Sunday, December 28, 2025

Christmas

Monday was crazy busy - I spent the whole day getting everything ready for our Bagna Cauda Party.  It went well - lots of friends and fun and music and of course, yummy food.  I'd invited friends with dietary restrictions - so when we had vegan and gluten free options for food, people were so grateful, it's nice to be able to make people feel welcome and comfortable!  

Tuesday, we passed out cookie plates as a family and sang carols.  It was so much fun as always!  


Tuesday evening, Dan went to hang out with friends, and I had Nicole and Kristin over to do a puzzle with Eileen and I.  I picked this neon one which proved a difficult one, but we had a great time! 



Wednesday, I spent the whole day trying to finish off Christmas stuff for everyone.  I was SO exhausted by the end....  So I went home and was just totally ready to crash.  After getting David to bed, We finished getting Christmas stuff set up and ready for Christmas morning!  


Thursday morning, we woke up to Dan and David running around the house yelling "He's been here!  He's been here! Santa Clause been here!"  in the style of Your's Mine and Ours!  It was so fun!  Then we wore our matching pj's for a picture on the stairs.  Then we finally got down to the business of stockings and breakfast and presents.
 


Grandma and Grandpa got in the afternoon and came over, but they spent a lot of the time wrapping presents.  Then we spent a nice evening dinner with Sandi and my parents and our family!  

Friday we got up and mostly had a lazy morning, then we got together with Sandi and Dad and Mom to open presents.  It was a fun time!  Then we hung out and played games until the evening.  Sandi had something else going on that evening, and Dan and I went with Mom and Dad to Fogo de Chao for dinner.  It was super yummy and fun! 


Saturday, my mom took Eileen and Evelyn out for their Christmas shopping trips, then we met up with all the girls for Pedicures.  Finally we had a nice quiet evening with dinner and chatting, before my everyone headed home, and I headed for open polo with Aaron.  It was a great turn out and we had a blast!  It was much more capable players and actually playing, so it was a lot of fun! 

Sunday was fun and busy.  We had church in the morning, then had fun as a family trying out some of our new games.  Then we went to Sandi's house in the evening for dinner and a final round of opening presents with Taz and Kai.  By that point, a lot of us were pretty exhausted, so we headed home and to bed!  




Sunday, December 21, 2025

School's Out!

David was glad to be back at school after nearly a week out.  I had coaching water polo and swimming.  THills is offering to start paying me for my time coaching now.  Aaron and Evelyn had a swim meet against Beaverton - so we got to see Chris and Luke.  They both swam well - Aaron even managed to get a 24.7 split on his leg of the 200 free relay.  They also swam the exact same events.  It was also fun to see my water polo players who are on Beaverton's swim team! 

The kids had school, mostly, the week was surviving until Dan got back home, but we made it and he got back on Friday with Anna!  We are so glad to have them back! 

On Saturday, Anna and I went to Evelyn's Encore concert with PCO in downtown Portland.  It was awesome!  She did an amazing job - she was playing the flute on one of the numbers in front of a huge audience alongside a professional violinist.  She was amazing!  



Sunday, December 14, 2025

Icky-Sickies and Travel

This week has been crazy.  Monday morning, Evelyn's throat was still really hurting, so I took her into the doctor's to get her checked out.  She tested positive for Strep.  We got her medication and took her home to get her rested and feeling better.  Thankfully, she was feeling better quickly with the medicine!  (Especially since she was already stressing out about missing school and rehearsals and such.  

Then, I went to the high school to put the water polo stuff back in the sports locker there, then grocery shopping and finally picking up David from school.  That evening, he went to water polo - it was a older kids practice, but the younger kids were allowed to join them since their weeked practices had been cancelled for a swim meet.  Blake and Cameron were out of town, so Mark was glad to have an extra coach there helping out.  David was doing great and having some fun diving in to the pool from the side.  Then he saw one of the divers practicing and doing something where they jumped high, went spread eagle, then pulled into a pike position as they entered the water.  He thought it looked awesome and later decided to try it.  He face-planted/belly-flopped/really ouchie hurt.  At first he was just a bit freaked out, then he started crying and I held him while the pain slowly subsided.  Poor kiddo!!  I had thought he was just going to dive in like he had been all evening, but he landed flat out on the water!  

Tuesday morning, David was complaining of a sore throat, so I took the day off work and took him in to the doctor's office to get him tested for Strep too.  The rapid test came back negative, but they said he should stay home from school until the longer test came back.  So David spent most of the week home  from school - and rather bored and missing friends too.  Thursday the test came back positive and so I picked up his medicine after work.  Now at least he's feeling better and ready to go back to school next week!  

Tuesday evening, I went with Aaron and Evelyn for swim practice - they were getting ready for their first meet.  I had a great time helping out with some of the kids strokes and helping the new kids on their dives off the blocks.  

