Something good happens every day. Here's what happened in December 2013:
Sun 12/1/13: It's nice to be home, although I miss being in California. My highlight of the day was staying home from church and resting with Brad. It was also nice talking to Scott and Emma on the phone today, too.
Mon 12/2/13: It was weird having Brad go to work today, but it was also nice getting back into the swing of things. I liked saying hi to Scott when he came home from school today. That is always one of the highlight of my days!
Tue 12/3/13: David had his 12-month doctor appointment today (two months behind). Dr. Vierra was very impressed that David already knows his ABC's. "He's a smarty, this one!" I am going to need to do more things to challenge him, like doing puzzles with him, and teaching him words to recognize. David will probably be an early reader.
Wed 12/4/13: Emma sure has been sick a lot lately. She has missed a lot of school this semester-- all during days when she hasn't been at home with us. She was dropped off at our house early this morning. I had her stay home until lunch time, so I could monitor her. I took her back to school when she seemed to be doing fine. I brought all the little kids with me, including Valeen. It was fun having a van-full of kids. They liked singing to the Christmas CD I had playing.
Thu 12/5/13: The kids and I had fun walking through the snow today to get to Lizzy's preschool. It's so pretty and white outside, but very, very cold. The temperatures have consistently stayed below 20 degrees during the day and in the single digits at night this week. Brrrrrrr! Lizzy made an adorable snow globe in preschool today. It has Belle inside, with little glitter-flakes floating all around her. She is so excited about it and wants to show everyone.
Fri 12/6/13: Lizzy had a little too much fun with a pair of scissors today. I finished up the job for her and chopped off all her hair below her chin. She looks so cute now! She wasn't at all happy with me at first, but she slowly warmed up to it and seems to like it. I got some cute pictures of her.
Sat 12/7/13: Brad and I took the little ones to see the new Disney movie,
Frozen. Wow, was it a hit! Lizzy LOVED it. She got so excited at certain parts that she screamed out in the movie theater and kept bouncing back and forth in her seat. It was very well done. My favorite character was Queen Elsa. My favorite song from the movie was "Let it Go," sung by Idina Menzel. So good!
Sun 12/8/13: My highlight today was watching Lizzy and David try to sing the lyrics from the song, "Let it Go," from
Frozen. I have lost track how many times we've seen the song played on YouTube. Lizzy loves listening it, repeating it, and acting out what she sees. David tries doing it, too. It's fun watching them.
Tue 12/9/13: I think we've become addicted to Frozen! We keep listening to the music every day, including Brad. It's has definitely become a favorite.
Wed 12/10/13: I put up almost all of the Christmas decorations today. YAY! I also enjoyed watching Studio C's Christmas Special and Agents of Shield with Scott, Emma, and Brad tonight. I love having Scott and Emma home with us.
Thu 12/11/13: I am amazed by how many minion hats I've made in the last 2 1/2 months! Today I made a spreadsheet so I could keep track of all of my orders. I made about 30 hats so far, and I still have a few orders to go.
Fri 12/13/13: We were very sad when Haru died on Wednesday, so to make up for it, I brought home two new male rats today. They are named after characters from Frozen: Olaf and Kristoff. Tonight was our ward's Christmas party. The Madrigals performed for us, which Brad and I enjoyed very much. Lizzy liked hearing the song, "Up on the House Top," which is one of her favorite Christmas songs. My highlight of the night was saying hi to people, and eating the yummy pasta buffet. I love pasta!
Sat 12/14/13: Brad and I took Scott and Emma to watch "The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug" today. It wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be, but I still enjoyed most of it. Smaug was extremely well done. Best dragon I have ever seen. My highlight of the day was going with most of my family downtown to watch the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas Concert. It was fantastic! It was lovely listening to Deborah Voigt sing and John Rhys-Davies narrating a Charles Dickens Christmas special. There were little surprises throughout the concert. It was really neat seeing John Rhys-Davies floating above the audience as the Ghost of Christmas Present. So cool!
