We kicked off 2026 with some wonderful family time because Peyton came home from his mission in Ecuador! It was so sweet to be at the airport when he arrived and it was so sweet to get a hug from him. He is one amazing guy and we had a few night with family before everyone had to go back to college and school.
We enjoyed the last thing to do for our Get Out Pass and went to the trampoline park. The girls always have fun and we are excited that we got the pass again for this next year to enjoy.
Our ward was in charge of a tri-ward amazing race. We pretty much had 3 days to plan and prepare it but we did it. The activity was so much fun and was amazing. We had about 30 youth show up which is a great number for us. I put a lot of time, thought, effort, and love into it and I love that it turned out.
The youth started by dividing up into teams and then each team had to find 5 little Jesus figurines that were hidden around the church. Then they had to either make homemade butter by shaking a small jar or heavy whipping cream or three team members had to eat a whole jalapeno. It surprised me that most of the teams chose to eat a jalapeno. So many of them came out of that room crying and running to the drinking fountain for some water. Then they each had to clean a panel of windows in the foyers, match the picture of the temple with the location, and then put the books of the Old Testament in order. Then in the gym there were three challenges to complete before finishing the race. They all worked together and it kept everyone mostly engaged. We had refreshments from around the world and it was a success!
Nate has been buying replacement Tupperware lids for year and he has listings where there is a whole bunch to choose from and he decided that it would be best for each of them to be listed individually. So we got all the lids out of the garage and I helped him get them all organized and listed. It took some time but was worth it.
Baylor got sick pretty much within the first week of going back to school after winter break. So she had some time at home with McCall and I and she made this Chase costume out of paper for McCall. It was very creative and even had a backpack that had wings that folded out so she could fly.
Then of course McCall caught the sickness bug which means falling asleep on the couch and Mom sleeping on the couch with her so she could breathe and so I didn't have to get up a million times to help her. It allows Nate to sleep since he has to work and I can be right by her whenever she whines throughout the night.
We have had some fun science experiments going on this month. A bird died a few months ago and has been in our yard and it finally decomposed down and Baylor thought that it's bones were so fascinating and she loved looking at them in her microscope she got for Christmas. Baylor also cracked open the two geodes she got for Christmas. One had quite a big of dirt it in that she had do wash out but the other was was gorgeous. And right now she is working on growing some crystals with a kit we found at the thrift store.
We have had some pretty nice days for January so occasionally McCall and I will make our way over to the park and feed the ducks, play on the playground, and enjoy the gorgeous view of the lake.
Baylor got a hold of the camera one day and took pictures of things that she loves. She has quite the collection of rocks and art in her room.
A few more pictures by Baylor.
Paige finished up her last year of gymnastics at the middle school level. She competed on floor and beam at the Varsity Meet and did amazing. Her team ended up getting third but was SO close to getting second. We went to an end of season banquet and Paige got the Coach's award. She loves gymnastics and is sad it is over.
Baylor and McCall kept busy on the bleachers while we watched the gymnastics meet. McCall loved going to the top and I got the top right picture and it reminded me so much of this picture I got of Paige (bottom right).
Paige loves to find recipes and new things to try and do on Pinterest and made these pretzel bites. They turned out so good and we ate them all in one sitting.
We were able to have our first youth temple trip of the year. It was one of our young women's first time going and it is always a sweet experience to see someone go through the temple for the first time.
We had another fun young women's activity of making homemade donuts and painting mirrors.
Paige has been wanting a guitar for quite awhile and my parents have one that they were willing to give to her. We originally were going to get it in April when we were going to meet up with them for spring break but then we met them in Boise for the dance competition so Paige got the guitar early. She is so excited about it and has been tinkering around on it and watching YouTube videos about it ever since.
We got to enjoy a 15 cent hamburger this week. Dick's has a special every year to commemorate their opening and you get to buy a hamburger for the original price when they first opened. So we got 5 hamburgers for less than a dollar which was incredible. We met up with our neighbors and enjoyed visiting and dinner in our van since it was cold outside.
Then we had our annual chopped combined youth activity. This was the first year that I got to be a judge and it was a fun experience. Paige's team won again and she has won every year since she has been in young women's. We'll see how long she can keep her record going.
One evening we went to the STEAM night at Baylor's school. Baylor has been looking forward to it all week. Baylor and McCall had lots of fun and did quite a few activities.
Friday evening, Nate and I went to the temple to support Mikey as he went through the temple for the first time. It was really sweet to be in the celestial room with family and ward members. It also made me pay attention more since I was wondering throughout a lot of it what Mikey was thinking being a first timer. We haven't done endowments for awhile so it was good for Nate and I to do that and I even printed off some family names to do. Paige was a rockstar and babysat for us. It is nice having a teenager in the house! She got them to bed and even had the house all cleaned up. She is a keeper!
Then to end the month of January, I went shopping with some of the young women and we got some hygiene items with money that was donated for our ward service project. For being a small ward, we got quite a few items to donate to Vine Maple Place.
Today was a beautiful day and it got up to 60 degrees! As a family we went to the park and walked around the circle while Paige and Baylor rode their bikes. It was sweet to play outside for a bit. We are ready for spring even though I'm sure February has other ideas.
Happy January!
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