January 2019

Jan 3:  Cute little Katie and Drew heading off to school in the rain.  Drew’s come a long way since his first few days walking to/from school up that big ole hill.  I can’t remember the last time he complained about it although they are always happy when I surprise them by picking them up after school.  He still has the little goldfish stuffy keychain he got from preschool clipped onto his preschool sized backpack.  I’ll miss these cute little details as he grows up.

Jan 4:  My niece Caylee works for Chick-fil-A in Utah and while we were visiting last month she introduced me to a special Chick-fil-A shake.  They have a seasonal peppermint shake around the holidays, but she suggested ordering it with the peppermint syrup, but with the cookies & cream crumbles.  I tried it while we were there and LOVED it so much that I got it SEVERAL more times both in Utah and back home in Washington.  I figured I had to take full advantage since the peppermint flavor is only offered just a few short months each year, right?

Jan 6:  Today was a big day for our family as Jason received the Aaronic Priesthood.  This was seven months earlier than expected since the church changed the policy that all children advancing into youth do so now on Jan 1 of the year they will turn 12.  Justin performed that ordinance.

Jason passed the sacrament for the first time on the following Sunday, January 13.  He wasn’t planning on it since the youth leaders hadn’t taught the new boys yet how it’s done; however, Bishop Hammer approached Jason before sacrament meeting started and told him he should.  So Jason did.  Without any instruction.  And it was great and a little surreal for his Mom, but he was ready to advance from Primary and I’m so excited for him to participate in the youth organization.

While on the subject of Jason – Jason was able to go to the temple for the first time on Feb 1 with Justin and Carly.  Again, a pictureless event, but a momentous one.

Jan 7:  We had a few light snow flurries and some heavy winds this week.  This morning when Katie and Drew were leaving for school Katie noticed the large evergreen tree in our front yard had toppled over.  There didn’t seem to be any damage or snapped branches just shallow roots that apparently couldn’t hold the weight of the tree upright any longer. 

I put out an S.O.S. to see if we could try to save it and even called a tree guy to come out.  He talked to me over the phone and based on the tree’s location (right next to the house), he said that while we could probably stake it back up it is probably too big of a tree for that space and it would likely end up causing us issues in the future.  I was so, so sad to let it go.  I’m not necessarily a fan of evergreen trees but it looked great next to our house and filled the space beautifully.  Knowing how (not) quickly we move on any yard work I knew we’d be looking at a dead boring space for a long while. 

Jan 20:  I think/hope it is obvious to anyone that encounters my children that my kids pick out their own clothes entirely on their own.  If Katie puts together some obnoxious flowery pants with an obnoxious  flowery shirt in an entirely different color scheme I would usually just shrug and not fight her on it.  During sacrament meeting today I looked over and saw Drew’s outfit.  He always is good about putting on “church pants,” however, today he didn’t wear his nicer “church shoes” (yes, Mom we still run our shoes until they fall apart completely before replacing them as evidence here).  The funny part to me was his sock selection.  One polka dot fuzzy sock he received from Grandma Kesler in his Christmas gift bag (adult size of course) and the other a thin black Mickey Mouse sock.

What added to the humor was that the previous Sunday Drew had decided to wear a button-up white collared shirt and tie; however he insisted on clipping the tie onto the small pocket his chest.  Can you picture it?  Funny kid.  While I had my phone out he laid on my lap and I took a quick close up shot of his cute face – just check out those lashes!

Jan 21:  This Martin Luther King post kind of blew my mind today since my Dad also shares this same birth year.  Crazy!

Jan 27:  Jason and Katie’s piano recital was originally scheduled for mid-December, but ended up being moved to tonight.  I was in Priest Lake with some friends so Justin took a video of their performances.  Jason apparently really struggled with his arrangements.  He’s had them memorized for several months so not having his music combined with his nerves and his recently developed hatred of piano didn’t make for his best performance.

Jan 28:  My Mom celebrated her Sweet 76th Birthday with the family in Utah – Happy Birthday Mom!

Jan 30:  I usually don’t include much about extended family, but this is just too cool not to share.  My oldest niece Kaitlyn’s fiancé has a very musical family and this past year they’ve become quite well known in Utah and even gotten some national attention.  Tonight she got to perform with Kelly Clarkson, which is super exciting.  So much talent!

Jan 31:  January was such a great month for me socially – in addition to my weekend away in Idaho, Justin and I got together with Auburn friends for a temple/dinner date (Jan 11) the Barlow’s came into town for a special baptism (Jan 13) which we were invited to attend (and I led music at – ack!) we were able to spend a fun evening with them the night before the baptism.  My friend Tracy from our Auburn days came into town and so we got together with a group of ladies for breakfast on Jan 19.  And then today Andrea, Sommer and I went to see Dear Evan Hansen at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle.  I’d heard it was a fantastic, highly rated show but that’s about all I knew.  It was great, but the subject a bit of a heavy surprise.  A fun outing nonetheless and I especially enjoyed the delicious bakery we visited before the show.

I don’t remember the specifics of this next picture but I do know it was a parenting win for me.  Jason didn’t take out the yard waste as he was asked (likely multiple times) – normally I’d have a minor freak out and lay into him.  Tonight however I added a little note to the situation and low and behold when I woke up the next morning he had emptied the container before he left for school.  Win-Win.  Job completed.  Relationship unscathed.