Wednesday was busy with work and workouts and kids stuff.  In the evening was the swim team dinner.  The team provided the main dishes - they got tons of pasta from Olive Garden and of course, the kids brought side dishes and desserts and while a TON of food was eaten, there was (of course) a ton of leftover stuff too.  We sent home a lot of it with Conner and the rest was left here.  To add to our stock of leftover food.  It was kinda nice not having to worry about cooking all of it though!  

Thursday was busy again - we had work and school and such, then after, Aaron and Evelyn had their swim meet.  The meet went well - smoothly for a first meet and the kids did well!  Also, some of my polo players were there on the other team too since we were playing Southridge.  It was fun to see them and cheer them all on!  After, Dan and I went out for dinner at Shake Shack and then to Mountainside for the Winter Fest celebration concert.  It was fun and some of the acts were very good!  Evelyn did an amazing job of course!!  Thankfully she was fully back to feeling better after being sick!  

Friday Dan packed up and headed for the airport to fly to Texas, where as far as I can tell, he and my parents have just been cooking for eachother the whole time....  I think they are all going to put on 10 pounds this weekend, but they are having a blast together!  

Friday night, I took David to water polo - which was good since I was the only coach there.  :)  He had fun and did a great job!  Evelyn had her second Winter Fest concert and it also went well!  

Saturday was NUTS.  I went to swim in the morning, then to the Christmas team party after.  It was a lot of fun and we had a fun little white elephant exchange and great food and fun chatting!  Then I went home and got the kids up to go to the Ward Christmas Breakfast.  We ate (more) and chatted and sang and the kids got to do a Christmas Pinata.  They couldn't get the blindfold to stay on David though!!  




It was fun and yummy!  Then back home for a bit before I headed to Parkrose for water polo.  It was a ton of fun with full court 6x6!  Then after that, I got home in time to do scriptures with the kids and then headed to the church to play the piano for a baptism.  It was beautiful!  Then I headed home, grabbed my stuff and headed to the annual Ugly Sweater party and White Elephant Gift Exhange.  It was a lot of fun - I got to chat with Truman's parents for a bit and hang out with lots of friends!  After the party, I hit Open Polo for the last hour - numbers were SUPER low though, so it was more messing around than real play.  It was fun though.  

Today was wonderful!  Church was great - lots of getting ready for the Christmas Program!  Primary kids are doing great!  Choir sounds amazing and I'm so looking forward to next week!  Then dinner and finally after scriptures, I went with Eileen and David to Evelyns' Encore concert.  It was amazing!!!!  I kept crying at the beautiful music and beautiful message - and apparently David is a sympathetic crier..... I've been a bit emotional today.  

Sunday, December 7, 2025

Holiday Craziness Begins

Kids are back to school and the Christmas Season has officially begun!  Monday was nuts,  Swimming in the morning, then getting David to school and working out, then I had to sneak in the grocery shopping before meeting up for a Ladies Lunch at Pastini.  Then time to get David and in the evening, Dan had his game night, and I went to swim practice with Aaron and Evelyn.  

Nicole gave David an extra Elf on the Shelf that they had, so David brought it home and would wake up in the morning looking to see if it moved during the night.  So the first night, I moved it, but that was all.  The next night, before I could do anything, I found the elf like this.


James has been moving him the last few nights and has been so clever and sweet with it!!!!  



Tuesday, David had a primary activity - they had a great time making cute Christmas Tree decorations and then Eileen and I went to a Relief Society Activity.  We had fun and it was a yummy dinner! 

Wednesday was the usual, swim, workout, work, school youth activities, swim practice.  

Thursday after school, we went to the Bingo Night at David's school.  We had fun, didn't really win much, but had a good time together!  



Thursday the swim team did a mock meet - it was a lot of fun and gave the kids the chance to see what it was going to be like and get a feel for how they are run!  

Friday was a massive swim meet at work, guarding swimmeets is always a bit more stressful.  There were some really obnoxious coaches that kept whistling for their swimmers at REALLY LOUD volume and REALLY HIGH pitched and REALLY OFTEN.  But it was also exciting and fun!  In the evening, Dan and I watched A Knight's Tale with Evelyn.  

Saturday was the usual NUTS.  I took Evelyn to the Winter Market at Mountainside in the morning, then Aaron and I went to Parkrose, then in the evening Eileen and I went to a Craft night and made a cute little nativity scene with a bunch of friends, then I went to Open Polo.  

Today was a great Sabbath.  We had Fast and Testimony Meeting and then Primary.  After, I took a nap until choir.  Choir went well - we've had people coming from Aloha 1st ward for the Christmas program!  It was wonderful! 

Evelyn had her first Encore show tonight - but she has been sick all day, so she didn't sing tonight, she just played the flute.  Hopefully she will start feeling better soon!