A (Last?) Year of Funnies

With our youngest getting older, this may be the last year we have funnies. The kids are still finny, but it's often a whole conversation (rather than Facebook-sized tidbits) that's funny, or a you-had-to-be-there kind of funny. We'll see. Either way, enjoy!

1/1/22 Jake: In book four of The Notebook of Doom, Chomp of the Meat-Eating Vegetables, they defeated the vegetables with teamwork. I really liked that. They did it TOGETHER, which is really, really nice.

1/7/22 Jake: My birthday is only four months away; you better start buying me presents soon so you can be ready!

1/20/22 Jake: Is January close to being done? I’m over it.

2/13/22 Jake: Deep down inside myself I really do like quiet time (mom-imposed hour of time where everyone is alone in their rooms).

2/26/22 Jake: A hug is more important than a cookie because a hug shows you love someone

3/9/22 Jake: When I grow up I’m going to be an author, who’s also a dad, and I’m going to make video games and board games in my free time. I’m going to live next door to you, mom, and just go to New York City when I need to give my books to my publishers.

3/22/22 Jake: Mom, can I say… (whispers) barf?

Me: Yes…

Jake: OK, it just seemed like a word that wouldn’t be welcome in your house.

3/31/22 Me: (made a silly, self- congratulating comment about how moms always sacrifice for their children).

Jake: But not you, right?

Me: Of course I do!

Jake: (eyes widen, chin trembling)

Me: (realizing what he’s thinking!) Most sacrifices aren’t giving your life for someone. You can sacrifice time, money, things- that’s what I meant!

Jake: (sigh, chuckle in relief) Oh, yeah, ok. That’s true.

4/2/22 Me: Jake, is your room clean?

Jake: Yep!

Me: Will *I* think it’s clean?

Jake:…Let me double check.

4/4/22 Jake: Thank goodness for this magazine- now we know how to recycle right! If I ever meet the person who wrote it I’m going to give them a high-five!

4/7/22 Jake: (Seeing an amazon box): Is the thing in there something for my birthday?

Me: Yes.

Jake: (In all sincerity and sweetness) Mom, I don't even know what it is, but since you got it for me I just know I am going to love it. Thank you so much!

4/24/22 Jake: I brushed my teeth really hard so I’d have nice breath for Stake Conference.

4/25/22 Jake: Now I KNOW I'm getting older, because I let the dentist do what he needed to even though I didn't like it AT ALL.

5/1/22 Me: I can’t get this game piece off, can you?

Jake: (gets piece off) Maybe you just needed to be pure in heart to do it.

5/3/22 Me: (Telling Jake that the thing he’s looking forward to will happen this Friday)

Jake: No offense, because I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but Friday feels like YEARS away.

5/5/22 Jake: She’s a really good friend because she doesn’t even care if I yell at her.

Me: (Camilla Movrich Wise please tell me he doesn’t yell at your daughter!)

5/13/22 Jake: I’m pretty tired tonight, so I think I won’t read for quite as long so I can go to sleep sooner…I’ll turn off the light at 7:28pm (bedtime is normally 7:30pm).

6/3/22 Me: How did you know (something)?

Jake: It’s just part of boy magic.

6/7/22 Jake: My hamburger tastes a little bit picklish.

6/9/22 Jake: I’ve learned that laughing means the same thing in any language!

6/14/22 Jake made up this joke:

What does a secret agent call something they think is amazing?

Inspiring (In-SPY-erring)!

7/21/22 Jake: Mom, you lived in the 19s?!!

7/23/22 Jake: I know her like my pinky- so trust me, I know her.

7/28/22 Jake was offered some juice at a friend’s house and he requested one that didn’t have alcohol in it. (Thanks to Camilla Movrich Wise for sharing this gem)

7/29/22 Jake: ‘Satisfying’ is such a satisfying word.

8/3/22 Jake: Mom, aliens are real. Trust me. I just know they are.

8/15/22 Jake: Now that I’m seven, I have super strength.

10/23/22 Jake: I have a mind like an elephant when it comes to holiday decorations: I never forget.

10/25/22 Jake: If the world is ever taken over by crazy squirrels or rabbits, Max (our dog) will have us covered.

A (COVID) New Year

 A few days after Christmas, I got COVID. It was really a very convenient time to get it since Jason already had off of work and could take care of me and all the things. He was wonderful.

I sent a note to Jake under my door suggesting a few activities we could do together, and not surprisingly, he kept me as busy as I wanted to be doing that!

