📺 Info Siaran: Match Update & Schedules

December

We had family pictures taken the first of November. Bailey did great for the family pictures but wouldn’t cooperate for her individual pictures and our photographer was great enough to retake them. This is the month we were able to get them back and we were happy with the results. I love our little family!

Brooklyn participated in the singing and dancing group, “Hold That Note”. It was fun to watch her perform. I have been trying to upload a video of him from the performance but it won’t work so I’ll just share a picture of her:

After her performance we were able to get a Christmas tree and decorate for Christmas. I love doing that as a family!

This month Bailey discovered her tongue and started eating solids.

Russ played the cello in Messiah again this year and the kids and I went and listened. It was good, but I think I would enjoy it a lot more if I didn’t have little ones to wrestle.

We got a tiny bit of snow that lasted about two days but we enjoyed it while we could.

On Christmas Adam we made gingerbread houses:

On Christmas Eve we went to church and had a wonderful meeting with some good music and shared testimonies. Following sacrament meeting we came home and made our traditional Christmas Eve meal of dumplings and fried rice. Patsy, Alan, Jessica, Mom, and Dad all joined us. After lunch we enjoyed some great cello music. I don’t know why I can’t upload the videos from my phone. Grrr! Russ really is getting good and he and Patsy played a couple of duets and then he accompanied her on the piano for a couple of other numbers. They make incredible music together and I could listen to them all day.

Alan and Jessica took off after that but Patsy, Mom, and Dad stayed around for our traditional reenactment of the Christmas story. Connor was Joseph, Austin was a shepherd, Brooklyn was Mary, Russ and I were wisemen, Patsy was the angel, Grandpa was the narrator and Grandma was the pianist. I don’t know how much everyone else enjoys doing that, but I know I do!

That evening we drove around and looked at lights. We stopped and got out at one house that had a great nativity and a giant Frosty (Brooklyn is standing by his foot so you can get a feel for his size).

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We then went back to Grandma and Grandpa’s and had fondue. It was a wonderful Christmas Eve. After a sleepless night (will I ever stop being so excited?) we were up early and enjoyed a fun and relaxing day together as a family.

The next couple of days were mostly relaxing and enjoyable. We worked on a glow-in-the-dark puzzle Patsy had given us and Austin completed his metal dinosaur model Patsy had brought back from her trip to Florida. The only non-relaxing part was trying to get our solar panels up and running before the end of the year so we wouldn’t miss out on tax incentives, but even that was completed (though we still are trying to get them to get the battery installed).

The month ended with family coming to town for the mostly annual birthday/new year’s party gathering. We had fun spending time together and because winter hasn’t really come to our part of the world this year, we even hiked to House of Fire Ruins!

Well, that wraps up 2017 and this blog. I have run out of space here, so we will be moving to a new location. In 2018 and beyond you can find us at russandreb2.wordpress.com.

November

We were lucky enough to have two family events coincide at the beginning of the month and made a trip north for a twofer. We headed up Friday late morning and made it to Peg’s (Russ’s sister) after a long day in the car.

She fed us dinner and put us up for the night. In the morning we ate breakfast and then had to hit the road to get to Blackfoot for my nephew’s baptism. It was wonderful to be able to be there to support him in this important choice in his life. I am so happy for him!

Following the baptism Marilyn’s (Ryker’s mom) parents had us all over to their home for lunch. It was so great of them to open their home to all of us and we really enjoyed the food and the company.

We left there and went to Grandma and Grandpa Daniels’ house. They feed us and put us up for the night. We ate breakfast and lunch there before heading to church with Karla’s (Russ’s sister) ward. Her daughter, Audrey, returned from her mission to Tahiti a couple of days earlier and was speaking in sacrament meeting. I was glad to be there to support her but wished we could have stayed and visited. We had to leave as soon as Audrey finished speaking, before the rest of the meeting finished. It was a long drive home, but once again, I was glad to have the opportunity to support family. They are what really matters.

During the month of November Brooklyn played basketball and I coached her team. It was fun to be able to do that with her and to see the girls begin developing basketball skills. We only have one blurry picture, but I am going to share it anyway.

For Thanksgiving we traveled north again. We stayed at a hotel so we could swim during the vacation, but I forgot to get swim diapers out of storage and there were none to be found at any stores because they are a “seasonal” item so Russ just swam with the three oldest kids. They had a great time. The water must have been very warm because Connor stayed in longer than ever. He always gets too cold to last very long.

We enjoyed a tasty Thanksgiving dinner at a church with a lot of my family. We missed those who weren’t able to make it.

Some kids — 7 out of 10. Back L-R: Mark, Ralph, Bruce Front L-R: Jalene, Me, Emily, Lorinda

On the way home we stopped just north of Moab and Russ and the kids climbed this huge sand mountain while I fed Bailey. It was a fun trip.

One evening Austin put on a concert for us with his Pots and Pans band.

October

In the middle of the month we received an invitation to a Halloween party. We thought it was just for Austin so I sent him over and then the mom texted to tell me the whole family was invited so Brooklyn and Connor hurriedly threw on a costume and I went over with them and Bailey to join in the festivities. The kids enjoyed themselves, especially when it got dark and they were using glow sticks as wands.

