Christmas Tree Hunt!!!

 One of the BEST days of the Entire Year!!! I was so grateful that everyone was healthy enough and okay to go on the tree hunt! It fit with the way the rest of the year has gone and traditions had to get set aside but we just tried to make the best of it. We couldn't get together with all of the cousins which I totally missed and hated not getting together at the church after but cute Uncle Ed and Aunt Connie had a table set up outside of their house with hot chocolate and snacks and treats and the cutest bags put together for each family to take with them on the tree hunt. It was so awesome just like they are. We all had to wear masks but it was still good to be in Preston and see them. We all got there close to the same time so we caravanned up to Montpelier where we get the trees. There was a fair amount of snow so we didn't get up there too high but stayed down at the bottom of the mountains. Honestly it didn't take too long for me to find my trees! I probably wasn't too picky this year either. I kind of just wanted a thinner tree. We had fun pulling the kids on the sleigh and singing and listening to Christmas Songs and we realized that EVERY single grandchild was there so we got a great picture with Grandpa and Grandma. On the way home we stopped at Big J's and had a fantastic dinner together and then headed on home! Perfect day. 

Thanksgiving!!!!

 I left off my last post saying that I tested negative for Covid. Well three days later after got home from St. George I felt like I needed to test so I knew about Thanksgiving and sure enough it came back positive. My last day of quarantine would be Friday when we go get trees so I was worried about Thanksgiving but no one else was worried but my parents so they were planning to stay home anyway. Definitely a strange year. Kathy's family was more worried so I stayed home from their Thanksgiving meal since it was on Wednesday, but then I hosted my whole family sans my parents on Thanksgiving! That's a lot of pressure to make it nice and feel cozy and special like my mom always does. I did my best. I think it turned out really wonderful. The food was so good, the decorations were cute, we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade the best we could and ate delicious pies after! The kids had fun that morning making a gingerbread turkey and little turkey crafts. It was the first year in forever that we didn't go up to Logan to spend the night in a hotel which was kind of sad but also made for a more relaxing evening. Overall I'd say Thanksgiving was a total Success!!! Minus my parents not being there. I hated that. 

Cash's Birthday and a Quick St. George Getaway

 Well Elle tested positive with covid so we had the idea to just jump in the car and go quarantine in our condo! I was so glad that Toby was on board and thought it was a good idea too. He had already not felt too well and both little boys had had fevers but only for a couple of hours and then they were fine. Elle text from school that she wasn't feeling too great so I went and picked her up. When Cash got home that day he also said he didn't feel too well...so I figured it was our turn! Ryan Stevens had been over on Halloween and he got it a day or two later so we figured it would go around the fam. It was really no big deal though. No one was really sick longer than a day. We tested Elle first and she was positive so that was when we took off to St. George. Cash's birthday was two days later so we thought it would be fun to mix it up and celebrate down there since there really wasn't anything we could do here. We packed their bags without telling them and then surprised them an hour before. We had such a good time down there! We watched lots of movies, did homework, played tennis, played basketball, and even got to swim when no one else was in the pool. Even though Elle and Cash would have been quarantined from school the school district shut down anyway and went to only online school so all the kids had their laptops and just worked from there. Top and I decided to take Cash and the three of us test for Covid. We did and let me tell you the swab up the nose test hurt like HECK! It burned so bad! I hated every second but since it was only for like 8 seconds I survived. So Toby and Cash's tests came back positive but mine was negative. What in the world. I felt like I had symptoms. I was achey, my head ached, I was so tired but...negative. Weird. On Cash's birthday we had breakfast in bed, played ball, swam, and got whatever meal he wanted for lunch and dinner! We watched a movie or two and had cake and ice cream and tried to make it as special as we could. So grateful for these little get aways and the fun times we have together. 

Toby's Birthday!

 Always a good time celebrating the man that makes our world go around. It's kind of hard to party too hard during quarantine. Especially because I forgot to mention earlier that at this point WE ALL HAD COVID! We didn't know it yet but we had all been exposed and Toby didn't feel super well so we were trying to just stay home. We had a fun breakfast in bed, major dance party, Toby had bought gifts for everyone in the family to celebrate HIS birthday. How cute is that? and he had a big Mario Cart party with all of the kids. They loved it. We watched a movie and gave him gifts (an I phone watch because his last one broke.) and had ice cream pie and partied all night. Wasn't the most eventful of birthdays but he said it was perfect. He had a few friends and family drop off drinks, diet dr. pepper, swig cookies, and I know he felt very loved. He is our everything and we love him with everything we got! 

Kemp Looses his first Tooth and Other November Comings and Goings

 I had no idea this little guy even had a loose tooth! He just walked up to me and said Mom this tooth kind of hurts and I looked at it and it was barely hanging on! He let it go for the day because he was scared to have me pull it out and then later that evening he felt brave enough. I had it out in 3 seconds flat. He was so dang cute about it. I can't believe my baby lost his first tooth. - Tate has been awesome doing all of his online school work. He really loves the fun science projects. This rainbow one blew his mind. Haha. He also has gotten in on the Book of Mormon Challenge that Toby, I and the two older kids have had. We restarted the Book of Mormon on Nov 4th and we want to finish it by the end of the year. Tate has been so cute to join in and I catch him reading all on his own when he hasn't been asked or reminded. - Kemp also took quite the fall in the basement the other day and got the weirdest bump/bruise on his head. I'm thinking this one is going to scar. And last of all it was a sad day for the community and we suddenly and unexpectedly lost a man who has been such an advocate for our kids to stay off of social media and phones in general. We have followed along his journey for a while now and even went to one of his public assemblies where he educated parents on the dangers of cell phone. He was bright, funny, passionate, and Toby and I are so grateful for all he taught us. We wanted to support his family so we went to his celebration of Life and were so inspired by the way he lived his life. We hope we can use what he taught us to teach our kids and ourselves and be more aware of the dangers of phones. We haven't stopped praying for his sweet wife and children. I can't even imagine their loss and sadness.