Friday morning we got up and finished packing to head to St George for our nephew Ethan's wedding. The kids were excited to see Doug and Joddy's kids and Steve was looking forward to seeing his family that would be there. The drive there was pretty uneventful. We checked into our hotel and changed and headed straight over to the reception. Eli was terrific to hangout with Andrew and Marcus and took them to the bar to get dirty sodas. Ellie and Lila enjoyed visiting with Lexi and Sydney throughout the evening.

Our hotel was literally 2 blocks from the reception center so after a couple of hours I took the kids back to the hotel and then Steve went with his Mom, Jess, Debbie, Stephanie, Lexi, and Rick & Phyllis back to their VRBO where they played games for hours. The girls went to the hot tub while I put the boys to bed. Honestly they went to bed really well. Although Marcus started coughing really bad so I went in their room to check on them and for some reason that room was blasting cold air so I think that was irritating his lungs. I turned the air warmer and then went to the store to grab some cough medicine and some crackers because my stomach was still unsettled. Between that and my head cold, I was fighting some pretty bad headaches that whole weekend which was a bummer.

Steve took the kids to the hotel breakfast where there was a big spread. The boys had red velvet waffles with cookies and cream mousse. Really we don't eat like that but when you are on vacation live and let live, right. Then Steve and I took off to go to the temple for the sealing. Once again our hotel was just right up the road, I could not be happier with our location. Attending the temple is always a sacred experience but there is something extra special about attending with family for a sealing, a start of a new family. It was tender and I'm grateful we could be there. I quickly ran back to the hotel and picked up the kids so they could be in the pictures.

There was almost an hour and half after we were excused from pictures before the luncheon started so Steve took Ellie and Lila inside the temple to do baptisms. It was newly dedicated and we had just toured in October but they all said it was really neat to do that. Then we enjoyed visiting with everyone at the luncheon for a bit. Everyone headed their separate ways, we helped clean up then went back to the hotel.

Steve took Ellie to meet Doug, Kyle, and Eli for a mountain bike ride. They had a good time.

We had talked about meeting up for an evening activity but my head was killing me. I sent Steve to dinner with the girls and told them to bring something back for the boys because I couldn't eat anything or couldn't even handle the loud noise. Fortunately we were right next door to Angelica's a restaurant recommended to me by a friend so they walked over there ate and brought back some food for the boys. Then Steve took the girls to the hot tub. I thought he had put the boys to bed but he hadn't so when the lights got turned out around 9:30 I could still see a light on in their room and they were just sitting their reading. Bless them for not being difficult this weekend because I could not have handled it. We got up and everyone had a hotel breakfast before we packed up and hit the road. Once again not an ideal trip, so much more I would have liked to do and pack in to our weekend away but we made it work and we are so glad we could go and support Ethan and Kaylyn. 

We came home, unloaded the car, and I showered. Everyone knew I must have been feeling pretty crappy because I didn't even attempt to start unpacking a thing the rest of the day (I usually start right away unloading suitcases and starting laundry but I just couldn't, I didn't even have the energy to even think about it not to mention Christmas was still strung across the house). So we played a few games and watched some fireworks while we pulled our party poppers. Then the boys and I went to bed while Steve watched another Mission Impossible with the girls, that's been their series while the boys have been watching Star Wars and playing the Lego Star Wars on the Switch. Marcus keeps asking me if Luke joins the dark side. . .you'll have to wait and see.

If you remember we left this blog Christmas Eve with Andrew sick. Unfortunately that night Steve got sick. So we settled all the boys upstairs in separate rooms for the night with their buckets then I had a couple of elves help me setup a little of Christmas. Fortunately I had most of it ready before we left for Cabo. I had even planned to hide the presents and do a scavenger hunt but with the illness I decided to not have people running around in close proximity.

Christmas morning I heard the downstairs bathroom going and sent Ellie and Lila a text and poor Lila had been hit with the bug. Andrew was feeling way better and was in my room minutes later. We waited a while for Marcus to get up and then around 8am the boys started going through their stockings. They loved the books they got in their stockings. Marcus got a Would You Rather Christmas edition and Andrew got Awesome Useless Facts and they both read us several things while we waited for the group to assemble for more present opening.

Finally I let them open the dinosaur present they've been dieing to open since it showed up under the tree and then they spent hours reorganizing their Pokemon cards. Then Ellie joined us and started going through her stocking.

