Cramming too Much into a Month....

I'm not going to lie--I won't be sad to see the end of 2020.  Not even a little.  This year has felt like an eternity, but at the same time has flown by...how does that even happen?  There have been deadly and destructive wildfires across the globe, threats of war, unemployment, a pandemic, protests, impeachment trials, etc.  Our December felt just as packed as rest of the year.  What a way to end 2020--our December was full of highs and very sad lows.  

On the saddest of notes, we lost our niece, Ashley, a couple weeks ago.  It was sudden and very tragic.  We have all mourned her loss, and have felt deep sadness for Cory, Jessica and Kaylee.  We have also felt the prayers of everyone lifting and supporting us.  We took a few pictures at the viewing...

The one thing I keep thinking in this hard time is how grateful I am for the atonement.  It becomes so much more real when something like this happens.  I am so grateful to know that the Savior overcame all so that He could lift us, save us, and understand everything we face in this life.  It has brought me a lot of comfort during this time.

On another, less important, sad note, after we returned from Moab and picked our dogs up from the kennel, they both got very sick.  We got so worried I ended up taking them to the vet.  They were hacking all the time, could hardly breathe, yellow discharge coming from their noses....yuck.  Apparently it is some new infection going around in dogs here in Utah.  Well it is a bad one!  Look at poor Pepper...

You can just feel her misery!  Luckily the medication worked quickly and within a few days they were starting to feel better.  Thank goodness for vets!

One important thing I have neglected to mention in my blog is Jacob's love of mountain biking.  He started mountain biking a couple years ago but just started getting really into it this past summer.  Eric and I bought the boys nice bikes right at the start of COVID, just because we knew that things would be closed down for a while and they would need something to do.  They already liked biking but didn't have great bikes, so they were thrilled with the new Fezzaris we bought them.  Jake's favorite thing to do now is mountain bike.  He has the cuts and bruises to prove it.... (that's his friend Chase behind him)....

He loves it so much he even took this artsy pic of his bike in the fall.  Pretty sweet ride!

He loves to go with his friends, but he will go on rides alone if he has to.  He wants to join the local mountain biking team next spring so has been working out and going on rides almost every day.  I'm proud of him for all his efforts.  He is saving up to buy a (very) expensive bike he wants...but I'm hoping once he has that money he won't want to spend his life savings on one bike.....but I guess we will see!  I am glad he has a hobby he really loves.

For the past few years, we have gone to a play at the Hale Theater at Christmastime.  It is always so fun.  This year's production was Tarzan.  I loved it because I got to watch a buff half naked man run around on stage for two hours!  Kidding....kind of.  Seriously though, the production was amazing--they always do such a good job!  And it is becoming a fun tradition we all look forward to.  Of course we had to abide by COVID protocol--social distancing and masks, no food.  But we are just happy to be able to go out still after having so much shut down for so long.

Pepper is doing well, mostly.  She was doing great on our electric perimeter fence but then her collar broke and we didn't know for about a week.  So during that week she learned that the border meant nothing.  Even once we replaced the collar, she keeps leaving.  It's like she has learned that the fun she gets to have outside the fence is worth the shock.  I even have it turned up all the way!  Ugh...dogs can be so frustrating sometimes, but then they are worth it sometimes too.  Let's hope in 7 years we feel about Pepper the same way we feel about Ziggy.  Pepper looks like she will be a good little hunting dog--she points at butterflies and bugs...

And then there's Ziggy who is practically perfect in every way.  We all just love Ziggy so so so much.  We've had her for 8 years; she's a part of the family.  And you can tell she is happy and contented by the way she takes naps.....  she feels totally secure and loved!

And then of course there are times when she does this....

Naughty little doggie!  At least it was in the mud room!  She's worth it though.

The older boys have been dying for ski season to get here...and when the ski resorts opened they were chomping at the bit to go!  So Eric took them up to Park City.  They had a good time, but not much was open at the resort so didn't stay more than a few hours.  We haven't had much snow here so it's not boding well for the ski season.  More on that in a few minutes...