New Years Eve Jason took Logan and Eli to a Bulls game (part of their Christmas present), and Ali was a great sport watching movies with Jake that she let him pick. I did come down and celebrated "New Years" with the two of them when the timer went off, and then watched a movie from far across the room with Ali till the boys got home. Not quite how we'd pictured the day, but I think we all had a good time. (Also pictured next to Ali and Jake is the dinner my RS counselor brought me- the other brought one the next day, bless them.)

Christmas Break Fun

We all really enjoyed time off of school and work this break. We mostly hung around the house and stuck to ourselves, and had a great time.

We played lots of games, including this drawing one the kids came up with and all enjoyed!

We went to the library a couple of times.

Some of us practiced our fireman holds.

More reading.

We did baptisms at the temple with some of our new member friends. 

We also went to Feed My Starving Children with a family from the ward, the kids played lots of DnD (they even made a character for Jake!), Warhammer creating and playing, watched movies and TV shows on Ali's new projector, and basically enjoyed the time off.
 

Christmas Fun

Spirit days around Christmas are always fun!

This was a new one for the junior high- Zoom meeting business dress: dressed up on top, pjs on bottom!

Max really wants to eat our elf and his reindeer. One night they moved to this spot that way annoyingly right at his level, but still out of reach. He whined and watched them for quite a long time, poor guy.

We had our traditional Christmas Eve nativity reenactment. 

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Todd

Jason's brother Todd turned 50 this December, and our sister-in-law Janell went all out to celebrate including flying out Jason, his sisters and his mom to surprise Todd. Jason was more than happy to join in on the fun!

Christmas Presents for Adults

Jason and I often use Christmas as an excuse to get each other bigger things we've wanted for awhile, and this year was no exception. For years I have wanted to replace the entryway chandelier. Jason knows how to replace lights, but we've held off on this one for so long because of the two story height. So we were just going to hire an electrician, but when we got it home, Jason said, "You know, if I could rent a tall ladder, I bet I could do it!" So rent a tall ladder he did, and now I have a beautiful new light! 

You may remember Jason lost his wedding ring in Lake Michigan this summer, and we decided it was past time to replace it. He wanted one similar to what he'd lost, but we were finding very few rings that were even gold, and not really the style he liked. So, we ended up finding a jeweler who could make him one based on a picture we showed him of the old one. It wasn't a perfect match, but he likes it, and it's good to have a ring on his finger again. The old inscription read, "I will love you forever." The new inscription reads, "I will STILL love you forever."

 

Christmas Parties

We've had some fun Christmas outings this month. We went to the Christmas Church and enjoyed their carriage rides and hot cocoa (I think the promise of their divine cocoa is how I get about 4 members of my family to go!).

We also enjoyed our ward's Polar Express themed Christmas party.

And I got to join Jason downtown for his work Christmas party.

Turkey Trot

One of Eli's Youth Goals was to train for and run a 5K. He and Jason signed up for the Turkey Trot, a 5K on Thanksgiving, and began training in early October. Eli would get up shortly after 6am and run with Jason in the pitch black and cold with little or no complaint.

But then, about three weeks before the race, he got a pretty bad case of the flu. He missed several days of school, and felt pretty weak for awhile. We were worried all his training would be for naught, and prepared a speech about how sometimes we don't quite met our goals, through no fault of our own. But a few days before the race he was ready to train again, and then on race day he ran the whole 5K without stopping! He was one of not many kids running, and the first one to cross the finish line! Way to go Eli!

Seeing Santa

In early November Jake went to the mall with me on an errand and saw this amazing Santa set up they had going. He fell in love with the idea of seeing Santa there. Annoyingly to me, they "recommended" reservations (which actually would be great), but you had to pay $25 for a reservation (that's the annoying part). The money would go towards a photo package, they soothed. I decided to go ahead and pay for the reservation, since waiting in a long line didn't appeal to me, and Jake really had his heart set on this place.

Well, we got to the end and they printed off about five sheets of photos and told me that yes, my reservation fee went TOWARD a photo package, but the cheapest one was another $25. I was annoyed because I didn't want to pay even more, and come on- they'd already printed them! They would just have to throw them away if I didn't take them! But I declined and walked away with Jake. 

You couldn't take your own photos there with Santa, but I figured we could at least take a couple at the entrance. When we turned around, the photo lady was there with a pack of our photos. "Here, you forgot these," she said with a wink. Jake and I thought her generosity was so touching. Our own little Christmas angel!
 

Snow

One of Ali's birds, Snow, died about a month ago. She was pretty sad, as one would expect. She decided to paint a picture of her in remembrance.

Relief Society

The end of this year marks three years for me as Relief Society President. The time has flown by, and I've learned a lot and had great experiences. I'm not in any hurry to be released, which is probably good since I don't think my Bishop will ever release me!

