Smithfield Scoop

So we have been absentee for a little bit.  To recap, we had a nice Christmas season and attended several musical performances and several plays in the valley.  It was quite nice to get out to social events and see folks we knew.  We attended "A Christmas Carol" at Sky View with Emma and Cam.  It was also nice to visit with family members at different times during the season.  We were glad to get into some bookstores and get some books for the grandkids.  That makes us happy.

We enjoyed the visit with the Mannings on the eve of Christmas Eve.  They had a nice passover dinner which we enjoyed with them.  Then we stayed overnight and they joined us at our sparsely populated hotel at Thanksgiving Point and went swimming in the pool the next morning. 

But back at the ranch we spent Christmas day by ourselves, which is a first time event in our lives.  Not highly recommended, but we had a pleasant day notwithstanding.  Absolutely no rush about anything and we got a reasonably good night sleep prior to Christmas.  Not only that, we didn't even pay attention to the new year a week later.  We just forgot all about it.

It may have to do with the fact that Mom was very busy with lots of moms and babies during the holidays and the first part of January..  There was a lot of covid sickness that made that job very much more difficult.  She gets texts at all hours of the day and night.  Mom learned a lot of things she didn't know before and was glad to see some doctors and nurses who were quite helpful when their services were needed.  There were more transfers to hospitals than ever.

We made several trips over the mountain to Star Valley Wyoming and Montpelier Idaho.  We were very glad for our new used all wheel CR-V which helped with snowy mountain roads.  And we are grateful for the snow!

We recently delighted in the visit to our house by the Mannings and can attest to the "crab craze" of those little boys! So fun! We are very impressed with the courage of the Manning mama to buy, inspect and cook that crab! 

Mom recently was offered a room in a brand new chiropractic clinic to have appointments in. It has been somewhat stressful to do appointments at our home, so it will be nice to have another spot for that. Many of the moms live on the south and west part of the valley, which will make it more convenient for them, as well.

Dad has been spending his time chauffeuring his wife around three different states to appointments. He has also been flying on nicer days, which has been a joyful thing for him. He is also learning much from his instructor. He goes to the Brigham City airport since it is less busy. Funny that he has been flying in an airplane that is older than the one he learned in 45 years ago! Hopefully one day soon he will be able to take some passengers around the valley.

Lately, we have had a flock of turkeys hanging out in the trees in our backyard. Did you know that great big turkeys roost in trees?! I don't know why that surprises me, but it does. They forage for a while and then fly off to lower areas - which is an amazing experience to hear. 

Nilsson News

 I've been trying to think of what to write about but sometimes life in the winter is just a little drab.  I agree with Jenn that the square footage of the home shrinks when it's winter.  So, we are trying something new and taking advantage of the square footage above our heads- namely building bunk beds.  Eliza and Millie are getting a new bedroom and Eliza has been asking for a loft bed so we set out to build that.  Because we are stalled waiting for carpet and can't finish the girl's room, we decided to tackle the boys bedroom.  We have had a queen size bed in their bedroom but it took up so much space and Henry ended up being the only one to sleep in it because Emerson couldn't stand sleeping with him (Henry really is a challenge to sleep with, sigh).  We thought it wouldn't be too much of a challenge (famous last words) so we started to rip out the framing of the closet.  That took us clear down to insulation and chicken wire.  It's such a comfort to know that our house is being held together with chicken wire.  Anyhow, we ended up having to drywall, tape and mud before we could start the actual building of beds.  Emma and Cam came up yesterday and Cam helped out with the building project while Emma and I chatted.  We got the dresser that is going to be at the base of the beds installed, and the two beds are in but not finished.  We need to paint and finish trimming things out but for now the kids are having fun climbing all over the beds and taking advantage of a little more vertical space.

I was sick last week and completely lost the use of my voice.  Since most of our homeschooling involves reading aloud, we kinda took a break from that for a bit.  Millie was quite disturbed with my hoarse attempts to talk and said, "Mom, I really don't like you when you sound like that."  I love how honest kids are.  I also have a massive bruise on the side of my knee from contact with our little Ginger's hoof.  We were trying to glue on her corrective shoes and she was not thrilled and laid one on good.  I had a quick flashback of having my knee knocked out of place and had she kicked me a 1/2 inch higher I probably would have been re-living that.  Ah, the good ol' days!

We are mostly trying to survive the blah time of the season but I don't think we will get desperate enough to try crab.  You are amazing Lauren!  We are hoping to go to Mom and Dad's this Friday and Saturday to celebrate Eliza's birthday and hopefully get an ultrasound!  We will keep you posted!

Demo has begun!

This lovely wood floor is under all the carpet upstairs.

It's not falling even with four kids on top!

The kids like climbing behind the dresser into their secret hideout.  Almost finished!  I'll post a photo of the finished product once it's done.

