Flake Foursome

These last couple of weeks have been quite the ride. It was so good to see all of you on our recent trip. Thanks for making the effort to come and a special thanks to Dad and Mom for hosting everyone.

Since getting back from Utah we have been trying to recover our health. But we seem to be on the mend. We all still have a lingering cough but we're working on getting over that as well.

The weather since we returned has been less than ideal but the sun is shining today so perhaps we'll be able to go on a walk.

Manning Moments

It has been a while since I wrote but I always love reading your posts. I just don't feel like we have much to share most weeks. As many of you also experienced this week, we enjoyed the flu to the fullest. Wesley and I were in bed all week but Chet and Nick have seemed to escape. Thankfully Nick could get a sub and so I could rest but I sure don't like to be down long. We are all a little grumpy and tired of being shut in. I took Ruth's advice and looked at some Minimal mom videos while I was in bed. I was quite inspired and plan to throw everything away. I didn't even realize I needed that but I was so refreshed by everything I watched that I think I need to make some changes.
Nick is enjoying work and can hardly wait to go to Frontsight in a couple weeks. He has been totally engrossed in plans for that since the beginning of the year. He sure loves it.
It was so good to see Jenn and the Harts and Nilsson's last week. I sure love our family and can't wait for the family gathering!

Hart Happenings

Greetings all!  It has been so long since we last wrote that I'm not even going to try to catch you all up.  Luckily Ruth and Mom covered a lot of our goings on, so I will just state briefly that we enjoyed SO MUCH having Joe's family come up for a weekend.  Lori is such a good sport as I dragged her to a yoga retreat that I had signed up for.  She got to meet a bunch of my favorite friends and was up for everything which made it really fun!  Also, seeing Jenn was really the best.  She is raising some adorable babies!  And the Flake's 2020 news blew my mind!  Happy day!  Having Lauren there was a surprise.  I totally wasn't expecting that but it is so fun to see her and the boys.

Returning home sick was NOT my favorite thing.  Luckily no one else was afflicted and the boys took really good care of me.  It just has taken a while to kick this virus but I think we're finally turning the corner.

We celebrated Alex's birthday this month. He is so much fun!  But he was feeling all thirty seven of his years that day.  All the aches and pains.  He asked the boys "are you sure I didn't turn 73 today?"  What a kidder.  Ian made him a 4 ft. long China Wall cake and Addy helped him with the frosting part while Ruth added the finishing details.  Quite the team effort!

The boys started a new aerial maneuvers class which sounds like something Dad would be all over, but this is just flips and twists to "enhance" their parkour experience.  Ian also got recruited to do a promo video for the boys' gym.  He got dressed up in a Cat in the Hat costume and snuck around the gym playing on all the equipment.  It was pretty entertaining.

Jack spoke in church for the first time today and did a bang up job.  He spoke on honesty and shared a newspaper article we found on Family Search about Thomas Belliston.  Pretty cool!

We got some new baby chicks this week and it is so fun watching them and seeing the boys go through the process of picking their names.  Peter is the best momma to those little birds.  He observes them for hours and takes such good care of them.

The snow fort behemoth has been amazing.  Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the building of this structure that will probably last through June in our front yard.  It was so much fun to make and brought hours of entertainment this winter.

Ian has also been making delicious things.  He found a book at the library that has a recipe from each of our United States.  This one was Blackberry Buckle from Montana. Delicious!

And last but not least, Jack's first trip to the temple.  I think I posted about that already but here is the proof!

Happy February everyone!  Looking forward to seeing some of you at Grant's baptism this weekend!
And congrats to Thomas and Victoria.  That news totally made my month!

Smithfield Scoop

Wow! What a couple of weeks! We were so absolutely thrilled and delighted to have Dad return home from Arizona on Monday (Feb. 10) with Jenn and two babies! Emma and I had been waiting and getting ready all day. They stopped to see Joe and Lori's family on their way and finally showed up here at 9 or so in the evening. We got to visit for a few minutes and help Jenn get the bottles and beds ready for the night. The fun began the next morning when everyone woke up and we got to play and talk with and hold and feed Rosie and Rand all day long. Jenn is amazing and happily devotes herself to their every need. They have no idea how exhausted their mom is and they just keep the demands coming constantly! But when they smile and respond, it is enough to melt your heart - so we just continue to devote every waking moment to them 😍

