Thanksgiving 2019

I love Thanksgiving. I love it because for a little while during the holidays we get to slow down a bit and just enjoy what is really important, and for me that's family. This year, I don't know that I feel like things slowed down, but we did spend some really good quantity and quality time with family. We left Saturday the 23rd, for Idaho. It was such great traveling weather. We made great time and everything went without a hitch. We got to Provo in about 9 hours which is pretty good considering we stopped and ate lunch. I will say bottle feeding has its perks, and one of those is not having to nurse while traveling. It is so much faster. The kids were really good in the car, and I finished up the top of Abby's stocking. We also had an audio book this time to listen to and so that made the ride enjoyable too.

We arrived in Provo at Kitt and Matthew's house a smidge before 5:00PM and when both Gaupo and I's phones were at about 1% battery life. It was so fun to visit Kitt. I took her all of my baby boy clothes that Kade has outgrown. I hope they help her out and get a little more love and wear. They are so cute and need to be worn. Anyway, we got there and chatted a bit, unpacked, played a little bit of living room catch, and then Gaupo and Matthew went to get gas while Kitt and I made pizza. It worked out really well, especially since Guapo and Matthew took the big girls with them. We had a yummy dinner of pizza. Then we got everyone showered and beds organized, read some Mrs Pig-a-Wiggle, and us adults chatted while the kids slumbered. Gaupo retired first and I ended up going to bed around 11:00. It wasn't too late, but Sunday was going to dawn early, so we needed to get to bed. However, it was so fun to see Kitt and Matthew's place and visit and see them. I loved it and I am so glad we made the stop.

I woke up on Sunday morning around 5:30 to get the show on the road again. We got all ready for church, let the girls have a Go-gurt, and packed up and headed out at 7:30. We needed to be out before that, but sometimes it doesn't happen. However, the roads were really clear and we were able to make good time and squeaked into Swanlake ward during the opening song. I wasn't sure we would make it before the sacrament, but luckily we did. So, the girls got to primary with Grandma. Abby went to Relief Society with me and played with some of the babies there. Kade went to priesthood with Gaupo and we had a great visit there. This is the first time we have been to church in Swanlake since having the twins, so it was fun for everyone to get to see them. After church we went to Grandma's and had a wonderful ham dinner and moved in to stay for awhile. Blaine and James didn't come to church, so the girls were so excited to see them afterwards at Grandma's. We were thinking about trekking down to Utah that afternoon, but opted not and I visited while Gaupo took a nap. The afternoon was spent just enjoying each other's company and catching up. Then it was dinner, and more playing and visiting. When the kids went to bed we played games for awhile and then headed to bed too. 

Playing front and center with the other babies in RS.

Monday we were going to go to Logan to visit Grandma Hammond, but Kylee threw-up at breakfast and felt kind of yucky until later in the afternoon, and it was kind of stormy, so we stayed put and just let the kids play. Blaine had school, so it was just James and the girls in the morning and then Blaine was home in the afternoon and everyone played. I don't know if the below photos are from Monday, but they are of the kids playing together.

The kids painting rocks and Melanie's house Melanie, Blaine, Tia, Kylee, and James.

Blaie, Kylee, and Tia trying to sled by the house.

The 3 babies 'playing' together. Jackson, Abby, and Kade.

Tueday was a clear day and everyone was feeling good, so we went to Logan. The kids had a blast playing in Grandma Hammond's amazing basement. Which has cool toys, plus a great adult audience to watch you play. We stayed there for about and hour and visited with her and let the kids play and then we headed home. That afternoon we made gourmet caramel apples. I so wish I had snagged some pictures of it, but alas you will just have to trust me. The kiddo's, Melanie, and I unwrapped 4 bags of caramels. Just so you know Kraft is way easier to unwrap then Brachs. Anyway, we got them all and then we melted them down, which seemed to take forever for some reason. Maybe I am just impatient. Once it finally melted, each kid helped dip 3 apples. We covered 12 apples in caramel. Then we let that set while I melted the chocolate, which also took FOREVER! Seriously, I think it took even longer than the caramel, I don't know what I was doing wrong. Anyway, next time I might just you the chocolate candy coating. Finally it melted, while it was doing that the kids helped crush some chocolate covered graham crackers, oreos, butterfingers, and reeses peanutbutter cups. Then we dipped and rolled and topped. Then we put them in the car. There was no fridge space and it was plenty chilly outside. The kids had a blast with it and the apples turned out great, but man it seemed like quite the process. However, we did enjoy them for the rest of the week.

