Date Night 2021

When life gets tough, up your date night game.

2021 was a lovely year of date nights!  
Favorite dates: anniversary trip in February, biking from Chesterfield to Soda in May, Torman's cabin in August, Spoon Concert in September, finally getting to see Dune in October, plus all the temple dates, movies, bike rides, hikes, and yummy meals!  It was a great year!

Friday, January 31st: New Year's Eve date: game night with the Hubbards and Valdezes!  McKenna and Justin had us up for Scrabble, Settlers, and Code Names.  We ate yummy finger foods and talked and laughed while we played.  Kenna killed me and Cori at Scrabble, and Allen is Lord of Catan.  It was so fun that we stayed up until way PAST midnight, something I never do.  Yay for fun friends in our own home town!

Wednesday, December 22nd: Piano recital date?  I am counting it, because Allen and I went together, to see both Mollie and Calvin play their recital pieces.  Calvin played Silent Night in a duet with his teacher, Shirley Harris, and Mollie played an arrangement of The First Noel.  Both of them did such a great job!  We are so grateful that we started piano with Shirley way back in January.  

We also passed the biggest herd of elk we have ever seen on our way there (and unfortunately, someone who had just hit one with their car).  Hearing all the music was a perfect way to start the Christmas break.

Wednesday, December 15th: Pocatello temple date!  Our first time attending our new temple together!  We went out to eat at Appleby's afterward, and it was also our first time going to that restaurant together.  The temple was the better experience, by far.  Sorry Appleby's, maybe we'll try you again in another twenty years.

Wednesday, December 8th: unexpected brunch date!  I set out to go on a 25-mile bike ride, but when I turned around at 12.5 and headed home INTO THE BITTER WIND, I decided that discretion was the better part of valor, and called Allen to pick me up.  He left work to get me, and it turns out, BRUNCH DATE is the better part of valor.  We had a $25 gift card to Main Street Diner, so I changed clothes really quick and we headed over there for a late breakfast/early lunch.  It was so nice to be together during the day, especially during this sometimes hectic month.  

Saturday, December 4th: Last bike date of the year! We've been busy moving some things around in our house (our new woodburning stove will go where the computer is, so the computer is going where the closet is, so the closet is (mostly) going in the new area under the stairs) and things are pretty cluttered and crowded in our small house with a mini-remodel and Christmas decorations.  It felt so good to call it quits and ride our bikes to Kelly Park.  We ordered burgers and tots on our way home, then drove the car back to pick up our hot food.  I love being with Allen!

Wednesday, November 24th: Christmas shopping date!  Allen didn't expect to have half of Wednesday off when he went in to work, but he came home at noon and we made a spur-of-the-moment decision to head to THE CITY for some shopping and some dating.  I'm glad he likes Cup Bop as much as I do (Ali introduced Cup Bop to me and Sharla when we did the Mud Girl back in September).  It may not be 100% authentic Korean food . . . but it's sooooo gooooooooood.

Thursday, November 18th:  Temple date!  This might be our last time going to the Star Valley Wyoming temple, because we are in the brand-new Pocatello temple district!  It was a lovely time together--we ate dinner at home before we left, but got some Maverik treats for the drive home. 

Wednesday, November 10th: We sang "The Miracle" at Norma Twitchell's funeral in the middle

School's Out For Summer!

We will probably never know how lucky we were to have a pretty much "normal" school year in 2020-21.  Our kids went to school full-time in the Fall, and were able to do everything they would do in a "normal" school year--we quarantined a few times, and watched some wrestling matches on Zoom, but in our rural Idaho community, it was basically a regular year.  

And that means a regular last day of school!  We had friends over, put the sprinkler under the trampoline, roasted hot dogs, painted rocks, and offered up two sacrificial watermelons to kick off the summer season!

Brigham thinks he is so funny . . . 

Amelia, Mollie, and Jaydie

Brigham playing with Luke

Mollie and Macie will be in EIGHTH GRADE next year

All the kiddos!

Hope, Georgia, and I had fun hanging out while the
kids ran around the backyard and played for hours.

Truman and Brigham are both life guarding at Lava Hot Springs again this summer.  Brigham had a three-day stint working at Arctic Circle, our local fast food restaurant, but it only took him one day to realize that life guarding 1-pays more money 2- is more flexible with his schedule for running and mowing lawns, and 3- is about a hundred times more fun.

