Monday, November 25

Tuesday, November 26

Wednesday, November 27

Thursday, November 28

Friday, November 29

Saturday, November 30

Sunday, December 1

Mark requested a redo of our family napkin holders which I always just display by my little Mayflower. I made a set when Tyler was a baby so Mark hasn’t been included for the past 7 years. It was about time! I’m happy with the result... and so is Mark!

Jon and I went on a shopping date to the scout store. We had a gift card to use up along with his 15% off in his birthday month! We bought some useful camping gear and I also bought Andrew’s remaining merit badges and eagle neckerchief and slide. Woot! Woot!

I picked up Natalie from BYU for Thanksgiving break after her lunch date. I didn’t tip off the boys, so they were so excited when they walked in the door after school! Natalie tried to get some assignments done, and the boys stuck to her like glue! She is definitely a celebrity in our house these days!

These are Amy’s 3 newest students: the mom and both her kids are taking violin lessons. It was pretty difficult to teach them at the same time, so Amy suggested giving each of them 20 minutes. The separation worked wonders so she could help each one with their unique needs. They’re cute!

The snow came down hard Wednesday night and Thursday morning. It was great! The boys all got outside shoveling.

Natalie was so excited to share her fancy new omelet recipe with Adam. Tyler joined in the fun and they made a big batch of eggs for everyone.

We all headed to Lexye’s house for lunch after the baptism.

Jon spent a lot of time with Natalie going over her finances. He set her up with really awesome high-tech accounting spreadsheet, which should help her a lot. The three A’s indexed, and we had family scripture study for our third hour of church.

Monday night we ate Chicken Yakisoba to celebrate our Service Ninjas week. I intended to make it Sunday night, but really didn’t feel like it that day. I pulled out some awesome chopsticks that I got a long time ago. I was shocked that there was not one complaint about the new meal. Mark even said, “I like the broccoli!” That’s a new one! I totally believe that those chopsticks worked magic!

With the temple closing for Thanksgiving I did initiatory on Tuesday after getting the kids off to school. I was surprised that the wait wasn’t bad. It was definitely much busier throughout the day!

Adam and Andrew went to the youth temple trip in the morning followed by a brunch at Cindy Smith’s house. Amy had to teach violin lessons to 5 students that morning so couldn’t make it.

He opted to season them in the grill this time since everyone complained about how bad it smelled up the house the last time he seasoned a Dutch oven. It worked great! He put the grill in the garage so it would be warmer, and then worked in the garage to make sure it didn’t burn the house down in the process! The results were incredible!

Adam finished the rest of his chess merit badge for another palm in scouts.

This is what Jon said he was going to cook our Thanksgiving turkey in! What?! A guy from Springdell gave us the small one, and our neighbor loaned Jon this big rusty one that has never been used. Jon was determined to fix them both up by seasoning them.

He spent a lot of time cleaning and scrubbing off the rust.

I forgot how far away Molly’s house in Ogden is! We were late, but made good time despite the traffic.

This table set up in the living room was awesome because all the adults were able to be together and the kids had a blast in the dining room. The noise separation was extra nice! Besides talking a lot, we played a fun new game together. I had such a great time!

Tyler and Mark sledded down our street too. So cute! Jon hooked their sleds to the back of the 4-wheeler and drove them over to the church so he could get something out of the scout closet. They had a blast in the parking lot as well. Wish I could’ve seen it! Tyler said he surfed on his sled.

A bit later, Adam and Andrew took sleds to the park for a few hours.

I made pumpkin waffles with apple cider syrup for a late breakfast. The kids ate their waffles in rounds depending on when they came in from the snow.

Jon volunteered to make the turkey this year. It was the one thing scaring me from hosting the Heaps at our house. Jon is the man!

Not only did he handle the turkey well, but he handled it Scoutmaster Style in a Dutch oven on our back porch!

Checking on the turkey 3 hours after starting, it smelled amazing, looked moist, and was almost done!

I sent the boys outside to shovel again. Adam was also in charge of shoveling a neighbor’s driveway while they are out of town. The kids’ 4th cousin Landon came over from next door to help every time they shoveled! What a good boy.

It was so fun to see and hear these girls playing piano. Amy pulled out a bunch of old duets they used to play together. They had fun!

Jon wanted to season the Dutch oven from Springdell neighbor. Since it would smell up the house he used his grill... in the garage. To make sure the house didn’t burn down he stayed in the garage the whole time and decided to fix and replace the brakes on my van! The fix was a success and the new brakes are great! He also got my Christmas tree out of the garage. He was all sorts of productive!

The girls washed dishes and helped prep for the meal. Amy tried to convert Mark to The Candy Shop Wars by having him read aloud the first chapter to her. He wasn’t quite excited enough about it, but she made a good effort!

Jon’s seasoning was successful. He’s pretty proud of this and loves the results!

Natalie has been working on The Swan so was very excited to have Jon play with her! They sounded great!

Everyone was so excited when Kevin and Whitney’s family arrived! We originally planned to spend Wednesday with them, but the Lunds switched to that day so we opted for two Thanksgiving feasts in a row. Two weeks ago, Peter got a bad concussion while doing the backstroke at BYU. Someone took down the flags to make room for the diving team... which took away his warning of the oncoming cement wall. He hit it full speed with the top of his head. He has been super sensitive to light and noise and hasn’t been able to read, watch any screens or go back to school. It has been really rough. We were prepped to be quiet, which was a little strange for everyone. (Even with his earplugs in, normal voices can hurt and give him migraines.)