Lila mustered up enough strength to join us for a bit and open a few presents. I think overall everyone was happy with their gifts. Marcus at one point said, "I would be completely happy if only I got a basketball." And in his next present there was a basketball. A couple of weeks ago I told Steve we needed one more present for Marcus and Steve suggested a basketball and managed to find a blue minecraft one in his size. Then two days later Marcus started asking for a basketball. As soon as he opened that present he said, "Best Christmas ever!" Then they inflated it and he started dribbling around.

I went ahead making the fancy dinner because the brisket needed to be smoked, but unfortunately just a few of us enjoyed it with the garlic smashed potatoes, rolls and salad. It was a pretty chill day as we let everyone rest, play with new toys and recover. Unfortunately I was starting to feel a head cold coming on (I knew I should have put a mask on on the plane ride home there were some sick coughing kids). The boys enjoyed a lot of switch time over the break with two new games and pop darts turned out to be really fun. Marcus told me he wanted to wear pajamas the whole break and he put in a valiant effort to do that.

Marcus gave me the sweetest coupon gifts and told me I could turn in as many as I wanted each day and then at the end of the day he would give them back to me to reuse, talk about the best coupons ever. I did notice that there was only one ski coupon. 😂

Tuesday was a blur as I was really feeling the affects of the head cold, sinus pressure, sore throat, ugh! Then as luck would have it I caught the stomach bug late Tuesday night. I felt nauseated all the way to Wednesday night when I thought it best to let my cousin know I would not be able to attend my sweet 2nd cousins sealing. I was so sad but I did not want to get them sick. Ellie and Lila were so excited to go to her reception.

This year for our Christmas card I thought it would be fun to get a different perspective on each of our family members. To do that I had everyone write a paragraph about someone else (which may or may not be why this note is a little later this year, ahem teenagers 😂). So, for your entertainment and hopefully a little update here is our family’s 2023 Christmas exchange.

Marcus says, “Ellie works every day on her computer. I guess doing homework but sometimes there is Minecraft or video chatting with boys” (he thinks that’s weird). He loved cheering Ellie on at her mountain bike races this year and says she is brave and so good at biking. He is sad to think about her not coming home, when she moves out to go to college next year (wait you are not supposed to make mom cry while you write this). Mom’s note: Ellie is busy busy doing great things! We love her and are so proud of her and really cannot believe that she will be graduating this spring (in April from Weber State with 2 associate degrees and in May from high school). She is a great example to her siblings and they each love spending any time they can with her.

Andrew says, “Lila is a wonderful older sister. He loves it when she reads to him (and Marcus). She read Percy Jackson to us this summer and then eagerly watched the first two episodes on Disney+ with me too. She is a beautiful dancer and also really likes music, she even helped me prepare a song for my musical audition at school.” Mom’s note: Lila is also busy dancing 10 hours a week and juggling high school classes including AP Chinese and Biology which requires a STEM Fair project (she’s not so excited about that). She does love music and has recently started enjoying 80s rock like ACDC and Def Leppard. We try to get her out of her shell every once in a while, to hang out with her friends, play a game with us or watch a show (I enjoyed watching a Korean Drama with her over the summer.). She is kind, loving, and has a tender heart.

Ellie says, “Andrew is very driven regarding his passions like violin and basketball. He works really hard on the violin and plays a variety of songs all year long. He can often be found outside shooting hoops or making up some crazy basketball game with Marcus. Andrew is very smart and picks up on stuff quickly, nothing gets by him, so he thinks 😉. He loves to read and discuss books with us, I wish I could remember the plotlines from my childhood books better.” Mom’s note: Andrew is a great middle child because of his desire to read and learn he enjoys discussing things with Steve or the girls (don’t give him a manual to read unless you want to follow the instructions explicitly because he will tell you how it should be done). He also loves to rough house with Marcus or teach him things. It has been fun to watch his violin and basketball skills expand through hard work and practice. He has joined a little comp basketball team with some friends which has been good for him. He is a good defensive player swinging his long arms around blocking passes or stuffing shots. He is also a good team player complimenting his teammates or encouraging them when things are difficult.

