Goodbye 2020!

I don't think there were many people in the whole world who were sad to see 2020 come to an end. Certainly the Covid situation wasn't going to change overnight, but there is always a feeling of hope and new beginnings at New Years. We made it home from our Christmas trip on Dec 30th, so I didn't have the time or energy to come up with an elaborate celebration, but we had a little party.

I didn't take any pictures of dinner and as it's now March 9th(!) I have no idea what we ate. Haha! 

A dear sister from my ward that I minister to, made the boys this adorable snowman pinata for Christmas. She is from Mexico and it's her tradition to make several of these very time-consuming gifts for friends or neighbors each year. It was a surprise for Spencer and Mason and since I knew I couldn't keep it hidden in the car all the way to AZ, we saved it for New Years. It was the perfect activity for that night! Mason refused to wear a blindfold so we didn't make Spencer wear one either. Breaking it open outside with more space and with blindfolds definitely would have been more fun. They still loved breaking it and all of the candy and toys inside. Thank you Eva!

After the pinata, we played the game Elise got us for Christmas: Beat That! We had never heard of it, but it turned out to be a bunch of minute-to-win-it type challenges and we love those for party nights! Another perfect gift for our family! Thanks Elise and family!

Here's to hoping for much less sickness and isolation and much more kindness, tolerance, and social justice for 2021!

After Christmas

 We spent a lovely, sunny afternoon at Lyman Lake the day after Christmas. We had a picnic, threw rocks on the ice, and took turns riding in Dad's old canoe. Marc also caught a minnow for Mason. I'm convinced that those two would have been best friends if they had both been kids at the same time. They have so many of the same interests!

On the way back to town, we stopped to check out the giant ant and scorpion someone made out of duct tape. Eew! 

When the canoe kept sliding to the edge of Dad's truck, Marc got the job of riding in the bed and holding onto it for most of the 10 miles back. Haha! He said it was a little cold and really heavy!

We spent our last day in St. Johns helping Mom take down the Christmas lights, playing games, and doing a big puzzle. We only finished the puzzle in one day because there were big chunks of it still put together from the last time someone did it!

We had to say goodbye to Dad the night before we left because he leaves for work at 5 am. Saying goodbye is the worst!

Sadly for Mason, the snow he had been hoping for finally came the night before we left. We had a long drive ahead of us that day so he only got about 20 minutes to run around in it before loading up in the car. Mason loves snow so much and it was such a bummer for him!

Our plan after leaving SJ was to drive back up to Utah to spend some time with Alicia. Alicia is super fun and we were all looking forward to it. But, Covid struck and ruined that plan! Alicia called me about an hour before we got to her house to tell us that she may have been exposed to Covid that day. We felt terrible, but decided it was best not to risk it by staying with her or even seeing her. :( Katelyn and Zac generously agreed to let us stay at their house instead with only about 45 minutes notice. Since we were unexpected guests, we didn't want to overstay our welcome and were only at Kate's house for about 12 hours, most of which was sleeping time. I'm glad for the short visit we got with them though!

We were on the road again by 8:00 the next morning. We hit the worst snowy weather we've ever had on this trip between Ontario and La Grande. It was snowing hard, but was so windy that nothing was sticking to the roads. It was really difficult to see though. We said a prayer for safety at a rest stop and then it cleared up about 10 minutes later. We only had light snow and rain for the rest of the drive home. It was a small miracle!

Kiki was glad to have us back and we enjoyed our own beds again, but I always miss my family so much after trips like this. So grateful for the memories we made!

Christmas Day

Spencer and Mason sleep surprisingly well for kids on Christmas Eve. I have many memories of lying awake on tortuously slow Christmas Eve nights, but they slept soundly until about 6:30 am. Everyone else was up and ready to see what Santa brought by 7 and then the fun began! It was a lovely day with all of the usual traditions. Alan and I even got to go on a run together in the afternoon. I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story...