The car from back to front on our trip to Logan. (Tia, Me, James, Kade, Kylee, Abby,  Guapo, and Grandma)

Wednesday was more play and some Thanksgiving prep. We made pies and rolls. I did the rolls, and made a raspberry pie. The pie was pretty good, and the rolls had kind of a flavor I thought, but none of it was bad, so I guess its okay. However, I felt like we were cooking most of the day, however, it was nice to not be cooking alone, which is one of the hard parts about when we have it by ourselves. So, rolls and pies were ready. Meals between all of that cooking were served, and games were enjoyed that evening too. 

Thursday we Thanksgiving. I guess I felt like I had cooked enough, so I played more with the kids outside. We went and found some tubes in the shop and climbed the big hill to go sledding. After playing for awhile I did go in and help get the table set and things setup for a wonderful feast. The feast never last quite long enough for all the effort it takes to make it, but it was still really good and fun to be together. We were missing Heidi and Jeff's family, but it was still quite a crowd. After I helped clean up I went outside and helped build two snowman and teach the kids to make and play fox and geese. It was really fun to play with kids, and enjoy the peaceful outdoors. Thursday night we played games, but went to bed kind of early because Heidi and Jeff were coming on Friday.

Dinner time. 

The kids table. Kylee, Tia, James, and Blaine.

Adult Table. Melanie, Aaron, Gary, Grandpa, Grandma, Aubrey, and Scott.

However, when Friday came their kids got sick and so they couldn't come. We found out they weren't going to make it on our way up to visit Grandpa-Great. I love visiting him. Going to his house and being with him is kind of like going home. For me it is peaceful and comfortable. I love it. The visit only got to last about and hour before we had to go. It wasn't long enough and I had major longing to live a little closer so I could visit more often. It was so good to see him and bask in his love. After that visit we headed up to Uncle John and Aunt Karen's for what was going to be a short visit and a meat pick-up but turned into about an hour visit and a meat pick-up. There whole family was there minus Michelle and her crew, so it was good to see them all and chat a bit. Eventually we got headed back to Swanlake, and spent the rest of the day there. Blaine and James had gone to visit there other family, so the girls just kind of lounged around and watched way to much tv, but oh well. About 3:00PM the boys came back and we got on our snow gear and headed out in the snow for a couple last runs down the sledding hill. It was good sledding and we went down the about 5 times. The last time I let the kids go as far and they could and we all made it through the gate by the grain bins, so that was pretty fun. Then we headed inside to warm-up and have some dinner. That night we played out last little round of games and went to bed.

Kylee, Blaine, Jame, and Tia getting ready to go down the hill.

Those are the kids at the bottom of the hill, and I am taking the picture from where we started.

Saturday we left. It was kind of hard to leave knowing we wouldn't be back for quite awhile. The weather wasn't terrible but it wasn't great. The roads from Cokeville to I-80 were terrible. However, we were blessed with safety and Jason took things nice and easy, so it took us 6 hours to get to Rock Springs (normally a 3.5 hour drive), and when we got there we found out the I-80 Eastbound was closed, so we got a hotel for the night. It was actually way fun. It had a little indoor pool and the Hallmark Channel, so we watched a Christmas movie. The girls went swimming once while I went to Wal-Mart to get some bread, PB, and Jelly for sandwiches that night and meals the next day. Then that night I took them swimming again while Gaupo got the twins to bed. Then we all kind of crashed. When we woke-up it was still closed and we didn't think it was going to open before 10, so planned to take it a little easy go to sacrament and then hope it was open. However, it opened around 8:00, so I took the kids to get breakfast. Gaupo and I chose to fast mainly because I stake was having a special fast to be able to have chance to invite in normal and natural ways. So, I really wanted to join with them in that. Then I also really felt it important and needed to go partake of the sacrament, so we did and then headed out. 

The bread I could by in WY. Probably the only reason to live in WY. (hehehe)

The hotel room party.

