Saturday, November 14, 2020

Quarantine Week 35 (Hair, Profiles, Peterson Family in McCall)

 On Monday I did a half up hairdo and used a scrunchie to finish off the pony. I really loved how it looked and it gave me a Stephanie Tanner Full House vibe.

On Wednesday Avy, Rylee and I were talking about our profiles and I took some pictures of their profiles so they could see what they looked like. Kefford had to make his mark in our conversation and in the pictures we took and showed off his favorite profile. 

On Thursday after Kefford got done with his stake meeting we drove up to McCall for the annual Peterson Family McCall week. We stayed in a condo with Bob and Alison and I really liked it. Kefford's siblings were all in Condos really close and since we were in "Grandma and Grandpa's" condo we were in the condo where everyone congregated to. It was fun to have my kids cousins and Aunts and Uncles pop in and out. We rarely had to leave our condo to see anyone. 
Friday Avy and I went to the store with Bob and Alison and it was snowing pretty hard. Avynlea did not have any snow boots so she got creative and made her shoes waterproof with some bags she found in the car. I love her creativity and thought she looked pretty adorkable. :)
It was fun for Ryker to have his Uncle Trevor around so the two could play video games with each other.
Kenedy had told me that she wasn't going to be coming to McCall but she surprised us by riding up with Trista. It was fun to have her around for the weekend!
It snowed a ton while we were in town and the kids had so much fun playing in the snow with all of their cousins. They built snow forts and had snow ball fights and had fun running around and chasing each other. It was a fun sight to see!






I had fun watching my kids interact with each other and their cousins. Family time is always the best time!

Kylie, Andrew and Trista made a giant snowman and they needed someone to help put the gumdrop smile on. Avynlea the cheerleader was recruited to stand on Trista's back and try to get that smile put on. 
Avynlea and I went over to Ahitney's to visit with her for a bit and Kinsley fell asleep in Avynlea's arms. It was so sweet to see this big cousin love on her little cousin.
Later in the afternoon Avy, Rylee and I went with Whitney and her family to make use of the pool along with Brielle, Qiana and Tayvia. The pool was cold and while I did get in I didn't last very long. I do not like cold pools, pools need to be at least 80 degrees for me to want to spend more time in them. Avynlea continued on with her quirky dressing and wore her cheer jacket in the pool for a little bit, I tell you the water was not warm at all.

The girls again had a lot of fun playing with their cousins and enjoyed being in the pool with them.



As we were leaving I didn't want to put my pants back on over my swimsuit so I threw my coat on and my snow boots and was ready to get back to our warm condo. Maybe Avynlea gets her quirky style from me...hahaha


Saturday morning Bob took all of us out to eat at the Pancake House which was super nice and generous of him. Once again the members of my family didn't remember how big the servings were and we got way too much food. We all took home leftovers and were able to eat breakfast every meal for the next two days.


Later that day Kefford and I took the girls to the Christmas House to look at all the fun stuff and then we stopped at the lake to get some pictures. Avynlea and Kenedy went down to the shore to take their pictures leaving the three of us at the top. Rylee didn't want her picture taken so I had her take some of Kefford and I and called it good.
When we got back the girls changed into their suits to go swimming while the guys changed into athletic clothes to go play basketball. I did not go swimming again and after watching the girls for a while ai ventured off on my own to go watch Ryker and Kefford play basketball for a little bit. It was fun watching them play together and I am glad Rykers and Kefford have each there to do these guy things.
After he was done playing Basketball Ryker came and played in the pool for a bit.
At some point Dustin and Avynlea decided to race to see who the fastest swimmer was and although Dustin came close Avynlea was able to beat him every time!

Heading back to our condo Avy and Ryker didn't want to change out of their suits so they rode home in just their towels and I thought they looked funny standing outside the door waiting for someone to unlock it and let us in.
We had a really great time in McCall and are so grateful we were able to be up there for a little bit with the rest of the family. We drove home Sunday morning and it was not an easy ride home. I was getting a migraine and feeling really sick. As soon as we got home I went to bed to try to sleep off the migraine. It helped but I was not feeling great for the rest of the day.
We were able to listen to our Ward's Sacrament meeting which is one nice thing about this pandemic. Even though we couldn't be there in person I am grateful for modern technology to make it so that we can still listen in.






Sunday, November 8, 2020

Happy Birthday Elizabeth and Ryker!

 This year Ryker and my birthday fell on a Sunday. Not my favorite day to have a birthday, I want to go out to eat and do fun things all of which you can't really do on a Sunday. But it ended up being a pretty great birthday and I had a lot of fun celebrating with my family. This was a pretty big Birthday for Ryker as it was his 18th Birthday, I cannot believe he is 18, it seems a little surreal and hard to believe with how fast the years have gone by. We watched church at home as a family and then the kids all went to the church for their Young Women and Young Men classes. Kefford and I watched our Gospel Doctrine class on the computer. 

After church I was craving chocolate chip pancakes and bacon so that is what we had for lunch. Kefford and the girls made it for Ryker and I and it was delicious and hit the spot just right. As I was perusing Instagram I saw that Kenedy had posted Birthday messages for Ryker and I in her stories. She is so sweet and they were the perfect messages to receive from my beautiful college student.

