January-
We had our annual Pope family Christmas and New Years. Then sadly Justin’s uncle John passed away, we were able to attend his funeral and it was beautiful. The rest of the month was spent doing family things and projects. We finished our fireplace, took the girls on a few family dates, playgroup and trips to the library. Lexi made the 100’s club at school, she can count to 100 by 1’s and 10’s. She is thriving in kindergarten and we love watching her learn and grow!
Justin and I have made it a goal to attend the temple at least once a month this year and it was great to start the new month off right! We also celebrate National Popcorn day by buying movie theater popcorn and the girls loved it!
February-
February 10th- What a fun filled month February was! Lexi’s kindergarten class celebrated 100 days of Learning, she was able to dress like a granny and I have to say how darling she is and was!
February 14- Valentine’s Day we woke up to snow and ice, so we had a snow day no school for Lexi. Justin and I got the girls new blankets, coloring sets and a treat and I got Justin some grill/kitchen meat claws (for shredding meats). To celebrate Valentine’s Day we went to breakfast as a family, then Justin had to go to work. The rest of the day was spent just me and my little Galentines. We went to playgroup at our church, lunch with friends at pizza pie cafe and had heart shaped tortilini’s for dinner. After work Justin brought us girls home some pretty flowers, we are so lucky! Today was a great day!
February 16&18th- Lexi turned 6 years old this month, I can hardly believe it myself! She wanted to do a black light party so we bought some fun decor from hobby lobby, some black lights off of Amazon and a ton of glow sticks. On her actual birthday we finally got to celebrate Valentine’s Day in her class due to 2 canceled school snow days. I bought her class some doughnuts and juice and they had their party, then Hailey and I took her her favorite McDonalds for lunch and when she got home I surprised her with a birthday balloon at the bus stop. That night we had a steak dinner with grandpa and grandma Almond and aunt Dorothy.
That weekend we her had her birthday party with friends. We reserved our churches fun and played glow in the dark games like tic tac toe, bowling and ring toss, we also did freeze dance. We played pass the parcel (a game from the tv show Bluey) had pizza and cupcakes and just let the kids play! I think she had the best birthday!
February 21st we finally got to have our playgroup valentines party for the little kids, Hailey was excited to play with friends and pass out he’s valentines.
February 24th Justin and I had our temple date followed by an impromptu date night to see comedian Brian Regan! He was so funny and had an awesome opening act Steven Rogers that Justin and I are excited to watch on YouTube!
February 27th National Pokémon day! Our local library had a fun event for the kids, they had scavenger hunts, movies and crafts! The girls loved it!
March-
March 4th we took a family day date to Idaho Falls and went to the Aquarium. Lexi and Hailey loved seeing all the different animals and Lexi even braved touching the manatees, she thought it was so cool.
March 17th Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Lexi tried her very best to catch a leprechaun this year, sadly she wasn’t able to, but he did leave behind one of his shoes. He also left a trail of chocolate gold coins and some Lucky Charms. Lexi went to school and afterwards played with some friends while I got our green dinner ready. We had green eggs, fruit kabobs and smoothies.
March 20th Spring Break Day 1: woke up to snow, dang Idaho weather! But we enjoyed our day with a trip to Geronimos and then the library with friends after nap time. Love these crazy girlies!
March 21st Spring Break Day 2: Deleta Stroll and Roll followed by lunch at McDonald’s
March 22nd Spring Break Day 3: Lunch play date with our cute friends at the mall and an ice cream family date!
March 23rd Spring Break Day 4: Justin and I planned a mini vacay to Boise to visit Justin’s sister Melissa and her family, and since we bought the Get Out Pass we planned to use as many things as we could while in Boise. Thursday morning we woke up and headed straight to Melissa’s. After lunch and nap time we took the kids to Fly High Trampoline Park. The kids loved it, they had a variety of trampolines, a zip line, and a giant play place complete with slides and a ball pit! Later that night we went to dinner at Tin Roof Tacos and had ice cream at Fancee Freeze. Lexi got to have her very first cousin sleep over this weekend and she was sooo excited she couldn’t fall asleep until after 11pm.