Here's Jake.

Jake and Tyler...

And Tyler.  

I'm glad they love to ski and bike.  I think those are great hobbies because they are ones they can do their whole lives, alone or with others.  Hopefully we will get some snow soon so that they can have a fun ski season!

Pepper is good, but still a puppy.  She always likes to eat Ziggy's food when I put it out, so sometimes I have to banish her from the room until Ziggy is done eating.  When I do, she just sits at the door like this until Ziggy comes out.  

Maggie loves face masks.  She got some for her birthday and Christmas.  And she has stolen some from me....  at least her skin will silky smooth!

Another tradition we are starting at Christmas (along with the play), is doing an escape room as a family.  We did one last Christmas and had a total blast!  We decided to do one every holiday season and this year we had even more fun.  We did "The Heist" and we made it out!  We actually did really well!  Everyone helped--Joey too!  Here we are with the loot!  I love being able to do things like this with my family.  I'm just sad I don't have more years with them--this is probably Tyler's last Christmas living at home!

So far, Ziggy has mostly just tolerated having Pepper around.  The occasional snap and growl at her when Pepper is being too annoying...but every once in a while, if you're lucky, you can see them play together.  It is such a fun sight--especially because it makes me feel like Ziggy isn't as old as she is.  I love seeing them play together--I got a great video of it, but here is just a snapshot from it--they are both in the air running.  It cracks me up.

This year we also went to Luminaria at Thanksgiving Point.  It is a huge, and I mean huge, Christmas light display.  We went a couple years ago also.  I thought it would be fun to go again and I'm glad we did.  It is really beautiful but mostly I love it because I get to go with my family, and we (mostly) all got alone for the evening.  I feel so much joy and love when I am able to spend time with my family, enjoying each other's company.  I love love love it.  

We've been skiing with everyone a few times as well.  Once again, there isn't much open at the resorts because of the lack of snow.  So we stay for a few hours and then head home.  That's ok with me though, because even though it has been a few years, I'm still not a very good skier.  I supposed I am slowly getting better, but I like to ski really slowly, and I ski the easy stuff--greens and easy blues are my jam!  Poor Eric stays with me the whole time though, even though I'm sure he wishes he could ski something more fun!  But once again, I ski because I just love spending time with my family.  The older I get the more I realize how little time I have with them.  Some people have hobbies that they love, but my hobby that I love is doing ANYTHING (even skiing) with my family.  The bonus is when we go do something and everyone is kind and gets along.  That doesn't happen every time, but man, when it does it is magical!  

Here is Joey and Maggie on the gondola--a nice needed break!

Me and Eric....

Joey...

And on the lift is Tyler, Jacob and Maggie...

And here we all are!  It's definitely a lot of work to get all set up to ski--loading the car (which Eric has down to a science), getting everyone's gear on, trying to get Jake's boots on (impossible).... and then a lot of work when you are done skiing, just reverse that.  But it's fun to be together.

We had so much fun at our escape room this year we decided to do another one on Christmas Day (since skiing was out because the reservations--you have to make because of COVID--were full).  This time we went to a different company, and it was totally different and way fun!  We had to find relics to release the sword in the stone.  The rooms were bigger, much more intricate, and there were 3 rooms.  WAY WAY more intricate than the other ones we had done.  These rooms are designed to be harder so they put an actor in with you to help you when you need it.  We definitely needed him!  But we ended up getting the sword with seconds to spare!  It was intense but in the funnest of ways.  Maggie pulled out the sword so we all had to bow down to her.....

After skiing yesterday we went to a new restaurant called Back Door Burger.  They have a peanut butter and jelly burger, and a bunch of other really unique and interesting burgers.  It was super fun!

Tyler is getting so amazing at guitar.  He loves playing now and will just learn songs on his own.  I LOVE it!  I wish Maggie and Jake would take more of an interest in piano.  But Tyler played "We Three Kings" in sacrament meeting last week.  It was incredible.  I am so proud of him!  If this video works, it is a clip of his song I made him play for me.  It sounds better in person, but you get the idea...

