Ice Skating

My sister, Sharon, has an ice rink by their house.  It has really cheap open rink time on Saturdays, so my brilliant sister invited us up.  I don't know why it's taken this long, but the last time anyone in our family went skating was with Great Grandpa Robertson right before he died.  3 of our 4 kids have never done it before.  They all LOVED it.  They were all so sore the day after, but they definitely had a blast.  Sam acted like he'd been skating always, Ada did too.  Evelyn and Seth both got to where they could go on their own, but both preferred a hand to hold.  

This sweet baby kept everyone busy.  Every time they passed her, they all had to play with her through the glass.  She was so excited every single time.

My parents hung out with the littles, I walked back and forth between being needed by my 2 youngest and chatting with adults, Sharon took care of littles and Brad and Jer skated with kiddos.  Such a fun day. 

We're missing Uncle Brad and Vivien in the picture.  They got out to the ice just after this.... missed it by just a minute.

New Year's Eve 2020

We usually go to the Robertson's for a New Year's Eve party.  This year we hosted our friend's, the Komens, and family for a game night.  It was so fun and Madeleine told me that being on their own for Holidays is their life.  Her Dad has Parkinsons, her brother lives far away, and her husband's family is mostly out East and are Jewish so they don't always celebrate the same holidays.  She says that it was fun to spend the evening together and it's fun not to feel always on your own.  I agree.  Even though we still have a lot of family involvement and family present, it's so nice to be with them.  It was the perfect party for Seth's night shift body clock.  (My Mom and Janelle came earlier and left when they were tired). Seth usually goes to work at midnight... not this time!  Jer, Seth and I started a game at midnight.  I finally called it quits at 3 am and the boys not long after I went to bed.

We're ready for a new year and I'm excited to see all the good things to come.

Sledding in Drapper

During Christmas Break, one activity that all the kids agreed on was that they wanted to go sledding.  Poor Utah Valley didn't have any snow, so we went around to where they did.  They had beautiful snow, and no one was out it in... because it was super cold.  I swear it was in the teens.  The kids had a blast.  Jer and I took pictures, got them set up and sat in the car to talk while they played.  They lasted longer than I thought they would.  We usually sled with them, but not this time.

This girl has been making this face so much and it cracks me up!

These pictures were through my windshield, so they're a little blue.

The view was stunning.  You could see all of Salt Lake Valley.  

Riley welcome home

We went to Riley Robertson's missionary homecoming.  It was a little different because she was one of 5 young adults that were speaking.  She did a wonderful job. Sam got complimented on his wonderful singing voice again.  Jer had to be over the technical side of the training for the new youth program in our ward, so he wasn't able to come.  The Hansen's couldn't come (maybe because of Walter's current sickness... he was having seizures not long ago from a cold he caught somewhere. This is why they say he can't get sick.  No fun.)  And Judy's immune system still isn't ready for crowds, so we were there by ourselves.  The kids all loved it though.  They got to see the Wards.  They love the Ward family very much, but we haven't seen them much since GGma died.  Their son got hit by a truck the Friday before, but luckily he only broke his foot and nothing else.  You can tell that our kids are going through Robertson family withdrawal.  Ada hung on Riley's every word, Sam hugged Alan and didn't want to let go (Alan wasn't sure where to go with that), and when I asked kids if they were ready to leave after an hour they all begged to stay a little while longer.  They said that it felt nice to be with family.  I loved that so much.  It's very true.

Seth didn't want me to help him get dressed.  He picked out his clothes and dressed himself... both of which are unusual occurrences.  I love it though because he now looks like a little professor.

This sweet woman, who was always sweet, has matured beautifully.  She's on her way to BYU to study a branch of Biology.  She was able to get her required classes before her mission, so she's excited to jump right into her field.  Tanner, her brother, is currently serving his mission in Australia, which is one more reason that we fasted and prayed for them this last Sunday as the country burns.

Before the end of last year

Evelyn warming up on the vent.

Ada and Dad got to go to the Brandon Sanderson Skysight book release.  It was so fun and Ada needs to have her own personal Doom Slug.

NY Pizzeria, our neighbors own a pizzeria in Draper.  During Christmas break we decided to go eat there for the first time. It was really good pizza.  Ada and I asked what they recommended and ended up with their "secret" menu.  They make Brazilian pizza as well as New York pizza.  So yummy!

Sam was helping put away the chocolate that got dipped.  I had dipped some dried bananas.  Sam put them away and labeled them for me.  I loved this and it made me laugh pretty good.  Sam didn't understand why I was laughing until Jer read it out to him. But Mom is bananas... that's for sure.

Jer and I played Firefly with Sam for the first time.  That was fun.

Jay and Emily sent us this Yosemite puzzle for Christmas.  It's a pretty one, but it was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. 

Cute Emma with baby Peter.