Busy days, happy days

Kendal had her Christmas piano recital on the 6th. She has worked so hard on her piece "Believe". She did a wonderful job and it was fun to hear the other Christmas songs from the other kids. To celebrate we grabbed some crumble cookies and shared them at home! 

Kendal had her well check on the 8th and got in her first covid shot. She is growing and is 57in tall and weighs 82lbs, with perfect eye sight!

Casey turned 38 on the 11th! We got to have a wonderful morning together. I made him biscuits and gravy and he opened gifts and cards from the kids. I don't say it enough, but I'm beyond blessed with the best with Casey. He is amazing in so many ways and I love him so very very much! He's had a lot on his shoulders this school year, and I know life isn't often easy for him. I'm grateful he continues to teach, serve, love, and do so much for so many. He is our rock and everyone's favorite around here!

After Casey's birthday morning at home we headed out to Raft River for the Webb extended family party. We had a nice lunch and got to see family we haven't seen in a while. The kids ran around with second cousins. We got to sing songs and do the traditional cereal game. We stayed for the afternoon and ate dinner and had birthday cake to end the evening. 

Kendal had her choir performance on the 13th. It was a big concert night with every band from middle to high school and each school choir performing. Cheryl went early and watched David play in the middle school band then stayed for Kendal and the other school's choir songs. Kendal's group only got to perform a couple of songs, but they gave a wonderful performance. 

Peter had his basketball observation on the 14th. All of the 3rd and 4th grade boys got to run through a bunch of drills and plays while the coaches observed them. Peter enjoyed himself and got in there. We're looking forward to his season starting in January! That same night Kendal had a Temple trip with the Young Women. She's been wanting to go to the Temple and was happy to go! 

Both Peter and Alice spent the last week before school getting out wearing Santa hats. Alice wore hers to day care and preschool while Peter wore his to school. He also wore jammies to PJ day on Friday!

Alice had her last day with Miss Ellie on the 16th. I'm so bummed I didn't get a picture of the sweet girls with Miss Ellie. They've had such a wonderful experience this fall. Miss Ellie has been amazing and we're heartbroken to loose her. Thankfully the girls get to stick together and join most of the boys from Miss Ellie's other class with a new teacher located here in Kimberly! 

Peter had his class party last Friday. I got to help out. I was over a relay race that we did with tic tac toe as well as shuffle board with gingerbread cookies. Peter played a couple of other games and made gumdrop designs ( his was a 3D star). Alice tagged along and was having a good time sneaking sweets and helping with the relay race. I got to dress up a bit as well last week. Santa hat day, elf, reindeer. Work is busy but good. Not going to lie, I'm thankful for a break from busy and being at home this week with the kids!

Our ward party was also last Friday. We went to dinner at the church. It was a nice dinner with a simple program. Santa came at the end. Kendal and Peter rushed over to join the line, but Alice refused. After coaxing her a bit we got her to join the line, but only moving a little bit closer made her regret her decision and she backed off completely refusing to see him.  We took our time getting home driving around and looking at Christmas lights; stopping to enjoy the house that's has a light show set to music. 

Casey had games this last Saturday I went and watched for a bit while the kids bummed around at home. Saturday afternoon Kendal and Peter got a surprise visit from their friends that moved away this summer. They played the afternoon away with Adi, Deacon, Tayven, and Austin!! After dinner that night we went into Twin to see a living Nativity. There is a family that owns a couple of acres and they put on an elaborate representation of Bethlehem as it was. Minus it being really cold it was truly a wonderful and interesting experience! The kids were in awe, Alice was a bit leery of the animals - while Kendal and Peter pet the sheep, goats, and llamas. I hope to make it a tradition every year! After the Nativity we drove out to a neighborhood that puts on an elaborate display to drive down.

After church on Sunday we headed out to Raft River for our Darrington party. We added Cody and Mia in via video chat as we opened gifts to each other. It was a buzz of activity and fun having so many there! Alice got a Bell doll from her cousin Madi and an Elsa costume from Grandma and Grandpa. Peter got a nerf football from his cousin Grady, and Harry Potter Lego's from Grandma and Grandpa. Kendal got a gift card for books from James, and Harry Potter Lego's from Grandma and Grandpa. Casey and I got a gift card to eat out from Nicole and Jordan, and money for our much needed new vacuum. We enjoyed some dinner and then did songs and the cereal game. Brett / Vanessa / kids, and us were the only ones able to sleep over, but It was fun with everyone else while it lasted! We got to have a nice morning at Casey's parents and come home around lunch. Casey had games Monday night, and since we didn't have a school night I took the kids. They mostly ran around with buddies, while I watched and chatted with friends. 

Casey and I got in a date to the Temple yesterday! Sarah was a sweetheart and took the kids (mostly for Alice and Jemma's benefit - those two have missed each other fiercely!) We got to do an endownment session and got to be the witness couple! I love the calm I feel at the Temple - it was a nice respite from our busy days. Kendal had a movie / Christmas party with friends in the afternoon. 

