Happy 2020 everyone!
I feel like we are just barely starting the new year given the fact that for the first couple of weeks in January we/I was smitten by a foul sickness and languished on the couch for many days. But now we are back to normal and ready to rock and roll.
Jack was ordained a deacon last week and passed the sacrament and was able to attend the temple after a two hour wait on Saturday. He was kind of nervous about the sacrament but made it down his row just fine and didn't spill on anyone so he felt pretty accomplished. The temple was wonderful and we were so glad Addy could go with us and so grateful that Ruth would let Peter hang out at her house while the rest of our fam was at the temple. Jack was also elated to take 2nd place in the Ping Pong tournament at his first deacon's quorum activity. It's so weird that I only have one boy left in Primary...…
Ian attended his cast party for Matilda which was a lot of fun! He was so glad to be able to see his good friends from the play again. It was such a good experience for him.
Peter has been learning all kinds of new games and playing with friends.
The boys had friends over this week to work on the snow fort but it was too cold for the snow to be workable so Alex pulled them on innertubes behind the van down our street. It was so fun! There was a lot of boy yelling that happened and then lots of hot chocolate afterwards.
Jack is playing soccer and basketball now which takes up a good chunk of our weekends.
Peter is looking forward to his Great to Be 8 meeting and gearing up to be baptized in just a few months (GASP!)
The boys are looking forward to our homeschool group starting up again in another week and have been working really hard on their studies. They are learning so much these days and it is fun to observe their interests and try to keep up with them.
Alex has been making good progress on GOALit and has had so much fun working with Joe and their other partner on this project. It has been fun to have Emma and Mom, Joe and Lori and Thomas all participating at one time or another. Good progress being made all around.
Ian and I got to go out and attend church with a really good friends today. She has a little cabin that she and her family live in on the weekends completely off the grid and it was so fun to see their set up and bear witness to their ingenuity. People are SO clever!
Anyway, it is such a treat to see all the fun photos of projects that you all are working on and I feel lucky that we get consistent photo updates of the cutest babies in the universe! Keep those coming! It's so nice to be connected even if we can't all live across the street from each other. But I am going to back Ruth up in her encouragement of Jenn and Scott to do just that! Come on up! It would be the absolute best to have you. That's it. I'm going to start sending you listings...….Lauren, Joe, T's, the same goes for you.
Hope everyone is staying warm and dry and safe.
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Nilsson News
Well Flakes, if Scott is itching to build a house, I can look into details as to how much the lots are across the street from us! Can you imagine living across the street from each other?! Woot, woot!
The weather this week has been C.R.A.Z.Y!!! (Flakes, do not let this story scare you or deter you in way from moving up here) Schools were cancelled four out of the five days of the week because of blizzard conditions that closed down roads all over the town. Cars and buses couldn't go anywhere, the interstate was closed in places as were the highways. On Monday, I went out to shovel down the drift that builds up in front of our garage so Garrett could get to work. The drift was easily four feet tall. Out on our street, a car had gotten lodged in a massive drift that was blocking the road and five other cars were stuck because there was no place to turn around. Three large moving trucks decided to try to go around the stuck car and of course, they all three got stuck and really blocked the road. A tow truck was parked near our driveway and I guess he was trying to figure out who to help first. Another car saw the blockage ahead and decided to turn around using our driveway which I hadn't shoveled out yet so he got stuck. The wind was still blowing at 30 mph and a snowmobile guy was having a blast going all over the place. Garrett finally made it to work three hours late. That has been the weather this week.
It is hard to tell in this picture, but all those trucks are trying to rescue the big moving trucks that jack knifed all over the road (see Jenn, the fun adventures you'd have living across the street from us?!).
Anyway, aside from the crazy weather, the inside of our house looks like a windstorm went through it as well! Dust is still all over the place and the majority of our kitchen supplies are now residing on our fireplace hearth. Yesterday, our wonderful neighbor came and helped us redo all the electrical work that was up in the soffit area. He and Garrett ran into several things that were not up to code and it is amazing that our house hasn't burned down (if Scott lived across the street from us, he could help us with all of our electrical issues!). Drywall is next and is sitting in our hallway as I type this. Millie thought it was quite fun walking the narrow pathway through the hall. We were actually just trying to make more of a visual with our Lehi's Dream discussion this week. Drywall makes a great visual.