Austin and Brooklyn attended a robotics day camp one Saturday and had a great time. While they were there I took Connor to the library for a Halloween event they were having. He ended up winning a prize that included a book, a kit to make animal masks, a battery-operated glow stick and a stuffed alien. He was pretty excited about winning.

The kids had a Friday off for Fall Break and Austin wanted to take his friend, Brigham, on a hike to a tunnel. We had gone as a family a while before with the Hankins and had gone through the tunnel. The fifth graders had gone on Thursday but weren’t allowed to go through the tunnel so Austin wanted to do it again. It was great weather and a beautiful time to hike, but I steered us wrong and it ended up being twice as long as it should have been. The kids were real troopers and we all had a great time.

On the 23rd my sisters and mom drove down and I met them where the road to the Needles District turns off of the highway. Mom took my van and headed to my in-laws to pick up the kids. Mom and Russ took care of the house and the kids for the next two days while my sisters and I went backpacking for two nights in the Needles District of Canyonlands. It was AMAZING!!! I had so much fun with my sisters and saw some incredible views. Wednesday we returned to my house and everyone stayed until Saturday. Thursday we made a trip to Moab to wander through the shops and eat lunch. Friday we just hung out. It was fun to be together. I love my family!

We carved pumpkins the next week and the kids enjoyed dressing up for Halloween. Connor ended up sick and had to stay home from school but was feeling decent enough to drag himself out for trick-or-treating that evening. Austin was a scarecrow, Brooklyn was Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter, Connor was a mummy and Bailey was a jack-o-lantern.

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September

The month began with an exciting event for the two oldest kids. A doctor from work gave Russ, Austin and Brooklyn a ride in his airplane – the first for our kids. They both enjoyed it and Connor, Bailey and I watched them from the ground. Connor is still anxiously awaiting his chance to fly.

The next exciting event was Brooklyn’s 8th birthday. In the morning she opened presents and opted to stay home from school so she explored and made slime with her presents. While home she also helped decorate for her Harry Potter themed birthday party which took place after school. She had a lot of fun being involved with the planning and decorating and the party seemed to be a success.

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Brooklyn was very excited for her baptism, which took place a few days later. I am so proud of her for deciding to be baptized and it was fun to see the joy on her face on that day. She sang a song called, “Today I Will be Baptized” and did an amazing job. We had a lot of support from friends and family and it was a wonderful day. The following day Bailey was blessed at church and the family support was again incredible. We love our family!

Since she is eight now, Brooklyn attended her first activity days meeting, which happened to be a daddy/daughter date and she also attended her first women’s conference. It was so fun to have her at my side. It was a fun month, with a lot of great things for Brooklyn in particular.

Birthday, Eclipse, Wedding and a Concert

The next event in August was Austin’s birthday. To celebrate turning 10 he wanted to go camping, so we headed up Friday when Russ got off work. We put up our tent on Russ’s aunt’s property and had a fabulous time. It cooled off quite a bit that night but we stayed warm in the tent and Bailey slept better than she ever has. I told Russ we should camp every night but he didn’t seem to think that was a great idea. We had breakfast and played around a bit Saturday morning before heading home to open presents. That night we had Grandma and Grandpa over for dinner and they spoiled him with two shirts and a joke book.

Austin is a great kid. He is a big help with his siblings and often sees things that need done and does them without being asked. He has an infectious laugh and a great sense of humor. He is thoughtful and sensitive. Austin works hard at school, loves to read, plays the piano very well and likes things neat and organized. We love having him in our family!

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The next event was the solar eclipse. By the time it was on my radar, it was too late for Russ to take work off to make a trip to be in the path of totality. I was pretty bummed about that but ordered some glasses so we could watch the 80+% that we could see from our house. Austin wanted to be checked out of school and since we weren’t even sure if they would have an opportunity at school to see it, I checked the kids out. The school is very roughly half Caucasian and half Native American (mostly Navajo). The Navajos believe that you can’t look at an eclipse and shouldn’t be outside during it so we weren’t sure how the school would handle it. They ended up having options to view or to have a quiet place in the school to stay until it was over. I was still glad I had checked the kids out as it was fun to enjoy it with them. Since it was happening during their school lunch, we also enjoyed a picnic in the backyard. I told Russ I am planning a vacation to somewhere in the path of totality in 2024 because I don’t want to miss it again.

This month we were also able to take a trip north to attend my niece’s wedding. She was married for time and eternity in the Ogden temple and she and the groom were simply radiant. It was a beautiful occasion and I am so glad we were able to be there.

The final event of the month was the opportunity to hear the Utah Symphony at an outdoor concert in Bluff. We took Austin and Bailey with us and left the other two kids with a babysitter. Our friend Patsy (Russ’s cello teacher) was also able to join us. It was crazy windy as it was starting but it calmed down and turned out to be a wonderful night with incredible music. I was so glad we were able to go to that. It was a busy and enjoyable month!