Marbles

He hasn't lost his marbles, but he does enjoy them.

Subbing

I've been busy as a sub this year. I could probably work every day if I wanted to (for the record, I do not want to). I usually work two days a week, but often get texts or emails from the school secretaries, principal or teachers asking me to do more. Sometimes I pick up another day, but I'm also getting good at saying no.

I've subbed in Ali and Logan's band class several times, and one time I subbed in Jake's class. The reactions to their mom being their teacher differed a bit: it was Jake's Best Day Ever, and he was SO excited to have me there. I felt like I needed to ask Ali and Logan if it was okay with them if I subbed in their class before I did so. They said, yes, as long as I didn't embarrass them! Haha. They even admitted to their peers that I was their mom, and some of their friends told them they liked having me as a sub, so I feel pretty special. 

Authors

I was at this great used bookstore by our house with some of our kids, and it turned out there was an author signing there that day. She was in the children's section, and there was no one there talking to her. Well, Jake likes to talk, so we took care of that. The author, Lisa Keitzer, was darling with Jake. I suggested he tell her what he likes to do with his free time, and he told her he likes to make books. "Oh! So you're an author too!" They had a grand chat and we bought her book. Why not?

Eli's Temple Trip

The best part of the year, so far, was going to the temple for the first time with Eli. It was so nice to be at the temple with three of my kids and my sweetheart. The darling temple president has known the Eldredge family for years, and made a point to come talk to us in the baptistery. He reminded us of Eli's Grandpa Eldredge's love of serving in the temple, and that he was sure Gary wouldn't miss such a red-letter day for one of his grandsons, that he would be aware and proud of him. It was a very sweet moment. I love the temple, and I love these people.

Last of the Christmas Gifts

The older kids got some tickets to fun events for Christmas, but some got postponed due to COVID situations. Everyone finally got to have their fun by the end of January. Jason went to a Bulls game with Logan and a Blackhawks game with Eli, and I got to go to Cinderella at the theater in Aurora with Ali.

Bowling

We also spent some of Grandma Eldredge's Christmas money bowling. It turned out to be another activity everyone enjoyed. Jake was pretty sure he's never been bowling, so that shows how often we've gone in the past few years, but that may need to change!

Navy Pier

For Christmas, Jason's mom gave us some money with the assignment to do something fun over break, and we took that assignment very seriously;) We went downtown to Navy Pier and rode the Ferris Wheel. It was a foggy day which made the city views different than normal, but we kind of liked it!

We decided to walk the mile and a half to the Water Tower. Jason and I enjoyed the walk more than some others, but it is a pretty little building, and I love walking in downtown. We were able to walk along Michigan Avenue which is world famous for it's Christmas windows and see the town all dressed up for the season. I loved it.

We passed this little park and had to stop for a minute, noticing as we left that it was very well named.

Such a fun day!!

Medieval Times

For Christmas we gave the kids tickets to Medieval Times. We had never been as a family, and found it to be one of those unique things that we ALL enjoyed. 

Jake really bought into the "cheer for your knight" concept and cheered like a crazy man. He also cried when our knight didn't win. Oh, the emotions of a six year old.

2021 Wrap Up

I have a few more memories from 2021 I want to add before I move on to this year.  I never take many pictures on Christmas (too busy enjoying!), but I did have a few from this year. My parents and Jesse were here for a day or two before and after Christmas and we loved seeing them. They were really excited about the super fun gifts Grandpa had found for the older kids, so they got to open them a couple days early so the grandparents could see how much they loved them.

We had a fun New Year's Eve celebration at home. We had our traditional noise poppers and sparkling soda toasts at "midnight" (when the timer rang). Some of the older kids were fighting off being sick, so went to bed on time, but Ali decided to stay up till midnight for the first time. Jason and I hung out with her. The two of them played Catan (failing to talk me into it) to ring in the new year. 

2021 was a fun year! Bring on the next!