March 24th Spring Break Day 5: After breakfast we got ready for the day and went to Chick Fil-A to meet up with our friends Dusty, and Courtney and their cute kids for lunch. Sadly we didn’t get any pictures, we were too busy enjoying each others company! When we finished with lunch we headed to Bricks and Mini Figs to make our own Lego mini figurines. They turned out so dang cute! Then we took Hailey to nap while Lexi played with her cousins. We spent the evening playing with cousins, watching movies and had a barbecue for dinner.
March 25th Spring Break Day 6: Started our morning with doughnuts from Krispy Kreme and then we took the kids to play at Planet Kids. This place was pretty cool, it was one giant play place and the kids loved it. We were one of 3 small families for the first 45 minutes which was fantastic. After an hour there we met up with Melissa’s family at Idaho Pizza Company for lunch. After naps we went to the Y to go swimming. It was so fun, Lexi and Hailey had a blast! Lexi was able to do the big water slide 2 times before we found out they had a height restriction, bummer! We enjoyed the lazy river, kiddie pool and hot tub, the kids didn’t want to leave at closing time! For dinner we smoked pork tenderloins and had baked potatoes it was soo good.
March 31 my friends have a month mom mingle watch month and this month my friend Kim hosted. She had a charcuterie board party, she had everyone pick a color and we all made a board to share. It was so cute and yummy!
April 1-2 We spent the first weekend in April with family! We enjoyed general conference, an Easter egg hunt, games, cousin time and yummy food!
April 4th we had a snow day and our playgroup Easter egg hunt, sadly I only have one photo, but it’s a cute one!
April 8th- we spent the morning as a family l, we went to our friends daughter’s baptism and luncheon and after naps we decorated our Easter eggs. Then we took a ride in Justin’s golf cart and played outside.
April 9th Easter Sunday! We woke up to beautiful sunshine and goodies from the Easter Bunny. I made resurrection rolls for breakfast with eggs and fruit, the rolls didn’t pan out like I would’ve liked but the girls loved the fruit and eggs. After church we played out in our backyard while Hailey napped and then went to uncle Matt and aunt Hillary’s for dinner. We had amazing food, another egg hunt and lots of fun as a family! So grateful for our Savior and his atoning sacrifice for us!
April 15th Lexi’s spring soccer season started today, she scored the first goal and is doing great!
April 22nd We had a family date, we went to the children’s museum and the new Super Mario Movie.
April 27th My friends all went bowling and did karaoke it was so much fun!
May-
May 5th Lexi’s school had a color run/fundraiser, each grade was assigned a time slot to run for 25 minutes and parent volunteered to throw chalk powder on them. Lexi was so excited, she asked me everyday for 2 weeks when her color run would be. I was fortunate enough to be able to go and run a few minutes with her and take some pictures for her teachers.
May 6th We celebrated Cinco De Mayo a day later because Justin had to work late the night before. We had a batch of enchiladas and I made Brazilian lemonade to drink. It was yummy!
May 14th- Mother’s Day! I was woken up by my sweet girls and husband wishing me a happy Mother’s Day! Lexi wrote me and sang to me a song, a card and planter a Daisy flower in a pot for me. Justin videoed the girls telling me why they love me, so darling! I got a portable laser hair removal kit from Justin and got spoiled with breakfast in bed! After church we went to his moms for dinner and it was yummy! Love my family so much!
May 15th- Today Justin and I celebrated our 15 year anniversary! We celebrated early over the weekend and saw the movie Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and went out to dinner and for dessert we had chocolate dipped strawberries. On the actual day of our anniversary I recreated some of our first dates, we got Thai food for dinner and watched Enchanted. I also got us some dove caramel chocolates because when we first met in our singles ward Justin went into the clerks office and stuffed his pockets with chocolate and told me I couldn’t have any unless I sat with him. That same day he also asked me for my phone number, so smooth! Happy 15 years babe, love you always and forever!
May 18 Lexi had her Spring dance recital, my parents came from Utah and spent the weekend with us. Lexi is so blessed to have had both sets of grandparents, aunts and uncles come to support her!
May 25th Lexi had her last field trip of the year, I joined her kindergarten class at a local park where we played and ate lunch and then I followed their bus over to our local fire station.
Later that night Justin and I went to our nephew Teagon’s high school graduation.