Lila says, “hhhmmm. . . .mmmm. . . .” and I think that’s all I’m going to get from her. She’s not our loud or outspoken one and sometimes it is hard to get her to tell us what she is thinking so I guess I’ll leave the paragraph on Marcus up to Steve, “Marcus played flag football this year instead of soccer and he really enjoyed it (fall was a crazy time of year here with flag football two nights a week, mountain biking three times a week, dance three times a week, and basketball twice a week; whew!). He decided he likes running but wants to do it when nobody tries to stop him so we may try track or even basketball since he has really enjoyed playing that outside with Andrew. He likes to tease Steve about missing all of his birthdays (this year) because of a guy’s ski trip to Sun Valley, he could not believe Steve went skiing on his birthday without him and won’t let him hear the end of it.” Mom’s note: Marcus will always be my baby and even though I try not to favor him I do love the snuggles that only someone his age will give me or the fact that he isn’t too embarrassed to still hold my hand. He is very empathetic and is often the first one to give me a hug when he sees me crying. He still brings a level of craziness to the house that only he can do but we love him and don’t know what we would do without him.

We recently watched Family Switch on Netflix and I thought this line was hilarious, “I’ve observed mom making dinner like thousands of times. How hard can it be?” Sometimes we take for granted what each of us does for each other or the difficulty and struggles that each of us face. There may be times where we feel overwhelmed, depressed, or upset and that no one understands what we are feeling but there is one who understands completely, our Savior, Jesus Christ. “The Savior invites all of us at this Christmas season and always, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. . . . For I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ As we trust Him, we will find peace and happiness, no matter our current circumstances” (The Prince of Peace, Elder Brent H Nielson).

We hope you all find peace and love this Christmas season and in the New Year.

With Love, The Moores (Steve, Britney, Ellie, Lila, Andrew, & Marcus)

Steve and I have been talking about going somewhere fun for our 20th all year. We really got looking a few months ago. We talked about Europe, St Lucia, and looked at packages through Costco but with the time of year our anniversary is in, I just didn't feel like we could get away for too long (Steve was feeling pressure from work also). So a couple of weeks ago I looked at airfare into Cabo which was very reasonably priced and going somewhere sunny and warm is really appealing this time of year. So we decided to fly down on Tuesday spend a couple of days there by ourselves then my parents would fly in on Thursday and we could spend a day helping them get settled for the winter. 

I always fret about leaving the kids and since there would still be a couple of days of school I worried a little more but we lined up a couple of friends to help with school driving, one to get the boys to school Wednesday morning and another to get Lila to and from school Wednesday. We also had 3 days of fog and inversion yuckiness so by Monday night I was ready to go to the sun. Tuesday morning we got Lila off to school and as I was dropping her off she said, "Have a good time mom." And I grabbed her leg, gasped, and said, "I love you!" She said, "You've got this, it will be good mom." Which was just the encouragement I needed. Then I took the boys to school and I snapped this picture of the yucky weather.

The flight went smoothly and we met our ride back to the condo and got settled and called and checked on the kids. Lila walked home that afternoon and Ellie picked up the boys. Everything was going smoothly. The time there went by fast. We mostly just laid on the patio in the sun, walked the beach, watched whales, and we ventured to a store to get a few supplies for us and my parents. I told Steve we had better take a few pictures for proof we went.

 

it was a little breezy this evening so I blinked and Steve's hair is blowing all crazy but the sunset with the rocks in the background was beautiful

Thursday morning Ellie called us to tell us Marcus was throwing up. I miss the kids but when one is sick I feel so bad when I'm not there. Ellie was a little flustered but so far Marcus had made it to the bathroom so I told her to just let him watch movies upstairs and try eating some crackers and drinking a gatorade. Steve and I went out to walk the beach and as we got there we saw a group gathered and then we realized they were watching a baby sea turtle make it's way to the ocean. We took pictures and videos and watched him for almost 30 minutes. 

Towards the end of our walk we saw this one whale playing in front of a bunch of boats. He kept putting one fin out of the water and splashing and then another. So we sat there and watched for a little bit. We actually saw a few whales which was fun.

When we got back I called my sister who I knew was in Layton and she happened to be at the store so I asked her if she would mind buying some saltines and gatorades to drop off at the house. She kindly did. I told her to just leave them on the doorstep but in a motherly love she asked Ellie how Marcus was doing then ran up to check on him quickly. 

We met my parents at the front area to help get their luggage down to the condo. We went through one suitcase and then decided to go out to dinner. They had a place they wanted to take us to so we ubered out there. Dad asked one of the groups serenading to sing Las Mañanitas and the server thought it was his birthday so he brought out flan for him. We chuckled. His birthday was only one month away so we got to celebrate a little with him.

Friday morning we did more unpacking and had my parents open their Christmas presents from us.

