January Family Update

These kids have been the sweetest little helpers for me! The pic is from when they made my day by making waffles for breakfast all by themselves!

The Night Owl

This beautiful preteen was welcomed into Young Women’s this month, and is loving all the activities like sledding, Just Dance, and learning how to plan lessons. This month we also went with her for her first time doing temple baptisms.

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L and I stayed up really late assembling her first Book Nook kit she got for Christmas. It turned out super cool, especially with the lights! There were definitely frustrating moments (like trying to work with teeny tiny screws and brackets with this much space for your arm), but I haven’t heard her laugh so much at me in a long time! It looks like a tiny magical little alleyway with mini magic shops and books amongst her actual fantasy books. I imagine when she’s older and has a full collection of illustrated Harry Potter books that she might consider keeping this Book Nook amongst them.

There was this song “It’s Raining Men” on Just Dance… and I kinda REALLY like it!!

Silly Lilly

We both loved our Karaoke Mother-Daughter date being out late on a school night and going afterwards for a sweet treat. I got tons of cuddles and happy giggles from her!

The Engineer

“Please bless Mom and I will have nice cuddles today, and please bless this food that it will be protein forever.”

W’s prayer January 25, 2023

I love that W schedules time to “cuddle with Mom”. He looks forward to it for coming home from school. It’s been snowing so much that we were able to build a snowman together after school! I was so impressed that he was thoughtful enough to fill the soft hat with compacted snow before attaching it to the head because he recognized it needed structure and would just fly away if we simply “put the hat on”.

Lego sent a magazine with all their newest stuff, so W’s latest obsession has been a “Lego Viking ship” he saw in a picture, tore from the magazine, and studied / looked at so much that the paper fell apart. He has been recreating it with his own legos based on the picture he saved from the magazine. He was specifically pleased with the multicolored result and how the heads on either end of the ship turned out. On other days he is rebuilding the Lego Pirate ship with Jer and I.

For breakfast he always wants to eat cereal, but his brother F always wants eggs, and I don’t want to make two different breakfasts each day. He compromised that they can switch off and have eggs one day, then cereal the next, so that at least half of the time he gets what he wants for breakfast. Smart thinking, little dude.

The Racer

F has a gift for Mario Kart, and he’s quickly surpassed all of us, including Jer who has played Mario Kart his whole life. None of us can beat F at it! The kids love checking out all the different environments and race tracks they can go on different levels. He’s decided he wants another game for his birthday but can’t decide between Pokémon or Minecraft. That Nintendo Switch he received for Christmas has been used regularly all weekend.

Since we play it with him, when he wins a trophy he calls it “our trophy” even though he was the one who got 1st place so only he totally won it haha. F is such a generous and sweet person, I don’t think it even crosses his mind that it’s “his”; he enjoys playing WITH all of us so much. That’s how genuinely happy he is for everyone to win! “I don’t like playing alone,” he’s told me several times if his siblings are busy and don’t want to play what he’s interested in, gaming or not.

On our carpool rides he tells me that School is his favorite thing! That makes my Momma heart so happy that he tries hard to learn and enjoys being at school. More friends for him to play with, haha! One day when I was too sick to make his lunch, I finally gave in and told him he gets “school lunch” today. Those school lunch days are so special to him! His sister L quickly got tired of school lunch and considered my home lunches the most exciting thing ever, but it’s hilarious that it’s the opposite for F. Each kid really is different.

Snow Dog

I should also do a shoutout to this little Fluffy angel, who I have given countless nicknames to now that her favorite thing (snow) has come every day. She forces me to go outside when the cold is a big deterrent for me, and I find her joy with the snow so endearing. She loves running through it, licking it, burrowing in it, rolling around in it, plopping herself onto it, and of course marking it! Snow Bunny, Ice Princess, Snow Queen, Snow Angel, Fluffmeister, Snow Dog to list a few of the latest nicknames… That little jacket has made our walks on really cold days last longer. She’s content just sitting with me, which sometimes means everything.

The Girls Wrestling Coach

Jer brings his colorful daypack to work/school every day, and might be starting a trend since many high schoolers (funny enough mostly girls) want one now. He’s been the head coach for Girls Wrestling since October-ish (don’t quote me on that) and says that it’s definitely different than coaching boys. While the girls get compliments on how respectful and quiet they are when they go out to eat or stay places, he hasn’t dealt before with girl drama, lol! Everything from backhanded comments to sensitivities he wasn’t aware of, injuries throughout the season, and referees asking them to change their uniforms. The whole team is so supportive of each other for every match and band together, but they also cry if they lose which he’s not encountered before. He is very impressed with how hard the girls work and is so proud of them as he gets to know them. These girls are pioneers in their sport! It’s a new sport with very little budget and audience, so it’s been a learning experience perfect for Jeremy who loves a challenge. The girls asked him if they could bleach his beard (or his hair once they found out he’s shaving his head on purpose) if they make it to State—and he said yes!??! One of the girls has already won her tournament for state so it’s very possible!

In other news, Jer has been working hard on his health and is going strong on his keto lifestyle after having tried the DASH diet for a short time. As his wife, I can say this: I’m so glad he’s back to keto; his farts on DASH were unbearable. When he gets home from work, he makes his dinner and meals for the next day or healthy snacks so that it’s sustainable. He checks his blood pressure daily while trying to see if he still needs his medication. Sometimes everything he does can seem so extreme, which is strange because he’s actually a very consistent person.

I love that he’s wanting to get our family outdoors and we are planning some local trips to our National Parks this year! We even ordered a blackout camping tent and reserved a campsite! 😁

That’s a lot of updates!!! Until next time, Kat