Now you see them (the cabinets)....
...Now you don't!
Hope you all have a lovely week!
The weather this week has been C.R.A.Z.Y!!! (Flakes, do not let this story scare you or deter you in way from moving up here) Schools were cancelled four out of the five days of the week because of blizzard conditions that closed down roads all over the town. Cars and buses couldn't go anywhere, the interstate was closed in places as were the highways. On Monday, I went out to shovel down the drift that builds up in front of our garage so Garrett could get to work. The drift was easily four feet tall. Out on our street, a car had gotten lodged in a massive drift that was blocking the road and five other cars were stuck because there was no place to turn around. Three large moving trucks decided to try to go around the stuck car and of course, they all three got stuck and really blocked the road. A tow truck was parked near our driveway and I guess he was trying to figure out who to help first. Another car saw the blockage ahead and decided to turn around using our driveway which I hadn't shoveled out yet so he got stuck. The wind was still blowing at 30 mph and a snowmobile guy was having a blast going all over the place. Garrett finally made it to work three hours late. That has been the weather this week.
Hope you all have a lovely week!
Flake Foursome
I keep checking the blog hoping that there will be a YouTube link from the Ts with an awesome gender reveal video (or something like that). I fully expect it to be quite the announcement!
This has been a strange week. Scott was summoned for Federal jury duty so he headed to Phoenix on Sunday afternoon. Luckily he was not chosen for the jury so he was able to come back on Monday evening.
The weather is still being temperamental and it keeps us guessing daily on what the day will be like.
I got a humorous phone call the other day from a friend/co-worker. "Hi Jenn. I don't know if you are still getting your emails but I need your effort report for last quarter." Hmmm. Nope, haven't checked my emails since I quit!!
Rand and Robin have both come down with colds so no one is sleeping very well at our house. I think that it is also exacerbated by teething. I am still assuming that they are both teething even though there is no visible evidence other than excessive amounts of drool.
Scott helped a neighbor put up some house trusses yesterday which renewed his desire to build a house. So that could be our next big project. Speaking of, can't wait to see the Nilsson kitchen progress!!!
I hope that you all have a great week. Oh! I'm planning a trip to Smithfield Feb 10-14. I'll keep you updated as it gets closer.
This has been a strange week. Scott was summoned for Federal jury duty so he headed to Phoenix on Sunday afternoon. Luckily he was not chosen for the jury so he was able to come back on Monday evening.
The weather is still being temperamental and it keeps us guessing daily on what the day will be like.
I got a humorous phone call the other day from a friend/co-worker. "Hi Jenn. I don't know if you are still getting your emails but I need your effort report for last quarter." Hmmm. Nope, haven't checked my emails since I quit!!
Rand and Robin have both come down with colds so no one is sleeping very well at our house. I think that it is also exacerbated by teething. I am still assuming that they are both teething even though there is no visible evidence other than excessive amounts of drool.
Scott helped a neighbor put up some house trusses yesterday which renewed his desire to build a house. So that could be our next big project. Speaking of, can't wait to see the Nilsson kitchen progress!!!
I hope that you all have a great week. Oh! I'm planning a trip to Smithfield Feb 10-14. I'll keep you updated as it gets closer.
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Smithfield Scoop
Well, I must agree with Ruth - those Flake babies are pretty darling! And the Nilsson's are magical in what they attempt and what they accomplish! We can't wait to see the end result...
We had a delightful time reading all of the December blog posts a few days ago, since we had not even been on the blog since Thanksgiving. It is a new year and time to repent and do better! So, here we are.