For dinner we had steak, homemade rolls, edamame and cantaloupe. I found a recipe for rolls on Instagram I wanted to try and they turned out ok. I think I needed to let them rise more but they tasted just fine. After we ate and cleaned up Ryker and I got to open our presents. 
Gummies and $20 from Grandma Bonnie for Ryker

Rylee really wanted to buy me a birthday gift with her own money. I didn't want her to use all of her money on me and since I didn't know what she was going to get I gave her $10 to use. She went with Avynlea and her friends to the mall on Friday and was very excited to give me the gift she picked out. I gave her a couple ideas of things I like but had no idea what she ended up getting me. She picked me out my favorites chocolates from See's Candy and I was really excited to get them. She is such a sweetie and I love her sweet gestures.
We got Ryker a lego Ferrari which he had fun putting together and Kefford and Avynlea thought it would be funny to wrap up some granola bars and ramen noodles from our pantry for Ryker to open. He thought it was a funny joke.
I got a Little Mermaid Backpack purse, jelly belly, a sweater and a sherpa jacket which Kefford hid a wig inside, it gave me quite the scare. I also got a note in the little Nike box that said "on the way". I had told Kefford I wanted some black Nike tennis shoes and he ordered them but they didn't come in time for my birthday.

Heather sent me this Disney Christmas pillow which I loved and Rylee also loved it and tried to steal it from me, silly girl.
                                 A new jacket and sweater for church as well as a projector.
Avynlea picked me out this cute little mermaid teapot that is just adorable! I have such sweet and thoughtful girls!

Ryker has been wanting a jean quilt and I decided I would make him one for him for graduation. I got started on it but was having difficulty working on it with the kids being around so I made a sign and locked myself in the upstairs TV room and got to work. Ryker was a very curious boy and kept asking what I was doing but I kept telling him to read the sign and leave me alone. I was thinking about giving it to him for Christmas but decided to give it to him for his 18th birthday. He was very excited to open it and loves it. I am so glad that I could make him a gift that he will be able to take with him when he leaves.

We got a funfetti cake this year with rainbow chip icing, so yummy!


And some funny outtakes of our crazy family. 

5 things I love about Ryker:
1) Ryker is a very talented artist and I love when I get to see things that he draws. He started a YouTube channel in which he shows himself drawing a picture and has it set to music. It is actually pretty cool and I really like that he does it. I think it's cool that he inherited this talent from my Dad and I love that he likes to draw so much.

2) Ryker is a very hard worker and has managed a 4.0 gpa throughout High School. I love that he is such a hard worker and takes his studies so seriously. He does not always enjoy his classes but I am really happy that he wants to maintain a high grade average, he is such a smart kid.

3) Ryker has a very strong testimony of the Gospel and wants to always do what it right. He gets really upset with himself when he does make mistakes and he tries hard to do better and be better. I love when he blesses the sacrament in church and we have been extra blessed to have him be able to bless the sacrament for us in our home while in Quarantine. 

4) Ryker is a very grateful child and always shows appreciation for the things we get him. He is quick to say thank you for things and shows a lot of gratitude in all things.

5) I love how much Ryker loves outdoor things like dirt bike riding, basketball and shooting guns and I also love how he likes to nerd out playing video games. I feel he is the best of both worlds and I am glad he is able to enjoy himself in so many different settings.




Saturday, November 7, 2020

Quarantine Week 34 (Dio de los Muertos, Christmas Tree and Ryker at Work)

On Sunday I was so excited to celebrate Dio de los Muertos or in other words Day of the Dead. It's a holiday my Mom started celebrated a couple of years ago and this year I wanted to jump on the bandwagon! I got pictures of my Dad, my Grandparents and Keffords Grandparents who have passed on and then collected their favorite food. Rylee helped make colorful decorations and after the Halloween festivities I cleared off our entry table and set up our ofrenda. As I was setting up the pictures I was thinking about the Men and Women in them, how much I loved them and how grateful I was for their Christlike examples in my life. I love this holiday and being able to reflect and remember our ancestors. 
During dinner we FaceTimed with Kenedy and we all shared stories and what we remembered about my Dad and our Grandparents. It was a special time and I am glad we were able to include Kenedy. After we got everything cleaned up we each got a plate of treats and then watched "Coco" as a family. I have never seen the movie before but knew it was about this holiday so I wanted us to watch it together. It was so good and I fell in love with the movie, the music and the meaning. It was all about remembering our ancestors and not letting their stories and memories die. We need to talk about them often and keep them in our hearts.

Grandma Marge: Chocolate covered almonds, Grandpa Farrell: Pineapple Upside down cake,
Grandpa Max: Fig Newtons

Jerry: pinwheel cookies

Grandpa Don: Pumpkin Bread, Grandma Charlene: Chocolate cake,
Grandma Winnefred: Popcorn Balls

I stopped my Michaels on Monday to see if they had any Dio de los Muertos decorations on sale, I was looking for a wreath for next year. I didn't find the wreath but I did find that they had Christmas Trees on sale 50% off. Rylee is our Christmas lover and I thought she would love having a tree in her room. I found her a small one and brought it home and as soon as she saw it she had it out of the box and set up, she loves having a tree in her room and it looks really cute in there.
Ryker has been working at Panda Express for a couple of months and he made a comment to Kefford asking why we haven't come to see him at work. After dance on Friday we decided to order some food online from Panda and then went to go pick it up and see Ryker in action. He was busy cooking food and didn't see us at first but we got his attention and I was able to get a few pictures of him at work.