Joey is also taking guitar lessons now.  He learned Jingle Bells!  He is doing so well and I hope we will love it just like Tyler!  He even recorded himself playing Jingle Bells and sent it to my mom.  Cute.

Well December was full of everything, from every emotion.  We are happy to say good bye to 2020!

 

One Pheasant Hunt, One Thanksgiving, One Naughty Dog, One Old Tree...

Grandpa Swenson took Tyler and Nate pheasant hunting--and of course he also took Ziggy.  She is the best little bird dog around. It is so fun taking her out to do stuff like that because at home you can tell she is getting older and more tired, and her bad leg bothers her sometimes...but when she is hunting or on a horse ride or out in the mountains she runs around like a little puppy again. It brings us all so much joy!  Tyler got 2 birds--he's a crack shot!  But now I have to cook pheasant for dinner....

For Thanksgiving this year we went down to Moab with Eric's parents, Katie and Jessica and their families. It was so nice to get away--any time we can get away during this COVID crisis is a blessing. Our big trips to DC and Italy were cancelled, along with many other small trips.  Being stuck at home with many stores and restaurants closed has been hard.  I get tired of looking at the walls of my house everyday!  So we high tailed it out of here for the weekend.  It was not a super regimented trip, which was nice. The boys went mountain biking (of course there are no pictures of that because it was BOYS) and I went with the rest of the group to hike Delicate Arch.  It was beautiful, of course.  I get nervous near the drop offs--people die here!  Last year Jessica came down and the day after they hiked the arch some kid fell and died there.  So, my "nervous mom" is justified I think. I made Maggie and Joey promise they would go slow and, just for my sake as an early Christmas gift, stay away from the edges.  They did. I only had to panic a couple times.

It is fun to get to explore all the cool places down there--it is so gorgeous.  I think we take it for granted--but there were people from all over the world hiking in Arches Park that weekend.  

Here's the group on the way up to the arch.  This is the steep part of the climb so it was a welcome break to stop and take a quick photo!

We also hiked out to landscape arch--the longest arch on the planet.  It is getting pretty thin!  Huge chunks have been falling off over the past decades.  Who knows how much longer it will be there!  But at least we got a picture.

Everyone except me and Joey (there wasn't enough room) went Jeeping out at Fins N' Things.  Looks like they had a good time!  My family had done that a year or two ago so I was okay sitting out.  Joey and I went shopping and bought everyone in our family some socks.  Here's the group in their little caravan. They adopted a Red Jeep truck who was afraid to go on some of the stuff but Eric helped coach them through it.  

Here's a rare moment of Maggie and Joey walking nicely together and not arguing.  Those two are either best friends or the worst of enemies. There is no middle ground!  So I have to cherish the moments when they are getting along.

When we were up at the arch Joey found a spot to sit down and it was the perfect photo opportunity!  This isn't even posed!

More arches....

We had Thanksgiving dinner at the Sunset Grill, where my family had eaten there a couple Thanksgivings before.  It was delicious and we all left very very full!  And the scenery is unbeatable.

So on to the dogs--I love Ziggy--she's been in our family for 8 years now and she is THE BEST DOG EVER.  I would get 5 more if I knew they could be like her!  But then there's Pepper--who I kind of like but still often just tolerate her.  She has some good points...

She is very snuggly which is fun because Ziggy usually isn't (mostly because I trained her really well to stay off the furniture ha ha).  Pepper doesn't roam the way Ziggy does, and she's very soft, and loves her people (us).

BUT!  She is naughty when she's not being supervised.  If we are around she is generally pretty good, but when she knows she's unsupervised (even if I'm in the shower or something--we never leave her inside alone) she is a pain.  She chews everything...including chapsticks, Maggie's glasses, Eric's snore mouthguard, ornaments, the blender lid, you name it...if it is out and on the floor or within her reach it is fair game.  Now she has also taken to chewing up packages left on the porch...ARGH!  