The news of the month so far is a very fun trip that Dad and Emma took to Houston to visit the T's. I was supposed to go, but... yes, I was waiting for a baby. They flew out from Las Vegas at 4:30 p.m. on Dec 31st, and the baby decided to get on his way here at midnight. He was born at 2:43 a.m. and was actually the first baby born in Cache Valley in 2020! (See the link below to read the Herald Journal report of the New Year's Baby) The fun thing about this baby is that he is baby #6 in this family, and the first boy! Can you imagine having 5 older sisters?! Not to mention, the mom was a good friend of Jennifer and Joseph from marching band days...
https://www.hjnews.com/news/
But I missed going to Houston... The highlights of the trip were going to NASA, an aquarium, Galveston on the seashore, Barry's where Thomas works, and seeing the new house where Thomas and Tori live. They enjoyed playing games and watching movies in the evenings. It was warmer than here by a long shot, even when it rained. The Bellistons are great hosts and took Dad and Em to some of the neatest places to eat. It was interesting to drive on some crazy roads and to go to some "Texas-sized gas stations named Buc-ee's." Dad was quite intrigued by the restrooms and grocery stores in those gas stations!
I enjoyed going to Idaho Falls after the baby came, on New Year's Day. It was nice to not be home alone to start the new year. Harts and Nilssons were very welcoming and we enjoyed some book shopping and kitchen demolition. After returning home, I realized I was not feeling well and went to bed with a stomach virus and stayed there for the next two days. It was a most unpleasant bug, but I was very grateful for a miracle associated with that sickness. Even though they returned home very late on Saturday night, Dad got up when he heard me being so sick with some excrutiating stomach pains that I had been suffering with most of the night. I was able to lean on the bathroom counter long enough for him to give me a blessing and as soon as he finished the blessing, the pains stopped and I was able to walk to bed and lie down comfortably and rest. It was truly a miracle for me, a direct result of the priesthood. I hope all of my grandchildren will know and remember this story.
We are loving our Book of Mormon study and hope to post some of our insights and impressions from time to time - and really hope all of you will, too! We can learn so much from each other! We sure love you all and hope you are looking forward to the April Gathering. It will be very fun! The countdown has started....
We had a delightful time reading all of the December blog posts a few days ago, since we had not even been on the blog since Thanksgiving. It is a new year and time to repent and do better! So, here we are.
The news of the month so far is a very fun trip that Dad and Emma took to Houston to visit the T's. I was supposed to go, but... yes, I was waiting for a baby. They flew out from Las Vegas at 4:30 p.m. on Dec 31st, and the baby decided to get on his way here at midnight. He was born at 2:43 a.m. and was actually the first baby born in Cache Valley in 2020! (See the link below to read the Herald Journal report of the New Year's Baby) The fun thing about this baby is that he is baby #6 in this family, and the first boy! Can you imagine having 5 older sisters?! Not to mention, the mom was a good friend of Jennifer and Joseph from marching band days...
https://www.hjnews.com/news/
But I missed going to Houston... The highlights of the trip were going to NASA, an aquarium, Galveston on the seashore, Barry's where Thomas works, and seeing the new house where Thomas and Tori live. They enjoyed playing games and watching movies in the evenings. It was warmer than here by a long shot, even when it rained. The Bellistons are great hosts and took Dad and Em to some of the neatest places to eat. It was interesting to drive on some crazy roads and to go to some "Texas-sized gas stations named Buc-ee's." Dad was quite intrigued by the restrooms and grocery stores in those gas stations!
I enjoyed going to Idaho Falls after the baby came, on New Year's Day. It was nice to not be home alone to start the new year. Harts and Nilssons were very welcoming and we enjoyed some book shopping and kitchen demolition. After returning home, I realized I was not feeling well and went to bed with a stomach virus and stayed there for the next two days. It was a most unpleasant bug, but I was very grateful for a miracle associated with that sickness. Even though they returned home very late on Saturday night, Dad got up when he heard me being so sick with some excrutiating stomach pains that I had been suffering with most of the night. I was able to lean on the bathroom counter long enough for him to give me a blessing and as soon as he finished the blessing, the pains stopped and I was able to walk to bed and lie down comfortably and rest. It was truly a miracle for me, a direct result of the priesthood. I hope all of my grandchildren will know and remember this story.
We are loving our Book of Mormon study and hope to post some of our insights and impressions from time to time - and really hope all of you will, too! We can learn so much from each other! We sure love you all and hope you are looking forward to the April Gathering. It will be very fun! The countdown has started....
Flake Foursome
I am officially done with work!!! Since I didn't walk out of the office on Friday for the last time it is still a bit surreal but I am really looking forward to not pulling out the computer tomorrow.