Then went out to breakfast with my parents. Steve and I ran to another store to grab them a few more supplies then we packed up our stuff and headed for the airport. I was ready to be heading home but would miss the sun and seeing my parents on Christmas. After getting through security I decided to do a little airport Christmas shopping and bought some vanilla and some taco sauces for Steve at the duty free shop. It was fun and a good way to spend some time. Our flight got in 40 minutes ahead of schedule and we managed to get a gate quickly, wahoo! We flew through customs since we didn't check bags and then grabbed the shuttle to the hotel airport where my parents had left their car for the night and drove it back to our house. We picked up food on the way home to eat with the kids. Thankfully it sounded like Marcus was doing better.

I thought the group might want to go skiing Saturday, but could not get anyone to commit. Marcus came in our room rather early, he had an accident (still stomach related but other end) so he got in the shower while Steve and I got his sheets and started doing more laundry. I was trying to clean a little and get things ready for Christmas weekend. We looked and Snowbasin said they received 4 inches of snow and it did not seem too busy. Ellie came up and said Porter and his brother Jimmy were up there so she was in and Andrew is always in so we convinced Lila to go. Marcus was a little hesitant and I had a few more things I wanted to do so I thought maybe he and I could meet them for a few runs later. Unfortunately Marcus stomach was still a little unsettled and the crew said the snow was not as good as they had hoped so we decided not to go up. Everyone still had a good time skiing despite the fog and icy conditions. They stopped for hot cocoa and snacks I sent up and then Ellie stayed with Porter and Jimmy while the others came home.

That evening after dinner the girls went to deliver presents to their friends while Steve and I watched a movie with the boys. 

We woke up this morning to Andrew throwing up, poor kid. So the three girls went to church and left the boys home. I had to be there early for a quick choir practice and the girls were ready to go up with me. After choir I went into the chapel and all of the side rows were taken so I just sat in the front row towards the side since there was only the three of us. Then Ellie told me that Porter was going to come listen to her play the piano for the opening song so he sat with us. Ellie did a great job, the song was beautiful. The whole meeting was wonderful and filled with testimony and love for the Savior. After church everyone kept coming up to Ellie asking who her friend was, a side affect of sitting on the front row where everyone could see us. 😂 Then at the very end outside the building after she had walked Porter to his car and said goodbye, Bishop Burt, who knows Porter from the mountain biking team, comes out and in a loud voice says, "Ellie did you bring a boy to church." Several families nearby said, oh yeah, is "he a boy" or "the boy". And some girls even chimed in, "oh he's cute". It was funny and Lila said as we walked to our car, "I love our ward/neighborhood!" It is true, our ward is like family, who can make teasing my teenage daughter about bringing a boy to church make her feel special and bring a few laughs.

Well we are adjusting our Christmas Eve plans a little to accommodate for sick Andrew. We decided to postpone our special Christmas Eve dinner and discussion until tomorrow. Hopefully he will feel better by then and no one else gets sick. Ready or not Christmas is here and I'm excited to share this special day with my little family and we wish you all a wonderful Christmas!

We decorated Oreo gingerbread houses this year while watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. The boys had fun. The girls thought the Oreo ones were cool and smelled delicious but they didn't decorate one. They have a house waiting for them to do still, we'll see if they ever get to it.

Ellie stopped and got us a dozen specialty Elf Krispy Kreme donuts for an after school snack one day.

Steve took the girls to tour BYU Campus Friday afternoon, December 8th. I scheduled a general tour with the BYU Visitor Center and an Engineering tour. The weather was once again snowing on and off and I really wanted to go with them but the boys had activities and I had committed to help a friend with her kids that day so I hung back at home. I thought the general campus tour would be walking so I told them to dress warm and I sent them with cookies and hot cocoa. They were happy when they got an enclosed cart.

I took the boys to the new Five Below store buy a couple of presents. It was fun and of course a little hard for Marcus who wanted everything, he's still learning patience. Then I took Andrew to basketball practice.

Saturday was a little crazy as Ellie's hard drive crashed, right as she is going into finals. Luckily she had saved most everything to one drive so it was just a matter of getting a new drive installed and up and going. Lila had to meet with a group to work on a project. Steve and Andrew managed to hit the slopes for the first time of the season and spent a couple of hours skiing. They said the storm on Friday produced some good snow and so they hit some good stashes. Then Andrew got ready for his last basketball game of the season. Then we took the boys to this fun and crazy bargain store to get some Christmas wrapping paper and then to pick up dinner. We also spent some time Saturday gathering shoes, coats, and other items we could donate to a youth shelter. I also helped the boys go through the toy room and we were able to donate a couple of items and purchase some new things for a Sub for Santa family our neighborhood has adopted. I really try to encourage the kids to recognize how blessed they are and to share with those less fortunate. It always feels good to help others. Steve and I were also able to donate to the Utah Food Bank through his work which matched our gift which was generous of his work and we were grateful we could participate in that.

