Eleven Years of Loving This Little Lady

Lucy just turned 11! We had a great weekend celebrating this loveable gal. 

Friday night, Lucy got to invite a friend over to spend the night. She wanted one of her great friends Saige to come stay. We had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and ate Ben & Jerry's ice cream after, the girls colored the art set Saige gave her, played a game, they made a fort, they helped decorate Lucy's birthday cake, we watched a movie, and the girls slept tight, and then Saturday morning, we woke up and had English scones with the biscuits shaped as the number 11. Then we dropped off Saige and went down to Utah. We read on the way down (currently we are reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone aloud and Lucy just finished the Unwanteds), went and hung out at Grandma and Grandpa's for a while and decorated for Lucy's party, which she wanted to have with extended family because she said we hadn't done that since she was little, and I think she was 4 the last time we did have her birthday with everyone. We had some errands and appointments for a bit. Then we met up lots of the family at Chuck-a-rama. The kids love that place, and it is pretty good especially because everyone can choose something they like. Lucy had a great time with her family and talking to everyone and enjoying the slushies, pizza, fries, salad and more. Then we went to the Bountiful city park, it was a nice day and we had fun together. We went to Grandma Sue & Grandpa Dan's after and had cake, which was an ocean theme cake. It turned out awesome and Sydnie and Lucy helped do lots of it! We sang loud to her, then ate the strawberry cream cheese cake. Then we opened some presents. Lucy got lots of fun things, she loved her American Girl dress she got from us which matches her doll, some barbies, AG stuff, art things, a play cleaning set she's been wanting forever, money and more. We did some little scratch off ocean themed crafts, which was a hit with the kids. We were going to play some ocean games, but ran out of time. We gave hugs and said thank you and then we left to go to the aquarium. We already got passes, but I couldn't find them and by the time we made it there anyways we would only have about an hour so figured it wasn't going to be worth it. So we are getting a rain check on that one. But Lucy was a good sport about it. We went shopping instead and picked out some fun things for her, walked around, and got some gumballs. Then we checked out a Redbox movie to watch on the way home called Scoob, which made the kids laugh a lot. When we got home, Lucy wrote on her light up drawing board a thank you note to Dave and I. She is such a sweetie and just growing right up!  Happy 11th birthday, Lucy!

Eleven-year-old Luce

Nick names:  Luce, Lucy Goosey, LuLu
In her spare time: Read! Play with friends!
Best friends: Saige, Tailyn, Addi, Lauren, Summer, Callie, Maryn 
Favorite color: Yellow
Favorite books: All of them! :) 
Favorite food: Spaghetti and Meatballs
Favorite treat: Ice cream from Artic Circle
Favorite vegetable: Cucumbers
Favorite fruit: Watermelon
Favorite drink: Lime ricky
Favorite thing to play with: American Girl dolls
Favorite subject at school: Reading and art
Favorite TV shows: Watching memes
Favorite movie: Ratitoullie 
Favorite song: Cold Heart, I Will Shine
Favorite game: Sleeping Queens
Favorite season: Summer
Favorite holiday: Halloween
Favorite animal: Chicken
Favorite sport: Basketball
Thing she's best at: Reading
Wants to be when she grows up: Dentist

Valentine's Day - There's Gnome One Like You

 We had a Valentine's Day celebration like "gnome" other this year!

The kids started things off the weekend before by making their Valentine boxes and filling out Valentines. Coverton made a turtle box and Lucy made a frog one. Going for the amphibians /repitles theme this year I guess. They turned out so cute. Emma and I helped Cov a little but he mostly did it himself and Lucy was totally independent. I love seeing what they come up with! They gave out fruit snacks this year. Lucy had some cute food valentines and Cov gave out animal valentines. Sydnie passed out Frozen valentines with little heart mazes. We also made gnome bookmarks for our family to send in the mail as valentines. We personalized them all and they turned out pretty cute. "Gnome" body loves family as much as we do. 

