about 9:45am she let me know she was boarding the plane for the flight to St George. As I headed to the airport, I saw her plane in the air. She beat me to the airport by about 7 minutes but I got to baggage claim just about 30 seconds before she did. We drove home and she loved all the Christmas decorations. I showed her some of the new Disney stuff and then we had lunch. Shelby finished working on her essay for school and read it to me. It was really good! Then we went outside to play with Nana right before picking up Judi at school. Judi was so excited to see Shelby. We came home and walked the dogs to the mail. and then just sort of took it easy for a little while before going to the Ward Christmas Party. Shelby was nervous to go but ended up enjoying it. The food was good - especially some really good pasts from "Italy" (there were many different booths representing different parts of the world with food from each of those countries). Judi went over to her mom's house and Shelby and I came home and talked until about midnight. It was so good to just spend time with her. Then we went to bed.
Friday, 20th
I woke up and ran a few errands. I got home and Shelby woke up around 11:30. We had some breakfast and then went to pick Judi up from school. We went outside and played catch with the football. We then rode our bikes to the mail and in the pit. We also got out Judi's bow and arrows and shot them for quite a while which was a lot of fun. We came in and Shelby and I worked on FAFSA while Judi played Minecraft. We then wrapped some presents and put them under the tree. We had dinner and watched the Christmas Movie Noel and then Shelby and Judi played Mine Craft. Shelby went in to take a nap because she said that minecraft had given her a little motion sickness. Judi and I played in a Rocket League Tournament and made it to the finals. We then all left for the airport and stopped by Vern and Linda's on the way to drop off a couple of things and get a couple of things from them. Shelby enjoyed meeting Vern and said she thought he was really nice. We hit a lot of traffic at the airport and got there just after 11:00PM. We headed to the baggage claim to wait for Trey and Lizi. There flight was pretty much on time and it was so fun to see how excited they all were to see each other. Shelby ran up to Lizi and gave her a hug and Judi ran up to Trey. Seeing the reunion was such a special moment. We got the bag and headed back home. Lizi and Shelby talked a lot in the back seat and Trey and I in the front. We got home at 3:15AM and the kids all said they were hungry so I made them each two things of ramen noodles and we went to bed just after 4:00AM.
Saturday 21st
I was thinking we'd sleep in for quite a while today but I should have known how excited Judi would be to get up and play with the kids. I heard her up and about at 9:30AM - just a little over 5 hours after she went to bed. Trey was the next one up around 11:00AM and we all ate breakfast together and then played Rocket League. Lizi got up next around 12:00 or so and ate some breakfast and then she and I went in to wrap some presents. While we were wrapping presents Shelby woke up and ate some breakfast and then she, Judi, and Lizi organized all the presents under the tree. Trey and Judi played Rocket League. Lizi then started setting up lego Disneyland and Trey and I went outside to throw the football around. Judi and Shelby played minecraft. When Trey and I came in, I put the football game on tv and Trey and I watched a little bit of it and I also helped Lizi with Lego Disneyland a little. Shelby and Judi put on the Disney version of minecraft and all the kids thought it was pretty cool. Judi, Trey, and I then walked the dogs to the mail and Lizi and Shelby continued to do lego Disneyland. When We got back, I started dinner. We ate wok chicken while watching Home Alone. It was still early but Lizi and Shelby decided that they better head to bed. Judi and I played in a Rocket League tournament but in the middle of it I got a hair cut so Trey took over for me. Then Judi left with her mom so Trey took over for her, Trey and I made it to the finals but then the game crashed and kicked us out so we finished second, It was a lot of fun. We then decided to head to bed too.
