Finishing up December 2022

Here I am in July, finishing up the fun things we did in Dec 2022. Holy cow! I am so far behind, but it is so fun to relive all of the fun things I completely forgot that we did. I'll do my best to narrarate what we did the best that I can :).

Aunt Katy came to stay with us for the week and had a blast watching the girls for us while Greg and I went on a date. She's the best! The girls convinced her to paint their faces.

Our cute family under the Tree of Life.

Katy ended up getting sick, so she recovered in our basement for a few days. We loved taking her with us places.

Sof's Christmas gifts to her friends this year were cute rice pack Gingerbread men.

Claire took her new LOL doll with her everywhere. Here she is with Claire while she plays with her mini Hungry Hungry Hippo game.

Everyone obliged me one night by going to the Grand America and seeing the Christmas windows. We followed a cute mouse through his journey.

Only Quincey and Sof were brave enough to survive the frozen courtyard.

Our cute girlies!
This pic doesn't do the Gingerbread Hotel justice. 
It. was. HUGE!

The prettiest Christmas Tree!

Claire cat in her Christmas jammies completely mesmerized by the window.

Google made us a Claire collage. I'm quickly reminded that this girl is hilarious!

Campbell Companies purchased a showing of the Little Mermaid one night for their employee's and families @ Hale Theatre. It was mine and the girls first time there and the play did not disappoint! It was amazing!

Quincey and her cute smooshy face.

We were so happy to see the toys back at the library! We haven't seen them out since before COVID.

The girls were sure proud of their Christmas lights. They helped switch all of the old bulbs out and replaced them with the new pattern.

Where's Claire?

I finally got the piano tuned after having it for 5+ years. It was fascinating to watch, and the lady showed me how to take it apart. That may or may not be helpful for future projects ... just don't tell Greg.

We did our Thanksgiving tree again, and I was dying over the cat Claire drew on it.

Quincey absolutely LOVES books, and I love having a 7 year old who can read to her.

Sof was quite the little Jr. Jazz player this year. I was only able to make it to 2 games, thanks to all of the sick bodies in the house, so I'm sure glad Greg took pictures.

Froyo one night with my mini me.

Claire was having a moment one day, so I put her in her room to give us both time to cool off. I was dying when she started sending me messages through her window. 

Quincey quickly discovered she likes eating snow.

Seeing Santa at Cabela's.

Claire really wanted this fish.

She refused to pose for a pic on her last day of preschool before the Christmas holiday, so this is the best we're going to get, folks.

Claire and this fish had a staring contest. I can't remember who won. My money is on the fish.

Quincey turned 10 months and is so much fun!

She is starting to crawl and continues to be the world's cutest baby.

I found this video on my phone and kind of love it.

We spent New Years Eve at Get Air and had so much fun! They did a balloon drop this year and gave away unlimited cookies. We plan on doing this every year. It was awesome!

I found this video of Sof. She's hilarious.

Soaking in my cute baby, so sad to say goodbye to 2022 and the year she joined our family.

It's hilarious to see how many people Greg can carry up the stairs.

Looking down on their kingdom.

Greg surprised the girls with poppers to reign in the new year. They had fun watching them pop in the dark.

Mittens helped me count my year-end inventory. He loved it.

What a year 2022 was - we did a lot of fun things!

Greg turned 34
Quincey Rose joined our family
I turned 31

Sofia turned 7

Claire [mostly] enjoyed her 1st year of Preschool

We went out to eat as a family and survived Claire puking up her chocolate milk.

I learned how to navigate Cherry Hill with a newborn and 2 young swimmers

We had THE BEST TIME at the Oregon Coast

I somehow mixed up the start days in August, but Sof managed to still be on-time to school her first day of 2nd grade.

Claire patiently waited for her turn to start Pre-K

Claire turned 5.

We had the funnest trip to Yellowstone, Jenny Lake, and Jackson Hole, even though Claire threw up that night in the hotel.

We had a fun trip to Moab for Thanksgiving.

Sof had the best time playing Jr. Jazz Basketball

Everyone got sick except for Mom.

Claire, Quincey, and Greg all survived COVID.

Heidi saw Gentri.

We made so many fun memories!

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2022 was a year to remember!

...

Christmas 2022

Christmas Eve was a beautiful, relaxing day. We spent it delivering Neighborhood gifts, because why not wait until the last minute? The girls helped deliver while Quincey and I danced in the car.

