Happy New Year 2021!

We made homemade confetti poppers this year. We are quarantined.  I made a quick grocery order because I figured I'm the least contagious right now. I couldn't find any New Year's items in the grocery app but was able to get some Martinelli's and balloons. After that, the crafting began! Poor Maxine, she always wanted to do crafts when she was a kid but I was never a very crafty person.

Lookee here though! We totally crafted with items I had on hand! Toilet paper tubes, wrapped in colorful paper, with a balloon stretch over the bottom, make reusable confetti poppers. Mikayla, Jack, and Mark used the paper shredder to make confetti. It's kind of a lot, in my opinion.

We also had the idea to make some confetti balloons to pop at 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 o'clock.

We popped confetti everywhere. Then, the kids decided it wasn't spreading enough confetti and started throwing handfuls. Nice!

We made a great mess of it. Every single person stayed up until midnight! We think it's the first time ever!

About 2020: It was a little rough but not too bad. Masks are annoying. We hiked a lot and did more outdoor activities, especially in the Spring and Fall. At school, my kids were able to return for in-person instruction in the Fall and a lot of states never did. We were lucky! People have been moving to Utah from all over, trying to get their kids into school. Dan and Angie Moore moved from Vegas so their kids could attend. Crazy stuff! Merril and I both had to get root canals this year. Lame. The COVID-19 pandemic has made me less worried about germs, if you can believe it. I was freaking out at first but settled in. Constantly being freaked out about germs is taxing. I just couldn't do it. It is what it is. We are not guaranteed our life; we never were. Life has risks. We can do our best to find happiness and spirituality and love and the rest will take care of itself. Also, I've been a busting it with the exercise. I found harder strength training exercises and I feel like my whole body is stronger and less bothered than it used to be. Less carpal tunnel, my funny elbow bothered me less, less knee and shoulder fussiness, which has been amazing! Merril and I celebrated 20 years together! How awesome is that!? He's still the person with whom I love to spend my time. My eldest turned 18! Wow! 2020 may have brought some temporary adjustments but we still had a good time. So thanks 2020! We're on to bigger things! Here's to 2021!

Christmas Break Quarantine

Jessica came down with COVID the day after we got together at my Mom's house for dinner and presents. So now we are quarantined. I didn't hardly get a chance to talk to Jess but I did give her a hug when she came in. Oops! We're home bound until January 7th. But the kids have been having fun playing with their Christmas gifts. Grandma Gordon gave Jack and Mark some magnetic sticks and balls to create structures. They've been a hit!

Mikayla has been playing in her mermaid tail. She hops all over and has had it in the tub. 

Hopefully, we'll get through. My Dad started to come down with sickness after Jess left so we're thinking he has COVID. That's no bueno for my old man. Hopefully we'll pull through okay.

 

20th Anniversary Band

Okay, this is something that I wanted for Christmas! Since we celebrated our 20th year together, I kind of wanted a different wedding band. I LOVE MY PLAIN WEDDING BAND! I wear it all the time. I hardly wear my diamond engagement band. So I wanted a band but also wanted something a little fancier. I saw a channel set diamond band. I bought it on an impulse and told Merril it's what I wanted for Christmas. Afterwards, I was browsing Ebay and found one that was the same price but twice the total diamond weight. I bought it too. Eeek! So this is the Ebay one. It's 1/2 carat total weight of diamonds with 10K yellow gold. I'll take the other one back to Walmart. Hee hee! I'm loving it! 

 

Christmas 2020

This is the stash as Merril and I left it on Christmas Eve. We feel like this might be the peak. 

The kids got up early but weren't allowed to get us until 5:00 a.m. We woke up at 4:30 because we could hear them giggling downstairs. Presents were opened, joy everywhere. We were done by 6:00 a.m. and Juliet was asleep by 6:15. Mark was playing with Jack for a while but was asleep by 7:15 a.m. with baby Yoda. Awwww. 

Jack got a unicycle and rode it for many hours of the morning trying to make sense in his head. He would go on to be able to ride it all the way around the cul-de-sac and down to Lisa Nelson's front yard.

Spa Day

Juliet was having a spa day and wearing an actual face mask from the store. Mark and Mikayla wanted one too. So I made some out of coffee filters. :) 

 We decided they were pretty close to the same thing!

Caroling in Ryan's Military Trucks

Ryan Rosenberg bought a huge military truck. Then he bought another one, because two is better than one. Ha!

He arranged to carol at some senior living facilities. The trucks were decorated with lights and so were we.

Merril was asked to drive one of the trucks because they are so BIG! It was chilly, I wore ski pants and was still a little cold. It was a great night spreading Christmas cheer!

 

I've Known You 21 Years!

We stole away for a night in Springdale/Virgin. We left Friday afternoon and went for a short, slightly cold hike in Zion National Park. We went back to Virgin, where we were staying for the night to change for dinner. We stayed at a new glamping place called Wildflower. The place had tents and covered wagon accommodations but Merril opted for a bungalow. They were perfectly small and secluded.

We went to dinner at the new restaurant in Virgin called Balcony One. It was a perfect little getaway with my perfect person. 

 

Maxine won a major award!

Maxine won general sterling scholar at Hurricane High School! She came home and told me and I hadn't even know she'd applied! We're pretty proud of her! She said she had to write 7 essays on the application. Seven! Good job girl!

 

Mikayla's Hip Hop Recital

Mikayla's dance class has continued through COVID. She wanted to try a hip hop class.