Dave and I celebrated the weekend before by going to Pine Creek ski resort in Cokeville. It was my turn to plan it and so we went snowboarding. He used to go in high school but hasn't been forever and I've never been. I got Dave some new goggles (his are in storage somewhere) and snowpants for his present. We got some rentals for the afternoon and gave it a try. We were pretty bad, lol! We fell alot and watched the kids all whiz past us and laughed. The bunny hill was our place that day. We enjoyed watching some of the other skiiers and snowboarders. We hope to get better and take our kids skiing and snowboarding so they learn how. We had a fun time though! Then we went to the Kettle restaurant for dinner. He had a steak and I had shrimp alfredo, with salad and bread and chocolate cake. It was pretty yummy! We had a great day. There is "gnome" one else for me but my Dave! 

Coverton had a little party with some of his friends, the "Furry Club" which consists of Amy, Dean and Ray. They planned it all and had pizza and played games and all made special valentines for each other. Callahan went to the middle school dance and was dragged there by a friend who is on student council and had to go. Apparently his dancing was a hit and some friends dared him to take off his shirt (his singlet was under) and he did it. They came and hung out here after. Lucy made some extra valentines for her good friends and got a bunch of special ones from other gals. We also colored little wooden gnomes to pass out Monday, but we never got time to do that. We love hanging with our "gnomies" and I'm glad the kids have such nice friends!

Monday morning, we had German pancakes for breakfast, and got the kids off to school. Sydnie and I read lots of V-day books and did some little activities. For Cov's class they had a heart healthy party where they ate snacks that were good for their hearts. Lucy said they exchanged valentines and then watched a movie with facts about V-Day. Sydnie enjoyed her party in preschool. They mailed off valentines from the Post Office, exchanged their valentines (she loved the candy of course and looked at her Valentines over and over), did some painting and more. I put together some festive lunchboxes. Emma and Callahan had a regular day, but Lucy was sweet and shared her candy with them. I went ministering to my sisters and we took them some goodies and visited with them and let them know how much they are loved. Our little "gnomies" had a great day! 

We had our family Valentine date with a Gnome theme this year. We had Swiss steak and mashed potatoes, strawberry gnomes, spring salad, peas, Bugles (gnome hats), and sparkling cider to drink. Then we made gnome bookmarks and decorated ours and then for each other wrote why we love them. We did a little photo booth thing next where the kids all took pictures in a gnome hat/beard I made. They insisted I do it too but Dave passed. Poor Lucy wasn't feeling well and the kids were so sweet to get her pillows and blankets, drinks, and give her hugs. That's love right there! She ended up staying home a few days after that. We had a short FHE lesson by Sydnie where we talked about the two great commandments to love the Lord and our fellow men. We were going to play hide the gnome and do gnome tag but we just ran out of time with the kids and their after school activities. So we put that on hold for another day. We adore our each other "gnome" matter what!

Coming Full Circle - Old Testament 2022

We are excited to study the Old Testament in depth this year! We had a biblical dinner on the floor and had unleavened bread, grape juice, cheese, nuts and dried fruit, fish and fig (Newtons) and got some new study materials to help us kick things off.

"If you wonder whether you and your family can come closer to Jesus Christ through studying the Old Testament, keep in mind that the Savior Himself invites us to do so. When He told the leaders of the Jews, 'The scriptures … testify of me' (John 5:39), He was talking about the writings we call the Old Testament. To find the Savior in what you read, you may need to ponder patiently and seek spiritual guidance. Sometimes the references to Him seem very direct, as in Isaiah’s declaration 'Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: … and his name shall be called … The Prince of Peace' (Isaiah 9:6). In other places, the Savior is represented more subtly, through symbols and similarities—for example, through the descriptions of animal sacrifices (see Leviticus 1:3–4) or the account of Joseph forgiving his brothers and saving them from famine.

If you seek greater faith in the Savior as you study the Old Testament, you will find it. Perhaps this could be the aim of your study this year. Pray that the Spirit will guide you to find and focus on passages, stories, and prophecies that will bring you closer to Jesus Christ." ("Thoughts to Keep in Mind - Reading the Old Testament", Come Follow Me Old Testament 2022).

It is hard to believe we are on year 4 of come follow me and coming full circle with the Old Testament. The stories from then are as important as they are now. Let's hope and pray we can learn what we need to and come closer to Christ through our study!