May 29th Memorial Day! We spent the weekend with Justin’s siblings. Saturday we celebrated our nephew Teagon’s graduation from high school with a BBQ. Sunday we had a family dinner at his parents and then Monday we went to visit grandpa and grandma Ruth and uncle Johns gravesites. Afterwards we had a family BBQ at our house.
May 30th Lexi’s kindergarten graduation! I had to fight back all the tears or else I would’ve been ugly crying. I can’t believe she is all done with kindergarten and off to first grade! The kids did a cute program and then we got to check Lexi out and spend the rest of the day together. After naps we went to play with friends at a park and then had dinner at McDonalds.
May 31 Last Day of School for Lexi!!
Later that night we had our monthly mom mingle at outback mini golf and then Karie Anne’s gelati for dessert.
June-
June 3rd Lexi has her last soccer game, our season started 2 weeks late so we played past the normal schedule. Lexi did so great this year and had the best coach in the world. We love Tia and the Flamingos!
June 8th the girls and I checked Geronimos off our summer bucket list! They had a blast!
June 9th-11th We headed to Utah to help Emily and Logan move into their new condo!
Friday we went to Lehi Rec center but unfortunately he closed right as we got there due to something being in the water so we hurried a couple blocks over to Lehi’s our door pool and swam for an hour and a half. Then we went to their apartment and ordered dinner and played at a park.
Saturday morning Justin, Brady and my dad helped Logan move, later that afternoon Lexi, my mom and I went to Emily’s hair salon and got our hair done! After that we went to Fat Cats in Saratoga Springs for dinner and arcade games followed by some yummy ice cream!
Sunday we took our time getting up and packed, said goodbye to Kristin and Artie and their boys and then went to Emily’s condo and met up for brunch at Black Bear Diner.
June 12th our local Library had their summer reading kick off and family night. They had music, food and a little family gift for everyone. Despite the rain it was fun!
June 13th Lexi and Hailey started summer private swim lessons, this is Hailey’s first year!
June 16th Justin and I went on a double date with our friends Spencer and Chelsae to see “School of Rock” the musical! It was amazing!
June 17th we took the girls to mini golf where Justin and i got homes in one! That is a first for me! After that we went dinner at pizza pie cafe.
June 18th Happy Father’s Day to Justin and our amazing dads! This year I was so cleaver and found some golf things Justin didn’t have, one was more of a funny gag gift and everyone got a kick out of it!
June 20th our Neighborhood/ward had an Ice Cream Social. We had Farrs ice cream, bounce houses, hard games and a barrel train. Everyone had a blast!
June 21st Lexi and some friends attended a cheer camp hosted by a few girls in our ward. She had so much fun!
June 24th Justin and I went on a golf double date with our friends Chris and Amanda, we gals didn’t do half bad! After golf we got lunch at a local Indian food restaurant.
June 28th
My friend Jaclyn hosted our monthly mom mingle and we did bingo and dressed like grandmas, it was so fun!
June 29th We finally made it to the splash pad with some friends, it’s been a cold start to the summer but it’s finally warm enough!
Later that night my sweet friend Victoria offered to take our families pictures! She is starting her own photography business and she did an amazing job!
July 1st we joined my aunt, uncle and cousins at Blacktail lake to go boating. It was so fun catching up with my family, and our girls had a blast tubing and playing in the water with little cousins!
Later that evening we had our neighborhood/primary dinner activity, we did our 4th of July bike parade again. It was so fun!
July 2nd We went to church in our red, white and blue, this year I only got the girls to take a picture. Later that evening my sweet cousin Kenzi and her husband hosted a gender reveal for their baby! They are having a girl!! After the reveal we stayed to eat, chat and watch some fireworks!
July 3rd we had a slow day at home since we’ve been going, going, going since Saturday. We had lunch as a family ran some errands and then invited aunt Dorothy over to do some fireworks with our family.
July 4th we got up early and headed to our local parade with friends! The girls had so much fun and scored tons of candy! Later that evening we went to Justin’s brothers house for a BBQ, swimming and fireworks!
July 9th we had a double missionary family gathering. Our cousin Holly had one son reporting on his mission and one giving a farewell talk. After church we had a family lunch and swam in their pool, the girls had a blast!
July 11th-14th Lexi went to soccer camp hosted by one of our local high schools. She had a blast, she learned some new skills, played with friends and on the last day enjoyed an ice cream party!
