January 2022

Jolie got Solace (and the rest of the kids, but he claimed it for himself) a new Kano computer thing. He built it and it made noises and colors on the screen when he moved his hand above it. It also showed him the simple code he built while doing certain actions. Pretty cool way to teach code and show how it works in real life applications. 

Hot cocoa as long as there is snow on the mountains, yes please. 

After Christmas, Lullaby's room got out of control. I know she gets this from me, as I remember my mom shoveling my floor clean and putting it all in boxes to slide under my bed. Yikes. So to motivate her, we set up the camera in time lapse and see the results of our hours long cleaning. It was thoroughly organized, and cleaned, and much better for her to be able to play and create without the mess getting bigger. Here are the before pictures, wowza! 

The time-lapse of the cleaning, and then the after pictures, much better! 

Pumpkin is the biggest lover. Such a sweet kitty. 

Matix used Great Grandma Berg's little grill and made Sunday dinner fo us. Yum! Then snuggles when with Grandma while we watched a show together. 

Out for brunch with my friend Heidi. 

Matix and Hawken have learned a TON from their young men groups in Saratoga Springs. They changed oil, replaced a flat tire, learned about animation, cartooning, and coding, and even wrestling. It's been so fun to expose them to new things and see what they are interested in. 

Every morning, at almost 8am, Solace is in our room showing Paul something directly after getting out of the shower. He's such a good dad, and makes him feel so important. 

Matix is always my go-to kid for vet visits. He's so good with the animals and really calms them down. 

We started going to game days with some of our homeschool friends again. It was really nice to have something fun to do inside when the weather outside was only okay some of the time. 

Paul and Della took the kids to the climbing gym and this was the only picture they got. Everyone had fun. 

Snuggle puppy on the couch. He sleeps most of the day, everyday. 

Snuggle kitty. If you sit still too long, she'll make herself a nest. 

I got a nice message from one of my dad's former teachers that he hired at Walden, and a follow up comment from an old student. It's really nice to know how much he impacted others. 

Pokemon trading in the theater room with friends, can't beat that! 

I found this little weird thing and asked the kids about it. Hawk said he put the dice inside to give the eraser a little heart. Kids are so much fun. 

Another climbing day with the kids. This time we ran into one of Lullaby's friends from public school and she got to climb with her for a while.

When either of our cars get too close to Paul's phone, the car connects to it and I can hear whatever he's listening to. This time, I had just pulled into the driveway and I got his audio book from the basement! 

Switching from orange and pinks to LOTS of different pinks. First, bleaching the roots, always looks so weird until it's done. 

I started a new art project.  Swishy was a big helper, as usual. This time I made a wall hanging with lots of rope on a big stick Matix found on one of our hikes. Then I boiled avocado pits to use and dip-dye the ropes. I love how it turned out! 

Another hair picture that day because I thought I was looking cute. 

The kids slept outside in their sleeping bags in the middle of January, so crazy! They made it all night! All four are in this picture. The cats were extra curious about what was happening. 

Monday nights are for sound baths. I love it so much. 

Out to lunch with Heidi and Eve at the Hibachi grill. It was SO much fun. I loved it as much as little kids do. 

School work looks like this. Some computer stuff, some games, and some books. The kids also have little religious workbooks they use along with our scripture study we do. 

I bought some earrings from my friend, Audra, and I love them. She's so crafty.

Breakfast in bed from Hawken. Yes please. 

Trying out a video call from the iPads with the kids all in different rooms. 

Magnet tower that was super fun and needed a picture. 

Barry and Steph and their kids joined us at Great Grandma Berg's house for Sunday dinner, and then after dinner, we opened our Universal Yums box with them and we all had a fun time tasting things. There were a lot of weird ones, but everyone was game. 

The video is mainly Baylee chocking down some of the "yums" and almost not surviving. Ha ha ha. 

Up to the slopes for some winter fun. The boys are all super comfortable on their new boards (kids) and skis (Paul). They're working on control and recovering quickly after a fall. Great job! 

Whiskey sometimes likes to be held like this on her back, while you rub her face. So strange. But she purrs and purrs. 

Dinner with friends and this was the only picture I got. It was a nice night. 

On my way to Wisconsin for a very fast 2 day trip. My dad had seats to see the various shows that came through Milwaukee, and Robin paid the membership fee so we could keep the tickets for this season. I'm not sure if she'll keep them in the future, but it was nice to have some and go to a show. Jolie and I were the winners of "Mean Girls" so we flew in, went to the show, crammed in everything else and went home. It was fast but SO fun. 2 flights to get there. 

Goodnight to Jolie in her queen sized bunk bed, and good night to me in mine. 

Early breakfast with Robin, then to the lake to get drift wood pieces. 

Dinner before the show with all the sisters except Becky. 

We had to walk on a glass bridge from the parking garage to the theater and Jolie couldn't do it, so I led her like a blind person. 

The seats were great, in their usual spot, and the show had us laughing out loud. It was really done well. 

Early in the morning we went to Deals for Days with Heather and Kenz for some fun bargain shopping, before breakfast and then to our flights! 

Also, at Robin's house, I found this old pot I made for her in middle or high school. It's so fun to see that it is still around. 

Good bye to Jolie from our whirlwind trip, and check out my very full bag on my way home. Quick trip!

I borrowed Jolie's Nintendo64 and the old Banjo Kazooie game and beat it! It was so fun to do again, I hadn't played that game since I was a little kid. I had to send Jolie the picture of the end scene so she could see!

Solace made me a grocery list. Milk, bread, eggs, cearl (cereal), banananas (bananas), turkey bacon, and "can we have some wii? yes or no. Pick one." Can I have some wii means he's asking for a turn on some electronics. We used to have a Nintendo Wii U, and so they called it wii turns forever. 

We found out that Glenette, Della's sister-in-law died. We knew she had taken a turn for the worse, but we couldn't get there to Idaho fast enough. The funeral was lovely, and we were happy we got to meet her the last time we were in Idaho. 

Matix loves to send me messages while I'm out grocery shopping or at a yoga class or out of the house for any reason. It's so cute. 

Magnet blocks will always be one of their favorite toys. It makes for the best open-ended creative play! 

More time on the slopes. Once Matix puts his bindings on, he needs help getting to the edge. Then off he goes! The kids and Paul got more speed this day, more control and had more fun. It's so fun to see their progress!

The kids brought their snowball makers and played at the bottom when we were done for the day. 

We tried to take the reflection picture in some goggles on the gondola down to the parking lot, so funny. 

Date night with the Harmers. We went for sushi, then to a movie. They are so fun to hang out with. 

Planning our Kauai trip for March 2022 with the Abbajays. We were SO excited! 

I got to join a zoom call and watch both Emma and Pam get baptized. We were neighbors with them on Oahu and were excited to join in on a happy day for them. 

Paul got to work filling in the hydroponic room with insulation. Almost ready for plants! 

We sang a song with Solace's name in it at our church and he was SO excited to read his own name. Then Sunday dinner at Grandma's house and games.