Sunday 22nd
We got up and went to church in the morning. I love walking to church with the kids - I remarked as we were walking that it's crazy to me that they are all so tall and grown up now because as we were walking to church I just remember how little they used to be. I'm not sure if that makes any sense but it's just crazy how fast time has flown by. Lizi, Judi, and I sang in the choir which was so much fun to do with them. I sat between Trey and Lizi in Sacrament meeting. We walked home and took some pictures in the front yard then came in and got changed. We ate lunch and then Lizi, Judi, and Shelby all worked on constructing the frames of their houses out of card board boxes and Trey and I watched football. The Vikings game didn't start until the afternoon but when it started we watched all the live highlights (it wasn't on tv). Lizi also tried wood burning and made a flower which was amazing! I can't believe how talented she is. Judi and Lizi played Disney minecraft also which was fun to watch. Shelby, Trey, and I also enjoyed a cup of egg nog while we watched football and worked on ginger bread house construction. Judi and I played in a Rocket League Tournament and did really good until the game crashed and kicked us out. We had dinner and watched Home Alone 2 and then drove around to look at Christmas lights. When we got home, Trey, Judi, and I played Rocket League and Lizi and Shelby sat on the couch with us. The girls and I then went to Liz's house to pick out some shoes for them. We came home, planned out our day for tomorrow and went to bed.
Monday 23rd
Judi and I woke up early to go clean the rock shop. We got home around 8:30 and played rocket league. Trey and Lizi woke up pretty soon after that and we all ate breakfast together. Shelby then got up too and started making chocolate chip cookies for us to pass out to the neighbors. Lizi and I ran to the store to buy some candy for the gingerbread houses. When we got home, we realized that we had forgotten a few things so I ran back to the store to get them. By the time I got back home, Shelby had finished the first batch of cookies so we started on the second batch and had some lunch too. Lizi started displaying the cookies on a paper plate to hand out to the neighbors. She does a great job with it. Once the second batch was done, Shelby started making the frosting for the ginger bread houses. Trey was on his phone on the couch and Lizi and Judi played minecraft once Lizi was done wrapping the cookies for the neighbors. I helped Shelby a little with the frosting because it is such a big job. We finally got all the frosting made and we started working on the houses. Trey and I worked on pre-made gingerbread houses and the girls had there's that they constructed yesterday out of cardboard. Trey's ended up looking great! Mine...not so much...Judi's was a cool re-creation of the vintage Matterhorn with a Skyway bucket going through the center. We couldn't believe she got the bucket to hold for as long as it did. Lizi did an amazing job with Sleeping Beauty Castle! I especially loved the drawbridge. And Shelby's lighthouse was amazing! I loved the rock work and fencing around the base. When we finished with the houses, Trey and Judi passed out 9 of the plates of cookies that we made and I ordered Pizza. Lizi and Shelby were still working on their houses when I left to pick up the pizza but Lizi had finished by the time I got back. So she took a break and we all watched Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas while we ate the pizza. When the movie was over, Shelby went back to working on her house, I put the Monday Night Football game on TV and Trey watched it. Judi and Lizi played minecraft and I started cleaning up whatever Shelby was done using on the table. Lizi also did a great job helping clean up. When Shelby was done and everything was cleaned up, she started on the biggest project yet - cleaning the outside of the fish tank. I had actually started to clean it a couple of times but then stopped once I realized how much time it was going to take. But Shelby worked on it for about 2 hours and made it look so amazing! I can't believe she did all that work - especially after working all day baking cookies and making frosting! She basically took no time at all to relax. But the fish tank looks practically new again, thanks to Shelby's hard work. Around 9:15pm, I did a short family home evening about the importance of family and showed the kids a few minutes of home videos when I was 11 years old. I wasn't sure if it was boring them or not but afterwards, Lizi said she loved watching them which made me feel good. We then read scriptures and went to bed.
Tuesday 24th
Trey, Judi, and I woke up first and ate some breakfast and then played some Rocket League. Lizi got up and ate breakfast while we were playing. After she was done eating, she and Judi played Minecraft. Shelby then woke up and we all hiked to the extinct volcano north of town. It was a perfect day for it - about 62 degrees. We got home and had lunch and Trey and I walked the dogs to the mail. We then took our family Christmas picture with all the pets and then Lizi and Judi played more Minecraft and Shelby relaxed on the recliner. Lizi and Judi made smoothies with frozen fruit, lemonade, and strawberries. They tasted really good! We then had dinner and watched 2 episodes of the holiday Lego Masters. Trey and I then played some Rocket League and Lizi painted the ornament for Splash which looks so good! We then watched Mickey's Christmas Carol and Small one and read Luke 2 before heading to bed. And actually, Lizi, Judi, and I were up when the clock struck midnight and the girls got so excited that it was Christmas!
