January 2019

Nathan and Danae and their girls were still in town for the whole first week of January so we had fun meeting up with them a few times. We met in Salt Lake one evening for dinner and exploring the Family History Center in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  It's such an incredible family history spot where we each got iPads connected to our Family Search account and got to explore stories and pictures of our ancestors.  And there were some fun little kid areas too where the kids could dress up and take pictures.  We'll definitely be back because it's such an awesome spot for learning about family history!

 We also walked around Temple Square a bit and the lights were still on and it was beautiful...and there were no crowds!  I think after Christmas is the best time to see the lights. We'll have to remember that.

 Another day, Nathan and Danae came up to our house to hang out and let the kids play.  And then we finished off the day with introducing them to Burly Burger.

 School started back up so normal life resumed.  Graham comes with me Wednesday and Friday mornings while I volunteer in the kids' classes.  He loves to bring his backpack whenever we go because he wants to be a big kid too.

With Nate's dad's health declining and being moved into an assisted living facility, Nate flew out to Colorado one weekend to visit his parents.  The decision to move Dave into an assisted living center was a difficult decision for the family but both of Nate's parents are getting used to this new change.  We were grateful Nate could visit his parents and show them love and support in this new transition.

 The following weekend, Nate and I snuck away to California as I previously posted about.  It was so nice to get out and enjoy some sunshine!

 Aiden took first place in his school GeoBee! Every 4th, 5th, and 6th grader in his school took a test and the top two kids from each class went on to a semi-final round, and the top ten winners from that competed in the final competition, and Aiden walked away with first place! He's a bright kid and we are so proud of him!

Nate and the boys ski every spare second they get and they LOVE it! It's nice living so close to Snowbasin. We've gotten SO much snow this year so it's been a great ski season.

 One Saturday, my parents came up and we went to Hardware Ranch for a little sleigh ride to see some Elk up close.  It was a fun little excursion and a beautiful winter day! We learned so much about Elk that we had never known about.

 Despite the ample amount of snow we've had this winter and the frigid air, Graham still prefers to wear no clothes.  It's SO hard to get him to put and keep clothes on!  He's such a silly little guy! One day we met up with my friend Crystal and her girls at a place in Ogden called BDO where they sell stuff from Target and other stores that haven't sold.  And they have killer deals there.  We walked away with a few pairs of shoes and the fun game Kan-Jam (more than half off the original price) and these cute shades for Graham that were just a dollar.  

 Also Graham insists on sleeping with ALL of the stuffed animals he can find.  This picture doesn't do justice to just how many animals are crammed in his little crib. 

A few other things from January:

- Nate spoke to the youth about the cost of living and budgeting and he did an awesome job.

- The boys are playing basketball and having an awesome season (I'll post more about that next month)

- We celebrated my dad's birthday.  The boys decided to go off desserts for now (and get compensated with money of course) and so we made a smoothie for my dad's cake...we had to get creative :)

- Nate and I went to a dinner to celebrate his boss Zach getting #1 rep for Northwestern Mutual in the West.  We went to a fancy seafood restaurant with 9 of us and tried calamari and oysters and ate fancy seafood.  The meal totaled $700 in the end!  Holy cow - definitely the most expensive meal we've ever had!