I'm hoping she grows out of it--I keep trying to watch her to get her to chew things while I'm around so I can ZAP her, but she won't do it when I'm watching or even hiding.  So my best bet is to just make sure nothing is left out (which I am good at but my kids are not) and hope it is just a phase!!!!

I mentioned in the title about one old tree, well, here it is....

This is what we call out Ghetto Tree.  It is the tree in the basement where we actually have presents and Christmas morning. Yes, half the lights don't work, it is extremely sparse (this pic makes it look WAY better than it actually does), it is always crooked and it is just cheap.  But we bought it back in Maryland (!!!) when we didn't have money for a nice tree and have had it all these years.  I asked this kids this year if I should buy a new tree to replace it, and they all said NO!  They love the ghetto tree and all it represents--our family growing from just Eric and I back in Baltimore, all the way to now--all 6 of us growing together.  So we will keep the ghetto tree, and look at it every year as a reminder of how far we've come, and what really is important. 

In other, unfortunate news, I had to have surgery yesterday to have my gall bladder removed.  It has been quite a saga which I will give you the short version of--about a year and a half ago I started having severe pain just under my left ribs.  It was so bad!  So I made an appointment with a GI doctor but they were booked out about a month or two---a couple weeks after the pain started it went away almost as suddenly, before my appointment.  So I figured it was just a weird fluke or something and cancelled my appointment (wrong choice, I know).  Then months later it came back, same place, just as severe and sudden. It got so bad that there I was, crying at the Christmas Eve Family dinner table in front of all of Eric's family.  Eric said, "That's enough, were going to the ER" so we did. On Christmas Eve.  When I was there they didn't do any tests or anything, just had me drink a numbing solution.  Then asked if I felt better. I didn't really, but it felt different.  So then they said I had an ulcer.  They sent me home with ulcer medication.  It did not seem to make any difference but I thought they must know what they are doing so persisted until finally, just as before, the pain suddenly went away.  Well back in September the pain came back. As bad as ever.  I immediately started taking the ulcer meds but they did nothing.  I told Eric I didn't think it was an ulcer and neither did he.  I debated for a while and finally decided to go to Urgent Care (after the ER blew me off last time I didn't want to go back there).  I just knew something was wrong.  I'm glad I did--the PA I met with was so attentive and listened to everything.  He ran some legitimate blood work and I was diagnosed with pretty severe pancreatitis.  Based on the history, he said this is most likely my 3rd bout of it and I've been extremely lucky to not have had serious complications as often pancreatitis can cause.  After more tests and scans they found out I have gall stones which were 99.99% surely causing my pancreatitis.  I met with a GI specialist and he said I should get my gall bladder removed because there is a high likelihood I will continue to get bouts of pancreatitis and my "luck" of not having severe complication will run out someday.  He emphasized how he was surprised and that I am very very lucky to not have been deathly ill or had permanent pancreas damage etc.  The risk of recurrent bouts of pancreatitis were much more dangerous than having my gall bladder out.  Anyway, so after some more specialists and appointments I finally had it out yesterday. Overall I'm doing ok. I've got a lot of pain and discomfort but that's to be expected.  I'm trying to take it easy and follow the doctor's orders.  Joey has been helping--he made me ramen last night...

He put about 5 cups of water in it so it tasted like noodle water, but the effort was sweet.  Hopefully recovery will be quick and I can enjoy a fun Christmas in a few weeks!

