Jac's Wreath-Making Party

I was so pumped when Jac sent an open invite to make wreaths and eat yummy food. It was such a fun night, catching up with Rachelle, Angela, Jac, and some other girls. I even met some new people.

The wreath making was a lot trickier than I expected. My brain doesn't have that creative part. Julie has been making wreath and corsages since she was a teen, with her mom, and she helped me a little bit. When I was selecting my ribbons, she said she brought pink ones because, even though they're not your typical Christmas color, they reminded her of me. Umm, ok... I do like pink. And I love how my wreath turned out.

 

Volunteering at Haley

This is the first year that I've really volunteered at the kids' schools, and there are 2 reasons for that; first, Alexis is in school all day and every day now, and second, they weren't allowing volunteers, because of Covid, until recently.

So I signed up to help with the Art Masterpiece in all 4 classes. And I also signed up to help with the holiday store at Haley Elementary. I dressed up as an elf, partly because I thought it'd be fun and partly to embarrass the kids. It worked with Taylor... but the girls were just excited to see me at school. I like that they still like to see me, even with their friends around.

 

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

I was excited for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, but it was soooo much better than I expected! The lighting, the stage presence, the talent, the music... everything was perfection! 

This group has been playing music for decades, so they have had time and practice to make this show what it is today. But that doesn't mean that it's old-fashion; actually, I feel like they've really stayed with what's in style right now.

Another thing that amazed me was the talent. These people are so good at what they do. Music is second-nature to them. They live it. They breathe it.

And lastly, they were so passionate about their music! Because of Covid, they took a break from performing. But now they're back, even better than before, and they're pumped. It was so obvious that they wanted to be there. They wanted to perform. They wanted to share their passion, their love, and talent for music with all of us. 

I am so glad William and I went to see them. I would definitely go see them again.

 

Illuminations

It's become one of my favorite Christmas traditions! Illuminations drive-through for the win! In our pajamas!

Piano Recital

Wellllllll, we forgot one of Taylor's books at home, so he was only able to play one of his two songs (oops), but he, Logan, and Alexis all did great at their piano recital. I am so proud of them!

 

Kendall's Haley Cheer Competition

I looooove watching Kendall strut her stuff at cheer competitions. She really loves it. And she's really good at it.

Haley Elementary and Ryan Elementary tied for first place in the dance portion of the competition, then Haley won second place for the cheer portion and Ryan won first place.

 

Kendall's Favorite Things Party

We've been going 4 years in a row with Kendall's Favorite Things Party, and I love it! Not everyone who's been coming could make it this year, but we still got a pretty good turnout with 7 girls! They ate pizza, made ornaments, and opened up presents. Then they played some Minute-to-Win-it Games. The girls got pretty competitive. Kendall, Berkley, Camryn, and Layla were the Savages. Graci, Brynlee, and Ashley (and Alexis) were the Rainbow Hop. Things got a little mean... feelings got a little hurt... but overall, I think the girls had a lot of fun!

 

November happenings

Little visit at Haley to hear the kiddos sing for Veterans' Day. I didn't see Taylor- he probably hid in the back, pretending to be signing behind his mask.

And I got to have lunch with Logan at his school.

Miss Felicia shared this picture of Alexis and Every working so hard on their stretch. It's beautiful!

I've known of Kiri my whole life, but we never met. Her mom, Anita, was one of three missionaries who taught the gospel to my parents, over 42 years ago, in Belgium. Kiri has the same birthday as me, but she's a year older.

She used to live in Mesa, so she decided to bring her kids down for the Mesa Temple Open House. I was excited when she reached out to me, asking if we could meet. We decided to meet at the Gilbert's Farmer's Market. 

Coincidentally, Kiri and Laura used to be roommates for a semester, and Laura used to be in our ward, so we all met together at the Farmer's Market.

Sunday best.

Twinsies.

School pictures: Logan (6th), Taylor (6th), Kendall (5th), and Alexis (Kindergarten).

Just had to show how long Kendall's hair is getting.

I chaperoned a special trip to the grocery store. Yep. 5 kids from each 6t grade class got picked to walk over to the grocer store, buy as many turkeys as they could with $100, and then donate them to a homeless shelter. It was pretty cool, actually. And it was nice to get to know some of the kids Logan goes to school with. Nico, Logan, Matthew, (forgot), and Katelyn.

The Kindergarten had a special Friendship Celebration. It was fun to see Alexis sing, dance, and floss.

William and I went to another Suns basketball game. It's fun when the Suns are on a winning streak. And this time they beat a huge team; the Golden State Warriors.

And at haftime, Brooke Simpson sang. She was on America's Got Talent and ranked 4th, I think. She's pretty dang good.

Logan walks around school with books on his head. It's his special talent, which got him his own post on the Ryan Instagram page.