Truman is gearing up to head out on a mission--his papers are being submitted THIS WEEKEND and my next blog post may very well be about his mission call.  He is saving money, working hard, and is so much help around the house.  Which is good, because he and Brigham are also EATING ME OUT OF HOUSE AND HOME.

Mollie and Calvin spend a lot of time together, and they are such good friends.  In fact, as I am typing this, I just got up from a nap and the two of them made cookies together while I was sleeping.  

And already ate half of them.

I bought the kids Super Smash: Ultimate for our Nintendo Switch and gave it to them on the last day of school.  They all love to play it together.  There's a new sheriff in town: 2021 mom is a totally different video game monitor than 2011 mom.  The kids still can't play whenever they want, but they are playing much more than Truman and Brigham ever did when they were in middle and elementary school.  Fortunately, Truman and Brig don't complain, because they are reaping the benefits of the new sheriff's lenient policies . . . aaaaaaaaaaaaaand, they are always at work, so they don't actually know how much Mollie and Calvin get to play.

We cleaned the church as a family the Saturday before Memorial Day, and it was a very peaceful experience.  Mollie played "I Feel My Savior's Love" in sacrament meeting the next day, and she practiced it a few times while we dusted, vacuumed, polished, and disinfected the chapel.  It was very sweet to perform this easy service together.

Mollie ALSO had her first recital with her new piano teacher, Shirley Harris.  It was in the historic Bear Lake tabernacle--constructed in 1917.  Her talent has really taken off since she started with Shirley in January, and it is such a pleasure to listen to her play.  You can hear both of her songs in the video clip below, and see the original Minerva Teichert murals that are displayed in the tabernacle--the first time I saw them, I literally gasped.

       

Mollie and her fabulous piano teacher, Shirley Harris

And finally, me and the kids spent a day together at the outdoor pool at Lava--Brigham was working, and Truman, Mollie, Calvin (and his buddy Quaid), and I enjoyed the deliciously unseasonable HEAT.  Calvin surprised us all by going down the tube slides for the first time, and THEN GOING DOWN THE SPEED SLIDES over and over.  This is the kid who has not once ever gone on our own zipline in our own backyard. 

Bring on summer!

The Skating Rink is BACK

We moved here in 2008, and our city skating rink was actively being used then . . . but when people lost interest and quit going, the city stopped maintaining it.  I think the global COVID-19 pandemic may have played a part in the skating rink comeback: we all need to get outside to keep the positive vibes flowing!

Mollie and I went together three times in January.  We bought two pairs of ice skates at a thrift store, and borrowed a few more for our first skating rink outing, with Allen and Calvin.  Whew--it's hard on the ankles!  Mollie's skates are newer and more supportive, which is great, because she is a natural!  I am on the prowl for more skates, but we've been making do with the ones we have in the mean time.

Jaydie was at the rink with her dad the second time we went, so Georgia and I made plans to meet up again.  When we did, it was such a sweet surprise when Niki showed up with Hallie!  The three of us moms shoveled off the rink while the kids played, and we ended up staying till the stadium lights came on.  A great way to burn calories in January, with two of my favorite people!

I couldn't help sending the photo we snapped to the newspaper, and was delighted when we made the front page 😂.

Small town living at its finest.

Six More Weeks of Winter

I can handle that.  But Winter sure as heck better leave in the middle of March, because that will be the one-year mark of the pandemic.  One year of figurative winter is long enough, Punxsutawney Phil.

In the mean time, INDOOR PROJECTS.  Nothing makes my heart go pitter-pat quite like a before-and-after photo.  Especially when it's something from my own home.

Since this coat closet also serves as my office and sewing room, it's like I cleaned THREE things instead of one.  I am hoping to post befores-and-afters of my laundry room next.

I filled up a tote with donations while I decluttered and organized, because Georgia and I had planned a quick, moms-only, thrifting excursion!  We left early Saturday morning, masked up, and went to four huge thrift stores south of the Idaho border.  We both found things we were looking for, and things we didn't even know we were looking for.  Georgia scored some super nice bar chairs, and of course tons of children's books--she also left each children's book section more organized and clean than she found it!

