February

We went on an early Valentine's date to the Jazz vs. Bucks game to see Jabari Parker play.  Brandon scored some awesome tickets from work ($630 value!) with dinner and halftime snacks provided.  Then we met up with Lola after the game, and she made sure to get us after-game passes so we could stick around and see Jabari.  Lola was a gem to us, and super friendly.  Jabari "claimed" to remember us from the Hyde Park Ward - we can't be too sure if he was being truthful about that, but regardless, we are so impressed with the young man he has become and the force for good he is in the NBA and as a person.  We invited Amanda & Mike Pope to come with us since we lived in Chicago together at the same time, and had a blast reconnecting!

Nancy & Val cashed in their Christmas present from us kids - we gave them a date night with all of us together (without kids).  We went to an escape room and dinner, and it was nice to visit and joke around.  Bonus: the boys were on strict order to be on good behavior and they were very pleasant.  :)

My mom turned 55, so we threw her party and had some surprise guests come - Kyle Wilson & Sherry Hombs.  Kristel Dumbrell also came, Grandpa & Grandma Thompson and the Parker immediate families.  She had to get rid of her "55" balloons asap because they were making her feel depressed - oops!  

Valentine's Day with the kids was a lot of fun!  Kendall was the only one who let me dress her up in red and pink to celebrate!  Rachel wanted to make her own Valentine collection box.  She asked me to get her a large tissue box, and then she said she'd do the rest.  She attached computer paper and stickers and was so pleased.  I'm thinking her creation belongs on Pinterest.  :) 

I did something dumb and sprained my ankle playing Stake Women's Basketball!  Ugh!  But THANKFULLY, it only lasted for a week or so (remember when I sprained my ankle during Kendall's pregnancy and it seemed to last 100 years?!).  Something else dumb:  I was complaining about my lack of friendships in Utah to Brandon, and then I got invited by Debi Thorpe in my ward to go to a BYU basketball game one night, so I totally had to go have my "girls night".  We had a great time, but the timing was pretty funny.  

Rachel, Nancy, Elaine and I had a girls day and went and saw Matilda on Broadway in SLC.  Rachel really enjoyed the show and we all had a great time (her glasses are just for fun - no prescription).  Note to self about Broadway shows:  I dislike to sit in the back - I really enjoy seeing the performers faces, so I just need to pony up some more cash and get better seats next time.  

January

January was filled with lots of snowy activities!  We also learned an important lesson about jumps on sleds.  Rachel and Andrew without our permission went on a sled route at Rock Canyon Park that had a giant jump near the bottom.  The sled caught some serious air and they landed hard onto snow/ice.  Rachel was very sore for a few days, but was thankfully ok.  After the panic wore off and we knew everyone was going to be ok, I drew out a diagram and explained the physics of jumps and why they have to be much more careful.

Funny Quote from Kendall:  "speaking of pentatonix" (she is absolutely obsessed with Pentatonix)

Funny Story about Andrew: We watched Pete's Dragon for family movie night (loved!).  Towards the end, when Pete was choosing to go live with Elliot, Andrew wanted to have a serious discussion about the fact that if he left, Pete would only have one outfit.  That would be horrible only having one outfit.  Rachel then admitted to having worn her pants for a week straight and that it really isn't that bad (pretty much a true story - that girl hates pants so she only has a few comfortable pairs).

Funny memories about Rachel:  This year, she was very sneaky about trading her Christmas Shopkins for the kids' baby new year gifts - Star Wars action figures.  She convinced them to give her all the Star Wars action figures and she gave them a few lame Shopkins.  We also saw Moana and she recorded the songs on her iPod and listened to them over and over until she memorized them.

This month, we told the kids, friends & family that we are expecting baby #4!!  We sat them down and sounded very serious - Rachel was very emotional because she thought we were going to tell her that we were moving again - sad tears turned quickly into happy tears.  Andrew & Kendall were pumped!  I think I was a little surprised with how excited they have been for a little sister or brother.  They seem really stoked and will welcome this little one with lots of love!