Things just went from better to best when family began arriving to see the celebrated visitors. Lauren and boys came Wednesday afternoon, then the Harts arrived Thursday at lunch time, and the Nilssons at dinner time that day. It was delightful to hear Jenn and Scott reveal their "news" to each family who came. So interesting to watch and listen to the responses.... "What??!!" "Are you telling the truth?" "That's amazing!" "Oh, my. That makes me tired for you!" The classic was Elise... "So, Scott (who was on the phone with Jenn), what are your plans for 2020?" "Well, we thought we'd have a baby." "That's a great idea! Wait. Is that an announcement?" Jenn nods and Elise shoots up out of her chair. "Really? Jenn! Wow! Really? I've got to call Alex!" Now Alex is on the phone with Elise, Jenn and Scott listening in. "So, Alex. Guess what Jenn and Scott are doing in 2020." "Having a baby?" "Ooooh, Alex. How come you know things like this?." "Just sounds like a good idea. So are they going to try for that?" "Alex, they are having a baby. Like in September." "They are?!"..... It was so classic! And such wonderful, miraculous news! It's hard to describe how very, very grateful we are for this sweet miracle. We may be spending the fall in Arizona!!

After three wonderful days together, the departing time was not as joyful. It seems that everyone who came to visit went home sick. Not just a few of them. Jenn had a stomach issue, which made it quite uncomfortable for her to travel home. Then the babies and Scott all had fevers and Jenn cared for them until she also succomed to the sickness. They are still dealing with a persistent cough. Elise, Lauren and her boys, Eliza, Henry and Dad all got some variation of the fever, sore throat, headache/body ache yucky gombu/wog. Dad was in bed for about 3 days and is still a bit draggy. Fortunately, bodies eventually overcome viruses and everyone is now feeling better. Some still have coughs, but most are doing much better. We hope this experience will not cause anyone to question whether or not to attend our April family gathering! By then we hope all terrible germs are eradicated and that we can look forward to a delightful, warm, happy, healthy time together.

Emma has decided to remain in the home ward and received a calling today. You can ask her about it. She is going to California next week for her spring break. Because her friends abandoned her at the last minute, she will be all alone there for three days (except for the 39.5 million people who live there!). Dad and Ian are going to her rescue and will drive 12+ hours to join her in San Diego - the day after Ian turns 14 year old!! They will all get to spend a few days together on the beach, at the temple, and doing other fun things. Emma will then fly home, and Dad and Ian will get to drive the 12+ hours back. What we won't do for our family! Emma got the baking itch yesterday and completed this masterpiece today... Grapefruit Poppyseed Cake. Quite delectable!

Well, dearest family, hope to see you again soon. It is the highlight of our day/week/month when we get to see you or talk with any of you! Have a lovely week!

Nilsson News

I was feeling a bit guilty for not posting for a couple of weeks but then when I just got on and saw that we were the last ones to post, I didn't feel bad anymore!  Where is everyone?  No, I completely understand you have all been busy and many of you have been super sick which is no fun at all.
Well, it seems like a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks.
Garrett and I took a quick trip to Arizona last weekend.  Jenn and her adorable littles had been up visiting mom and dad and we got to drive them home on Friday.  For a long twelve hour drive, they did amazing!  It was great being able to visit with Jenn and we hope that she can start feeling better.  She's amazing.  On Saturday afternoon, we ran the Spartan Super in Mesa with Garrett's sister Kate and her husband Budd.  It was a lot of fun but I felt rusty after being cooped up all winter.  I tore my hands open on the first overhead obstacle but somehow I was able to conquer all the remaining obstacles other than the rope climb.  Good times and in a balmy 70 degrees!
While we were in Arizona, the kids got to play with grandma and grandpa and they had a really fun time, the kids that is.
This week we celebrated Henry and Millie's birthdays.  In celebration of turning three, Millie started potty training and is now a pro.  We are now diaper free!  Hallelujah!
Another exciting thing is that we sold our two female foals!  A cute couple from Twin Falls came out yesterday and were so impressed with the creatures and reserved Lu and Nellie.  They will be leaving for a new home in the spring and we are really excited about the folks who bought them.
The kitchen continues to be a project.  Currently, our kitchen sink is the bathtub.  Nothing is in the right place and nobody can find anything they need, but the good news is that our new countertops will be installed tomorrow!

 Happy Birthday to Henry and Millie!

 Take one last good look at our kitchen sink!  It was a bugger to get out.  All the screws were flatheads and were bent and rusted in place.  Garrett couldn't get them to budge.  Solution: we cut the sink out using our jigsaw. 

 This is the current state of things.