July 15th we finally went bowling haha, Lexi has been asking to go since summer started.
July 17th Justin had work off so we took advantage and went to the zoo as a family! After the zoo we had lunch at Chick Fil-A and later had Kiwi Loco for dessert.
July 18th Justin and I went on a double date to Twilight Golf.
July 20th LEXI LOST HER FIRST TOOTH!!!
July 22nd We had a “Graduation” BBQ for Lexi and her friends Owen and Brooklyn. We tried to do it after kindergarten graduation but it was so busy!
July 23rd we celebrated Justin’s mom’s birthday and Hailey’s birthday with an ice cream bar.
July 25th Hailey turned 3 years old! She got a big girl bed and the Bluey house. The girls had their last swim lesson, we went to lunch at the park, got ice cream and had corn dogs for dinner!
July 26th we celebrated Hailey’s birthday as a family at Lava Hot Springs pool. Once after Justin got off work we packed dinner in our cooler and loaded the kids up and drove to the pool, our friends the Jolley’s were able to join us which was fun!
August-
August 3rd-4th I took a quick girls trip with some friends to Island Park. We stayed at my friend Shastas in laws cabin Thursday night and played games, shared treats, and got hardly any sleep. Friday morning we tried to sleep in, played more games and had lunch at the cabin while baby Bo slept, then that evening we went to West Yellowstone for dinner and the Play Mill to see Beauty and the Beast. It was so much fun!
August 5th we took the girls to Bear World, it was so cool! They have a drive thru where you drive and see the bears and and other animals. They also have an amusement park of sorts with a few rides and food vendors, this year they added a new attraction called “Jurassic Creek” the girls loved it!
August 7-10th I potty trained Hailey!
August 12th we ventured out of the house to the Chubbuck Days parade as a family!
August 13th We finally had s’mores in our backyard and then Justin and Lexi had a campout in our basement.
August 15th My friends threw a going away party for our friend Aummie who is moving to Tennessee.
August 17-20 We took an end of summer trip with some friends to Bear Lake! On Thursday night we traveled to Paris Idaho and stayed in a cabin with our friends tbe Hackworth’s.
Friday morning we got up early had breakfast and headed to North beach at Bear Lake. We had a blast playing in the water, building sand castles, learning to kayak and riding a jet ski for the first time!
After the lake we went back to shower and then got dinner in Garden City at a place called Cody’s, then we went to Le Beaus for shakes, so yummy!
Saturday morning we got up had breakfast and then went back to Garden City to pick up the RZR we rented. We also brought Justin’s 4 wheeler and Chris brought his dirt bike to ride. The kids and parents had fun, even though the trails were super rocky! After we rode for 5 hours we went back to shower and then made kabobs for dinner and had cookies for dessert. We were all pretty tired so we just had a quiet night in and watched a movie after we got the kids to bed.
August 22nd Back to school dinner- It’s that time of year again, our theme this year is “Let Your Light Shine.” Lexi is so excited to be in 1st grade and Hailey will love preschool once we get started in September.
To go along with our theme I got each girl their own little flashlight and wrote them a little note just to let them know how much we love them. The theme idea came to me while I was perusing Hobby Lobby, in their teacher section they had those cute light bulb banners in a 2 pack. All the other decor came from ideas off Pinterest that I printed and then I found yellow plates and a table cloth at Walmart.
Tonight I asked each girl what they are excited for most and Lexi said playing on the blacktop with all the big kids and Hailey said filling the basket with apples. Not sure where that came from. (Haha) Justin face them each a beautiful back to school fathers blessing, I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood in our home. Can’t wait to see what this school year brings for them!
August 23rd Lexi’s first day of 1st grade! She had such a great day, luckily she had a bunch of friends in her class so she was so excited for that. She didn’t want me to take her she wanted to ride her bus, but I insisted on taking her. This year Justin was able to join us, I can’t believe how grown up she looks every time I drop her off at school. Here’s to a great year!
September-
September 2nd-4th- we had my sister, brother in law and little brother visit for Labor Day weekend. It was sadly very rainy and cold and not a long enough visit, but we still had a great time but forgot to take pictures.
September 7th- Hailey and Lexi had their first day of dance class! Lexi also lost her second tooth that afternoon!
