For our eleventh anniversary we celebrated by spending the weekend at a local hotel, specifically one with an indoor pool. We went to restaurants and watched videos of Mr. Bean.
At our favorite restaurant, Cafe Rio, with our favorite worker, Shaquira, who was always sure to give us extra lettuce and extra pico.
For Bret's birthday we received this amazing cake, "overloaded with sugar" from a local baker who made it for her husband, but he couldn't handle the sugar. We were delighted with it!
For any early Christmas present I decided we would go back to attending church in person. I'd had enough of Zoom church. We love that church is close enough to walk to, even in the snow.
For New Year's Eve we decided to have 12 different treats in honor of the 12 months. We also did 12 different activities as we counted down the minutes. At least for one more year we managed to celebrate midnight at 8 pm.
Joyce's birthmom surprised us with a visit in early March. We took her to all the favorites, like Jump Around Utah, Children's Museum, The Coachman, and bowling.
We celebrated Ward's birthday with a playdate at the park. He requested his usual fruit basket instead of cake. It sure is easy to share with friends.
At the beginning of the year I started the kids in formal piano lessons.
We were especially excited when our local library opened the doors again to patrons for browsing. Eventually even the play area was put back together. None of our favorite activities have returned, but we managed to at least visit weekly and load up on lots of books.
Joyce performed in a spring ballet and was delighted to have her uncles come watch.
These cuties surprised me for Mother's Day with a sign and decorations in my room. Then the next morning I got breakfast in my room, thanks to Bret and the kids.
Just before Spring Break we upgraded to a mini-van so we broke it in with a trip to Moab. The kids were troopers and hiked to a few arches with us. They also helped us discover a free bluegrass concert each night we were there. Ward actually began to dance on his own and Joyce begged us to buy a CD.
Both kids lost a few teeth this year. Each time they make a request from Bret for a character to come take their teeth. It's sometimes a challenge, but he always comes up with something creative.
For summer break I signed the kids up for various activities. Joyce did rhythmic gymnastics, Ward tried an Ultimate Ninja class, and they both did pickleball and swimming. They also participated in an online cooking class for a week, and Ward became an expert "Power Bomb," as he called it, maker.
I organized a little book club for our long time friends, Mikel and Sophie. We met weekly for about a month to discuss books and elements of stories. We made tie-dye shirts for our final day together.
Joyce's birthday celebrations seemed to never end. She got to go to a fair with her grandparents, spend a day at her other grandma's (watching screens and eating all the good stuff), had the missionaries visit and play laser tag, plus she received a huge package from her birth mom.
For Father's Day, Joyce insisted on making breakfast herself, inventing some dish with noodles, eggs, cheese, and a bit of cilantro.
To celebrate Sarah's birthday, Bret took an idea from Joyce, and tracked down a new Salt Lake City Library mug for her. Or rather, he reached out to our friends at our local branch, and they tracked one down. She also received several "coupons" while following clues to find the new mug.
Earlier in the summer we attended a reunion with Sarah's father's cousins in Idaho. She wanted the kids to meet her Uncle David since he reminds her so much of her dad. We loved hearing stories from the various cousins, but especially loved the spontaneous spiritual sing along we had at the end.
We got to spend time with lots of cousins and even took a quick trip to Idaho to watch Sarah's sister perform in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. The kids loved the live theater and seemed amazed at every new scene.
The kids and Sarah tried to watch some fireworks from the driveway, but we gave up about 10 minutes too soon. At least we got to see some from the bathroom window while we brushed our teeth.
A new park opened up three doors down from us so we attened the grand opening party and participated in the activities, like exploring the river by canoe.
We began helping at a weekly food pickup hosted by our church about a block away. Joyce made her heself a name tag, so she could be like the missionaries that serve there. She's a real help, and we all come home a bit tired and sore, but in better spirits than before.
One thing about our new home is that we're a lot further away from the annual parade on Pioneer Day, but our new ward held their own Pioneer Day party and the kids rode around the parking lot on scooters whiile the adults cheered them on. We've been lucky to make a few friends in the new ward.
We continued to inch forward on finishing renovations on our new home. One of the most visually exciting steps we took was giving the bricks a good cleaning. You can see the difference in this picture - the bottom third is cleaner than the rest - and in just the right light it almost glows a golden color. We also removed the old outer storm windows and gave it a new roof. Everyone comments on how the house looks more alive and bright. We've enjoyed giving tours to the previous owners as well as one man who lived there in the fifties and told us stories about digging out the basement family room. The house continues to occupy much of our attention and we love calling it home.
One day a fire broke out behind our property and got within feet of our back garage. Bret was ready to say goodbye to it when he saw a fireman pop up with a hose and put it out.
The real highlight of our summer was a trip to Idaho with cousins and then a trip back east to visit more cousins.
The three cousins from Florida came for a couple weeks and we got to go on a few adventures with them locally, like Bridal Veil Falls, Sundance Ski Resort, bowling, and ice skating.
Then we all went to Idaho to see more cousins, where we went to a water park, a lake, the aquarium, and just hung out a lot, playing games and cooking s'mores over candles. Joyce was especially drawn to "the three twins" - as she referred to these three teenage cousins.
The kids' favorite part was just playing with cousins.
We got to visit Plymouth Village, tour the Mayflower II, and learned about the Boston Tea Party. The kids loved riding the train and canoeing the river.
In New Hampshire we got to pick blueberries, eat maple ice cream, explore an amazing children's museum, play in the woods, get lost on back country roads, hike the Quechee Gorge, and visit Clark's Bears. The kids have asked to go again next year.
Clark's Bears had a live bear show, climbing wall, water slide, train ride, and the chance to try riding a Segway, which was invented in New Hampshire. I think the kids' favorite part was a Chinese acrobat show.
Not pictured are the classes and work Sarah began doing in July. She decided to go back to school to become a Dyslexia Therapist. Utah is in short supply and it fits perfectly with her background in education. She's had several classes via Zoom and began teaching a "Language Science" class Monday through Friday to aquire hours toward certification. She records several sessions for review and evaluation and should be at a practitioner level by spring. If she continues another round of classes and evaluations she can be at a therapist level in another year or two.
Once home from our trip it was soon time to return to school. Bret and Sarah were excited to have a chance to return to the temple.
The kids and Sarah got to attend their first Giant Pumpkin Regatta with friends. If you look closely in the background of the photo you can see some orange pumpkins in the water.
We attended other festive activities, like the kids' school's Halloween Fun Run. Joyce dressed as a cop, but when it was time for the annual ward Halloween costume party, she opted to dress as a "mom" instead.
We went to a fun pumpkin patch with Grandma. The kids' favorite part was getting buried in corn.
As a family we took a picninc up the canyon to enjoy seeing the leaves change. Every time we go we think we'll have to do it more often. The kids played hide and seek with Bret, and we all loved exploring the water and fallen trees.
We truly are bleseed to live in a beautiful home and beautiful state and be a part of an amazing family. We are aditionally grateful for all the friends and neighbors who enrich our lives. We thank you all for the light you bring to us.
