December 2023

 

December 1 - We got a pretty good snowstorm.  We had a sibling Christmas party at Kris's house, the only picture I took was Blake holding the cat!  Kris, Harold & Marcele, Bart & Merralee, Mark & Natillie and Blake & I were there for dinner and visiting.  It was great! Mark and Natillie came and stayed with us that evening.  We had a nice little visit.  Thanks for coming!

December 3 - I got the turtle "walker" out for Penny.  I loved how Maden and Hallie showed her how it worked.  Randy and Happy came to visit, too. Penny took her nap with her Daddy.

December 4 - I got to have lunch at Olive Garden with Maden! His 14th birthday is on the 5th! We went shopping at Game Stop, where he fund just the right game. 

Blake & I got to go to Molly's school Christmas program. We got a bonus, because it was also Michael and James' program.  It was very cute.  Little Paul came and sat on Blake's lap for awhile.  

December 5 - Mother Nature was showing all her colors all over the sky this morning!

When Clark was here on Sunday, he made two big snowballs in the back yard.  This is what they looked like two days later.  I think the donut one is really funny.

A day in the lives of Penny and Hallie. Penny thinks she's so clever to pull up to anything, even if she ends up doing the splits.  Hallie loves to "paint" with water.

December 6 - Beautiful Sunrise and Sunset!

I put a little clip in Penny's hair, she didn't even know it was there, but it wouldn't stay very long in her fine hair.

December 8 - We got a little more snow! I just love our tall, skinny tree!

December 9 - We had Maden's birthday bingo party at Parkwood Meadows so my parents could come.  We had yummy pizza first. Penny loved for Grandma Beth to share!

Then we had ice cream cake and sang to an old 14 year old Maden!

Then, we played bingo! Everyone loves this tradition.  Hallie was the grand prize winner! Boy was she thrilled!

December 10 - We had dinner to celebrate Jared's birthday, which is on the 11th.  I can't believe he's 33! This time Penny took a nap on Brian.

December 11 - We got to go celebrate with Jared on his real birthday.  Penny was begging for more food!

December 12 - Penny loves these little dolls! She also loves to try to open cupboard doors.

December 13 - Pocatello had a really foggy day.  It was not foggy in Blackfoot when I left at 11:30, but it sure was when I got to Poky at noon. The picture on the right was 2:15, I think it was even more foggy then.  

December 14 - Oh, this busy Penny girl! Gotta keep a good watch on her!

December 16 - I got to watch Miss Penny all day.  I took her to see Annie's last basketball game.  Annie played well, got her first ever foul! Penny liked watching for a bit, but then got kind of restless.  Aubrey took her and walked the halls of Ammon elementary.  

Then we went to Brian and Aubrey's house. Penny loves the dogs! Can you see Pepsi the cat peaking up the stairs?

December 22 - I went to the Poky Temple, then met Michelle, Samuel, Rob and Adam (taking the picture) and watched some baptisms. It was a good day.

December 23 - We had our family Christmas party.  We started out with Monkey Bread and breakfast. We gave each family GetOutPasses.  We hope they find it's fun to go to several different fun places through the year.

We played a funny game that involved pulling a string attached to a box with a prize in it.  No one, except me had any idea what was in the box.  I didn't know which box had what prizes in them.  Some were pretty valuable, others just candy or dollar store trinkets.  We did it twice and everyone loved it.  They were all really good sports to not throw fits if they didn't get the most valuable prizes.  It was a hit, I think we will do it again.

Cindy and Ken sent a little funny gingerbread gun thing that shoots balls out of its mouth.  The kids all had fun opening their little gifts while we FaceTimed with Cindy. Jared and Nikelle gave a nice tractor to stay here at our house. They said it was a gift from Brody.  

Later, some of us went to Michelle's to play games with Lynne, Rob, Samuel and Michelle, Adam, Dallin and Kayleen.  Penny loved being under the table. and seeing Danielle, a cousin about her size. Molly and Hallie played with James and some magnets.

December 24 - We went up to Brian and Aubrey's for a yummy turkey dinner.  Penny loved playing with the dominoes and the dogs.

December 25 - We had a quiet Christmas morning.  Hallie came to borrow, or steel some cheese.  We had to take a picture of her cute outfit! In the evening, we went to celebrate Penny turning one! She loved her cake and presents! She is such a happy little cutie pie!

December 26 - The taking down Christmas process has begun.  Jared came to help with the tall tree, and brought some good helpers.  Penny thought we brought the ladder out for her!

December 29 - I rearranged the decorations on the bookshelves after removing all the nativities.  I really like how they turned out.

December 31 - This is the only picture I took of our little impromptu New Years Eve gathering.  Penny loves anyone who has food to share!

November 2023

 

November 2 - Penny must be really tired to sleep in this jumper.

November 5 - Randy, Courtney, Ryder and Happy came to visit!

November 10 - Randy used his "lawn mower" trailer as a car hauler to transport the Cook's car to Idaho Falls.  Then, he and his family brought Happy to see Grandpa Paul and Grandma Beth.

November 12 - Look at absolutely brilliant sunset we saw on our way home from Idaho Falls!

November 14 - This little Penny girl is quite a little busy baby, but oh, how we love her!

November 16 - Penny likes to sit this funny way!

November 18 - I got to go watch Annie play basketball.  She has improved so much! This year she plays in the Ammon Elementary gym, it hasn't changed since I went to 7th grade there 52 years ago!

We had the cement ripped out and some asphalt laid down at Jared's house.  We had them take out the basketball hoop and extend the driveway out.  Now there's even more parking and room to ride bikes and scooters.

November 21 - Another gorgeous sunset!

November 22 - It looks like the jets that made these jet streams were trying to play tic tac toe.  I loved how the sun was shining right on Angel Moroni on top  of the Pocatello temple.

November 23 -  It snowed in the morning, then it rained, then it snowed again.

Blake and I got to go have Thanksgiving Dinner with my parents and their table mate Bourbon at Parkwood Meadows.  The meal was  delicious, and we  left feeling stuffed!

When we got home, I had Blake help me put up our skinny, tall tree.  

We got more snow before I went to bed.

November 24 - It blew the snow all the way up onto the porch.

All the stockings were hung by the .... stairs with care.

I got all the Nativities put up.  This is always a very peaceful thing to do.

November 25 - The entry way and dining area are all decorated!

November 26 - Happy loves to get pets from Grandpa, and we have a little Monkey Penny under the table. Penny loves to eat and tells you that you're not shoveling the food in fast enough.  Ryder, Molly and Hallie made a "City" in the basement.  They were so proud of themselves and asked that we come and take a picture.  They did clean it up really well when it was time.

November 28 - Look at the beautiful moonrise!

November 30 - Michelle and I went up to decorate Mom and Dad's little place. The first thing we did was to hang the gorgeous banner that Tricia made for them. It looks so nice! We changed out the fall decorations for Christmas on the shelves and the table under the TV.  We found a little place for the cute little tree.  It all looks so festive now.  Little Paul told us that he was turtle when he sat in the bucket.