It was a really cool experience going to church that Sunday. I really struggled with to go or not to go the night before. We needed to get on the roads before they closed, but I really wanted to have Sunday, and to have the sacrament. So, as I was pondering Saturday night on what to do with fasting, and going to church and travel and all those things I found this quote for Pres. Nelson that really helped me. "When I had to make a decision whether or not an activity was appropriate for the Sabbath, I simply asked myself, 'What sign do I want to give to God?' That question made my choice about the Sabbath day crystal clear." I don't know that it made the choice for what to do crystal clear for me, but I did feel empowered to choose what was right, and to know that what I felt could be different than what someone else chose and we could both be right. Sabbath day observance doesn't have one right way. Anyway, after pondering that I decided I wanted to go church. I wanted to partake of the sacrament. I really felt like I needed it. So, I was excited when the road weren't going to open, but when they did I knew I still needed to go, but I also knew we needed to go. So, we went to just sacrament, and I had intended to get my skirt on and the girls in dresses, but we simply didn't have time, so I went to my sacrament meeting (for the first time ever) in sweats and a nice shirt. My girls went in pants, and my twins in normal clothes. We walked in a couple minutes late and you know what the sacrament has never felt more meaningful to me than it did then. It filled me, I knew that what we were doing was enough. To be honest, I was worried I would feel self-conscious, out of place and maybe even judge a little for being late and in not Sunday clothes and then leaving really early, but I didn't and I think I didn't because I was doing my best and everything else didn't matter. Christ made up the difference. He allowed me to feel loved, and a part of his kingdom sitting in a beautiful chapel in my sweats on a Sunday. For me, on that Sunday the 20 minutes I had to give was enough and it was so amazing to feel that. 

The drive home was fairly uneventful. The roads were good for the most part. There were a couple of bad places that made us think 'Oh, that's probably why they closed the road yesterday.' But overall it was good. We did let our kids watch Alvin and the Chipmunks. We listened to the last of our audio book, and it was a good trip. We got home around 3:00PM and got all unloaded. Gaupo worked on trying to clean-up the snow and ice on the portion of our driveway that our neighbors didn't clear and while he was doing that I got things cleaned up and put away. Then we had dinner and got the kids to bed. I chatted with my parents until about 9:00 and then went to bed.

It was a fun filled Thanksgiving made with memories, fun, and family. I am so glad we went and I so very grateful for my family, a loving Father in heaven, for Jesus Christ, and for the time and ability to be with family.

2 Weeks In

I know its not exactly two weeks into November but I have had two solid weekends of it with some pretty good weeks to go with it, so for me two weeks in is good.

The first weekend in November, my friend Stephanie Skeens came for a visit.I met her at BYU-I when I was a Senior and she was in her first semester. She was originally going to come Friday, but ended up coming for Saturday and about 1/2 of Sunday. So, she was officially our first non-family guest to stay over night. SWEET! To be truthful here, I was really nervous about her visit because she has a very strong personality and is kind of hardened person. Plus, the last time she came to visit we went to the temple open house together and she was pretty much anti-the church. She is still trying with all her might to figure things out, and to do the right stuff, but doesn't have a whole lot of good examples and just struggles sometimes. Anyway, I was kind of worried, but at the same time I very much wanted her to come here in hopes that she would be able to visit a place that accepted her where she was. Where we didn't back down standards, but she could still be herself and be comfortable. I think she enjoyed our company. We didn't do anything excited as I was alone with the 4 kids that day because Jason had to work. So, she brought in her huge comfy blankets from her car and helped the girls build a fort. We ate and chatted a bit. She got us to go outside and throw a frisbee around. She played steamroller with my girls. Helped me clean-up meals, and we watch Big Fat Liar that night. (I know this is a terrible title for a movie, but really its good and clean, promise) Then Sunday she went with us to church, helped with the kids. Then after lunch she loaded up and went home. So, it was short, but I feel like it went good. My kids loved her. They loved her sense of humor and the fact that she included them in just about everything. It was a very enjoyable weekend.

Me teaching Tia how to throw (photo credit Stephanie)

Tia, Kylee, Me, and Gaupp (twins in stroller) on the way to church. Photo by: Stephanie

My crazy house

These two besties (Kylee and Tia) photo by: Stephanie

Kylee and Stephanie

Stephanie and Me.