Oh, I have to tell one more story--Joey has a Tote Goat, like a little off road motorcycle thing he got last Christmas.  A few weeks ago he was riding it up to his friend, Wyatt's, house and thought he ran out of gas.  So the house he was in front of, he stopped at, went right up to the door (didn't know them) and told them he was out of gas and can he get some from them!  Lol, the gumption on that little guy.  Well it just so happens he stopped at the absolute right house--not only was the older couple not some creepos, but the guy was into dirt biking and rebuilding old cars and such, so he knew about this kind of stuff.  He wheeled the tote goat over to fill it up but saw the front wheel was about to some off!  He got on it and rode it a bit and then realized the brakes didn't work either! (Neither of which I knew).  So he told Joey he would fix it for him while he went to his friend's house--and not only that, but that Joey could take this man's own tote goat (that goes way faster!) to Wyatt's!  Joey was hesitant because he probably felt nervous taking the guy's tote goat, but he did.  So while Joey was off playing, with this guys tote goat, this nice man (who just happened to be Jake's good friend, Breyton's, grandpa) fixed the brakes and front wheel (the front wheel was a temporary fix because he didn't have the right bolt) and filled it up with gas for Joey so that when he stopped there on his way home it was ready to go.  Isn't that amazing?  Some people are just good, and helpful and kind.  We did not know this couple but Joey made sure to tell us we needed to bring them a treat to thank them.  We sure did!  They couldn't have been nicer.  It's just nice to know there are still lots of good people in this world.  And I'm happy to know these two now!


 

Dream Job...

Not a whole lot has happened over the past couple weeks--just getting on with life as normal as possible under COVID circumstances!  But a couple fun things to share--

The other day Joey was with me in the car running errands.  We were talking about who knows what, then he decided to tell me... "Mom, my dream job would be to be a rocket scientist...or one of those garbage picker upper guys along the freeway.  I want to use one of those grabber things--it looks fun."

I'm not sure if there could possibly be a wider discrepancy between his two choices, but there you go. 

Joey and his best friend Jack love to build things and be creative, which I love.  Yesterday they took a bunch of scrap wood, some screws and hinges and made a "garage" for their EZ Roller ride on toy. It came out awesome--mostly. But it was so fun to see them use power tools (all fingers are still intact) and ingenuity.  

Tyler, instead of being productive and building something like his brother, he decided to go on a post-it rampage and post-it bombed his friend's car.

To redeem him to all reading this, though, Tyler has been making an effort to be closer to his little brother.  Don't get too excited--he still has his moments of being 17, but several nights over the last week he goes into Joey's room at night and reads scriptures to him and they say prayers together.  I don't know what sparked this beautiful turn of events, but I'm going to enjoy it for as long as it will last!
 

Look at Me Go...Two in a Row!

Well, if you aren't proud of me, I am!  Two posts only a couple weeks apart--I told you I'm turning over a new leaf (again) with the blog.

With the weather turning into fall and getting cooler, we know we have limited chances to do certain things, so we went with Grandpa Swenson out on his boat to go up to Strawberry Reservoir to try to catch some fish!  There was very little fishing involved since the majority of the time we were all trying not to get hypothermia because it was FREEZING!  But Joey caught a couple, grandpa and dad did too, and I even caught one!  But pretty much it was huddling under blankets...

A few weeks ago we decided to be ambitious on a Saturday morning and took the boys on a hike.  Eric had a particular one he wanted to do that crossed up onto a ridge (or something like that in "mountain speak"). We tried it, and boy was it steep!  We gave it our best go but probably only ended hiking a little over a mile each way, just because it was so steep....plus the trail kind of became overgrown and difficult to traverse...no doubt because of all the other people who did what did but turn back when they see the trail never gets less steep, thus the overrun trail.  You keep climbing higher and higher thinking you must be near the top.....but no.  Nevertheless we made a fun time of it.  Pepper came along too--Jacob had a little "lion king" moment with her.  She wasn't very happy about it.