Wednesday 25th
We decided that we would all wake up at 9:00am to start opening presents. In the past all the kids have slept in the living room but this year only Lizi and Judi stayed there - Lizi on the big couch and Judi on the floor in front of her. I wanted to do Green Beard before I went to bed but I could hear Lizi and Judi were still awake so I ended up waking up about 1:55am and did it then. I went out to the living room at 8:55am and when I sat on the couch, Judi heard me and woke up. Trey came out of his room at about the same time and Lizi slowly woke up on the couch too. Shelby came out and we did the Green Beard scavenger hunt. The clues were harder this year but the kids figured them out fast as usual. Then we all opened presents. Shelby made the most amazing "Adventure Book" for me. Tears streamed down my face as I looked through it and read the different things she had in it. Judi loved her nerf gun and also got a baby in a blanket and lego sets. Lizi got a lego trout, phone case, and film. Trey got a camelback, hats, and a poker set. Shelby got a cooking set, Rock Creek sweat shirt, and a book trilogy. We were done opeing everything by a little after 10:00. Trey started putting together a small Boba Fett lego set first, Judi started opening up her nerf gun. Shelby started reading her book. I took Judi to her mom's at 11:00 and when I got back, Trey and I played rocket league while the kids rotated a webchat. Lizi also used her new paint set and painted a really cool Christmas greenery with ornaments. Judi came back around 1:00 or so and she, Lizi, and I worked on putting together the mini lego trout set that Lizi got and the bigger set that Judi got. I started dinner around 2:30, picking rosemary from the garden and getting the cornish game hens ready. Trey made the mashed potatoes and they turned out so good! Lizi got the table all set - we used Grandma Judi and Grandma Bobbi's dinnerware which was really fun to use. I also made some Ratatouille and we used the same mugs that I used when I was a kid with all of my family's names on them. I got my cup and Judi got Grandma Judi's. Lizi got Suzi's, Trey got Grandpa Rowlands, and Shelby got Grandma Bobbi's. Throughout dinner, at times we pretended to be the people who's mugs we had. it was funny. The cornish game hens weren't quite ready when we first took them out so we had to put them back in and start eating the mashed potatoes and Ratatouille first. The neat thing about dinner was that Lizi kept asking a lot of questions about my family which really meant a lot to me and was fun to talk about. It was a little sad realizing that this might be the last Christmas dinner we all have together. After dinner, Lizi and Judi played minecraft, Trey played on his phone and Shelby's mom had her look up some clothes online to see what she wanted. They all helped clean up dinner too which was really cool. Trey and I watched a couple episodes of Modern Family while Shelby and Lizi looked at the clothes online and Judi played on the Switch. We then watched the Rocket League World Cup and then the girls came out to the living room and we all talked until after midnight. It was such a fun day!
Thursday 26th
I got up at 6:00am and went to the store for the after Christmas sales and then came back home and slept a little longer. Because we went to bed so late the night before - and I found out that Lizi and Shelby watched a movie in their room even after the rest of us went to bed - we slept in a little longer than normal. Judi was up first at 10:30 and started playing the switch. Trey got up pretty soon after that and we ate breakfast and then played Rocket League. Judi wanted to play a different game on the switch after a while so Trey and I watched a Modern Family episode. Lizi then got up and Judi, Trey, and I went outside to throw the frisbee and football and Lizi cooked eggs for her breakfast. It's been pretty nice in the sun - today was about 52 degrees. Trey also helped me take a T post out of the ground while we were out there. Then Judi, Trey, and I went to check the mail while Lizi put stickers on her water bottle. When we got back, Lizi and Judi played Minecraft and Trey and I watched Modern Family. Shelby finally woke up around 3:30 and we watched family home videos for a couple of hours before I started making spaghetti for dinner. We watched Chronicles of Narnia while we ate and Judi's mom came to pick her up during the movie. Shelby, Trey, Lizi, and I then watched the second Narnia movie and then spent some time talking before heading to bed.