September 6th- preschool open house for Hailey girl! She went to meet her teacher Mrs. Melissa, tour her classroom and she got a sticky hand as a prize at the end. She’s so excited!
September 8th- Hailey had her very first day of preschool, and I am fortunate enough to be her teacher’s assistant this year! It was a crazy morning because we have 3 year old and they all wanted to go home within the first 10 minutes. Haha. But Mrs. Melissa and I were able to keep them entertained and we had a fun time! Here’s to another fun year of assisting for preschool.
September 15th-16th- I took a weekend trip to Boise with my parents and brother Brady to attend our cousin Libby’s wedding. It was a beautiful weekend to celebrate a beautiful couple!
September 19th- I turned 35 years old! I was spoiled by my wonderful family and friends! I spent the day with Hailey since Justin and Lexi were at work and school, we had lunch at McDonald’s and then a nap. Haha. Later that night I made spaghetti for dinner and my friends came over for a dessert party and Jack box games!
September 30th We left Salt Lake and headed to Miami Florida to take a cruise with my parents and most of my siblings. It was quite the trip to get there, we got up at 4 am to fly out and got to Miami at 4 pm. We tried to take a tram to our hotel but there was an accident on the tracks so we ended up taking an Uber. We got an awesome guy named Oscar from Venezuela and Brady was in his element using his Spanish to communicate with him.
Once we finally got settled in the hotel we walked to Bayside park they had a bunch of shops and restaurants, we picked Rolly’s Bistro and enjoyed smoothies, pizza, subs and shrimp cocktail.
October-
October 1st Sunday- We boarded our cruise ship Harmony of the Seas! Explored the ship, had lunch at The Wind Jammer and dinner in the dining hall. That evening we watched a game show, stayed up late for the welcome party and saw the balloons drop at 12 am.
October 2 Monday- We had breakfast at the Wind Jammer, then got in our swim suits and hit the water slides while the boys played water volleyball. Later we grabbed lunch at the Wind Jammer then we went back to our rooms and got ready for Grease the musical. It was phenomenal! Tonight was formal night at diner it was fun! After dinner we played mini golf and watched a comedy show then headed to bed.
October 3 Tuesday- Slept in and then went to breakfast at the Wind Jammer, then we headed to the pool to do the slides and the boys played volleyball. The girls went to a spa for a pampering party and then lunch at the Wind Jammer. After lunch we went to the love and marriage game show it was hilarious! After the show the boys played mini golf and then we got ready for dinner. After dinner we took a walk around the track on the ship, played some card games and listened to a jazz concert. We ended the evening at the perfect couple game show.
October 4th Wednesday- Philipsburg St. Maarten we were supposed to go zip lining but due to hurricane Philipe they had to cancel a bunch of excursions for our cruise line. So we took a taxi over to Moho beach and played in the sand, collected some sea shells for the girls, played in the waves and watched Jets take off and land at the airport behind us. Then we went back to the ship and rode the water slides. Logan and Brady did the flow riders and then we went to dinner. After dinner we went to a comedian slash juggler show and saw the Fine Line water show. Then we headed to bed.
October 5 Thursday- Charlotte Amalie St. Thomas we all went our separate ways today for excursions. Logan, Emi and Brady went snorkeling, Justin and I started the morning off shopping the local souvenir stores and then found out our second excursion was canceled due to island power outage. So we took the money from that refund and Justin booked me a massage. It was so relaxing! After dinner we went mini golfing as a family and then saw an amazing ice skating show. After that we had some pizza, ordered some drinks and watched the crazy quest game show, it was nuts but fun!
October 6th Friday- Today was a cruise day so we slept in, had a later breakfast, zip lined across the ship (it was terrifying but I did it!!) After the zip line we raced on the purple dry slides and then headed to the pools. We rode the water slides a few times and then Brady entered the belly flop competition so we watched that. Afterwards we went to eat lunch then everyone showered and got ready for dinner. Tonight was the last formal night and we had lobster! It was amazing! After dinner we went to another ice skate show, it was just as good as last nights, such good entertainment on this ship! We ended the night listening to live music and playing card games.