This year I got to be involved in teaching and fellowshipping a single mom and her two teenaged kids.

We also had a lot of really fun activities, and our activity attendance has gone up since I started personally inviting every single sister each time!

The best thing about this calling is that mostly I just get to love and serve people-two things I like to do!

Winter Concerts

'Tis the season for school concerts! This winter we got to go Logan and Ali's band concert, and Logan's Jazz band festival, a holiday choir concert for Eli, a regular choir concert for Eli, and Eli's band concert. Whew! Good thing they were all amazing.

Jake is a good sport at these concerts, especially when he remembers to bring a book (even if he as to read it sitting backwards because the only light in the theater is coming from the stage), or can play with the fidgets his wonderful mom keeps in her purse (for when he forgets his book), or can read the books his amazing mom keeps on her phone (for when the fidgets get boring). 

High School Concert

These two have their first High School band concert under their belts: they did great!

Theater Crew

Ali spent most days after school for a couple of months on her school's tech crew building the set for their fall play. It was fun to go and see all her hard work displayed! (This is the "Mom, hurry and take a picture," look!)

Thanksgiving

This was the first year in several that I hosted Thanksgiving. So, I started thinking about the tables and bought (quite) a few things I needed to set pretty tables. I was pleased with the results!

My aunt Jeanene, who makes the most lovely pottery, asked me what I would like her to make me. She had just posted some little pumpkins she had made and I told her I'd like some too. I loved them!

Emily came home from college and it was so good to see her. I set an extra plate at the adult table AND an extra at the kids' table and let her choose where to sit...she sat with the adults for a bit, and then with the kids. Perfection!

I'm so thankful for this family of mine!

Glasses

Did I mention Eli got glasses? He just wears them when he's using screens, and finds his eyes much less tired now. Hooray!

Fruits of his labor

 Logan needed some orange sodas for a school project, and everyone enjoyed the leftovers.

Drawing Together

These two both love to draw, and so sometimes they enjoy doing it together. Kind of fun to do a solitary activity with someone else!

Silly Logan

I got these mustache stickers with something I ordered and Logan played along with me and wore one for a bit!

And then this empty box made a good hat.

I like that my almost-adult son can still be silly sometimes.

Camp Out

We wanted to squeeze in one more campout this year. Jason took the older three to Starved Rock toward the end of October. Eli was excited to use the brand new tent he got for his birthday.

Jake and I "camped" at our house, with an indoor fire and sleeping in our own beds! Someone has to be home for Max, after all.

Gilmore Girls

I'm introducing Ali to the joy that is Gilmore Girls. And actually, Logan and Eli like it too, and often watch with us, laughing at the jokes. Watching an episode is one of the ways Ali likes to unwind, and since it's something we watch together, I often have to "make time" to watch. 

At this part, where mom and daughter were sitting on the couch watching TV, Ali said, "Look, mom, it's us!" And then I had to take a picture.

All things Halloween

We had lots of fun on and around Halloween. The younger boys and Ali carved jack-o-lanterns, but we only managed to get pictures of two.  

This year I gave in to the yearly begging to buy a Halloween blow up decoration. I set it up while everyone was at school and work and enjoyed the amazement when they each came home.

Jake loved his school's Trunk-or-Treat, despite lots of wind and a little rain, and this was his favorite trunk. I thought his Christmas pillowcase at a Halloween party was funny.

We had an amazing time at the ward Halloween party, and I was grateful that I made everyone pose for a picture because it was the only one of all the kids in costume that I got this year! We had a Grim Reaper, an Orc, Galadriel the elf, a Rapper, and Legolas (who stole the show in his amazing wig!).

I happened to have a bunch of pumpkins left in my trunk from a Relief Society activity to decorate our trunk with. Once Jake was done trunk-or-treating, he helped hand out candy, and liked how he blended in-some people didn't even see him! 

The kids went every which way on Halloween night, something that is becoming the norm around here. Eli invited all the Deacons in his quorum to come over for dinner and trick-or-treating, Ali and Logan each went to a different friend's house, and Jake and I trick-or-treated in our neighborhood. Everyone had a great time. I didn't get a picture of Logan and his friends, and neither did his mom (because, boys), but here are the rest!

At the second house Jake trick-or-treated at I heard him say, "Oh! My mom loves reese's peanut butter cups!" and he picked that, ran over to me and said, "For you, Mom!" I thought it was so sweet that he thought of me, and gave it to me so early on in his candy-getting!

We also had really fun weather this year. It was warm when we were out, maybe 55 or 60, and it sprinkled a little before trick-or-treating leaving these cool rainbows. Then as it got darker, the fog came out! So cool. It was a great Halloween.