Like many folks in this strange pandemic (dare I say post pandemic?) world, I feel like I’ve blinked and 3 years just evaporated. One minute it was 2019 and now it’s 2023? Bizarre. In my last post I was talking about the “hottest day of summer” and there were pictures of setting up a swimming pool! How quickly things can change!
Back to school went pretty well. We managed to have a mild cold or two, but have thankfully stayed free of Covid/Influenza/RSV and whatever other nasties are in full effect this fall. Thank you Lord for strong immune systems, flu shots, boosters, and masks when needed! I can honestly say between September and today (January 2nd) I was the only one who really felt semi-sick and that was around Thanksgiving.
We enjoyed a really nice fall. Other than the first week or 2 of September which were unusually hot, we had the nicest stretch of 70-ish degree weather that I can remember. 
This coincided well with the fall rec soccer season. All 3 boys played again and we’re signed up for another round in Spring. William is big enough he’s starting to “get” it. Unfortunately he never seems to be on a very good team, but I guess that makes him try a little harder. Christopher seems to enjoy soccer okay but is so easily sidetracked that I’m happy if he can just keep track of where the ball is on the field the majority of the time. Andrew enjoys soccer and could probably be good at it. The thing that helped him the most was playing keep-away with Jason in the back yard. He just needs to get a little more sure with himself and know he can take the ball away from the other team, then he’ll be fun to watch.
One of the sad parts of fall was saying goodbye to this year’s dahlia crop. What started as an experiment, ended up doing really well! I had flowers from mid-July to October 24th. I didn’t count the bouquets I kept for myself, but I gave away 63 bouquets to friends, family, teachers, old TOSH co-workers, neighbors, etc. It’s like giving away free smiles! I need to keep gathering vases for next summer, turns out giving away 63 vases adds up. The tubers were officially dug up and put to bed in the garage just before Halloween. They will planted in a new location next year, and hopefully they do at least as well as this year.
This year I’ve been exceptionally busy with PTA at our elementary school. Our school PTA doesn’t have enough people in a good year and this year we lost a few great women to burnout so there’s a lot to do. The nice thing is getting to know the teachers and staff really well. I think I’m about 80 hours of volunteer time in already this year. Woof!
Halloween was a good time with the kids this year. Andrew dressed as a ninja, Christopher was 
Harry Potter (for the 2nd year in a row), and William dressed as “a spooky skeleton”. It was the first experience with face painting for either one of us. I was pretty happy with how it turned out. This was also the first year William went trick-or-treating with friends. I was a little more sad about that than I anticipated. It’s been such a tradition for Jason to drag them around the neighborhood while I hand out candy. I kept reminding myself to be thankful he has friends to go with. Also this Halloween season we took the kids to see the Odyssey Dance Company’s production of Thriller. Jason and I had gone several times, but dance company directors are retiring and announced this year was their last year. Thriller is a bit of a Halloween staple in Utah as it’s been going on for 26 years. Due to the Halloween nature of the show, the suggested age range is typically 8 years old and up, but since it was the last year we gambled and took all 3 boys. I knew it was the correct decision when about halfway through Andrew leaned over and said “Mom! I LOVE this!”. Jason’s work also rented out the zoo around Halloween which allowed us to go see “Boo Lights”. It’s basically lights, at night, at the zoo. Other than the big cats getting vocal at sunset, I’d personally rather go see the animals during the day, but if someone else is paying my admission I can’t complain!
It’s been an exciting fall for our two cats (Kiki and Theo) as well. Theo especially, is typically only interested in eating and sleeping so finding new ways to stimulate his little brain are always a good thing. The first addition that really was helpful was a birdfeeder that suction-cupped right to the window. Seeing those birds so up close sure did drive him nuts! Shortly after the new bird feeder was added, our yard gained a new visitor…Jimmy the Squirrel! Jimmy, as we call him, is a Fox Squirrel, unique in the fact that they were first reported in Utah in 2011. (I’ve been in Utah longer than Fox Squirrels!). Up until this summer we haven’t consistently seen squirrels in our yard. Jimmy stops by every few days to make sure Theo is adequately entertained. Say what you will about squirrels, but I’m pretty fond of him. The third fun cat thing is I restocked our 55 gallon cichlid tank. After having the tank 4 years, the original batch of cichlids had grown and fought each other to death so it was time to start fresh. I figured if I’m cleaning the tank anyway, I may as well have something fun to look at from my desk. I’m not sure who enjoys the fish watching more, me or the cats. “Cat TV” as my mom calls it.
In late October, cousins were here from California and we had an early informal Thanksgiving up at the ranch in Logan. The ranch has always been a gathering place for Jason’s family. Some of his
best memories are holidays there and time spent in the hills. This year brings changes to the ranch as his grandparents (Garth and Maydene) have sold the ranch house to Jason’s cousin Andy. We are happy the ranch will stay in the family but it is a reminder of changes that happen as generations continue to age. Andy’s family has big renovations planned, but also wants to restart the tradition of gathering everyone for an annual family reunion. It was good we gathered early in October because, come actual Thanksgiving in November, over half the group (us included) was down and out with a nasty cold. Being forced to stay home for a long weekend wasn’t too much trouble for us, if not for me being sick, I’d even say it’s my ideal situation. We let the boys pick out our Thanksgiving feast menu and got them involved in food prep. It was maddening and fun at the same time. I keep repeating under my breath “someday this will all be worth it, someday this will all be worth it…”.
This brings us to Christmas/Christmas break. I made a goal of having the most epic Christmas break the boys have ever had, and either I previously under-performed or really overperformed this year. It helped a bit that we had snow at the beginning and end of break making it feel very festive and seasonal. One of the highlights for me was going up to Park City and getting all of our boys out on skis. It was actually the first time Andrew and Chris have been on skis! Thanks to cousins who have gear that fit my boys and the free magic carpet in Park City, my boys all spent an hour getting their bearings on skis. We have a big goal of getting William out to ski this year as Utah has a program to allow 4th, 5th, and 6th graders to ski 3x at each resort for $50.00. Get them hooked while they’re young, right? Jason bought boots/skis for the first time since college and we got William all decked out with gear. We’re hoping that between Jason and family with passes at various resorts we can get him out as much as possible this season before Christopher joins the mix next year. First resort checked off the list today was Beaver Mountain, where Jason skied when he was in Logan for college.
Other Christmas break fun in no particular order: Minecraft time with Dad, building a snow cave, lighting off a Chinese lantern, Christmas with cousins in Orem, rock climbing, getting take out, play dates, Get Air Trampoline Park, a basement sleepover, building gingerbread houses, a sleepover at Grandma Marion’s, an epic nerf war (20+ kids in the church gym), some YouTube watching time, baking banana bread, trying to stay up until midnight, and OH YEAH…Christmas presents. I think I rocked it. The kids are exhausted. They can go whine at someone else tomorrow at school, but if they tell anyone “I didn’t do anything for break” I’ll punch them.
Wishing you a happy and healthy 2023! If you are the type to make resolutions I hope this is the year you can stick to it, and if not, I still hope the year offers up something great. Until next time!
S.~
