*Monday Memos*

*MONDAY MEMOS*

   

 (If pictures are too small, just click to enlarge) 
Weekly recap of my rather crazy, insane, but fun and rewarding life!

dear broken phone, yes AGAIN!  I need a bullet proof phone case so my poor phone will be able to withstand all the times I drop it.  UGH!  I dropped it last week while running.  I should NOT text EVER while running or answer any calls because it seems when I get it out, that is when I drop it and this time it was toast.  It was SO bad!  I couldn't take any photos of the gorgeous snow and ice scenes I saw on my run on Monday and Tuesday. I could have got some GORGEOUS shots too.  It is really a pain to not be able to text or even see WHO sends you a text.  I was doing okay with Siri for a bit, but then that quit working too!  Sky says I need it wired to my body while I run.  I agree!  SO FRUSTRATING! 

dear running in a winter wonderland, like I said above, I saw some really amazing things thing on my run.  I wanted to take about 30 pictures of it all!  There is nothing so gorgeous as the aftermath of a huge snow storm.  I got in 5 miles on Monday.  It was really cold, but I was okay.

dear sledding for the first time, Sky took Sarah and Carson to John Adam's park to go sledding.  They loved it!  It was the first time for both.  They are doing and seeing a lot of firsts on this trip!

Cutest little guy!

dear bye bye bryce, Bryce headed back to Idaho Falls on Monday.  It wasn't too hard to say goodbye because we are heading there as soon as Dave gets off today to go and see his park.  He works SO hard on it and I would feel SO bad if I didn't get to see it! I'm so excited!  Hopefully it will be warmer than it was last year.  It was nine below!

dear trip to see bryce's park, luckily the weather was not stormy at all so we could make the trek to Idaho Falls to see the park (Festival of Lights at Freeman Park) that Bryce owns.  Sky, Sarah, Carson, Taylor, and Dave and I all went.  It is about a two and half hour drive down, but we made pretty good time.  It wasn't super crowded tonight which was nice so we could get out and take photos.  Yes, we actually did get out and take pictures even though it was 4 degrees!  Last year it was -9 and so we were grateful it was 4°!  He did most of the work by himself this year and I was TOTALLY blown away by the amount of work that he had to do to get it done.  That kid is seriously THEE hardest worker!  I am very proud of him!

Bryce met us about half way and got out of his truck and jumped in with us.  He smelled like Diesel fuel because he spends hours getting all the generators gassed up each night.  Carson was sound asleep but woke up right before we got out to take photos.  He really liked the lights.  It was truly a lot of fun to see his eyes light up.  That is what Bryce told me makes it all worth it when he sees kids get all excited about some of the scenes. 

 Definitely worth the trip!

A lighthouse!!!

Since there were no cars, Dave let Carson drive.  Haha

PURPLE!

We told Bryce goodbye and headed to Panda Express to eat dinner and to thaw out a bit!  Brrrr.......   The ride home wasn't too bad either, but the inside of the windows were solid ice!  

dear run, on Tuesday morning it was even colder than Monday and so I wore many layers and even my face mask.  Once I got going, it wasn't bad and so I took off my face mask.  I was happy that I am not freezing to death while running this year even though the temps are brrrrr.......   I think I acclimatize faster than I used to!  It was so pretty once again but still no phone to take photos.  

dear ice skating, we headed out for our annual family ice skate in Ogden on Tuesday afternoon.  Carson was so excited because he has never been ice skating before.  Oh my gosh, I love that kid!  He is sooooo stinkin' adorable!  And smart!  And funny!  I am going to miss him so much when he goes back!  I helped him so Sky and Sarah could get some skating in and he was starting to get it.  I didn't skate much this year which is fine because I worried I would fall and get injured just in time for Boston!  I did have a little pow wow with Brian about a misunderstanding and I am glad I did.

Bootie shot!

We went to eat at Eastern Winds (tradition) after and it was really a delicious meal! I got General Tso's chicken and ate mostly the rice and the soup.  It was a nice hot meal on a freezing cold day!  Sarah seemed to enjoy it.

dear phone repair, after lunch we stopped at Bad Apple but they were closed and so we went to iQue.  Luckily the only think wrong with my phone was the LCD and so they replaced my screen and it fixed the problem.  Whew!  Thought I would need a whole new phone this time.  I managed to get the lady to give me the special that ended Saturday and so I felt okay about it.   We had to kill about 45 minutes and so we went to a couple stores. I went in TJ Maxx with Sarah for a while.  Carson was zonked by the time we got back.  We told Grammy we would stop by and so we did but we stayed in the car because Carson was zonked.   She had made her amazing chocolate cake and sent some with us.  Her and my Dad ran out to the car to say hi. I felt bad we couldn't just take him in and let him sleep inside.  But, they said he would wake up and that would not be a good thing.  I remember those days well. 

dear run, on Wednesday I got in almost six and half miles.  My piriformas was actually feeling okay too!  Yay!  Let's hope it keeps up!  I haven't been good at my exercise all week either and so I was very surprised!

dear fun with carson, Sky and Sarah went gun shooting and then later headed to temple square to see the lights and to meet Weston and Mary for dinner and so I got to tend little Carson.  I love that kid so much!  We made Jello Jigglers and watched Cinderella again.  Taylor pulled him around on a sled in the backyard as well.  He wanted me to sit by him to watch the movie and to play with him every minute.  It's amazing how much easier that is when you are not the mom - haha.  He has called me Grandma Jodi a few times which I love.  He truly is one of the sweetest kids ever.  I am getting rather attached!  

dear GORGEOUS winter run, Thursday's run was breath taking!  And I don't mean from running....but the amazing scenery!  I was SO happy I finally had a working phone so I could capture some of God's most amazing artwork!  It was seriously breathtaking.  I didn't get in much cardio though because I kept having to stop so I could take pictures!  But, it was worth it!  These photos do not do it justice however.  At one point, I was running down a lane and the snow on the side was glittering with iridescence sparkles all over.  I couldn't capture the beuaty in a photo though because when I stopped moving, I could no longer see it.

