We had family pics taken in November
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When Jaime was headed back to Rexburg from Thanksgiving break, she was in a minor wreck. Crazy thing, she was only like two miles from our house and had barely left. A big truck pulled out into her lane. Luckily, she swerved and that there were no cars in the other lane. She was only side swiped. It could have been much worse and we count our blessings no one was hurt. It was a hit and run and so sadly she has to pay the deductible, even though it was not her fault. Still, we count our blessings even when trials do come.
I was so thankful for some help putting up the Christmas lights in our yard this year. They do such a great job and make it go so much quicker, I am going to make this a new tradition for them to help-- ha ha!!
December 2022
Ethan's piano recital
Here is my Christmas letter
Lotts
of Joy in 2022
Ethan continues to grow. He still loves to pat my head and tell me how little I am. And now, he gives me a big bear hug and smothers me with his embrace. It's funny I can't pay Adam to hug me and I have to beg Ethan to let go of me. Ethan is 14. I keep forgetting he is growing up. He gets a little annoyed that I still remind him not to drink so much at bedtime so he won't wet the bed. He quickly reminds me he hasn't done that since he was like five years old. I guess he'll always be little to me even though he's definitely not little anymore. Adam and Ethan hate to do chores; however, they fight over who gets to mow the backyard. We have a really old riding lawnmower, and they both love to mow because they speed around the backyard like it's a four-wheeler. We have had to remind Ethan many times that we don't need to mow the lawn every day. This fall Mike, Ethan, and I did one last short camping trip; Adam didn’t want to come. It was so peaceful and quiet with only one teenager, who had no one to bug. The only problem was that without having Adam around, Ethan wanted to hang out with me all the time. I finally gave in and was brave and did a few things that I don't normally do. He somehow got me on a rope swing. Mike nicely reminded Ethan he didn’t have to yell with excitement every time he went on it. (Needless to say, I never got to read the book I had brought.) Ethan is really pushing for me to get a job- I'm sure it's just so that I'm not home when he gets home from school and he can sit around watching TV and playing video games. It's so funny when your kids ask when you're going to be home from somewhere… do they think that I do not have a brain? Of course, they want to know so that they can quickly wrap up whatever they were doing and be done by the time I get home. I wasn’t born yesterday!! What do you get when a 14-year-old boy carries a gallon of milk with a ton of other things in his hands?? A gallon of milk on the kitchen floor. Fun times!! Ethan has many goals for his life that keep changing frequently! He's gone from being cardiologist, to an accountant, to an FBI agent. (I am just glad he has given up on being a You-Tuber.) So, if you happen to talk to him, please lead him back to the cardiologist idea. He promised me a lot of money when he is really rich, so I'm hoping he chooses that career path again, ha ha!! Ethan is still on a quest to get one armpit hair. He does have a hair that is like two inches long and for some reason is growing on the top of one of his arms, but we tell him that doesn’t count. Boy, do I want to pluck it out!!!
Adam turned 16 in April. To celebrate, we went to an all you can eat Mongolian Grill/Chinese restaurant. Adam thought he'd be brave and tried a bunch of different seafood items. He has a pretty intense gag reflex. I'm so grateful he didn't barf in the restaurant, but he came close. He got his driver’s license in May. We now have only one more kid to go!!! Ethan is already counting down the days till he can get his permit. We asked him to not mention it to us anytime soon, as we're not yet recovered from driving with Adam and we still have PTSD from teaching Jaime. For those who haven't had children yet, make sure to space them far enough apart so you can recover from one child to the next with their driving practice. Maybe we will hold off until Ethan is about 18 to let him drive. Adam continues to eat us out of house and home. The other day, he ate five corn dogs and then headed to the cupboard for more food. He tends to lose weight the more he eats. I, on the other hand, have a bad reaction anytime I eat food. When I eat things, especially foods like cake and pasta and French fries, I swell up around my midsection. I'm hoping I can get this figured out quickly so that I don't keep having this problem. Adam is so lucky that he doesn’t suffer from this problem. He went to a church activity recently and consumed eight pieces of pizza and five cans of pop. One day Mike checked his lunch balance and was surprised that it was being depleted so quickly. Apparently, Adam had been eating two lunches at school. He thought the second lunch was free- it was actually twice as much as the first lunch-- yikes!! We got a good laugh but were glad we figured it out before we needed to take out a loan. Who knows, maybe all of Adam’s eating is causing the following problem-- He has started to grow a little, tiny, baby mustache and beard. From the side, and in the right lighting, you can see like five tiny hairs on his chin wisping in the wind. I want to pluck them out so badly! Adam’s idea of doing his hair is spraying it with tons of hairspray and then rubbing it on a towel. It looks like he's been electrocuted!! Guess it could be worse. Ah, the joys of having teenage boys. I can actually smell them before they enter a room. And laundry!!! I wash something and it still comes out smelling disgusting!!! On a funny note, phones have some interesting apps. Jaime was playing around with one and come to find out both Adam and Ethan make very pretty girls. I, on the other hand, look like a chubby boy. Mike looks funny as a girl, and it totally freaked me out seeing Jaime as a boy. And what’s up with the styles these days… Adam's favorite pair of shoes are white, or are supposed to be white. They remind me of the girly Keds that I had when I was in the seventh grade. I told him white is not the best choice and hard to keep clean, but he didn't want to listen. For some unknown reason his shoes tend to end up in my washing machine every other week--they look horrible.
