Walk Around Bountiful Pond

 

Sunday after church, since our new church is at 11:00, Brooke came over and we headed to Bountiful Pond to take a lap around.  It is like a mile trail and close to our house.  It is full of mosquitos in the summertime so Winter is perfect for walking

Brody on Martin Luther King Birthday.  It is his favorite holiday.

Andrew and I were not having any of that skating on the ice business.  We thought it was dangerous

Nick, Brooke, Wonton venturing on the ice

Brooke, Andrew and Nick

They we went to the golf simulator for a round of golf.  Andrew is killing it.  Me, not so much.  I need some more practice

2022 things out in 2022

 I have been trying to be a minimalist for the last few years.  I follow these minimalist groups on Facebook and have participated in their challenge to get rid of 2020 things in 2020. I didn't quite make the 2021 in 2021 .  This was my chart for last year.  I was short like 700 things.  But a better way to look at it is that I got rid of about 1400 items!  That is fabulous. It does give me a charge to get rid of stuff and then cross it off.  

This is my new chart for 2022.  I have already gotten rid of some stuff.  I got rid of some teacher files from my first few years of teaching.  Like I would ever need that again and if I did I would probably find something to buy that looks a lot better than what I had.  I also got rid of a plant project I made and NEVER used for teaching all these years.  GONE.  

As I have been in Target or Costco today, I have seen people with like 10 plastic bins in their carts. I want to whisper to them, just throw your HUD away.  That is TEN more bins of HUD you will have to store.  Get rid of it.  It is freeing to just throw stuff away.  However, I have toured the Landfill and it is totally disgraceful at the amount of TRASH that is there.  I mean it does make me think about throw away stuff. I hate paper plates and single use items because they just go over to the landfill and sit there and someone has to figure out what to do with all our waste because we are lazy people and want throw away.  I think about that all the time.  Every vacuum cleaner, washer, dryer, spoon, piece of plastic wrap, shoe, or shovel is sitting somewhere just going to sit forever and ever.  

Not sure what the solution is to that.  

Here's to 2022 and maybe bring in less junk so there is less junk out.

UPDATE:  I crossed off another hundred items after I decluttered some of my stuff at my mother's house , some old report cards, love notes to me, certificates that didn't mean anything, birthday cards, and Church handouts. 

From Camp probably in 1991 after the Inaugural (hahah)

This pillow.  Not even sure if this is the theme anymore for Young Womens.

 Then I cleaned out my coat closet and got rid of coats that don't fit anyone and that people gave me.  I had a coat I wore to the Inaugural of George Bush in 1991.  It was My mother's coat to start with AND there is not a chance that it fits me now.  And if I need a dress coat, I'll buy one that isn't 30 years old.  There were also 2 coats I inherited from Aunt June who has been dead like 14 years.  NEVER wore them.  I did keep the snow pants and coat I wore skiing when I was skinny on a date.  (Just to remind me that I was once skinny and cuter...)  

Look at all these plastic bins that I don't need anymore because I got rid of the HUD in them.  Ready for the DI.  What a charge it is to get rid of it.  

Christmas Break happenings

 

Christmas Break was fun.  I didn't take very many pictures and can't really say what we did.  But I'm sure it was pretty good.  

Saw this on Instagram and LOVE it.

I did send Marlena this picture of the Planet Fitness parking lot.  It snowed but the parking lot is a bit snowy. Didn't want her to forget to go to the planet like she said she did the week before.  RIGHT.   I didn't forget to go.  

Here I am at the planet so I didn't forget

Just going on an errand with Jack with Wonton.  I waited in the car while Jack ran in.

We signed up for a Golf Simulator membership.  It is super fun.  

Words to live by

We have it finally

 

Jack has been bugging me to get covid tested for a few days.  He is sick and is texting me a million times a day to get tested.  Then he sends me the symptoms of covid and he has like one of them.

So I made an appt, and we waited in line like 90 minutes to get tested. I waited in the car with him and his nervousness.  I was going crazy.  We facetimed Abi while we waited.  

Then about an hour later, we get this.

Nice that I was in the car with him facetiming Abi for the test.  I didn't think he was positive.  Well, sure enough he was.  Jack is banished to the basement.  We masked up and dropped his dinner off on the stairs and he came and got them.  Nick slept upstairs.  

THEN Nick decided he was sick and sleeping upstairs.  

So the  next day, Andrew and Maureen decided we needed to get tested mostly for Gma sake.  

We filled out our form and showed up at the Maverick center.  You didn't need an appt but fill out the form first.  Well, we couldn't find the entrance because they stopped testing that day.  So we drove to West Jordan and they were appt only.  

So, Thursday we tried again.  We got on line and 

The Maverick Center started taking appts.  We got an appt for 3:45 for 3 of us.  Nick decided to come with us.  We showed up again at about 3:30, and a policeman was there closing the entrance.  They ran out of tests.  So, we tried the Riverton Swimming pool. They took walk-ins at 4:00-7:00.  We waited in line there until 6:30 and they shut off the line for testing.  We stopped at Maverick for a bathroom and Nick declared that he felt better after the Maverick drink and wanted to go play basketball with the ward at 8:30.  He would wear a mask.  NOPE No way.  

Brooke and Ty came over to get some pkgs that she sent to our house and waited outside in their KN95 masks. Didn't come into the Covid infested household.  Wonton came in though.  

I feel fine and Andrew feels fine. I think Nick feels fine too, but just wanted a test so he could miss work if he was positive. I'm assuming he is positive based on Jack being positive.  But he sure had a quick recovery when it came to basketball.  (he didn't end up going)  

I am wearing a mask at school out of common decency.  Not sure we are going to bother testing again.  I do have an appt for Nick to test on Saturday.  

Ty gave jack this lego thing to put together.  He sent a snap chat to Ty showing that he put it together

Christmas 2021

 After the trip to Temple Square and In N Out Burger, we headed home.   The stockings were filled.  Everyone got a Maverick gift card for 10.00 and tooth brushes and favorite chips.  Plus they got some other things like Reses  Peanut butter cups and Hersheys kisses.  We added two more people so I'm surprised that I had two more stockings.  I got these from Melanie and somehow had two more.  

Presents are wrapped and ready to go.  

Brooke and Ty joined us in their Christmas Pjs.  

Brooke got that green jacket from her dad

Jack got this Patriots Jersey he was excited about

Some made Gingerbread houses while I took a nap

Nick got some money hidden in a pringles can.  It was suppose to be an accordion style thing but didn't work so well but it was cool anyway

Brody said that the room he sleeps in gets light early so when I was at Black Bear Diner I saw these eye covers to keep the light out.  I need to get him one

I wanted to get these socks for Nick and Jack but BYU socks.  Abi was able to get them in St. George since all our Costcos were out.

Christmas was fun.  We got up, opened presents, then Andrew ordered Chinese food for all, and it was absolutely delicious.  He even paid.  Then I took a nap, and the rest of them watched a movie or made gingerbread houses.  Then they decided to go to see Spiderman at the movies.  I opted to not go to that either.  I'm kindof turning into an old grouch.  My kids probably would say kindof?

Abi and Brody came for the Holiday and then had to go home the following day.  One of them had to work.  It was fun to have them here.  

I got some Golf Clothes (for Death Valley trip), and an Apple Watch.  Andrew also got me some things for my stocking. I have never had a stocking in my entire life after leaving my parents home.  So that was so thoughtful and fun.