Tia and Stephanie

This past weekend was really nice weather. We got a bit of a cold spell and some snow earlier, so good weather was a nice break. Since games were cancelled on the 2nd, everything was rescheduled for the 9th, and it worked out great except that Kylee got sick and had to miss her last game, which was a huge bummer. But on the plus side, I think it help Gaupo see how much we all like soccer and how good its been for our family, so Spring soccer might be in the works. (I am both excited and worried about this) Anyway, it was a great day for soccer. Tia's game was at 9:00 and you could tell we hadn't played for a couple weeks, but I think the kids still had fun and it was good to play a 'last' game. After Tia's game, we went to the doctor because we thought Kylee had step. Turns out our doc doesn't do walk-ins anymore however, a nurse was willing to do the throat swab for us, so we didn't have to go to urgent care. The receptionist said we should go buy a lottery ticket now because they NEVER do that. I was so glad they did especially since it came back negative, grrrr. Anyway, since it was negative and we were on the right side of town with some target gift cards I needed to spend we went pants shopping for the girls. Once again we struck rich, and found Kylee 4 pairs and Tia 2. We really needed that many so I am glad we could find them and have gift cards to help us out. Then we went home and had lunch and rested. Then later in the afternoon we all went for a family bike ride. It was a good ride we all enjoyed the ride and the little play at the park. Then I made chicken noodle soup for dinner and we just kind of relaxed into the night. It was a busy but fun day. I really wish I had more pics of the girls playing soccer, but between twins and coaching, no such luck.

As for the weeks, I totally planned to just get a little started on my Christmas projects, but then apples went on sale-ish. I mean they were on sale, but not a normal like I have to can these sale. However, our family is out of applesauce and I bought some and it was just gross, so it was a need and they were a pretty good deal. So, Veteran's Day Gaupo helped me can 56 pints and 3 quarts of applesauce. Today I prepped apple slices to can tomorrow, prayers that that goes well for me. It has made for some tire some days though. Canning is a ton of work. I give major applause to those who do a bunch year after year. Plus to those pioneers before all the nifty helpful stuff came about. I mean its not easy, but it is tasty and I am so excited to have my jars full again!

Applesauce was this week, but last week I decided it was time to start Christmas projects. So, I got the house cleaned. I promise it was although, now it doesn't look it. Except the bathrooms aren't revolting, so you know it happened. Anyway, part of the clean-up was the guest room and turning it into my craft room. After that was all squared away, I cut out pajama pants for the kids (I hope they fit) and got the stockings for Kade and Abby cut and sewn, plus buying all the supplies to stitch on them. It was kind of a lot of stuff, but it feel so good to have projects and things to work on. I love taking breaks, but I have been on one for awhile, so its good to be back to work.

One more bit of news is that last week we talked to a realtor about selling our house and buying another. I really would like more space in the kitchen to work and have people work with me. We could also use a living room where you can actually see the people you talking to instead of having to tilt your body on the couch. Bigger bedrooms for the kids would be nice too. So, anyway we have our work cut out for us. We aren't 100% sure we will move because if we don't find something better for us than what we have then we might as well not move. Our house has so many great aspects to it, but its flaws are kind of glaring right now. Although, last night while cuddling Abby, I thought of all the things we have done and the things I like about this house and if we move it will be hard because so many memories have been made in this house. It will always be a tender spot for me.  Yep, it been quite a couple of weeks for us.

Here are some pics just because I like them.

Tia pretending with horse and blocks.

Kylee's duplo castle

Gaupo and the twins.

Abby in a super cute dress.

October

I can't believe I just let October slip by with no blogging about all the great things that happened. October is one of my favorite months. For one, Gaupo's work incentive is Walk-tober and he strives to get over 10,000 steps all 31 days of October. That means for one month out of the year we go on family walks, and this year we even worked out together. I love being active as a family, so to actually have Gaupo motivated to go biking, walking, whatever is AWESOME!!