I have always encouraged my kids to play an instrument.  Tyler has done guitar for a long time, and there were times when he wanted to quit, times when I wanted to quit, but we both stuck it out and thank goodness we did!  Tyler can play guitar so beautifully now, and the best part is he actually finds a lot of joy in playing. He practices on his own, finds songs to learn, heck, he even played a hymn in sacrament meeting that he arranged himself!  It was funny because Craig and Sharee came to hear him play that Sunday and the person behind them said (when Tyler went up to the stand with his guitar ), "Well this should be interesting."  Then after (Tyler did the most amazing and beautiful job) the same guy said, "Wow, that was good."  Ha.  I love seeing Tyler find joy in his music.  Now I'm hoping that all the grief I get from Jacob and Maggie taking piano lessons will be worth it--I am hoping they can get to the point where they are good enough to be able to play songs they like, find joy in playing for themselves and sharing their talent with others.  But it is a battle getting them to practice.  Jacob especially because he wants to hang out with friends (teenager)...and Maggie because she is busy with dance.  But music is a talent they can use their whole lives.  Joey started guitar a few weeks ago--so far it hasn't been too bad, but he is also catching on really quick!  I am pleasantly surprised because I wasn't sure how it would go with him because, well, Joey. But he seems to like it so far.  Fingers crossed!

Getting a fireside serenade was the highlight of my month--and I told him so.  

Maggie has been taking dance for years now, and has been working up to being "on pointe" for ballet and guess what?  She finally did it!  She was thrilled to say the least. We went to get her her first pair of pointe shoes.  There was a little snafu with the shop opening late, but after almost 3 hours, yes, you read that right, 3 hours, we found the right pair. And wouldn't you know it, it was the first pair she tried on to begin with.  Phew!  It was a long haul, trying on dozens and dozens of pointe shoes.  Who knew it was so complicated?!  I'm just glad the pointe teacher comes to help them find the right fit/style/pair for their feet.  I'm so happy for Maggie--this was highlight of her month!

We had long weekend so we decided to go down to Zion's National Park area just to get away.  It was over  

Halloween weekend so I had to bribe the two younger kids with candy to replace trick or treating. It is such a beautiful area down there. We went into Zion's and found some rocks to climb and explore.

It is so fun hiking on that redrock because you can basically climb up almost anything. The kids thought that was a blast.  And you can't beat the scenery.  I love this picture of Joey--typical...a big smile and a big hole in his knee. Ha ha. Oh, we also found an old Big Foot track!

We also got to see the home of the Ho-made pies. Yes, you read that right. When we first drove by the sign I didn't read the saying and just saw the scantily clad figure of the woman.  I thought to myself, "That's a little inappropriate!  Slutty for a small town."  Then I saw the caption.  We didn't try a pie, but we did get a laugh out of it.

While down there we went exploring a few other places after we meet up with Jessica and her family and grandma and grandpa Swenson.  Pretty fun stuff!  A tunnel carved for drainage....

And some wind caves...not sure how they were formed or what for.  But they were pretty neat!

Of course I had a panic attack because Joey would walk right up the edge of the cliff--literally inches away, on sand.  I could picture him slipping and falling down the straight cliff behind them.  Ugh. Luckily no one fell to their death that day.

We also went to Buckskin Gulch--the longest slot canyon in the world. No we didn't hike the whole length of it, and it wasn't as technical or narrow as some others we've done, but it was gorgeous and a really fun hike. Slot canyons are so cool--as long as there's no rain in the forecast! A few pictures to enjoy...

Another exciting thing happened -- Maggie turned 12!!  Didn't really get pictures of the party because I was dealing with a water issue (more on that in a minute) but she had a bunch of friends come in their "onesies" and they had a dance party, played games, did henna... a fun time. With a little side of drama, to be expected maybe with tween girls? Annoying nonetheless.

Maggie is so much fun.  She loves to play with her friends, she loves loves dance, she is so kind and thoughtful to others.  I feel so lucky to be her mom.

As for the water issue, our well stopped working!  We woke up Saturday morning and...no water.  So my day was filled with this....filling buckets for toilets, drinking, toothbrushing etc.  You never realize how much you use water for until you don't have any!  

Good news is they are here today (the next day) fixing it. Hopefully fixing it.....fingers crossed I have water by this afternoon!

One side note, Jessica (a teacher at Joey's school) sent this picture to me with the caption, "Look what I found in the garbage at the school!"  I laughed so hard.  I don't know why, but it is just so typical Joey to get an award, shrug his shoulders and throw it away. He's such a funny kid.