Friday 27th
Judi was up first around 9:45. I ran to the store and when I got back around 10:45, Trey had just gotten up as well. The three of us ate breakfast and then played Rocket League. Lizi then got up too, ate breakfast, and then the four of us rode our bikes to check the mail and then went to the back yard to rake leaves. Just as we were finishing, Shelby came outside and was making a home video. We finished just before the garbage truck came and rushed the garbage can back out to the street. As Trey and Shelby were wheeling the garbage cans back in, Judi and Lizi were hiding in them and Trey asked, Daddy, where do you want me to put these?" So I came over and right as I did, Lizi and Judi popped out of them and scared me half to death! It was so funny! After raking the leaves, we came in and frosted some sugar cookies. Then Shelby, Trey, and I played pickleball and Lizi and Judi worked on Lego Disneyland with the new lights that came in the mail today. I loved playing pickleball with them - it's one of my favorite things to do with them. When we got back, Lizi, Judi, Trey, and I played Sabaac while Shelby worked on poetry. I then made some chicken alfredo for dinner and we watched Aristocats while we ate. Judi then went to her Mom's house and Trey and I watched a little Modern Family while Shelby painted some magnets and Lizi worked on Lego Disneyland, specifically the Christmas Fantasy Parade. We then all decided to play Sabacc and then went to bed.
Saturday, 28th
Judi came back over just before 10:00 and she and I played Rocket League until about 11:15 when Trey woke up. We then ate breakfast and then Trey and I watched Modern Family while Judi played Minecraft. Lizi woke up around 12:15 and ate some eggs for breakfast. We then all went outside and played catch with the football. I had so much fun throwing the football from down in the pit to Trey and Lizi who would run routes and then try to catch my passes. They both caught just about all of my good passes! And Judi tried a few too! So much fun! Trey hurt his toe by sliding on some dog poop and hitting the cinderblock wall wit his toe. We iced it quite a bit today and he said it felt quite a bit better tonight. After we came in when Trey hurt his toe, while we iced it, Shelby tried to do his hair and Lizi and Judi played Lego Disneyland. Shelby then started reading her book and Trey and I watched a couple more episodes of Modern Family. Lizi and I sorted some of our pins too for a little bit and then Judi, Lizi, Trey, and I played some Sabacc and I quit early and put all my chips into the middle so I could start dinner. The kids loved playing for all the chips in the pot when I left - it was fun to see how excited they were with all those chips in the middle. They love Ramen so I made it for me, Trey, Shelby, and Lizi, and Judi ate leftover Chicken Alfredo. We watched Peter Pan while we ate. After Peter Pan, Liz came over and we all played Sabacc and then Clue. Judi then went home with her and Shelby and I watched Clue while Lizi and Trey went to bed. After the movie, Shelby and I went to bed too.
Sunday, 29th
We got up a bit earlier than normal to get ready for church. Lizi and Shelby even gave themselves enough time to eat breakfast. (Trey doesn't eat because sometimes his stomach gives him problems if he does) I had originally planned on walking to church because I love doing that with the kids but with Trey's toe still not feeling great, I decided it would probably be a better idea to drive. Because it was a 5th Sunday today, the adults and youth were combined. So I got to sit with Shelby for the first time in an adult class which was so awesome! Trey and Lizi said that Buggy (Kathleen Wheeler) said hello to them at church which was so nice of her. After church we came home and had lunch. Lizi worked on a wood burning project of some carp which turned out really good. The Vikings game came on at 2:15pm and Trey, Lizi, Judi, and I all got dressed in Vikings gear and watched the game. Lizi asked a lot of questions and seemed to understand a lot more of it this time which was really fun. The Vikings had a big early lead, squandered it, but held on to win. It was so fun to watch it with the kids. After the game I got dinner ready and we watched The Hunchback of Notre Dame while we ate. Lizi has been feeling sick so she decided to get to bed early and Shelby did too so Trey and Judi played some Rocket League while I did dishes and then I played a couple of games with them too before we got ready for bed.