October 7th Saturday- Perfect Day at Coco Cay! We spent the day at the Royal Caribbean’s private beach. We enjoyed food, sand, sun and the Ocean! We saw a stingray, jellyfish, fish and collected more sea shells. We hit the souvenir shops on our way back to the boat and enjoyed ice cream cones while we browsed. After we got all cleaned up we had our last dinner in the dining room. We seriously had the best dining staff, it was bitter sweet saying our goodbyes tonight. After dinner we enjoyed the beautiful sunset, watched the fine line water show, packed and then saw a late comedy show before heading to bed. What an amazing trip we had as a family!
October 8th we all left our separate ways to head back home. Our flight was not until 6pm so we didn’t get home until 12:30 am Monday morning. We were so tired but happy to be home with our girls!
October 12th Spooky Ooky came back for the Halloween season! He left the girls some fun Halloween things, a decorate your own haunted house, play dough and window clings.
October 13th we took the girls to see the new Paw Patrol Mighty Pup movie. It was so cute, we had a blast as a family.
October 14th we started the day off with Lexi’s soccer game and then after lunch we took our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch with Aunt Dorothy and Cousin Mariah! This year it was super busy, but we enjoyed the weather and picked some cute pumpkins.
October 15th we enjoyed the nice fall weather and took a Sunday walk around Edson Fitscher park. The fall colors were so pretty.
October 20th Lexi took Justin to her school for breakfast and a book.
October 21st Lexi had her last soccer game for the 2023 season! She has been so fun to watch, and has learned and grown so much since her first season! She was thrilled to see that they all got a medal at the end of the season!
Later that night we had our annual Spooky Dinner as a family? This years tablescape was my favorite so far. after dinner we went to Boo some of our neighbors. Thanks to Soooky Ooky for bringing us the treats to Boo our friends.
October 22nd we helped the girls carve pumpkins for the first time. We normally paint them, but this year we got adventurous. Lexi did a traditional jack-o lantern face, and Hailey wanted a kitty cat. They turned out so cute! After the pumpkins we decorated our candy haunted house.
October 25th Hailey’s preschool class took a trip to the pumpkin patch. It was a bit colder than we anticipated, but we made the most of it, and the best part was Justin was able to join us, which was so fun! We took a wagon ride to the pumpkin patch, picked our own pumpkin right from the vine and explored the hay maze, then played on all the fun kids toys. All in all it was a successful trip, I feel so lucky I get to help out this year!
October 27th- Hailey had her first preschool Halloween party! It was wild and crazy but oh so fun, and the kids were all so cute in their costumes!
After preschool got out we loaded into the car and drove down to Utah to see my brother Chris and his family. I got to meet my sweet niece Evelyn finally, she is just darling like her sister Phoebe! We checked into our air bnb at 2, set up decorations for our family Halloween party and then enjoyed the sunshine before dinner. The boys played pickle ball and the gold played with the kids at the park.
After dinner we got in our costumes and went downstairs and played some games, had a dance party and then the kids trick or treated the different rooms.
October 28th most of the guys went golfing in the morning while the girls stayed and got ready and let the kids play. After golf we met up at the air bnb for lunch and then naps. After naps we all loaded in the cars and drove to Gardner Village for Witchfest. We rode the train, enjoyed window shopping the stores, bought hot cocoa and caramel apples. Then we went to meet up with Brady’s girlfriend Chelsea for dinner at Olive Garden. Afterwards we went to the air bnb put the kids to bed and stayed up super late playing games .
October 29th- we checked out if the air bnb at 10:45 and went to Emily and Logan’s place, then we all went our separate ways for lunch after lunch we drove home.
Later that night we went to Matt and Hillary’s for their annual family Halloween party. It was fun, we had games, food and trick or treating for the kids.
October 30th Lexi’s school started their Red Ribbon week today, day 1 was “Lei off Drugs” Hawaiian day! My friend let me borrow her daughters dress from Hawaii, Justin’s mom had a hair flower for her, and my sister let us borrow a lei. She looked so cute!
Later that night us girls went with some friends to trick or treat a local event venue called The Hive, my kids thought it was so cool!
October 31st Happy Halloween. Today is day 2 of Red Ribbon week “Boo to Drugs!” Under her costume Lexi wore her Halloween ghost shirt, and it had the word boo too so it was only fitting she wear it. We attended her schools costume parade at 8:30, then I helped with games at bee class party. It was so cute and fun!
