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!

The Plague

From the time Sof started Jr. Jazz, it seemed like our family couldn't catch a break - someone was always sick, and it felt like we were single-handedly keeping the healthcare workers in business. 

Sof stayed home from school a few days, then Claire, who was probably the sickest she's ever been. She had a fever for a few days, but eventually got better. I know she's sick when she takes naps, and she took one daily for 3 days in a row.

Claire's doctor was pretty sure Claire was on the downswing of whatever Virus she had, but just as a precaution, he put her on an antibiotic anyway. It helped her

Finally, it was Quincey's turn - and she looked awful, the worst she's ever looked, so off we went to InstaCare one Saturday after Sof's basketball game. 

The InstaCare was a bit more proactive about any and all tests, so Quincey got the swab for Strep, Flu, and COVID. The nurse told me she would call me if any of them came back positive. 

Not even an hour later, I got the call. Poor Quincey had tested positive for Flu and COVID. Whaaa?! I was honestly shocked. Here we were 2 years later, and someone in the household finally tested positive for COVID. Why wouldn't it be Quincey? They immediately called her in a prescription, and Quincey was already doing better the next day. Oh the power of medicine.

After seeing how Quincey was doing, Claire had definitely had the same thing. Poor girl! Luckily, she was on an antibiotic too, which was helping more each day.

Who was next to get sick?

This guy.

Fevering and chills like crazy, so off he went to InstaCare too. And guess what he texted positive for? 

The Flu and COVID.

It. Was. Awful.

He was wrapped up in this blanket for days on end, slept downstairs each night, and still managed to get work done. All while sounding like a walking disease, but was lucky to be on an antibiotic as well.

Somehow, I managed to stay healthy, and I'm thinking it's because someone needed to be able to take care of all of the other sick bodies in the house. 

What a way to start the holiday season.

Finishing up November

5 months later, here I am finishing up what we did in November. Luckily I have all of the pictures to even remember what we did. Someday/year I will be all caught up with this blog business; slowly but surely.

The cutest little babe @ Get Air

Sof started Jr. Jazz and had so much fun!

Quincey still loves her baths!

Where is Claire?

We found a fun treehouse and Claire had the best time climbing. It's a lot higher than it looks.

Meanwhile, Quincey is having fun eating some grass.

Greg likes to mock Mittens.

This hung on our fridge for months because reading it brought me joy. Claire is hilarious.

The Spjute sisters invited me along to TOFW 2022 and it was good to get away and reconnect spiritually with other women in the room. Greg had a good time holding down the fot at home, playing Mr. Mom. The girls love him!

Their outfits both kill me! 

While at TOFW, Greg and the girls got our new bulbs put in. The house looked so good!

Nov. 27, 2022 - 9 months old!

Here comes the snow ...

She is so fun! Roly poly, squishy, and happy!

Greg took Sof to a Jazz game one night. They were clear up in the nose bleeds, but they had a lot of fun!