Monday, 30th
I heard the bathroom door close while I was still in bed this morning so I figured Judi was up but when I got out of bed I realized that it was Lizi up first today. She was still feeling a bit sick and after I came back out to the living room after taking a shower she was asleep on the couch. Trey and Judi both woke up soon after and we all ate breakfast together. We then all went outside for a little bit to be in the sun. It's a little bit cold in the shade still but it feels nice in the sun. We played with the dogs for a little bit and and then Judi wanted to ride bikes in the pit so I rode with her and Trey and Lizi went back inside. We came in and Shelby was up. Shelby and I worked on finding plane tickets for her to get back to Texas after the semester is over and Trey and Judi played minecraft. Lizi relaxed on the couch. Trey and I then went to the UPS Store to drop off a return he had and then ran to the post office to drop off a letter for Shelby and to Walmart. Shelby went down to the clubhouse and did a chalk drawing on one of the walls of the Tangled scene. It looks amazing! When we got home, Judi played Minecraft and Shelby, Trey, Lizi, and I played Sabacc. I then made some Spanish Rice for dinner. We watched Cool Runnings while we ate which I had forgotten how much I liked. After dinner I put the football game on and we all sort of just talked in the living room with the game in the background. Shelby asked what feature I wish I had in a house. Judi went home with her mom and then Trey and I played a few games of Rocket League and then we all went to bed.
Tuesday, 31st
Trey woke up first and we watched a few episodes of Modern Family. Judi woke up next and we all ate breakfast together. Lizi then got up and we all went outside for a little bit because it feels so nice to be in the sun on a brisk morning. We played with the pets for a little bit too. Shelby got up and cleaned out all the spider webs in the clubhouse and worked more on the Tangled chalk drawing on the wall. When she came in we all went to play pickleball and had fun! I love playing with the kids! When we got home, we sat in the living room and chatted and then watched the Olaf Presents shorts and a few other Frozen themed shorts while Shelby and Lizi sewed a couple of my pants for me. Lizi and I went outside in the front to change out some of the new Christmas lights I got at the after Christmas sale. It was fun setting them up with her! Shelby painted the grave stone for Daisy, Trey filled up the dog's water, and Judi took out the trashes. I'm so thankful that my kids are willing to help around the house. I then finished making Chicken Rice Casserole for dinner and we had our traditional Star Wars Marathon to ring in the new year. This year we watched episodes 4, 5, and 6. Splash curled up on Trey's lap and Smokey curled up on Lizi's for a while. It has been a great 2024 with lots of fun memories!
Wednesday, 1st
Because we stayed up so late, everyone slept in a bit. Judi woke up first followed shortly by Trey and we decided to play a couple of games of Rocket League before eating breakfast. After breakfast, Judi played minecraft so Trey and I watched a few episodes of Modern Family. Jake Reimers texted me in the morning too to see if we wanted to play pickleball at 2:00. I knew that a couple of the kids might not be too excited to play since we just played yesterday, but I thought we'd have a fun time so I agreed to it. Lizi and Shelby were still sleeping at 1:15 so I went in to wake them up. I talked Shelby into going and she got ready. When she came out of her room I noticed that Lizi was up to so I asked her if she wanted to go but she opted to stay. I was so impressed with how well everyone played! It was so much fun! We played for 2 hours and then we went to Walmart to pick up a few things. When we got home, Shelby, Trey, Judi, and I walked the dogs to the mail. Lizi had emptied the dishwasher by herself while we were gone (it's been a daily chore for all the kids to empty the dishwasher). Lizi also did a painting while we were gone. I warmed up some leftovers for dinner and we watched Frozen 2 while we ate. After Frozen 2, Shelby was on her phone in the recliner, Lizi took a shower, and Trey, Judi, and I played Rocket League. When Lizi was done with her shower she came out and asked if we wanted to play Sabacc so Lizi, Trey, Judi, and I played Sabacc while Shelby got ready for bed. After Sabacc, the rest of us went to bed too.