Jaime got home from her mission at the end of April. She was not happy to be home and had high hopes for getting called on a second mission. We also had wondered if she would be the first missionary to go MIA intentionally so she didn’t have to come home. For me, it was been so wonderful to have a girl in the house again for many reasons-one very important one being she doesn’t stink. She and I have had so much fun going and doing “girlie” things together. (Ethan is so glad he is off the hook and doesn’t have to do these things with me now, jk.) One of our favorite things to do is go to all the little Hispanic restaurants in Ogden for lunch; Most do not speak English and are shocked when Jaime starts to speak Spanish to them. An especially fun thing is that whenever we're out together, most people think we're sisters. Good for me not so good for Jaime. Ha ha. This summer all my kids worked on produce farms again. This came in handy because my garden did horrible this year. All summer, Adam and Jaime brought me reject fruits and vegetables from work. Jaime also worked as a nanny this year. One afternoon this summer, Ethan and I, along with Jaime and the three boys she watched, went swimming. I must've been in a really good mood because I played tag with the kids and went on the waterslide. I'm sure it was a strange sight to watch Ethan holding me in his arms, dunking me back-and-forth. In September, Jaime headed off to Rexburg again for school. On the way, we made a quick stop in Logan to have lunch. Right after we left, I got a phone call from my sister that we had left our food on the trunk. We quickly pulled over to the side of the road. Jaime said she saw people in the car behind us laughing hysterically. Jaime still loves cats, fluffy sweaters, and reading books. Needless to say, she is still single. Just kidding. Actually, she is beautiful inside and out. She reminds us that it is her goal to stay single, as boys are gross-- I quickly join in and agree with her.
This year marked the ten-year anniversary of Ryan passing away. It’s crazy it has been so long. We miss him so much. He would be a man now, and yet will forever be 14 in my eyes. In memory of Ryan, we decided to take a family trip to Disneyland. I had orange shirts made for us all to wear on May 12th. The trip was wonderful and we will treasure it always. We love you so much Ryan. We are ten years closer to being with you again someday.
Adam and Ethan went to Yellowstone with our church youth group this summer. When they got home, we had multiple leaders ask if they were from the same family, as they are totally different. Ethan won't quit talking and Adam won't talk. I wonder which parent they each take after- ha ha. On another funny note, all my boys went to trek this year. Who would've figured Alex would go with them. His boss is in our ward and needed Alex's help and paid for his time off so he could go. I have a cute (ok, manly and tuff) picture of the three of them in their pioneer clothes. Ethan said he told many people that Alex was his brother and no one believed him, ha ha. Both Alex and Adam were very sweet and apparently danced with a few 11-year-old girls, which I am sure made their hearts flutter- the girl’s, not Alex and Adam’s- that would be creepy!! They all had a fun time, despite the wet weather and the fact that I made Adam go. Adam was so happy it rained and was able to change into shorts because his pants got soaked. I guess he conveniently forgot about the spare pants (which he hated by the way) that I had sent with him.
Alex continues working as a plumber and is going to plumbing school. This fall he had an accident while playing flag football. Yes, flag football!!! Who would've even known adults actually have a flag football league, but they do. He collided with another player. Long story short, he received a major bone contusion (a bruised bone where bleeding occurs). His knee was so swollen and he was on crutches for weeks. At one appointment, the doctor mentioned that Alex had the record for the most blood drawn out of a wound for that month. (They took almost half a cup out. It was pretty cool to watch.) Thank goodness it has healed and hopefully he will stay away from football, but I doubt it- ha ha.
