Goodbye 2023

We had a fun 2023! Highlights include Branson Family Reunion, Six Flags, football and track, learning to swim and bike, lawn mowing business, first jobs at Mantis, drivers' permits, Christmas break, church callings, good grades, Little Mermaid Seagull, Isolation play, school clubs, school bands, friends...whew!!

We rang in the New Year as a family at 7:45ish, then Jake went to bed (he still loves to go to bed at night), then Eli went to a friend's house and Logan and Ali celebrated with me and Jason.

Here's to 2024!

Walking Goal

I made a goal this year to walk outside for 100 miles. Max was my companion on most of my walks, and sometimes I had Jason or one of my kids with me too. I was pleased that I met and then exceeded my goal- reaching 140 miles! I'm sure setting the goal and keeping track of the walks I did got me out the door more often than if I hadn't set one, so I'm going to try to break the record next year. 

Cantigny Christmas

We all know how I feel about Cantigny, so when I saw that they were doing a light's display this Christmas I put it on my to-do list! I was grateful Ali agreed to come with me, and we went a few days after Christmas. It was lovely.

Ali's Downtown Adventure

Ali said she wanted to go downtown one day during break. She and Jason came up with an itinerary and I tagged along. We took the train down and looked around the great hall which was all dressed up for Christmas.

Name the movie!

We took in the beautiful sights of the city, including Millennium Park's big tree, the Federal Reserve's Money Museum, and Macey's fancy window displays.

We then took the subway down to Chinatown. We ate a yummy lunch and Ali loved visiting a K Pop store.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! I decided to keep track of all the ways our family tried to Light the World this December, and then we lit that many candles (92!) to light our Christmas Eve dinner.

We did our annual Nativity reenactment, and I accidently took this picture before I started the video-and I kind of love it:)

Christmas brought to us by Amazon! We had a very happy day. I sure love this family of mine.

Christmas Street

Another tradition: check!! Max came this year and was happy as a clam.

Wisdom Teeth

Back in early fall Logan told me he thought he could feel his wisdom teeth growing in. I didn't believe him, but a few weeks later he insisted I look in his mouth...and sure enough-they were popping through! We took him to a couple places to find a doctor we liked, and made an appointment for just before Christmas. The teeth coming in were quite uncomfortable, and at one point Logan told me he was almost more excited to get his teeth out than for Christmas itself! Since a couple teeth had come all the way through, the surgery was fairly easy and his recovery not terrible. He had pain for about 7-10 days, but was able to eat fairly normally even by the first evening. He got tired of his mom telling him to take it easy- a sign of a quick recovery I'd say!

He didn't realize when I came back after the surgery that he was already done; he felt like no time had passed, and that they were still getting things ready to start. He was also very intent on telling me that they strapped his arm down and put the IV in- he probably told me about it 10 times, forgetting each time he'd already told me! Funny boy.

Gingerbread House

Ali, Logan, and Eli got invited to a gingerbread house making night at a friend's house and brought home their fun creations. They were not in a serious picture taking mood:)

Jake decided it looked like fun and that he needed to do one too, so do one we did.

Hanukah

Michelle, Lindsay, and Liam invited us to their home to celebrate Hanukah with them. We helped light the nights' candle, learned how to play dreidel, ate yummy food, and learned the history of Hanukah. It was a lovely evening.  

We also spent the day after Thanksgiving with them at Feed My Starving Children. Going here is something we always invite each other to when we plan a trip, and always have more fun serving with them than we would alone.

Spirit Days and Mole Day

Eli dressed up for some of his school's spirit days: here he is on BBQ Dad day.

I noticed I was going to be subbing in 3rd grade on Jake's school's twin day and I asked if he wanted to twin with me. When he excitedly agreed, I looked for shirts for us; they say "All Booked for Christmas." I gotta take advantage of any remaining years my youngest wants to admit (and even celebrate) that I'm his mom at school!

A few weeks ago the kids were offered extra credit in chemistry if they created a mole-themed craft. Ali made a tee-shirt (the joke on the back says: What are moles made of? Molecules!)

And Logan made a stuffed mole he dubbed Mole-tallica.

Patriarchal Blessing

Logan chose to receive his Patriarchal Blessing in December. It was wonderful and exciting to hear a bit about the life the Lord has planned for this boy we all love. 

 

Light the World

The Church's Light the World vending machines finally came to Chicago this year, so we (of course) made sure we went. These are honestly the coolest things, and I'm glad we finally got to experience them in person.