Thursday, 2nd
We woke up somewhat early and got ready to go to Bryce Canyon National Park on a quick up and back trip. I made some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for everyone and brought some extra snacks too. We left about 9:20am and listened to Disney Pandora on the drive up. It was fun listening to the girls in the back seats sing with the songs. We got to Bryce about 11:30 and went to the Visitors' Center first to get our passports stamped. We then looked around the gift shop and then back to the car where we drove to Sunset Point. We had to drive around the parking area 3 times before we finally found a spot. We hiked the Navajo Loop Trail and down the famous Wall Street section which was fun to see. Of course we took lots of pictures. It was really a lot of fun and the weather was nice - about low 50's or so. When we got back to our car, we grabbed our sandwiches and headed to a picnic table to have lunch. After lunch we drove to Sunrise Point and took in the view there. We also hiked the short distance to the point where the Fairyland Loop Trail connects with the Rim Trail. Trey and I wanted to see it since we had hiked it last year. It was special to me that Trey wanted to see it again because it was such a fun time hiking it with him last year for me. We got back to the car and went back to the Visitors' Center and I bought everyone a t-shirt souvenir and Judi bought a bobcat stuffed animal. We then headed back home through Zion National Park (we didn't go to Bryce Canyon that way because of the traffic that goes through Zion). We all really enjoyed the scenery and on the drive home, Lizi and Shelby practiced audition parts for the play Cinderella that they will be doing next. I also ordered some Little Caesars Pizzas that we picked up on the way home. When we got home we ate and watched Return to Neverland. After the movie we watched another dvd of my home videos when I was 13, mostly of Rock Creek. After the home videos we played a color trivia game which Judi won. It was the first time we have ever played it and a lot of fun. After the game, we watched a couple episodes of the Golden Bachelor which was filmed while we were at Disneyland this past summer. We saw it being filmed so it was fun to see it on TV. The person who was on the date while we were there, ended up winning the season later on. After the Golden Bachelor we got ready for bed and Lizi and I talked Gumball Rally strategy for a little bit before heading to bed.
Friday, 3rd
Judi got up first and just as we were starting to get Rocket League ready Trey woke up and so the three of us played until Lizi got up and then we all ate breakfast together. After we ate, Judi and I went outside to play with the dogs and when we came back in, Judi and Lizi played Lego Disneyland and Trey and I watched Modern Family. I also helped Lizi find some pieces for her Lego construction project. Shelby then woke up and worked on Lego Disneyland with the other girls and Trey and I went outside and threw the football around and talked Gumball Rally strategy. We came in and then walked the dogs to the mail while Lizi and Shelby were on their phones and Judi was working on a dog document. When I came back, Judi, Trey, and I played some Rocket League and Lizi and Shelby worked on Lego Disneyland - specifically the Haunted Mansion. Shelby made some really cool Doom Buggies and Lizi worked on the elevator. It turned out really cool! I then made dinner - cheesy noodles for Lizi and Judi and Ramen for the rest of us. We watched Planes while we ate. After the movie we played the Disney color trivia game and then Lizi, Judi, Trey, and I played Sabacc while Shelby looked at school stuff for her next semester. Lizi and Judi then played Minecraft and Shelby, Trey, and I watched Solo and then we went to bed.
Saturday, 4th
Trey got up first and just as he woke up I had to run something to the post office and put gas in the car. When I got back, Lizi was up too so the three of us ate breakfast. Judi was up soon after that. Shelby got up around 11:15 and she, Trey, Judi, and I went to play pickleball with the Reimers for about an hour. When we got back we had lunch and Trey wanted to watch Ernest Goes to Camp while we ate. We then played Scene It a couple of times which was really fun. After that I got dinner going - Chicken Alfredo for the girls and Ramen for Trey. We watched Cars while we ate. After the movie the kids finished packing and we got ready for bed.
Sunday, 5th
Lizi, Trey, and I woke up around 2:30 to leave for the airport at 3:15am. We talked for most of the drive down despite the early hours. I walked them to their gate and waited with them until it was time to board. I then drove back home and slept for about an hour and a half before getting ready for church. Shelby, Judi, and I went to Sacrament meeting and then Shelby and I drove to the St George airport. Since Shelby's now 18, I can't walk her to her gate but I walked her to security and then called her to make sure she made it to her gate which she did easily since there are only 2 gates. It is always so hard coming home to an empty house which always seems so much more quiet now with everyone gone. What a fun Christmas Break!
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