Sunday we went around and delivered some Christmas gifts to friends in the neighborhood. The kids had delivered Thank Yous to their church teachers the week of Thanksgiving which was so fun. Marcus has a fun relationship with our neighbor who was his primary teacher, recently got released and Marcus misses him and asks him why he quit on them. I had to explain that's not how callings work. He made sure he had a thank you card for him and he crossed out the thank you and wrote I MIS YOU! and then drew a sad face. I was a little worried about delivering it but it was sweet so we did. Brother Ashmead used a picture of Marcus on his store's instagram page.

That evening we watched the Stake Christmas Musical Fireside. We also had an opportunity on Tuesday, December 12th, to watch Andrew perform Christmas songs on his violin at an Assisted Living facility. We drove through the Layton Christmas lights.

Wednesday, December 13th, our nephew Kyle stopped over on his way home from BYU-Idaho and we took him skiing for the day. Steve, Andrew, Ellie, and Kyle went up first thing in the morning. 

I got Lila off to late start school and then Marcus and I picked up pizza and met them up there to eat lunch and then ski. Marcus was on new skis and was having a difficult time with them. He had a face plant crash on Bear Hollow and was crying. A couple of nice ski patrol ladies came up and told him he was almost at the bottom and then gave him a ticket for a free hot cocoa once he got down. That perked him up and he made it all the way down. Then he and I went in for hot cocoa while the rest went up the gondola.

He and I did a couple of Little Cat runs then we took off to pickup Lila and get dinner going. The boys loved playing with Kyle. He did a drawing add on game with them and the next morning Marcus said Kyle is an amazing artist and now I have his signature. The boys are looking forward to seeing him again in a couple of weeks when we go to his brother Ethan's wedding.

Friday, December 15th we had a couple of neighbor kids over bright and early because their little brother was having surgery. I watched a couple of Phineas and Ferbs with them until the boys woke up then we did breakfast and they played for an hour. Then I took them to school and after school to their aunt's house.

Saturday morning Lila had an extra choreo session from 9-12. So we got up an got her off. I had lunch ready right when she got home. Then Steve, Andrew, Marcus, and I went up skiing for a couple of hours. Marcus used his smaller skis and did a lot better. I decided that when he and I do Little Cat runs he is going to work on keeping his skis parallel because he is snow plowing a lot still, he just needs more practice and confidence. When I told him I wanted him to practice parallel skiing he said, yeah I like skiing but I don't love it, it isn't my thing. I told him that was fine but we can still work on improving a little each time.

We watched another Santa Clause episode and then on Sunday both speakers mentioned The Grinch so we watched it with the boys, Marcus has never seen it so it was fun. The talks were amazing and they mentioned how the spirit of Christmas can be within each of us as we do small things to be more Christlike which could be unloading the dishwasher, being nice to someone, taking the time to play a game with the kids. I really liked that because sometimes it feels like we have to do big things every Christmas but really the small and simple things we do as a family and serving those around us bring the spirit of Christmas in our lives now and throughout the year. It reminds me of the scripture in Mosiah 2:17; And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

In the midst of all of this I received some sad news that a dear friend of mine in Tucson lost their youngest son in a tragic accident. Ben was Ellie's bestest friend when we lived there and I was so sad to hear of his passing. I was able to see Lori in July at a friends' daughters reception and since then Ellie has been asking me to get Ben's number so she can reconnect. I told her he has a girlfriend and you don't need to be texting more boys but now I feel bad that I didn't give them an opportunity to reconnect. I'm glad to know that we can reconnect in heaven with him and we send our love and prayers to his family especially at this time of year! I am so grateful that my friend Teresa called to tell me the news. I was able to have a few special texts exchanges with Lori, Ben's mom. I plan to watch the service tomorrow, I'm sure it will be a lovely tribute to Ben and his life. After reading his obituary Ellie said, "he was a good grown up man." which makes sense since she only knew him as a bestest little friend.

We managed to get everyone out in the yard Saturday morning to do one final leaf raking and bagging. I was hoping to do some Christmas decorating. I love putting up Christmas when we all work together. Steve was great and got down the tree Saturday but the kids were not into it so I just waited it out until Sunday and then the magic happened. Everyone helped decorate the tree. Andrew and Lila worked on the nativities while Ellie did a few finishing touches on the tree.