The weather decided to get really cold again this past week and we even woke up to snow once!
Robin and Rand are getting quite proficient at sitting up and this week Rand rolled from his back to his tummy. I am having a hard time believing that they will be 6 months this week!
The weather decided to get really cold again this past week and we even woke up to snow once!
Robin and Rand are getting quite proficient at sitting up and this week Rand rolled from his back to his tummy. I am having a hard time believing that they will be 6 months this week!
Nilsson News
Flakes win the prize for the most consistant bolg posts and the cutest baby pictures ever!
Dust, dust, dust everywhere! That is what we have been dealing with. Yesterday, Garrett and I tore out the soffits above the kitchen cabinets. Something we realize the more remodeling we do is just how well built our house is. Nails, chicken wire and plaster, oh my! We can't believe how many layers there are. We got the demo pretty much all done and now we have some electrical re-routing that needs to be done. Addy became a little hysterical when we first started doing the demo and declared, "What have you done to my kitchen!" We promised that we would fix it but it would be a bit of a process. We also promised that she would LOVE it when it was all finished but we still don't know if she believes us.
The weather is cold, snowy and bitterly windy. The roads were quite trecherous going to church and coming home, I nearly crashed into the side of our house while trying to plunge through a large snowdrift blockading our garage.
A couple of days ago, I heard a loud crash on our back kitchen door. We are always getting little house finches flying into that window/door so I went to see what unfortunate bird had succumed to that fate. When I looked out, sitting in our stairs was a peregrine falcon! As soon as it saw me, it flew off unscathed. The kids were pretty thrilled when I told them and only wished that I had gotten a picture.
Life is going pretty well and everyone is currently healthy (hip-hip hooray!). Stay warm, stay well, stay true. Love you all!
These pictures aren't nearly as cute or delightful as the Flake babies!
Dust, dust, dust everywhere! That is what we have been dealing with. Yesterday, Garrett and I tore out the soffits above the kitchen cabinets. Something we realize the more remodeling we do is just how well built our house is. Nails, chicken wire and plaster, oh my! We can't believe how many layers there are. We got the demo pretty much all done and now we have some electrical re-routing that needs to be done. Addy became a little hysterical when we first started doing the demo and declared, "What have you done to my kitchen!" We promised that we would fix it but it would be a bit of a process. We also promised that she would LOVE it when it was all finished but we still don't know if she believes us.
The weather is cold, snowy and bitterly windy. The roads were quite trecherous going to church and coming home, I nearly crashed into the side of our house while trying to plunge through a large snowdrift blockading our garage.
A couple of days ago, I heard a loud crash on our back kitchen door. We are always getting little house finches flying into that window/door so I went to see what unfortunate bird had succumed to that fate. When I looked out, sitting in our stairs was a peregrine falcon! As soon as it saw me, it flew off unscathed. The kids were pretty thrilled when I told them and only wished that I had gotten a picture.
Life is going pretty well and everyone is currently healthy (hip-hip hooray!). Stay warm, stay well, stay true. Love you all!
These pictures aren't nearly as cute or delightful as the Flake babies!
Now you see it...
Now you don't!!! (all you can see now is layers upon layers of dust)
Sunday, January 5, 2020
Flake Fun
The sun has been playing hide and seek this week but today it is shining brightly but there is a bitter cold wind. A majority of our snow has melted but it stuck around longer than Scott remembered ever seeing.
Robin and Rand are getting better at sitting up each day. They are still a bit wobbly but they seem to really enjoy their new ability.
I was so excited that our church schedule moved to 10:30 because I was sure that we could get there on time. I was wrong! Hopefully next week we'll do better.
Not too much to report. We hope that Mom and Elise are feeling better, that Emma and Dad had a good time in Texas and that T&T enjoyed having them. (And that Tori is feeling terrific)
Robin and Rand are getting better at sitting up each day. They are still a bit wobbly but they seem to really enjoy their new ability.
I was so excited that our church schedule moved to 10:30 because I was sure that we could get there on time. I was wrong! Hopefully next week we'll do better.
Not too much to report. We hope that Mom and Elise are feeling better, that Emma and Dad had a good time in Texas and that T&T enjoyed having them. (And that Tori is feeling terrific)
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