Farewell 2017...and Mike

A few days before the new year we went to the Herriman Ice Ribbon, a new ice rink by city hall. It isn't big, but is a lot of fun. (We went in the spring and it was really slushy) The kids all improved on their skill. I improved on my skill of having my camera ready when Mike fell. Thankfully he didn't break anything. ;)

On New Years Eve we had to bid farewell to Mike for a few weeks while he deployed to Qatar. Not my favorite place to send him, but we knew it would all right.

Merry Christmas!

I'm not sure why, but this Christmas kind of snuck up on me and I didn't feel as festive as I usually do. We decorated late, and maybe that was part of it. We usually watch all of our favorite Christmas movies in December, but we didn't watch any of them. I didn't even watch "It's a Wonderful Life". We have a lot of Christmas themed books and we only read a small handful of them. Basically, I stunk at Christmas this year. Lesson learned. Next year will be full of the Christmas spirit OR ELSE! ;) One thing that helped was decorating Erik's tree with lights. I need to buy lights that are easier to hang, but I love how it looked. (Even though one strand stopped working.) This picture shows it last year and this year.

The LDS church continued their "Light the World" campaign this year and our family took part it in as best as we could. I love looking at the daily "challenges" and talking to the kids about how they could do it. It certainly helped my Christmas funk, even if I could have done better. We were the recipients of my friend Mandy Green's "Suffer the Children to come unto me" day. I had posted on Facebook a while back that I was looking for a Jeep power wheels for N. Mandy said she had one to sell me. I stopped by her house after a run and she gave it to me. Their daughter Presley had grown out of it years before, but they'd kept it in hopes of finding a good home for it. N was thrilled to get it for Christmas and has been driving it daily.

We visited Erik the week before Christmas and decorated his grave with a wreath. We them went to visit some of the light shows around the valley. It's always fun to see what other people spend loads of money on. :)

It was our year to be in Utah for Christmas, so we got to go to Great Grandpa Starley's Christmas Eve party. He is such a sweet man. I was not on my game (this is a pattern) and didn't take any pictures. Just imagine us all laughing and socializing as we eat soup and treats. (One of the treats being the gluten free ginger cookies I made for neighbors that Mike didn't think were good enough to give away) ;) I actually got one of Mary, so I'll post it. The boys also all got footed pajamas.

On Christmas morning we let the kids wake up and open their stockings before we went downstairs and read Luke 2 and watched "The Nativity". (I like the "old" version more than the new one. Probably because I watched it a thousand times on my mission and Joseph looks like Alec Baldwin) We then opened presents.

We didn't make it to Temple Square before Christmas, but Sarah insisted we go, and how could we say no? It was busy, but I'm glad we were able to make it.

Here is our annual Christmas card. I realized I haven't been posting these every year, but want to make sure I do.

Pre Christmas Fun

I volunteered in Steven's class for their Christmas party. I'd love to say you can see his cute, smiling face, but he's the one dabbing with a blanket over his head. Still a memory. :)

Sarah, Lynette and I continued our tradition of seeing the Nutcracker together. We attended a show by Mountain West Ballet.

Mike and I got invited to an adult Christmas party at the Weller's. They had Nurf guns and targets set up for the men and lots of tasty food. We played, "Two lies and a truth", which I totally stink at. I didn't own an ugly sweater, so I went to Walmart and found us this gem. Becky Weller and her friend wore it as well, but...we looked the coolest. ;)

The Crawfords came to town, so Sam and Liam slept over and kept the boys happily entertained. We've really missed their family. 

I'm going there someday...

This past Saturday Mike, Lynette, Sarah, and I went to the temple to perform baptisms. It was Sarah's and Lynette's first time performing them. We were expecting a long wait, because we didn't have an appt and it was a Saturday morning, but there was practically no wait. The temple worker that talked to us while we waited said he'd never seen it that slow. After we were dressed they took us into an instruction room and had a temple recorder come talk to us since it was Sarah's and Lynette's first time. It was really good and I'm thankful he took the time. Sarah really loved the experience and said she'd like to go back as soon as possible to do it again. This will make for a good daughter date option.

Here are the pictures I took of Sarah in front of temple to display on our wall.

Here they are at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was a very nice time. 

Baker's Dozen Half Marathon

Picture this: A road race where it's all meant for fun and you are fed as many cookies and doughnuts you can eat. Sounds like a dream, but it isn't. It's the "Baker's Dozen Half Marathon" held in southern Utah. When I heard about it I knew it was meant for me. I wasn't planning on doing it, but Mike thought it would be a good excuse to go on a mini vacation with the trailer. The race consists of four 5k laps and after each lap you stop at the "sugar shack" and have to eat a treat. My total time was 1:54, which is a decent time on a flat course with stops, although I think the race was a little shy of a full half marathon. It was a lot of fun and Mike actually ran the last 5k with me, which is a mini miracle. ;)

Here's my official race photo. There's a sign that tells you when to jump. 

We stayed at the Hurricane/St George KOA and had fun exploring. The kids found some trails and pretended there were creepy things. 

The kids playing Risk on Mike's tablet

I'm including this picture, because I love the fact that Mike does the dishes. He's a good one. 

That one time we ALMOST met the President.

President Trump came to SLC yesterday for a three hour visit with LDS leaders. In the week leading up to the visit the Secret Service flew in his motorcade and helicopter so it was all ready.  They allowed families with access to Mike's base come tour his motorcade on Sunday. We were allowed to ask questions and look inside, but told not to touch anything. (Kill Joy!)

President Trump flew into Mike's base Monday morning. His base command had selected a handful of pilots and personnel to greet him and the rest were told to stay inside. Right before he landed they decided to let everyone out to greet him, so Mike got to see him land and yell, "It's the Donald". (He really yelled it) Mike checked the kids out of school so they could be there when he left. They weren't allowed to tour Air Force One, but got pretty close to it. Sarah took some pictures with her phone and Mike got some close ups.

Here are Sarah's pics:

Mike's are a little closer. He felt quite special to be so close to The Donald.