Gaupo pushing the stroller

Kylee and Tia on Scooters

Abby and Kade

I also loved October this year because family came to visit! I love Colorado for so many reasons, but being far from family isn't one of them. It was so fun to have them come, and I only got a couple of pictures even though we had a great time. Oma and Papa arrived on Wednesday the 16th and stayed till Saturday the 19th. It was perfect timing because I got Thursday with them all to myself. Well, I guess I had to share with the twins, but not the big girls. Although, Oma did go to both their classes and read books to them. The girls thought that was so amazing. Papa decided to walk with her to the school, so while they were gone I made bread and monster bars. With our day alone, I had them go to Costco with me, so we could get the refer-a-friend reward for me getting a Costco membership. We meandered around there and for awhile and came home. It was just fun to be with them. Our house is always full of projects and my dad loves to work on something. This time he chose to saw off the bottom of the guest room door, so that it now opens and closes easily. It took him awhile to get it just so (Papa is a bit of an exactist, which is totally fine), and I will tell you it works so nice now. Friday was the start of "fall break." It is really just a four-day weekend but it worked out perfect for our visitors this time. So, the girls got to have whole day with no school and Oma and Papa. Plus, Aunt Kitt arrived around noon. We were going to do something, but we ended up hanging around, visiting, going to the park, watching Twitches, and making snickers popcorn. It was so nice to just relax with them. Everyone stayed for the girls games on Saturday, so that was fun to have a lots of family to cheer them on. Oma and Papa left after the games to head home, but Kitt got to stay. We just enjoyed her and her and I stayed up way to late talking about sister stuff and it was awesome. A little bit hard to get up the next morning, but so great to see her again. I really miss having her close. I know when they finally move back things will be different than when she lived here before, but I am so excited still. Kitt left Sunday around 7:00, and the girls were so bummed because they didn't have school Monday, so they thought Kitt should hang around longer, but she had to go to work.

Abby and Kade, and half of Papa at the park

Tia in the sand.

Kylee on the Monkey Bars.

Monday of the 4-day weekend was really fun too. We spent the vast chunk of it making Halloween costumes, which if I do say so myself turned out very well this year. The girls even helped make them which I think made them even better. I have really enjoyed working on things with the girls this year.

Tia with her tail and wings.

Kylee with her ears and tail

Completely aside from costumes, the girls and I worked together to plan a Fall Party for a couple of their friends. They each invited one school friend and then Tori and Trent. We invited whole families but still ended up with only about 6 guest which actually turned out to be enough for us. We had fun visiting as adults, the kids had fun playing. Things didn't go exactly as planned, but it was still really fun. We worked on planning the party and making invitations on Sunday afternoons, and it was I feel like a great use of our time. The girls thought of what to have, what to do, how to decorate, and then we helped make it possible. We had pumpkin pancakes, sausage, and hashbrowns for dinner. Then we did a craft of a fall snow globe. They played pin the bat in the tree and had a pinata. There was plenty of time to just play and it worked out really good. I got 2 pictures after everything was over. So much planning and almost no proof. Kind of a sad deal, but the party was super fun, so oh well.

Pin the bat in the tree game.

The kitchen after math.

Of course our October wouldn't be complete without our Halloween celebrations. We watched several Halloween movies this year and even shared a couple with the girls. They did okay with them, although they did get a little scared with Twitches 2. Overall they did really well. Besides movies, the celebration was kicked-off with our ward Halloween party. It was potluck pizza and salad. It was super chill and I thought just perfect. I made a jack-o-lantern pizza for it, but it was kind of crazy day, so it got more toasty than I like, but oh well. The kids loved wearing their costumes and had a great time with their friends. Saturday was more soccer and we had monster tacos for dinner. I had everyone build their own and it worked great. Sunday was Autumn Sausage casserole. Monday we did meatloaf hand and pond sludge (potatoes and gravy). We also carved pumpkins that night. The girls pretty much gutted their own. They still needed help carving, but other than that they did great. I only had two tealight candles, so we used some old sparklers and they were way cool. It looked extra cool because it was so cold you could see the smoke coming off of them. So, I am very tempted to make sparklers a Halloween thing because it was really fun.Tuesday Jack-o-Lantern turnovers and dry ice and rootbeer night. It fun to let the kids blow the fog and then have some sludgy rootbeer. We had a ton of dryice this year, so it was really cold. It was already really cold outside, so slushy rootbeer was a little chilly for treat, but still so good and fun. Wednesday was suppose to be mummy burritos, but it was just burritos. Thursday, Hallowee, was the school Halloween parade and the traditional moldy mac and worms. After getting some food in the girls put the finishing touches on their costumes and Gaupo took them trick-or-treating. It was so cold, I didn't dare take the twins, but Kade and Abby were pretty sad to see everyone go outside without them. The big girls trick-or-treated for a little over an hour and got a great haul of candy and it was a very successful night.