We decided to give the kids one on one time this year for their need gift. We're spreading it out over the break so today Casey took Kendal out to Depot Grill for lunch and then to the climbing gym. Kendal is our climber and it was her top pick. Casey got re-certified to belay and got to assist Kendal on her hours of climbing! She came home all smiles! 

Thanksgiving / catching up.

Alice has been doing well in her two preschools. She's picking up on basic site words and reading simple sentences on her program. Out of the blue Alice stated the Pledge of Allegiance a couple of weeks ago. Little did we know she's been working hard on it in preschool with Miss Ellie and has it memorized. She surprises us often with little songs and diddies she's picked up at Sadie's house and preschool, or she'll randomly belt out her own made up tunes. She plays so well with the other kids at day care and even on her own at home when I'm busy or the other two aren't home / able to play.   

Peter has been working hard at school on his Idaho projects. His class made salt dough maps of Idaho and he was very proud of his work. He likes to tell us information about Idaho now and then and share what he's learning in school. 

Kendal's days are quite full. (School, piano, basketball, SOS, homework) She's continued to do training and extra things at school for her SOS committee. She had two basketball games on Nov. 20th, both wins! One was an easy win and the other they battled it out and won by 2! So this past weekend she went into her tournament tied for first. However bracket play put their team in 2nd place (cuz someone has to be). Her team fought hard, however they were a key player down, and the other team fought harder so by just a bit they were out round one. Overall Kendal had a great basketball season. She played so well and grew immensely as a defensive player. We are grateful for the team / coach she got - He saw her potential and pushed her. Next year will be middle school fall sports! So crazy! 

Since we had a whole week off for Thanksgiving break we went to Logan for a few days. Casey helped David and my Dad on the job, while the rest of us hung out. Because of Covid rules I could only take Kendal in to see Nana, but it was a nice visit. She'd just had her hair done and was happy to see us! Tuesday, Peter and I took snacks to the boys on the job. Peter messed with some cement and watched a drone for a few min. Grandpa treated him to a skidster ride as well. We took Grandma out to lunch at Chick-Fil-A and enjoyed our afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa's. We got to see David / Anica and their boys both Monday and Tuesday night for dinner! Tuesday the kids got to have a treat and a show while the "big kids" played a game in the kitchen. Wednesday we went up to Smithfield to play with the kids. Aunt Katherine brought supplies to build cute edible turkeys the kids loved the colored mallows and had a fun time together! We headed to Raft River that afternoon. 

Thanksgiving was full of making and eating delicious food! Brett, Vanessa, and their kids were there with us this year. The kids put together puzzles, towers of magnet tiles, and lots of games and play. At one point Peter wanted to go hunt a turkey for Thanksgiving. He thought it'd be the best thing ever! Thanksgiving morning when he saw Grandma preparing a real turkey he vowed not to eat turkey. Poor kid was a bit traumatized, but we'll turn him around yet. I was over rolls and dessert. I made cute turkey rolls and some regular rolls. I bought Kenny his cherry pie, made some apple pie, and a pumpkin cake. Dinner was wonderful and we had a nice afternoon / evening together. Since Casey scheduled basketball practice early the next morning we headed home Thursday night. 

Friday and Saturday were easy going. Kendal and Peter joined Casey at practice both mornings while Alice and I played at home. We did a little bit of black Friday shopping Thursday. Casey and I got in a date night Saturday to Guppies while the kids had a movie night. 

We were back to school and regular activities this past week. Casey had a couple of games to be at and a few early morning practices. Kendal got to take treats to first responders for her YW activity. Grandma and Grandpa Loosle gifted the kids chocolate Advents that they've happily dove into each day. Peter and Alice are so excited to open their windows and discover which character is on their chocolates for the day! On the first the kids got to unwrap their holiday pajamas and a special book. Peter declared the pajamas - candy cane pajamas and one the pictures is of them as candy canes. The book they received is a custom one I had special made. It's a search and find book and the main characters are Peter, Alice, and Kendal. The characters look like Peter, Alice, and Kendal and they go on adventures to save the multiverse! They've loved pouring over the pages and finding themselves and the other hidden things! 

Yesterday we went to Kendal's game - as I mentioned above - it was a loss. We went out to lunch at Culver's to celebrate Kendal and her hard work this season. Casey was supposed to be off at games, however because his team wasn't playing he stayed around to support Kendal in her tournament and choir performance at the St. Nicholas Festival. Casey did take Peter over to watch the high school boys play for a bit. Kendal got to sing with some of the middle school choir to kick off the event! We walked around the nativities and a hall of Christmas tree's. We had some treats and dinner put on by clubs and school organizations. Casey and I had our fill of crowds for the night so we took the kids home since Alice vowed not to see Santa! We put on a show for the kids and paused it to watch the fireworks out the window from the celebration!

 

Last is the book tree that we put up at the Library at school!