Amy prepped a private setting for 4 in her room to minimize the noise for Peter. (It was actually pretty dark in this picture, but the phone compensated.) These four had a blast! It was a bummer for Adam and the Andrews to separate from the oldest 4, but it was helpful for Peter.

Jon’s turkey turned out perfectly.

He also baked a pumpkin cobbler in a Dutch oven. I baked another batch in the oven just in case. They were both delicious!

All of the food was absolutely delicious! I made rolls again, and the Heaps brought their delicious bacon green beans, potatoes and punch. Mmmmm!

I had the boys set out some Thanksgiving placemats for coloring and Lucy loved hers! She colored it so well and so thoroughly! The 4 youngest sat at the counter.

The adults chatted away for hours downstairs while the little played German Spotlight and some other exciting games in the basement with our Andrew. (I loved that they were all out of breath and needing drinks of water!) The rest of the kids played upstairs with these guys. Everyone was surprised that Peter lasted so long. Peter said that it helped so much that the room was dark and everyone was so quiet. They were amazingly good at whispering the whole time. The social time was extra fun for Peter since he has had to be so secluded for so long. Yay for a successful and fun Thanksgiving!

Friday was a relaxing day. Everyone spent much of the mornign decorating for Christmas. It was an extra treat for me that Natalie and Adam carried my Christmas tree in from the garage and set it up! Natalie even added extra lights to the burnt out areas for me. It was so fun to have all the eager helpers carrying up bins and setting up the Christmas trees. (We have a small tree in each of the kids’ rooms for their ornaments.) Christmas music filled the house as well.

I am in love with my Christ-centered Christmas tree! Every ornament is dedicated to Christ. The ribbons and ornaments from the bottom up show his pre-mortal calling, the Creation, Biblical prophesies and similitudes of Him, His birth, life, atonement, death and resurrection, and finally His glory at the top of the tree where all the ornaments are gold and sparkly. I love it!

The kids played in the snow as well, then opened up a puzzle and watched Iron Man together.

Saturday morning was our niece Kate Thiele’s baptism In Spanish Fork. Kate and Spencer played I Am a Child of God together, which was super cute and Lund-appropriate.

Spencer and Emily were the witnesses, which was the first time I’ve been able to see that at a live baptism (instead of in the temple).

These three are pretty close in age: Miles and Mark are just 25 days apart, and William is 7 months older.

Here’s another fun grouping. Emily is 4 months older than Tyler who is 4 months older than Millie who is 4 months older than Sam. All the kids were super loud in the same room as the adults, so it was hard to hear and a little chaotic until they finished eating and ran off to play elsewhere!

Natalie was so nice to take pictures of the kids in the snow for me! I really didn’t want to change into my snow clothes, but I really wanted pictures! Amy was the queen of the hill, hiking up and down many, many times and giving little kids rides down. What a champ! It was fun that we could watch from the kitchen window.

Thank you, Natalie, for taking these pictures!

The kids were really excited about the Thieles’ cats. Tyler especially loved Oreo and putting her in his coat.

I made sure to seek out Rosalie to talk with since I didn’t get to on Wednesday. I had such a great time talking with her, though it is dangerous because she was talking me into continuing violin with Mark. We shall see.

I also loved talking with Mary who had asked to see my family history system. It was fun to share that with her! Lexye joined us at our table, and I had so much fun with topics that interest us moms!

Later, the adults all played Farkle together. It was an enjoyable night.

Unfortunately for those who had to travel north of American Fork, the freeway was a nightmare. A semi-truck had overturned on the freeway that morning and portions of the freeway were closed for 10 hours that day! Rosalie waited an hour and a half to get through one exit length. All of them ended up exiting the freeway and finding an alternate route home. Rosalie had it the worst with a crying, hungry baby, distressed kids, and two who needed a bathroom. They all made it home! Phew!

Saturday felt like such a Sunday because Jon and I stayed in our Sunday clothes the whole day! At home the kids watched a movie, and Jon and I watched a soccer game and a show so I could feel like it really was Saturday!

Natalie came to church with us! It was especially fun to have her with Jon and me in Sunday School. Gary Brinton sat right next to her and quizzed her about life in whispers at the beginning of class.

Before breaking our fast, we had a family meeting about our goals for this coming year. (Our bishop had asked everyone to fast for that specific purpose.) The kids had already made some preliminary goals, but we talked about it more. We still need more refinement and specifics, but we’re getting closer.

Jon and I made mashed potatoes and gravy, and reheated our left-over Thanksgiving food for the meal, which was yummy.

The kids were all excited about their new ornament for the year. I gave Natalie a BYU sneaker, Amy a running shoe, Adam a mountain bike, Andrew an eagle, and Tyler and Mark cool soccer balls. I try to give them something applicable to their year.

Adam and Andrew stayed home to clean the kitchen while the rest of us helped Natalie carry all her stuff to her dorm room. This time she had her snow gear, a Christmas tree and ornaments, etc. Her room is so cute and smells so good! I loved this quotes display she made at her desk. When she listens to a conference talk, she makes a bubble for her favorite statement from their talk.

We got a kick out of her roommates’ quotes wall -- things they have said in the apartment. My favorite was “I’m fat, but I identify as skinny... I’m trans-slender.”

At the end of the week, the boys said our turkey looked really weird with the Christmas tree, but the feathers were really fun to mark for daily scripture reading!

This was a great week! I am so grateful for my family and the blessing of being together!


Amy went tho see the new Frozen 2 movie with her friends and had a great time!