We had to replace our flock of chickens this year, due to our dogs getting in and having a feast. At one point we had three sets of chickens- all at different stages. What a pain!! We had chicks in the garage and kept having to make adjustments as they kept growing. My sister gave us four chickens that had been hatched in her daughter’s classroom. They ended up being the friendliest chickens we've ever had. They actually will jump up on your leg when you sit down and will even jump up on your shoulder when you are standing. Ethan learned the hard way that he needs to put sunglasses on when they do this, because he got his eye pecked. I was smart and wore sunglasses right away. We named most of our chickens, but to our surprise, many of them ended up being roosters that now have girl names. We didn't have good luck this year. With getting 15 new babies, six of them ended up being roosters- waste of money. The problem with roosters is they just eat food and do not lay eggs, thus pretty pointless. Anyone in the mood for rooster noodle soup, just kidding.
Mike, Ethan, and I got Covid right before Thanksgiving. We were very blessed that none of us got very sick. Ethan was so happy to be quarantined to his room with a TV and video games. Adam was sad he didn't get it so he could stay home from school and play video games in his room. At one point Ethan told me he lost sense of smell because he sniffed under his armpit and he couldn't smell anything. Mike and I took a trip to Disneyland this fall. We were so surprised the boys were not disappointed they were not coming and that they were so excited for us to leave. (It’s not a good sign when your kids want you out of the house.) Mike and I really enjoyed Disneyland. It was great not to have any kids with us, as we witnessed other people dealing with their children. It was so peaceful and wonderful that we were not having to listen to any bickering or complaining. (I only had to put Mike in time out once on the trip- jk.) We had fun sending the kids pictures of all the yummy food we were eating and the fun things we were doing. They were so jealous!!! On a funny note, when we got home, we found out that the boys really did miss us. They admitted they were bored out of their minds without us. Apparently, they didn't have much to eat, even though I left them a list of things to eat, and had some easy meals for them that they just needed to heat up. They obviously ate all the ice cream and treats the first day that we were gone, but forgot they knew how to open the pantry door and cook something. I guess you take things for granted until they are gone. Maybe now they won't complain so much about what I make for dinner- I am not holding my breath.
You know you're getting old when you are in the shower, your hair is all wet, and you can't remember if you even shampooed or conditioned your hair yet, ha ha. I also find myself walking into a room and then I can't remember why I went in there in the first place. Mike and I also are to the point in our lives where we have to take pills daily. Ugh. I have a timer set so I won't forget. And often times when the timer goes off, I can't even remember why the timer was even set. I used to laugh at anyone who had to move an item away from them, so it would come into focus and they could see it. Now, I am that person!! The huge problem is that once you have something far enough away so it is in focus, it’s so tiny that you can’t see it anymore. This becomes a huge problem when you try to take a splinter out. Ugh!! A few months ago, I was using superglue and lo and behold I glued two of my fingers together. I've done that before but the problem this time was I glued my two thumbs together. Luckily, Mike was home to use a knife to separate them, because I had to be leave for an appointment. Next year for my New Year's resolution, instead of actually making goals, I've decided to just leave it blank; When I do something I'll fill it in and then I can check it off instantly!! Ha ha.
As you can tell we have had LOTTS of laughs and adventures in 2022. I am so grateful for all the wonderful memories we have made. I am especially thankful for my special family. Family is everything to me. I am so thankful that because of my Savior, I can be with them forever someday. Cherish those you love this coming year. We never know what the future holds for us, so remember to live in the present and keep those you love close. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a joyous New Year.
Love, The LOTTS
Happy 50th B-day Mike
Dec 10, 2022
Mike's sister threw Mike a surprise 50th b-day. Boy was he surprised. It was great to have friends and family join us for the celebration.
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Baptisms for the dead. It was our friend David's first time. Ice cream afterwards. We ate the sink. It is like a 22 scoop sundae!!! |
We celebrated Mike's birthday again a few days early, as we would be out of town on his real birthday. His real birthday is Dec 27th.
Dec 23, 2022
He was thrilled with the USU gnome I got him- ha ha!!! I have put it in his office on his desk.
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January 2023 Our back yard was a swimming pool due to all the rain in January  I went to visit Jaime up in Rexburg for a few days at the end of January. It was fun to see other family members that live up there as well. Jaime and I enjoyed the temple together. It was snowing. Look at the beautiful snowflake that is actually shaped like a star. I have never seen one like this before.  Feb 11, 2023 (we celebrated a day late)  Happy 27th b-day Alex. We love you so much. Boy do I not feel old enough to have a son this old- ha ha!! 2-17-23 |