Sun 12/15/13: My highlight of the day was being with Brad's family. We had a soup potluck night, and lots of yummy treats, including a hot chocolate bar. It was nice visiting with everyone, including Grandpa's lady-friend, Silvia, and his brother, Uncle Jerry. I love Brad's family. The only thing that could have made the evening better was if Emma was not feeling sick. Poor sweet Emma. I think she stilled enjoyed being with her cousins, though.
Mon 12/16/13: I mailed off two hats today! YAY! Now I'm starting another order-- a specialized order of red Utah Utes minion hats. I'm really interested to see how they turn out. I need to get them done before Wednesday night!
Tue 12/17/13: I enjoyed attending my Relief Society's Hot Chocolate Party tonight. I had a mug of sweet vanilla white hot chocolate. It was tasty! I liked being with other sisters in my ward and listening to their conversations. It was nice hanging out with them.
Wed 12/18/13: I liked hanging out with Emma today, even though she was feeling poorly. She's been sick the last few days with a virus.
Thu 12/19/13: It was adorable watching Lizzy and David sit on Santa's lap today. I love that my kids never cry when they visit Santa. I'm such a lucky mom.
Fri 12/20/13: I finished the Ute minion hats this morning! YAY! It took longer than I thought it would, but I'm glad it's done. I sold them a few hours after I finished. Now I have some more orders I need to work on.
Sat 12/21/13: I finished my Christmas shopping today! I got it all done early this morning, despite having to drive in a snow storm. Looks like we're going to have a white Christmas.
Sun 12/22/13: The primary kids reenacted the Christmas story from Luke in Sharing Time today. They were so cute! Lizzy, Brooklyn, and Valeen were angels. They looked so cute together with their fuzzy gold halos.
Mon 12/23/13: We had dinner at Sam's Club tonight before getting our groceries. Lizzy and David love eating the pizza there, and drinking sodas. We hardly ever go out to eat, so when we do, they always get excited.
Tue 12/24/13: My highlight of the day was watching Lizzy and David open up their Christmas Eve gifts. Lizzy got My Little Pony PJs and David got Batman PJs, and each of them received a Christmas book. They loved their papa reading to them before they went to bed. Papa does such a good job with character voices.
Wed 12/25/13: We had a lovely Christmas! Lizzy and David woke up bright and early and were very excited to see all the presents underneath the Christmas tree. Lizzy shouted, "Santa came!" We opened some of our presents and had German pancakes for breakfast. Lizzy's favorite present was her Merida bow and arrow. She played with it all day. David loved his letter foam blocks. Scott and Emma came home at 1:00 pm and we opened some more presents. Scott and Emma loved their framed posters of Young Justice (for Emma) and Studio Ghibli movies (for Scott) the best. We headed over to Grandpa North's house and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening hanging out together and eating good food. It was lovely!
Thu 12/26/13: We saw Frozen again today! This time with Scott and Emma. We all LOVED it! I was singing Frozen songs all afternoon. In the evening, the Bruce Clan came over and we had a big ham dinner with cheesy potatoes, and watched our new Princess Bride Blu-ray disc. I loved watching some of the special features on the disc. That movie is a classic.
Fri 12/27/13: My ham and potato soup was a big hit tonight. It was nice having dinner at home with everyone.
Sat 12/28/13: Brad and I finished watching the end of Season 3 of Downton Abbey. We were having a Downton marathon to get us geared up for Season 4, which is starting next Sunday. I am so excited!
Sun 12/29/13: I had fun meeting my new primary class today. I will be teaching the 5-year-olds, which are the same batch of kids I had last year. I am excited to be teaching them again. But I am going to my miss my current class, too. I love Tommy's cleverness, and Rachael's sweetness, and Brooklyn's silliness, and David's cute remarks. I will especially miss being Lizzy's teacher.
Mon 12/30/13: Brad stayed home with a bad cold today. I can tell that I'm getting it, too. But I like spending time with him, even when we're both feeling ill. The best part is resting on the couch and watching movies together.
Tue 12/31/13: The cold has really hit me hard today. Brad is doing better, though. My highlight of the day was soaking in a nice hot bath while Brad watched the kids. That was lovely. Good bye, 2013! You were a wonderful year!