Abby (cheerleader) and Kade (football player) 

Tia for Ward Party (Blue Dragon)

Kylee as a fox

All the kids

Meatloaf hand and pond sludge (top), turnover (left), moldy mac and worms (right)

Monster taco creations. Made by Gaupo, Tia, Kylee, and Me.

Gaupo lighting pumpkins

Tia, Mine, and Kylee's pumpkins all aglow.

Tia and Kylee with Sparklers.

Gaupo, Tia, and Kylee making the fog.

Tia on Halloween (Blue Dragon)

Kylee on Halloween (Fox)

Sisters and Best Friends

Not Much Here

I don't really know what to write about we haven't been up to much. I checked my phone for pictures that could inspire me as far as what to write about and this is what I found.

Kade in a cute new outfit.

Abby with Kade's helmet. 

A family portrait that Tia and I worked on together during conference. Tia also added her cousin Roxy in there.

Kade and Abby in twinner pants and sleepy positions.

See what I mean not a whole lot here. I spend a lot of time with my twins because they don't go to school. I didn't realize how much I missed having my big girls around until Monday when Kylee stayed home because her throat hurt. Yes, there were time it would have been easier for her to be at school. I could have gotten more done and had more alone time, but I loved having her for just a little bit. We read, did her math homework, ran to Sams Club, and just normal stuff, but it was fun to have someone that interacts with me to do it all with. I love doing my stuff with my twins, and I feel so blessed to have them in my life because I don't have to do things alone, but it was fun to have Kylee around.

Conference was this weekend. We missed Saturday Morning Session because we had soccer games, but we listened to all the rest. It was so good. This year was the first year I didn't go to women's session at the church. It was a little weird, but by the time I got dinner on the table it was like 5:50 and I wasn't even dressed yet. Plus, it seemed like a lot to just dump on Gaupo. 2 baths, 2 showers, feeding 4 people and yourself, plus putting 4 kiddos to bed. It's a lot normally but by yourself its really tough, so I stayed home. I watched it all. I watched some while I finished dinner. Gaupo still did all the baths and showers, but I helped with lotioning and feeding the babies before their bed time. Plus, I was here to help keep the big girls downstairs while he cared for the twins. I still got a lot of the meeting and think I made the right choice, although, I do not plan on doing that all the time. My favorite talk from conference was Pres. Nelson's talk in the Women's session. It added so much meaning and purpose to me receiving my endowments. It blesses me and my family so much. It gives me priesthood power that I can use in my own and families lives. I am not a Priesthood bearer, but that does not mean that I do not have priesthood power. I don't know it was really good and meant a lot to me.

I had parent teacher conferences this last week too. That was a little rough. Like as in I cried as I went home after them. I want so bad for my kids to get school and to do well, and they struggle with it. I think it is just so something I never expected to have happen that it takes me back every time. My kids are trying and they don't cause problems at school. Plus, this year is so much better than last year, so really we are doing so much better, but it was still hard to hear that my children were struggling academically. I think its hard because there is only so much I can do. Forcing it down my kids throats, making them practice practice practice and not get to play, or stressing our whole family out over it isn't going to do any good in fact it will probably do just the opposite, so we just do what we can. Conference gave me some areas to focus on and so we work on those and just hope and pray that between the help they get at school and what I can do here is enough and that they will be okay. It's hard. I sometimes wish I could have a conference that all the teacher said was your kid is doing great, they seem to understand everything and are right were they should be. They have great behavior.... You know that kind of conference, but that isn't the case, and that is okay. Or at least it is now. We keep working and trying. They will be okay, and one day that conference might happen, but if it never does than it doesn't and we keep trying our best and keep moving forward because I plan on my kids being great people anyway.

That's pretty much it from here. We still do soccer, school, work, and play. The weather has been awesome, but threatens to go south later this week, so welcome Fall.