Christmas has come and gone. We did the usual things, except every year I put up fewer decorations. I think that the kids noticed this year, and I saw more decorations every day put in different places around the house. It's just more junk for me to clean up now. This year, we have left most of the decorations up so that Cristina can see them.
It has been the usual weather: cold. The boys walk out to the bus stop every morning semi-bundled up. At least they are smarter than the girls who don't wear a coat at all-- well, Laura Lee does, Sam does not.
My Webelos partner found out she has arthritis. She also had kidney stones and then had a horrible fall and hurt her knee. So, we made her cards and brought her a poinsettia when she couldn't come to Webelos this December. Joy was so thrilled the boys came over she started to cry. She is so sweet and never complains, she just makes a joke about her condition. She kind of reminds me of Grandma Joan. She is appropriately named "Joy".
Luke tried out for the STEM team at school. The first day, he was cut without even being given any explanation. He came home devastated. His best friend, Landon Myers, went to their teacher and asked if Luke could take his place in the tryouts. Mrs. Francis said he had tears in his eyes. Then Luke went to her and said that if Landon comes to ask to give Luke his spot, to not listen to him. He wanted Landon to keep trying out. Mrs. Francis was so impressed with their friendship, she wrote a note to Kelli and I and told us it was refreshing to see. She said there are so many kids in her class this year that just have a lack of empathy, and Luke and Landon restored her faith. I took Luke out on a date and we skipped school the next day because he was feeling so down. While I went to pick him up, his teacher stopped us in the hall and said that they were going to redo the tryouts. This time, they were not going to cut anyone until the very end of the two weeks. That way, Luke has another chance. He was so thrilled-- but we skipped school anyway! After the two weeks, both Luke and Landon made the STEM team. From now until April, they will be meeting every Tuesday and Thursday to practice with their team after school until the region meet. They have to learn how to program a sphero so that it can do certain tasks. One of the criteria for trying out was that they had to work well together. I am guessing that the teachers all realized Luke and Landon work well together-- so they kept them both on. Out of 25 kids, only 6 made it. Luke is thrilled with the kids he gets to work with. I hope they can do well. Last year, the STEM team from their school won $3,000 for their school to use for science. It is a great project that Thermo-Fisher sponsors.
Luke and I think that maybe this suit would be great to wear for Christmas parties.
Christmas morning. Everyone was happy.
Spence coloring in his book from Grandma and Grandpa Stubbs.
I encouraged the boys to try ice-skating, and they loved it. Our town has it's own free rink. The skates are all donated and the rink is kept up by a father and son in town. We even have a zamboni!
Aunt Lisa made Spencer a really cool turtle cake. She made it in exchange for me teaching Cora piano. I'd say that's a pretty good trade because I am terrible at making awesome cakes! Spencer LOVES turtles.
The weekend of Spencer's birthday, we had a Stubbs family Christmas party. It was really fun to have the cousins come and play! We missed Rich's family and Grandparents Stubbs, though!
We took them to the rink and then on a wagon ride with Jackie Jones in our ward. Jackie's husband is recovering from chemo therapy. He had a large brain tumor, and they have had an awful year. She was super sweet about taking us all on a ride. She hitched up the wagon and the horses, then rode us all over town. She had some awesome fox fur mittens that she wore, too!
My students have been so sweet to me. One of my regular students, Cindy, sent me a beautiful painting she made. Her mom also sent me a gorgeous silk scarf. She is only Spencer's age and she speaks beautifully. I love teaching her because she is so much fun to talk with. Her mom is my age and is a professor, as well as her father.
Another exciting event to happen this past month is Luke being ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood. He is SO excited. Every Sunday, he has made sure I get him to church early to set up the chairs, and he also wants to be one of the first to choose which spot to sit for passing the sacrament. He and Landon like to get 1 or 2 because they can take turns serving their dads up on the stand as the bishopric. Luke told us to get there early enough today to sit on the side he would pass. He is so thrilled and loves passing the sacrament. You can tell by the look on his face he takes his responsibility seriously and that he loves doing it. Having responsibility at that age is so important. This is Luke and his buddy Miles Stewart the day they were ordained.
Sammy got my camera for Christmas. We got her a kit that has filters and different lens attachments--- so she didn't just get my old camera. She is doing a great job learning all the things she can do. She and her friend, Solee, made a funny movie about a skateboarder and a girl. They crack me up.
Here we have more cousin shots with Eliza putting earrings on Sydney.
Sam and her friend Camery. Camery and Sam have been friends for a while, but Camery just moved to Newton and Sammy is thrilled. Cam is a great kid. She and Sam like to goof around together.