It was a fun day with my cute friend--it's always nice to spend time on a drive in good conversation.  And when you both love Maverik drinks and food from The Old Grist Mill?  A match made in heaven, I tell you!

What a fun trip!  We laughed all day long.  I love my Jojajo!

My favorite find: five bags of Schleich animals for $20!

Georgia went through all the children's books 
and found a new Night Before Christmas I can
add to my collection!  It's so cute I can't stand it!

This pop-up book is so cool, each page is fabulous

The Rosie Project had been on my Amazon wishlist,
and I have heard good things about Snow Flower
and the Secret Fan

Back to the home front: It's nice having Jacob back!  He turned thirteen last week, but thankfully without the drama of most thirteen-year-olds.  He has been loving playing outside every day after school, which is a new development, and so fun.  Yesterday he and Mollie played for a long time together and came in with rosy cheeks, snowy coats, and big grins.  The two best teenagers I've ever seen!  

Nobody gives hugs like Jacob--they are so full of love!

I let Calvin stay home from school after a dentist's appointment--he had a great day working on his map of "Nivena," researching all the biomes on the computer so he could include each one in his world.  He has grown so mature this year, and I can't believe he is nine!  I love having conversations with this kid.

And finally, Twyla has found a new, cozy hiding pace where she is free from being tormented by Zuko: the winter clothes totes.  I don't know how she figured out how to jump up and into a bag, but it is always hilarious to glimpse her snuggled up with the hats and gloves.  These bags hang right above a heating vent in the bathroom . . . Twyla is no dummy.

Get Lost!

Calvin and Mollie DID NOT FORGET about the straw bale maze that Brenda's cousin (Bryce Crane) in Georgetown makes every year.  We went three years ago with the Nielsens, then two years ago with Bonnie and Beau and their kids, but we missed last year.  And two kids of mine have been begging to go back since September (before the maze was even built).  They were so anxious to try it out again!

Maybe that is why Calvin promptly ran into the maze and GOT LOST???

Brenda, Georgia, and I were busy talking / helping Georgia's little kids / and commenting on the, um, unique entrance to the maze, as pictured below:

So, by the time we entered the maze, I realized that Brigham, Mollie, and Calvin were long gone.  I wasn't too worried about Brigham and Mollie, and hoped that they kept Calvin with them.  

But they didn't.  

It's not necessarily scary in a straw bale maze--but it is eerily quiet!  You can have one wall dividing you from someone and not hear them calling--the straw absorbs so much sound and it can be disconcerting.

Poor little lost lamb.  We found our way out, then Brig and Mollie climbed on top to look for him.  He was trying not to cry when we finally found him, somewhere in the middle, and said he wanted to go home.  We spent some time near the entrance trying to just play and act natural, which gave him time to cool down.  Thankfully, he was eventually willing to go in again, and smiling by the time we left. 

Jubilant Jaydie and dabaliscious Calvin

I love me some time with BrenBren and Jojajo!  Georgia's kids squealed with delight at all of it, and it turns out that tons (literally) of the hay is from Georgia and Wes' farm--Bryce pays them to bale their barley straw.  It was a nice surprise that Brigham wanted to go with us, and extra fun because Georgia teases him and calls him "Humble Pie" (due an an incident in which she watched him destroy Allen at Cornhole while trash-talking relentlessly).

Elijah was extra cute--Jaydie loved climbing on top with the "big kids"

Mollie and Brig can't resist "cheating" their way out.

The only photos Brenda and Georgia took were
of me with straw stuck in my hair.  RUDE.

Right before we left, Brigham suggested that he and I race through the maze--he would go through the beginning and I would go from the ending.  We both turned our Garmins on to ensure no cheating.  Despite the fact that I was wearing slip-on Sanuks, I beat him SOUNDLY, running .36 miles in four minutes, backtracking three times.  It took Brig eight minutes because he got lost and went about three-quarters of a mile.

I guess he got to eat some humble pie after all???

Becca's record-smashing route!

Hahahaaaa!  Brigham went twice as far! 
As Calvin would say, "Get boom roasted!"

It was such a fun morning, with two of my favorite girls, and lots of cute, cute kids.  Bonus: Mollie and Calvin and I each had a doughnut when we got home (Brigham was full from his "just desserts.")

Every kid loves Brenda my Frienda!  She is the most fun!

Bwahahaaaaa!