We got family pics done with the Bott family and they turned out great! I'll put a few in this post. My favorite is Marcus's weird smile in some of the pics. Ha, ha! It's hilarious.
In November we all got sick. Boo! It started with Layla; she came down with strep throat and was very sick. I don't think she ate anything or said much for two whole days! Thank heavens for antibiotics! She had to miss one day of school, but after a couple days on the meds she was back to her normal chatty self.
Next Marcus got it. His started when he randomly projectile vomited twice in one day, and then he came down with an ear infection and sinusitis. I waited several days, but he ended up on antibiotics too. Mitch has felt sick on and off and even missed a Friday at work, but he is on the mend now thankfully! I got sick too, but was the least sick of anyone. I attribute that to having my tonsils removed last year. Hallelujah!
Layla went off track the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and she is off track until January 4th! I've loved having her home with us during the holidays! Thanksgiving was wonderful. We were with my fam this year. I say it every year, but my Grandma Ruth is the best cook! Her homemade dressing is incredible and her pies are delicious! It was a very nice day. The following Sunday we spent with the Botts and had a Mexican Thanksgiving with fajitas and Spanish rice. Lol! It was fun to do something different! We also celebrated my birthday with them then and Kevin made his famous Oreo cookie cake that I love! It was a great weekend!
Last week Layla had her second piano recital. She played, "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" from memory and she did not make a single mistake! Not one! I was shocked and it was a super proud parent moment to see her walk up there all by herself, announce her name and piece, and play so well. After she bowed she RAN to me and jumped into my arms with the biggest smile on her face. It made all the fighting and tears over daily piano practice worth it. So proud of my girl!
Last weekend Mitch, the kids, and I went on a tour of Mrs. Cavanaugh's Chocolate Factory. We must have driven by it hundreds and hundreds of times before. I finally got around to setting up a tour and now when we drive by we will know what is inside. :) It was a fun tour and delicious of course! Marcus was kind of a stinker and had to be taken out a couple of times. He's at a difficult age right now. I had to walk out of sacrament meeting with him today at church because he was being naughty. The hardest part is that afterwards he is super, super sweet and turns on the charm to the highest level so no one can be mad anymore and then he feels like he can get away with anything again. It's a vicious cycle.
Yesterday Layla and I went to Thanksgiving Point for Oakley's birthday. I can't believe she's 7 years old now! Man, I miss those guys and wish they hadn't moved! We'll just have to keep planning get togethers.
After that we drove to Midway and met up with Mitch and Marcus, my parents, Grandma Ruth, and Brock, Natalie, and Evelyn to go on a sleigh ride and meet Santa. It was a really fun night. We all managed to stay warm. Layla asked Santa for a very easy gift that she is super excited about. Marcus sat on Santa's lap without screaming when I sat next to him. Evelyn was her adorable, squishy little self who just loves her cousins and Aunt Lacey and Uncle Mitch! (Seriously, though, she really loves us!) We went to dinner after in Midway and had a Coldstone cake and I opened birthday presents. It was really nice and I felt spoiled.
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| At the Santa Sleigh ride. |
Today I woke up and Mitch had made breakfast. He went out of his way yesterday to go shopping and buy bread from Great Harvest for french toast. He also bought a ham and rolls for dinner tonight (warm ham and rolls and funeral potatoes is my favorite meal; a little lame, I know, but it's just so yummy and such a comfort food for me I guess). My one request for my birthday was that I didn't want to make dinner. I was expecting a frozen pizza or something, so I am really grateful and happy that he went above and beyond!
Mitch gave me a new phone for my birthday and Christmas and I LOVE it! It is so nice and I am very spoiled! I told him no more gifts. He went around my rule by having the kids give me gifts. ;) This morning they gave me two more pieces to my Willow Tree Nativity scene! It's beautiful and finally feels complete. It's my favorite Christmas decoration by far!
This month the kids and I have been doing a "service stocking." We have a miniature Christmas stocking that is full of little slips of paper. Each paper has a simple service idea that we can do each day until Christmas. Some are really simple like "Smile at everyone you see today," or "Call a relative who lives far away and wish them a Merry Christmas," etc. Others require more effort like "donate food to your local charity," or "candy cane bomb a parking lot," etc. The ones that require buying something or making something I prepared for ahead, so when we pull it out of the stocking that day I will have everything ready to go. It's been a great experience so far and I don't know how much the kids pick up on it, but for me it has certainly been helpful to remember the true meaning and spirit of Christmas during a busy time of year.
For today's service we are passing out the gifts we made for our neighbors. We bought each family a package of straws and I put some Hershey's Hugs and Kisses in a little bag and tied them with Christmas ribbon to the package of straws. There is a card with each one that says, "We hope your holidays don't 'suck' but are full of HUGS and KISSES." LOL! I made it up myself and I'm quite proud of it. ;) Layla was so embarrassed when we went to the dollar store to buy the straws because we bought all but four packages of straws and our cart was completely full of straws! She kept saying, "I don't feel good about this, Mom," and "Are you sure we need that many straws?" I've never seen her be embarrassed like that before, let alone embarrassed of something her MOM had done. I thought it was pretty funny.
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| Giving food to the shelter. |
One last thing I want to mention as I update my blog is how much my kids love a new Disney show called, "PJ Masks." They are obsessed with it! There are three main characters: Catboy, Owlette, and Gecko. Marcus, Layla, and Mitch pretend to be the characters in that order. Marcus pretty much only refers to Mitch as Gecko lately. It's SO funny! I really need to find him a costume so he can dress up like Catboy. Oh, and I'm the villian, Luna Girl and I have to pretend to be "mean" and Catboy and Owlette will come and take away my evil powers. It's quite amusing!
Also, Marcus and I have adjusted to going grocery shopping with just the two of us while Layla is at school. The other day he insisted on wearing his beanie and sunglasses and wouldn't take them off. He got a lot of compliments from other shoppers. ;)
Love my little family and feel very blessed today!
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