She missed some weeks because of COVID but it was still cute. She had a matching set of reindeer antlers and often wore the dance outfit to school, until Christmas break. 

This crazy kid cracks me up!

 

All I Want for Christmas is my 2 Front Teeth!

Mark had a dead tooth pulled a while back. The other front tooth became loose but wouldn't really fall out. It was pushed to the center of his mouth and crooked. It looked pretty weird. It finally fell out just in time for Mark to sing, "All I Want for Christmas is my 2 Front Teeth!" YES! I'm so glad it's finally out!

Finding our tree!

Over the river and through the woods, we went in search of our Christmas tree! Yay!

Maxine loves the trees. She wanted this boi. We said no.

Merril found one that would fit in the living room a little better.

Jack helped tie it to the car.

Then the kids played a game in the snow. They were trying to build a fort to stay the night.

I think had they stayed the night, they might've frozen.

Bring on Christmas!

I Lost my Bubbies!

The Campbell Thanksgiving was supposed to be at the Pine Valley cabin but Grandma got sick. We decided it probably wasn't the best idea to have 7 different families sleeping in the same house during COVID. We moved Thanksgiving to a stake center pavilion in St. George. It was a little cold but clear and sunny. It was nice. 

The kids were playing hide and seek and the adults were chatting. As we got ready to go, we yelled to the kids to come and get in the car. Caroline was going to sleep at our house and Mikayla was going to sleep with Janalynn's family. Then we all jumped in the car and started for home.

About 5 minutes later, just before we got on the freeway, Emily calls and says, "Hey, your little boy just wandered up." 

"OH MY GOODNESS! We'll be right back in 5 minutes!"

We flipped around and headed back towards the pavilion. When we got there, Mark seemed fine and Emily said, "We were trying to navigate to an address and it wouldn't work. We tried like 6 times and it held us up."

The Lord was watching over my little boy. I don't think we would've noticed Mark wasn't in the car until we got home to Hurricane. After realizing, we would've driven back to the pavilion. In that time, probably 40 minutes, Mark would've been sitting by himself in the dark and cold. *sigh* That's a long time for a little kid to be by himself when he's scared. He may have wandered off, trying to find someone. Bad things could've happened. 

None of those things happened. Jared and Emily were simply delayed, giving Mark enough time to realize that hide and seek was over and that he needed to come out of his spot. He wandered over to Jared and Emily and they took care of him until I could get back. He wasn't scared. He wasn't cold. 

The Lord takes care of us in the big ways and in the little ways. I believe He is mindful of us and helps us. I am thankful He was watching over my family today!

 

Odds and ends...

As part of a challenge from President Russel M. Nelson, we were supposed to post about gratitude for 7 days. These are the people for which I am most grateful. They challenge me, love me, and make me happy!

And I made pomegranate jelly. I think it has the most beautiful color! 

Also, I signed up for a Hurricane Recreation Health Challenge for November. On this particular day, I was supposed to walk with a family member(s) for 20 minutes. I forgot until the near end of the day. When it was cold. And Windy. 

I persevered and put on many, many layers and headed out for my walk. Mark and Jack actually came with and rode bikes around me while I walked. They chattered non-stop about all the things boys talk about. It turned into a nice part of my day and I wasn't even that cold!

Finally Finishing my Denim Quilt!

I started this quilt years ago. I saved denim for a decade. I finished the denim topper in September of 2019. I pulled the project out again, more than a year later. I'd stitched part of the back but not the whole thing. Then I could not figure out what I was trying to do in the first place. I ended up finishing it like this because I couldn't remember how it was supposed to go together.

And then I added a red H, last minute. It's for Hurricane!

And here it is! Bound and ready for picnics, laying on the grass and keeping us warm. It huge and heavy. I wanted a blanket my whole family could sit on together. YES!

Update: We took this blanket to our outdoor Campbell Thanksgiving and it was a hit! 
 

Last day in Mexico

Last day here in Mexico and we zoomed out to Chichen Itza. It was a little bit of a struggle to convince Sheri to go. Shelly and Dave had never been and it's impressive. It looks just like I remember it.

It was a great way to end our vacation. I got a few mosquito bites for the ride home but it's okay. Now back to real life! And hopefully we didn't get COVID. :)

 We raced back to Cancun to catch our flight. We made it in perfect time. It was an awesome trip!

Out to Coba, Mexico

So this day in Mexico started with getting the boys out to cenote Dos Ojos (2 eyes). They were scheduled for a cavern dive. The 2 cenote eyes are connected by an underwater caverns. The boys were going to dive it. We didn't think it would take long but learned they were going to be busy until the early afternoon. The girls decided to go drive to the Coba ruins. I was nominated to be the driver. That's fine with me. I have GPS on my phone. No worries. The hurricanes that have pounded the Yucatan have flooded parts of it. Coba was no exception. The whole entrance was under water!

The area with the ruins was fine though.

Then we were able to buzz back to the boys and pick them up. We ate some more tacos and walked along the beach as the sun set. It was lovely.

 

Cenote Calavera

 There was a snafu with the car rental place. They could only get us a 5-seater wagon instead of a van, like we requested. The van was supposed to be there in a few days. So Wade rented a scooter and we went to a cenote. 

I didn't even take any pictures. I grabbed these from the videos I took. There were small holes to jump through, into the water below. The water was a little cold so I didn't stay down in it. I did a backflip off the side. Fun times!