Later that evening after Justin got off work we went trick or treating until allots 9 pm. Lexi didn’t want to quit, but Hailey was done by 8 pm. This year our family costume inspiration came from the tv show “Bluey!” We loved this years costume!
November-
November 1st day 3 of Red Ribbon Week for Lexi was “Peace out Drugs” so she wore tie dye and peace signs.
November 2nd day 4 of Red Ribbon week for Lexi was “Follow your Dreams…don’t do drugs.” Pajama day!
November 3rd day 5 of Red Ribbon week for Lexi Our School is proud to be Drug Free!” Wear red day!
Later that night I went to Idaho Falls to celebrate my sweet cousin Kenzi and her baby girl at her baby shower. It was beautiful, can’t wait for baby sis to join the family!
November 4 The morning started off with a birthday party for Lexi and another cousin baby shower for me. (Forgot to get pictures) Later that night Lexi and I went to see the Taylor Swift Eras Tour movie with some friends! We had so much fun, we dressed up, wore lipstick and celebrated Brynn for her birthday early!
November 17-18th We celebrated Justin’s birthday early since he has to work and the next day is Thanksgiving Day. All he wanted to do was eat dinner at Longhorn and see one of our local high schools play football in the state championship.
November 20th Day 1of Thanksgiving break we woke up to snow, the girls were so excited! Lexi ate her breakfast so fast so she could go out to play in it, Hailey skipped breakfast altogether. (Haha) After they finished in the snow we got ready for the day and then had lunch and went to see Trolls 3 with some friends for a birthday party. Later that evening we did FHE and the girls made some cute sticker Pilgrim and Indian puppies from Hobby Lobby.
November 21st Day 2 of Thanksgiving break the girls wanted to go sledding, so we had breakfast and hit our local parks sled hill while Justin was at work. We invited some neighborhood friends and had a good time, the snow was pretty icy and sparse in some spots but we made the most of it. Lexi took a couple tumbles on the homemade jump that someone made the day before but all together I think she had a good time. Hailey only lasted a few minutes and went down the sled with me once. After that she just played on the swings and play toy until we went home for lunch.
After lunch the girls had a fun play date with our friends Kaden and McKay!
November 22 Day 3 of Thanksgiving break we hit Geronimos in the morning with our friends. The girls love Geronimos and had so much fun!
It is also Justin’s birthday today so we decorated the house, bought ice cream and had his family over for dessert. His mom made his favorite homemade hot fudge sauce and spice cake with chocolate frosting. It was so good!
November 23rd Thanksgiving Day! We spent the day with Justin’s family in Blackfoot eating delicious food, playing games and celebrating aunt Kristin’s birthday!
November 24th Day 5 of Thanksgiving break we spent part of the day doing some Balck Friday shopping, had lunch at McDonald’s and then the kids set up their kid Christmas tree in our basement. After dinner we watched the first Home Alone movie as a family!
November 25th Day 6 of Thanksgiving break Lexi and I had a mommy and Lexi date while dad and Hailey went to a birthday party. Lexi and I went sledding and then the mall for pretzel bites, Hailey’s friends party was in the mall at a bounce house place.
December 2nd- I hosted my annual Christmas cookie swap. We had fun chatting, eating snacks and playing a competitive game with prizes. These ladies sure are fun!
December 7th we had our ward Christmas party tonight, the primary kids sang “picture and Christmas” they did awesome! We had good food, dessert, dancing , Christmas carols and Santa came to visit the children!
December 8th we finally got to have our family Christmas kick off tonight. Lexi and Hailey have been patiently waiting to write their letters to Santa, decorate our gingerbread house and we’re even excited about their jammies. It’s so fun to watch their excitement!
This year Lexi asked Santa for roller skates, she even drew him a picture of how she wants them to look, she may have even influenced a few friends at our ward party last night to ask Santa for roller skates too….whoops sorry parents!
Hailey also wanted to ask Santa for roller skates but with some coaxing we were able to convince her to ask for something more her age. She really loved this toy kitchen appliance set that Costco had so we had her ask Santa for some play kitchen appliances.
After dinner we popped some popcorn, got into our matching pajamas and watched the Grinch! Love this holiday season, and making lasting memories with my family!
December 9th We mailed our letters off to Santa, thanks to my friend Courtney, she gave me the address to a house that has connections to Santa, he writes back to all the kids.