Looking so cute in their Christmas Jammies!

Christmas morning came just in time for us to open gifts just before needing to get ready for church. As a kid, I hated Christmas on Sunday, but that has changed as an adult. There is a special spirit that comes as we celebrate the Christ child on a Sunday with our neighbors. 

Sofia was beyond excited to find a pink Magic Mixie waiting for her on Christmas morning. She spent all morning teaching it magic. It was really cute to watch.

Claire was excited to find LOL dolls and a big pink Barbie motorhome. 

Quincey had fun watching her older sisters and playing with the wrapping paper.

It was a fun, relaxing day. I enjoyed listening to Sofia and Claire play so cute all day long. Quincey and Greg had a nap, and we enjoyed time soaking in the Christmas Spirit. 

We finished the night off with our tradition of making Chili Releno's. They were absolutely delicious!

What a beautiful day celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Midway Ice Castles

We got together one night in Midway with the Spjute siblings and their families. We had delicious food, then headed over to Soldier Hollow to see the Midway Ice Castles. There has been a lot of hype about the ice castles for years, and let me tell you, they did not disappoint. They were amazing, intricate, and so cool to tour!

Lights in the slides and frozen ice structures, beautiful lit up tunnels to walk through, and ice scultupres to admire. I'm not sure if we'll do the ice castles again, but they are a definite must-see sometime in your life.

Gentri!

Greg is the best husband ever, and put his pride aside by getting me tickets to see Gentri in concert! Naturally, I chose to see them in St. George, and the week finally arrived! Of course, Greg tested positive for COVID 4 days before our scheduled day to leave, but luckily my Mom doesn't believe in COVID, so she told us to come - bless her. Greg finally went 24 hours without a fever 1 whole day before it was time for us to leave. I love him, but there was no way I was missing a Gentri concert. But, his body decided to cooperate, and he slept in the back of the van while I drove south.

It had been 7 months since we had been to Cedar, so the girls were thrilled to be on their way to visit Grandma and Grandpa. My mom graciously agreed to watch our girls while we played in St. George for an afternoon.

Sof got her Christmas present early - new Roller Blades!

Making and decorating sugar cookies.

I was a little nervous at how this little cutie would react with Grandma watching her, but she did great!

We chose to go to the early afternoon concert, and quickly realized that we were the youngest ones there by about 35 years. I was dying! Greg's face says it all. We were in a sea of geriatric Gentri enthusiasts.

Hyped up on meds to watch a bunch of other men perform. He's the best!

There was an intermission, and Greg kept making jokes about there needing to be a break so everyone can take their blood pressure medication. He was on one! And I was dying. It's one-on-one moments like this that help me remember how Greg was before he became an old man.

The pianist for Gentri was AMAZING! So naturally I got a picture with his poster.

We drove by to see the progress on the St. George temple. It's coming along!

After the concert, we found a Thai restaurant and had yummy food before heading back up to Cedar. Greg also indulged me in a not-so-quick trip to Target. Overall, St. George was beautiful and the warmer weather felt so good! It was the perfect Christmas present!

We weren't able to see Grandma Jolley, so we decided to go to church with her on Sunday. She is so sweet and sure loves her posterity!

It was a quick trip, but so much fun! Gentri was amazing, and my bucket was full. Thanks Greggy!

Fun @ Vivint Arena

All Jr. Jazz players were invited to the Vivint Arena one night - so we went. It was a one and done thing, because the place was an absolute madhouse! But, it was fun to spend time with Sof and be in the arena with her and what seemed like the rest of N. Utah.

We waited in line way too long for this little balloon animal, but he was adorable.

The Christmas lights were absolutely beautiful!

Meanwhile at home ...

Trying to clear out his sinuses with a Children's Tylenol dispenser. Say it with me: Gross!

Claire's Christmas Performance

No matter how many times Claire performs, it always brings a smile to my face. Probably because of how aloof she seems during the many weeks I take her to practice, and how she conveniently "forgets" what she did within minutes of me picking her up, only to have it all come to perfect fruition at the end of each season - and Claire did not disappoint. She is one serious, adorable little singer.

Claire picked her nose a lot .... we need to work on performance etiquette.

Beautiful Claire! She was all dressed up.

I was trying to get her attention and kept embarassing her. I'm so happy I got a video of her slapping her forehead - She is her dad's clone when it comes to her antics.

She's hilarious!

We love Claire!