Nilsson News

We started the week off playing with some awesome Belliston cousins!  Joe's family came up on Friday and we went over to the Hart's and played and visited and had a great time.  Emma also came up and just when we thought it couldn't get any better it did and school was cancelled on Monday due to winter weather, so we played some more.  Alex held his annual Super Bowl party on Monday and we enjoyed an amazing halftime show by the "Zanadudes" and there were no ladders involved so it was great.  We also endured a heart-wrenching murder mystery show that left me in tears.  Such good times!  Every time we get together we try to conjure up ways to get the rest of you to move up here.  It's like we have tasted something so deliciously sweet that we want to share with all of you and you just don't realize what your missing!  Stop eating brussel sprouts and come enjoy some homegrown watermelon!
I guess I should mention that we had a fun time celebrating Eliza's birthday.  It was kind of monumental because she had a friend's party.  She wanted it to be super elaborate and in my mind it definitely was but we just hope she had an enjoyable time with her ten friends that came over.  Ian was a lifesaver and he and Addy took charge of the games while I took care of other details.  I think I can only handle a big party once every five years or so.
The rest of the week we worked on school and the kitchen.  We are looking forward to this weekend, seeing Jenn and her littles and running our first Spartan of the year down in Mesa.  Should be fun!

 This was my first attempt at doing taping and mudding and this was definitely not a good beginner project for that.  Because of the plaster we were dealing with, we couldn't make the new drywall line up flush and we ended up with uneven surfaces with 1/2"- 1 inch gaps.  Now, in my research, drywall experts consider a "large gap" to be up to 1/4" wide.  Wow.  I had a huge project ahead, but I am happy to report, I finished mudding yesterday and you can't even see the seams!!!!!  Woo hoo!  I don't have any after pics but I will take some soon.  We also got all the walls painted!

 How do you like our new open shelving concept?

Smithfield Scoop

I feel like this entire post should be in BLUE!! Heartiest Congratulations to Thomas and Victoria and sweet BABY BOY!  We couldn't be more delighted for you! Thanks for sharing your wonderful news.

And thanks for the pictures, Jenn! We sure love seeing the babies, and all of the grandchildren, growing up. Speaking of which - Happy 7th birthday to Eliza!! We hear she had a wonderful bunny birthday party. We had hoped to make it there to help out, but were disappointed to not be able to go. Gratefully, Ian came to the rescue and all went well.

We had a good time with the old timers at our Empty Nester's FHE/dinner (at Angie's this time). We went home laughing about the old folks and how funny they are, but the joke was on us when we all went to the eye doctor a couple of days later.... Emma's eyes are fine. Dad needs glasses to help with his farsightedness and astigmatism. His eyes are to the point that he wouldn't necessarily need them constantly, but he would see much better if he wore them all the time. For me, on the other hand, "You need to wear them all day, every day in order to see. You wouldn't pass your driving eye exam at this point." Urrrrgggh! I knew my eyes had changed because I take my glasses off to read most of the time now, but I can't see the road signs when I'm driving until I am right next to them. Anyway, in order to see the road signs and drive safely, and hopefully reduce the number and frequency of headaches, it looks like I will be sporting new spectacles. It will definitely take some getting used to. Dad will be getting glasses, as well.

To celebrate (??) we went to see A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. We could both see the big screen just fine :) It was an excellent show and gave us much pause to reflect and to consider our blessings. Nice entertainment.

We tried all week to get a Chinese New Year gift to our neighbors. They are from Beijing and we wanted to thank them for being such great neighbors - they shovel our driveway every time it snows! But they were never home, or wouldn't answer the door when we went over. So, the gift was a week late, but we finally gave it to them today. The elderly gentleman who answered the door lit up like a child on Christmas morning when we told him what it was for. It was really cute!

Dad had a blast in Idaho last week and was a little jealous of Emma and Joe's family for getting to be there this weekend and finish the snow fort! Here is what it looked like last week when Dad was there. Apparently, it is now finished and a sight to behold. Hope to make it up there before the snow melts, so we can see it and watch the sledding fun!

Have a great week all! Hope to see some of you while Jenn and babies are here...

Flake Foursome

This has been a fairly normal week.  The highlight was definitely getting the letter from th T's. We are so excited for you guys!

The weather was nice enough that we went on a couple of walks toward the end of the week.

Rand is still gnawing on everything he can get his hands on, including our fingers. Robin is still waiting for her teeth to push through. Her little gums are super swollen but she is pretty pleasant.

We attended th annual "ground hog" day breakfast yesterday which is always fun. Scott explained the whole history to the twins before we left which was fun to hear.

We are counting down the days until we see you!  Hope that we can see everyone for at least a few minutes.

Have a great week!!