December 13th Hailey and I had pajama day at preschool. It was so fun seeing all the kids in their Christmas pj’s, we watched a short movie and had popcorn after putting our parents Christmas gifts together.
December 15th Hailey had her preschool Christmas program, she was too shy to participate but she sat with Justin for most of it while I helped Mrs. Melissa. Aster the program she was all smiles at home haha.
Later that afternoon my parents came from Utah to attend the girls dance recital that evening. Lexi danced her heart out and Hailey was a little nervous, but after some encouragement from dad and coaching from big sister, Hailey danced for one entire song and the last 10 seconds of another. It was so fun to watch them! Afterwards we went to our house and celebrated with some yummy ice cream.
December 16-17 we took the girls and my parents to see Santa at Ashley Furniture, then Sunday after dinner we went to look at Christmas lights, we saw Mr. Grinch, Santa and Mrs Clause on our drive.
December 18 day one of Christmas break we went to see Santa at the library, he gave the kids books, Hailey wasn’t into seeing Santa for a third time but Lexi loved it. When we got home from the library we checked the mail and the girls got their letters back from Santa. He gave them each a certificate showing they were indeed on the nice list, a picture of Rudolph and a note. They loved it!
That evening I had my preschool teacher Christmas party at a place called Craftology. It was so fun, we each made our own Christmas sign, they all turned out so cute!
December 19th day two of Christmas break we went to the mall, had pretzel bites and played in the kids play area. Afterwards we went home and the girls made their own snow globes, they are darling!
December 20th day three of Christmas break we went to Geronimos! We pretty much had the whole place to ourselves, it was so nice! Afterwards the girls wanted a soda at the soda barn and a sugar cookie. Then we had lunch and I went to visit my sweet cousin Kenzi and her new baby girl Jade, while the girls played at Grandma Almond’s house.
Later that night Justin and I went to my friend Megan’s ugly sweater Christmas party, we had a blast playing games, enjoying delicious food and great company!
December 21st&22nd we made and decorated our Christmas sugar cookies
December 23rd we had our annual family Christmas party with Justin’s family. We had yummy food, a visit from Santa, the kids did a sock exchange and the adults played a white elephant game.
December 24th Christmas Eve! I love when Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday. We went to sacrament, listened to beautiful songs and testimonies of our Savior! After church we went to Justin’s mom and dads and played games, the kids did gingerbread houses, had amazing food, and our annual nativity!
December 25th Merry Christmas! I woke up at 5:45 am and couldn’t get back to sleep, everyone else slept in until 7:45 am. When we finally got the girls up they were so excited to see that Santa had brought them exactly what they wanted, roller skates for Lexi and kitchen toys for Hailey.
Lexi was thrilled to get her own tablet, headphones and the magic treehouse book set she’s been asking for from mom and dad. Hailey got her her own bracelet making set.
Hailey was also excited to have her own tablet, headphones and we got her the pigeon book set. Lexi got her a play makeup set, she is so excited.
Justin got a pickleball net and new game he discovered over thanksgiving with his family. I got a new rain coat and Stanley cup.
We saved the best for last, we have been keeping a secret since April and surprised the girls with a trip to Disneyland this summer, the girls were thrilled and have been asking everyday since when we are going to Disneyland.
After presents we went to Justin’s parents for breakfast then went to see the new movie Migration as a family. After the movie we had lunch, played games then later had a yummy Italian dinner and pies for dessert. Merry Christmas everyone!
December 31st We had my little brother Brady, his girlfriend Chelsea and my parents for New Years Eve this year! We had our annual smorgasbord for lunch and dinner, I did another hourly count down to New Years after church for everyone:
3pm- we played Mario Kart as a family
4pm- NYE minute to win it games
5pm- we had dinner and did year in review papers
6pm- we busted out the glow sticks and party light and had a dance party.
7pm- while grandpa and Justin got the fireworks set up the girls took a glow stick bath and ready for bed
8pm- we did an early ring in the New Year with the girls. Grandpa did his fireworks, we watched a Mickey and Minnie Mouse ball drop and made lots of noise!
Once the girls were in bed we watched a movie and had more snacks. Then at midnight we popped open the sparking cider and rang in the true New Year!
Happy New Year everyone, we’re looking forward to what 2024 has to offer us!
