Christmas 2025

We went to the live nativity at Tuacahn this year on the 23rd. I feel like we haven't been for a few years. The kids say they want to be in the nativity again. It's been probably 8 years. We'll have to do it again but we have to get on the ball a little earlier.

On our way to finding our seats, we ran in to Merril's Uncle Dave and Aunt Lynnette. They were there with their kids and grandkids.

Then as we were leaving, we bumped into Justin and Rachel. So funny that we all picked the same night to go to Tuacahn and that we bumped into each other. On Christmas Eve, we had tacos and acted out the nativity.

I'll have to see if anyone else took pictures of Christmas day because I don't have any. The Saturday after Christmas, we went to Fiesta Fun to bowl with my family. I got of picture of Maxine and Mikayla on this giant polar bear and that's it.

There are some days that I'm wrapped up in enjoying the moment and don't take very many pictures. It's fine, I like being in the moment. Sometimes, the remembering is a little random.

December Outdoor Adventures

Merril has two friends named Dylan/Dillon with planes. Merril took the kids to ride in planes while I was working on Christmas things!

Then Maxine and Merril did a multi-pitch climb in Snow Canyon called Leopard Skin.

While they were climbing, Juliet and Mark road mountain bikes. We saved all of Juliet's mtb kits in a bag for Mark. We broke them out for the ride.

 

Zion Canyon Hot Springs

For our un-anniversary this year, we went to the new Zion Canyon Hot Springs in La Verkin. There were a ton of hot tubs! Most were piped out of the sulfur springs in the virgin river so they weren't that clean. There were several things floating in the hot tubs because they're full of river water. It's natural. They smelled like sulfur. There were salt water ones that mimicked hot springs from around the world. They were mostly salt water and magnesium. It was fun but I don't know if I need to go again. It was kind of expensive. I don't have an actual picture of us at the hot springs because I left my phone in my locker so it wouldn't get wet. I attached a stock photo.

There was a snack bar and we got a fruit smoothie and sipped it in the hot tubs. We ran into Jed and Nicole Stout and that was fun too. We stayed the night at The Dwellings, these little houses next to River Rock. They overlook the canyon and it was a good little getaway. We met 26 years ago. Dang! Wouldn't have it any other way.

 

Mikayla's Orchestra Concert

Mikayla is growing up and her orchestra playing is so fun to watch. She and Juliet threw together a video for Grandma and Grandpa. They played the Piano Guys version of Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel. With very little practice, it sounded great! It's just so fun to watch!

Happenings in Different Places

Merril flew to Nashville to be with his Dad and Mom and Mikayla went to the mall with her friends. Mark and I went to WinterFest in La Verkin. There was a light parade, my first time ever going and it was fun.

While Dad was in Nashville, he was trying to help Grandpa stand up and felt his arm snap. They called the ambulance and went to the ER. They took a bunch of X-rays and found a broken arm, a broken scapula/rib, and a broken femur at the top of his leg by the ball. They decided to do a hip replacement while Merril was there. Overall, Grandpa seems pretty beat down. He has to keep getting blood transfusions because his body isn't making red blood cells because of the chemo and cancer. So that was kind of scary but he was told by his Oncologist that his cancer numbers are down 75%. It's just going to be a long road probably.

Merril was able to sneak in some fun and played soccer with Lucas's team.

Jack and Elder Niez and rocking being office elders. They are getting stuff accomplished for the mission and Jack is driving all over in the mission car. He says that working on the computer is a little rough but he's learning a lot. He said he might even consider being an accountant some day.

 

The New Iceberg in Hurricane

Let me tell you a crazy story. Jack told me that in his apartment, there's an Elder Bucad. He said I needed to go to the new Iceberg ice cream place in Hurricane because Elder Bucad's parents just opened it. Me and the littles went and found the Bucads and we laughed that they moved here not that long ago and found out that their son on a mission is staying with an elder who is from Hurricane. They were nice and we had a fun chat and then we ordered food.

Jack was able to go to the temple and I'm happy for him. I feel like a mission is all about bringing people to the temple but the elders and sisters don't get to go as often as I think they should.

And then Maxine and Ashlyn made gingerbread houses. 

Thanksgiving Weekend 2025

We're all together for Thanksgiving weekend! The shenanigans started with Juliet wondering about my wedding dress and if she could fit into it. So we went to see. I couldn't get the zipper up, she has strong shoulders from weight lifting. And then I tried it on and had to basically lose a rib to get it to zip up but we did it! I couldn't last that long, I had to jump right out of it.

Jack had zone conference. I love to spot him in the big zone conference pictures that the mission posts on Facebook. He grabbed this selfie.

On Thanksgiving morning, we made our own Turkey Trot down at Grandpa's Pond. Mikayla and I ran/walked a few miles. Everyone else did a 5K.

Thanksgiving was at Jessica's house in Las Vegas. We ate too many appetizers and there was SO MUCH FOOD at dinner.

I snapped a group photo before we left!

On the way home, I spotted a Christmas Light Drive Thru at the Speedway. We actually passed it before I decided that I really wanted to go and so we turned around at Apex and headed back to the Speedway. They did a nice job. There were a ton of lights.