The boys found the lego nativity sets and started working on those.

We watched an episode of the new season of Santa Clause on Disney+ together then the girls started getting ready for school while the boys whipped out this 250 puzzle before bed time. They are quite the puzzlers.

I put all the Christmas books under the tree and the boys love it. They said it's like each book is a present and you can often find them reading one.

Or reading on their kindles in the front room in the morning. I'm telling you those have been a game changer for quiet mornings. Although it can be hard to get them to put them down and start getting ready for school.

Steve took the boys to the Jazz game, Monday Nov 27th against the New Orlean Pelicans. Andrew had two free tickets because of his registration with Jr Jazz in Farmington and Marcus really wanted to go with them so I bought one more ticket. Of course the free tickets are up there but they got popcorn and a drink again and had a good time. They convinced Steve to let them stay through the 3rd quarter even though it was a school night so they got home late but happy. Steve said they were chanting D-Fence and getting into the dance breaks. The boys have been playing basketball outside together, it has been really nice for them to be getting along so well recently.

I was hoping to get some stuff done while they were gone and help the girls with school work or college applications but I got a major migraine that put me in bed for the rest of the night. I was just glad I managed to sleep it off so I could go on the field trip with Marcus Tuesday, November 28th. He was really looking forward to it because Andrew told him how much fun he had at the Treehouse Museum in Ogden. They kick off their holidays around the world celebration with that field trip. It is a good one, I think I have gone on this particular field trip with every one of the kids (wait I just looked it up and I didn't get to go with Lila 😥because Marcus was a young baby and really sick that month but I get to go on lots of dance field trips with her).

They talk about different celebrations all around the world. And point out that several of the winter holidays involve light as a way to bring light into our lives during the dreary months of winter. They did a dragon dance at the end of that rotation.

Then they got to make snow sculptures with clay.

Then they put on a play and Marcus got to be one of the main characters, the baker Mr Vanansterdam. It was really cute.

Then they had 30 minutes of free time to explore. The boys were really quite good and didn't do too many crazy things that I remember watching Andrew's group do. 😂

I drove a group of Mom's up and back and it was fun to chat with them in the car and get to know them a little better. It was a good morning. Followed by a crazy afternoon of getting new tires on the van and tesla and picking up groceries and shuffling kids around. It was productive and crazy. We sat down to relax for a minute and I looked up at the ceiling to see a big brown thing and pointed it out to Steve and said is that a bug. Then I realized that it was the brown dog eraser Marcus has that looks like a turd any time you see it sitting around and somehow they had managed to get it stuck to the ceiling. So Ellie and Steve got out the nerf guns to shoot it down. It got wild and I almost got hit by ricochets several times but they had fun and I think it was a good tension releaser for both of them.

Wednesday Lila went to the temple with her Young Women's group and Steve and I watched the Shaggy DA with the boys. We watched the Shaggy Dog with them Saturday night and they thought it was hilarious so they've been wanting to watch the sequel.

Thursday night Steve did the dance carpool and then took Andrew to his Farmington Rec basketball game since his violin lesson had been cancelled (Mrs. Clawson's husband was back in the hospital awaiting an emergency surgery, we sent prayers and decided to fast for them on Sunday). I went with Ellie to the NUAMES Night of Hope where she had some art work displayed and then we stopped at a store afterwords. It was fun to spend an evening with her and we found a new fun store.

Friday morning, December 1st, the kids woke up to the first present of the season. They opened new advent calendars for the month. I was a little worried Marcus would be disappointed because he has been talking about the chocolate advent calendar all week but he was pretty excited about the Lego set. I'm also pretty excited about our new advent reading I found this year. It reads on verse of the nativity scripture story each day with a thought. It has been really good.

And they got tickets to see Elf that night at Hale Center. I was a little worried about the roads again as we had a winter storm warning and it was snowing all morning but it cleared up and we had good roads down to the show. On the way home we ran into a little snow on the roads for the last few miles. I was so grateful we could travel safely. And we all had a fun evening. Lila told us on the way down that the seminary trivia for the day was about Elf, the timing was funny. Did you know that Santa smells like beef and cheese? and the 5 food categories are: cookies, candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup. Marcus thought that was great.

Steve bought us cookies at intermission which was a yummy treat and I brought hot cocoa for the way home.

Saturday Andrew's team had another great game. Everyone played so well and worked together as a team. It really is fun watching them. After the game Marcus went out and was playing around with him. It was fun to watch.