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.