And now the Christmas tree getting. It was barely cold at Jacob Lake. We found a really nice tree!

We don't have anything to strap stuff to the top of the Tahoe because it used to be a fire department reserve car and had a light bar so Merril had to improvise. He ran straps to the handles inside the Tahoe and it seemed to work great!

As we were leaving, we spotted a fire tower. Some of the kids have climbed it before but not me. We stopped and made our way up to the top.

Well, almost to the top. The platform has a padlock.

It was windy at the top and a lot colder. I was actually sore the next day from all the stairs.

Maxine and Mark went to the mall afterwards and stopped by the giving machines. They purchased a children's book for someone in need.

 

Called to Serve

Leighna has been preparing for her mission and it's finally time to go! She was called to Milwaukee Wisconsin. Maxine and Leighna have been hanging out because they both go to Utah Tech.

And going to the temple together.

She's going to miss Thanksgiving at home, which is kind of sad, but she'll be great. She said she told the Lord that she'd go anyplace that isn't cold. Eek. Sorry Leighna! Wisconsin in the winter is going to be brutal. We'll be praying for you sweet girl!

Pool Table is Gone!

Check this out! I've mentioned to Merril that I'm kind of done with the pool table in the basement. It belonged to Darryl Z. and we were storing it. It's been a lego table forever. It was rarely used for pool. So we asked Darryl if he wanted it back and his wife didn't want it at their house. None of his brothers or cousins wanted it so he said we could sell it and keep the money or give it away. We ended up putting out some feelers and Colby up the street said he wanted it. So we had some friends come over and got it out of the basement and now it feels so big down there.

Now it's like, what do we do with the big space!? I have ideas for a big rug and maybe a wall of bookshelves on the long wall. Maybe a cozy chair. I also want to get rid of the couch. I despise the feathers and it's been jumped on so much that it's pretty broke down. 

Run in the Rain

It's cold out here but maybe not quite this cold. It was raining and Merril wanted to to go for a walk/jog in the rain. It was fun but if Merril hadn't been there, I probably would've stayed home to exercise. I was actually hot by the time we finished. I'm glad we were able to spend time together and get some exercise. He's been gone a lot for Baja and I'm happy he's home. 

 

Baja 1000 2025

Here's the Baja bros! Mark wanted to go but I didn't want Merril to be distracted for his Pro Moto Ironman run. Merril was locked in and didn't take very many pictures. We thought this would be his year but alas, he had to drop out just past mile 600. It was around 28 hours of hard riding through the Mexican desert. Shawn says he got video of Merril saying that he'll never try to ironman the Baja 1000 again but I'm dubious. 

THIS XRAY IS NOT MERRIL. Merril handed off the bike to Ryan so he could ride with Darryl for safety. They were going through San Felipe when Ryan hit a big rock and wrecked. It's not far from where Wade had his famous accident that left him with a dislocated hip. Ryan went end over end and somehow lost a finger. He doesn't know how. YIKES! They helicoptered him out of there and he hitched a ride on a jet with some mango growers. 

He was transferred to the trauma center in San Diego and they decided they couldn't save the finger and they just ground down the rest of the bone and wrapped the skin around and stitched him up. Shawn got to San Diego around that time and picked up Ryan and drove him home. He seems to be in good spirits but it's pretty sobering when one of the guys loses a finger. Oh man. 

Temple Trip and Sushi

While Merril is racing Baja, I needed to run to Cedar to pick up a Christmas present I bought off Facebook Marketplace. I decided to turn it into a fun trip. Mark hadn't been to the Cedar City temple for baptisms so we went! I forgot how pretty the baptistry is! It was fun to be there with my littles.

Then we ate sushi! We tried really hard to order only the amount we needed because we didn't have Merril to clean up the extras. It was delicious, as always. We've been to a Japanese place that just opened by our house and I think we've all decided that we like Ninja the best. 

 

Kaylee L's Wedding

Maxine and Ellen's friend, Kaylee, got married to a guy named Tanner. Maxine drove to Salt Lake to hang out with Ellen and Trentin and then they went up to the wedding together. Kaylee looks so cute!

Always fun to hang out with friends!

I love wedding cakes these days. I love that they serve different desserts and have a smaller cake for cutting. I love the personality behind it. 

Jack's is No Longer a Teenager

Jack turned 20 this week and that's absolutely bonkers to me! Guess how he celebrated? By avoiding a massive typhoon. Nah, just kidding. He said it was rainy but it was fine. He was out of the path of the heaviest parts of the storm. He and Elder Niev didn't have much time to call or email because they were helping the office evacuate sisters and elders from the storm. He sent a message and said he was fine but busy and would call later.

 

Maxine's 23rd Birthday!

Since Merril was in Mexico prerunning for the Baja 1000, I took Maxine to breakfast for her birthday. There was so much food and the best hot chocolate ever! 

They still brought dessert for her birthday, even though it was breakfast time!

Maxine and Leighna went to the temple for her birthday!

Maxine had a party at our house a few days later and invited some of her college friends. They watched a movie.

They also had cake! She wanted to make an old school cake for her 23rd. She was channeling Juliet back in the day. That girl was always making cake that you had to pipe the frosting.