Manning Mahem

 Well, this week has been pretty fun. The highlight of the week was the crab. Wesley is on a crab kick and for those of you who know Wesley well, know exactly what that means. It means that I can't get him to do anything else except think of crabs. We have been through many kicks with him. Anyway, right now it is crabs. He draws them and cuts them out, folds them into origami, anything from kitchen becomes a crab. Anyway, crab stuff everywhere. Well, I went grocery shopping one night and I saw a whole crab. I probably sat there for 5 minutes trying to decide if I should do it. Then I thought that is what homeschool moms have to do and if nothing else it would be a great biology lesson. So the next morning I showed Wesley the crab in the fridge and he we soooo excited! He asked every question he could think of: "Why is one pincer open and the other closed? Did he pinch someone when they caught him? How do they kill them? Do they use a slingshot or a gun?" The questions came all day and he opened the fridge dozens of times before we finally got to cook it. It was a monumental moment for our family. Chet and Wesley loved handling it after we cooked it. Wesley didn't want to eat it for a long time because he was "studying" it. But it was a serious biology class and it was surprisingly good! So it was a good week! Hope you are all doing well!

Flake Fun

She was quite enthralled with the family matters book last Sunday.

James' new 'do'

Robin helping with the haircut prep

Making "concoctions".

Rand: "Look Mom! I'm washing him!!" The boys love playing in the greenhouse with the water table.

 It has been an exhausting week. The weather has been sunny but the wind has been cold and vicious so we have stayed indoors mostly. I think that it is harder to stay in when it looks so nice outside!  House square footage seems to shrink in the winter time.  

All 3 kiddos have come down with the runny nose & cough that is so common to this time of year. Scott stayed home with them today and I went to teach our Sunday School class.  Old Testament us proving to be a challenge with 11 year olds! 

Rand is doing really well with his potty training. Hooray!!!

Rand and James got haircuts this week. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to cut everyone's hair but it looks decent I think. 

Funny story of the week: Robin and I had made a batch of cookies.  A few minutes before they were set to come out of the oven, James woke up and wanted to nurse so I sat down with him. When the time went off I asked Scott if he could help with the cookies. I guess that he didn't hear me. So Robin took the situation into her own hands. She stood up and declared, "Scott, you are not helping." Then she ran over, grabbed his hand and dragged him into the kitchen saying, "the cookies! The cookies!." 

Hope that you all have a great week!

Flake Fun

 

This is a blueberry pie that the twins made. 

These were Scott's boots when he was a baby. James wore them twice and now they are in the basement for historical preservation! 

Happy New Year

Well, the holidays are over and a new year has arrived.  I am looking forward to 2022 and hope that it will be better than 2021 with lots of visits to Utah.  

We spent a nice Christmas in Snowflake. Scott's siblings came on Friday and left on Saturday afternoon.  It was good to visit and catch up.  The kids made  gingerbread houses and a candy bar train with Grandma Flake which they enjoyed.  

We did some sparklers and a couple of fireworks on Friday night and went to bed early.  I heard fireworks going off until about midnight and then it was finally quiet.

Nilsson News

 The word around here is COLD!  We are having a crazy cold spell that is giving us wind chills that are -20!  It's looking like it will warm up again in the next day or two and we'll be happy to be in the 20's again.  We have also had a ton of snow.  Usually we will get a snow storm one day and then it's done but this storm lasted for three days straight.  Shovel, take a break.  Shovel, take a break.  Shovel, shovel, shovel!  Garrett has thankfully been able to get our tractor started to keep the barnyard scraped.  Addy and Emerson have helped to keep the driveway scraped and it has been quite the family effort.  Once the snow stopped snowing, the wind picked up and created some pretty massive drifts.  It's always exciting here in Idaho!

Christmas was lovely.  We spent Christmas Eve eve, at the Hart's.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner of pitas and citrus salad.  Not quite a passover dinner but a close attempt.  We played games and watched a reenactment of the nativity complete with the a stuffed Olaf as the baby Jesus.  I guess in a household of all boys, baby dolls are rather scarce!  Christmas was enjoyed at home and we tried to make it last as long as possible.  Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are looking forward to another great year!

Manning Mahem

 Well, life is just going by way too fast! The new word at our house is Supercalifra.......you know the rest. Chet sings it all day long! We listen to it all day long! And some like it more than others.

Christmas was a great time! We had Grandpa and Grandma come two days before and have a passover dinner with us which was so fun. They stayed the night at a hotel and we went swimming there the next day. We had a Christmas Eve dinner at Nick's parent's house and played there. Christmas was relaxed and lovely. The kids had a blast. We have had snow this year which is rare and we have taken full advantage of it. The kids have been sledding several times and that has been a highlight. 

The boys are all growing in so many ways! Wesley is reading very well and has a fantastic memory. He remembers everything! Chet has been learning his letters and sounds and writing his name. Gus has two teeth through and two more coming. He has tried his hand at eating and he absolutely loves it! It is so fun to see his enthusiasm for everything and food has just been a happy thing for him! He is so close to crawling which is crazy and I'm not ready for that! Nick has a new office and classroom which he is happy about and trying to get that organized before school starts on Wednesday.

We now have 9:00 church which is lovely. Chet is in primary now and he is totally comfortable and taking command of it. He answered every question and volunteered for everything! So did Wesley now that I think about it! So cute. Hope you are enjoying a new year and all your resolutions!