I took Melissa Jensen to one of Laura Lee's basketball games. She is an autistic girl in our ward. Her mom died this past year, and she gets very lonely. Her dad is always sick, and her younger sister is not well either. Melissa likes to get out so I took her to a game. She had a great time. When her mom died, Rich asked her if she was still watching the Utah Jazz, it was always something she loved to do. Melissa said no-- that she had stopped watching after Gordon Hayward left the team for the Celtics. Rich suggested she watch the new guy they just got, Donovan Mitchell. She started to watch the Jazz again and now she LOVES Donovan Mitchell. She wrote him a letter and he sent her back a bunch of Jazz souvenirs and a signed letter. She was so thrilled.
Then, Cristina Bravim came to visit! I drove to Ogden meet her and Missy. We stopped at Farr's Ice cream near the temple. She loved the old fashioned Ice cream spot. We talked for a while, then I took Cris and we drove to Newton. When we pulled in to the house, it was then we realized we forgot to load up her bags. I called Missy, and she had just arrived at home. Ug!! I hurried and posted a call for help on the town Facebook page, asking if anyone happened to be heading that way. We decided we better start the one hour drive back to Ogden. About ten minutes into the drive, my friend called and said she just saw my message and that her sister was heading to Centerville right now. She said that she never gets on Facebook in the afternoon, but thought she would today. Boy were we grateful. Anyway-- we had a great time with Cris. She taught us to make brigadieros and cake. I took her to the Portuguese immersion school in Smithfield. It was so much fun to have her come. She fits right in and is so easy going. She said that she is looking into teaching in Canada, and possibly the US. She talked to the Portuguese immersion teacher and asked her for information. I hope that things work out for her. She is a sweetheart.
We also celebrated Rich's 47th birthday! Hooray! I am a little freaked out that he is nearing 50, I don't know why-- because I don't think that is old anymore. I think it is because I feel we still have a long way to go before we can "retire" since we are spending everything on trying to raise kids. I think we will be at least 75 before we can kick back and relax. Hopefully we won't be replacing appliances at the rate we are now-- more on that later.
Spencer got three 100%'s in a row on his spelling tests, so I took him out for ice cream. We went to Charlie's Ice Cream Parlor. We were the only ones there. It was 30 degrees outside.
Here we have two dapper fellows in their new suits. Nothing like having a new suit to get you excited for getting ready for church. It has been torture to get them to get ready every Sunday, so this was motivation. I don't know how long it will last!
Rich and I spent all day Thursday trying to remedy our refrigerator situation. We bought a new fridge four years ago and it worked well for about two years. The stupid thing started to freeze up the fan, then we would have to take all the food out, defrost it, then put everything back in. It finally froze up so badly it wouldn't cool anything down. We tried to defrost it, but it was taking too long. We decided to drive to the house on Main in Logan and get the fridge there that Rich had purchased for the renters (who are no longer there.) We borrowed the neighbor's flatbed truck, went to the house, loaded up the fridge, then brought it back. We put it in the garage to hold things while we try and fix the other fridge. It seemed to work okay, and now it is not working well. It won't cool down. I swear when one things breaks, everything does! For Christmas, I bought a new kitchen aide and a new vacuum. My old kitchen aide would fall apart after a few uses. I gave it to a young couple who were thrilled to have it. I told them there were no guarantees that it would hold up. I was constantly fixing it. So thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Stubbs we used our Christmas money for a new one. I use it just about every day. Then, my vacuum kicked the bucket. I had already fixed it about three times by myself-- thank you "Youtube Tutorials!" It lasted for almost 10 years, and I guess that is a record for now days. We also bought a new washer and dryer as well this year. The old ones we had were awesome-- they lasted about 16 years. We bought them when we moved into our house in Bountiful. We had to have them fixed once or twice, but this last time the repair man told us he couldn't get the parts for less than what a new one would cost. Rats! I do not love my new washer and dryer-- everything is "energy efficient". It makes SO much SENSE to make them energy efficient (eye-roll here). My clothes are NEVER dry after once cycle-- I have to run it at the very least 2 more times. It is ridiculous. When Rich and I were first married, we moved into the green house on main (RIP Green house-- it is now torn down.) There was an old washer and dryer there from when his grandparents lived there. Whirlpool. Workhorses. They had gone through quite a few college students, and they were still going strong. They had to be at least 20 years old when I moved in. They were huge and I guarantee they were much more "energy efficient" than the wussy machines they make now. I don't mean to sound ungrateful-- I don't want to use a washboard or anything! I just wish things were made now with the intent to last for decades. We have the technology-- we just have too many greedy manufactures.
Tirade now over, I am going to be looking for a new fridge this week. Yay!! I may cross the border a few times to see if I can win the Idaho lottery as well.
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