Pictures Descriptions:
- Such fun friends - we got together for an afternoon with the Packer's & Worthen's!  We just picked up right where we left off.
- Took a trip to Scheels with the kids, and surprisingly, Rachel would NOT ride the ferris wheel.  She's my adventurous one, so that kind of surprised me.
- Rachel attended Pleasant Grove High School's cheer camp with Brynn & Miah, and she loved it!  Future cheerleader?
- Rachel and I attended Quiltmaker's Gift dance performance by COPA for Activity Days, and it was a huge hit, and based on an adorable book.
- Andrew has finally lost his front two teeth.  I say finally, because one hung on for far longer than I would have liked and it was looking gnarly!
- Brandon is still rocking his Cubs gear - still soaking in the World Series win!

December Happenings

Karate.  It all started with Andrew's friend, Gavin, inviting Andrew to a karate class and I agreed to let him go.  Rachel freaked out when she found out and BEGGED to go with him.  Fine, go.  Bad idea!  The obsession with karate officially began.  

Through that karate studio, they had a complimentary two sessions plus a free uniform to help the kids earn their white belts and get a break a board.  That was all a ploy to lure us in ... then they told me the price $99/month with a 12 month contract - that price is per kid.  It is for 2-30 minute classes a week.  No way!!

So then we tried karate at all the local recreation centers to find a better fit for our budget.  Rachel finally lost a tiny bit of interest and decided to stick with gymnastics (phew!).  Andrew has held on strong and wore his karate uniform for two weeks straight, begging to do karate.  We finally found something that will work, and got him signed up for January.  These little ninjago fans think karate will help them become real ninjago guys.  

Date night with Kyle & Annie to the Jazz game - it was a last minute offer for Jazz box tickets.  Yes, please!  That is my kind of sporting event!!

My cousin Ryan married Jordan in December too!  My kids loves Ryan and call him Uncle Ryan because it doesn't make much sense to them that he's my cousin.

I took Kendall on a date to a BYU basketball game!  She was so fun, but did require constant snacks. When the snacks were all gone, she was ready to go home.  I did get a very special robot dance during on the breaks that I had never seen before and it was pretty amazing!  

Also, Grandpa was interviewed on the news!  The kids enjoyed watching him, and Rachel was even featured in one of the pictures they showed with some other cousins.  She was thrilled to be on TV!

I am collecting pictures of Andrew on the toilet - he likes to take books or toys with him to keep him entertained.  Ha ha!

Happy New Year from this crew!!!

Christmas Eve & Christmas Morning

We spent Christmas Eve at the Hale's with Pookie and Papa and then headed over to the extended Hale Christmas party.  We did a nativity, exchanged cousin gifts, and got some special Santa figurines from Pookie & Papa.  My parents stopped by right before the kids went to bed to read them "The Night Before Christmas" but 3/4 the way through the book, Papa was interrupted by Santa's sleigh bells right outside, so the kids bolted straight to their beds.  Rachel was actually scared because she thought if she was still awake, she might not get anything, so she got a little teary.  We didn't hear one more peep from Andrew!  Kendall has been so enthusiastic about everything having to do with Santa, so it has been super fun!

Christmas Eve night consisted of Andrew waking me up almost ever hour out of sheer excitement.  He completely disregarded the sheet we hung in the hall which was supposed to keep him in his room.  He was up for the day at 5am, so we handed him the iPad and told him to wait in his room until 7am.  Rachel was up around 6:30a and found Andrew (she had slept upstairs with the kids).  We had to wake up Kendall to open presents at 7:15a.

Santa brought Rachel an American Girl doll, Andrew got some volcano scientist lego sets, and Kendall got a doll-size play ice cream truck.  We had a magical morning opening gifts and then headed to church at 9am (Brandon was so kind and had woken up at 5:30a to set up chairs for his teachers quorum so they didn't have to).  We spent time at both grandma's house, so we didn't get much time at home.  The day after Christmas, they pretty much entertained themselves with their new toys the whole day while Brandon and I got some projects done.

Dad's Christmas loot!

Mom's loot + a brand new desk for the downstairs office