I am going to do a separate Winter Wonderland post with all my pix in large form because this collage does NOT do it justice.  You need to see these larger!  I was in total awe!  

dear fridge's last leg, our less than four year old fridge that we just had repaired two months ago (and went without a fridge for over three weeks while we waited for the repairman and parts) is now leaking and not cooling.  The compressor is not working because the tubing for the Freon is leaking, which meant wet carpet and walls in the basement!  UGH!  The repairman said it's irreparable.  Which means a new fridge and this problem is NOT under warranty.  So our $2500 fridge, which we just spent hundreds of dollars in service calls AND lost hundreds of dollars in spoiled food is no longer working.  We are without a fridge... while we have company.  During the holidays.  Nice.  Okay, I will try to be positive.  I am very grateful it is so cold outside so we can use a cooler on the back porch. I am also grateful we have a spare fridge.  I have so many blessings that I will not complain.  It's just an inconvenience, but that's better than not having a spare fridge.  Now, THAT would be an inconvenience!  The frustrating part is they make appliances like crap now and the consumer is without any rights basically after spending thousands of dollars on less than standard products.  Our repairman agreed and said it's due to the governments new rulings and energy standards and so it has affected the quality of the product. We also just had to replace a brand new microwave for some other ridiculous malfunction.  And then on top of that, if one of your appliances goes out, you can no longer find that model because they only make them for a year and then you are out of luck if you want your appliances to match.  Our repairman even told me they do that so you are forced to replace them all.  I thought things were supposed to improve over time with technology, not get worse.  My parents fridge lasted them over 30 years!  Not a single problem!  And it probably only cost them $50!  After being on hold for over an hour (twice!) they told us that there is nothing they can do!  I am not a happy camper.  I am in fear of even buying a new one because it will probably only last four years as well.  When I think of the vacations I could take with that $2500, it makes me ill.  Okay, vent over.  For now anyway. 

dear grocery store visit, I escaped for a couple hours to get some groceries and make some returns because I was alone and had a chance to go.  Walmart was packed.  I stood in line for longer than I spent shopping.  'Tis the season I guess.  When I got home everyone was back including my parents who stopped by to visit with Sky, but he was busy making dinner.

dear sky's stuffed shells, Sky and Sarah made us stuffed shells on Thursday night.  They were REALLY good.  They actually had a lot of seafood in them but Sky was so nice to make enough for me without any of that nasty stuff in them!  hah  He is an amazing cook and on top of all that, he took Sarah and Carson shooting again. He never stops doing whatever he can for both of them.  I am exhausted watching all he does for them. 

 My cute parents with Carson

dear children, my days have been filled with non planned spontaneous fun during this holiday week.  I am very grateful that I am able to just be free and go with the flow.  I have had so much fun having a little one around.  At times my heart wants to explode with joy.  I am not sure what it is about little ones that steal my heart, if it's their innocence, their joy for life, their purity, or what, but I love it. 

I'm in heaven!

Watching "Cruella" (101 Dalmations) with Taylor.  They are buds.

The many faces of Carson

I have had a few friends this week talk to me about their adult children and the difficulties they are having with them.  It truly is a whole new ballgame when our children grow up and we no longer have the reigns on their life.  We can no longer send them for a time out when they need one, or tell them straight forward what we are thinking of their choices, though sometimes we do anyway and that doesn't always end well.  The hard part is we are STILL their parent and we STILL have the natural tendency to correct them and help them to move forward in the way our own experience has taught us is the best route, but they are not always willing to listen to our advice and we can not force it upon them.  As hard as we thought being a parent to small children was, it's no comparison to parenting adult children.  Granted, some are easier than others.  But this free agency tends to get in the way and make it so much more difficult.  I am all for free agency.  For myself.  Just not for my children!  haha  I say that a bit tongue in cheek, but there are times I think it would be much easier if we could force them on the right path. One friend wants to go to lunch to talk because she is so distraught over he daughter's choices.  I think it was so much easier when our kids were little and we didn't have to worry about the big things many parents do today.

dear mr. cat,  Mr. Cat hid for the first week or more that they were here.  I didn't even see him!  It was too cold for him to go out and so he just hibernated somewhere. I would see him maybe once a day if that.  Then suddenly he decided they weren't going anywhere and so he slowly started to appear a bit here and there and then more and more and more, until he was totally warmed up to Carson. 

Crepes!

dear prairie schooner, we wanted to take Sarah some place "Utah"-ish and so we decided on the Prairie Schooner.  Perfect place actually.

 Carson LOVED all the animals and the fires. 

Looking scared!

We stopped at the Ogden City Park light display so Carson could see Baby Jesus.  He is a bit obsessed with Him.  I carried him through the snow long enough to take a picture and run back to the car!  No one else wanted to venture out! It was sleeting!

dear long run, I got in 8 miles on Saturday morning.  It was another gorgeous winter wonderland.  As I was leaving I saw this:

He really wanted to go with me.  How I wish!  I would love a buddy to run with every day!

 Once again, the scenery was breathtaking!  I couldn't stop taking pictures of it.

I found a couple hearts and even some purple "snowballs!

dear new years eve,Caron went with me to go feed Trixie (the neighbor's cat) and then I headed on my run (post above).  I was going to teach the nieces how to make fudge tonight at the party and so I gathered all the ingredients.  Sky, Sarah, and Carson went to Ogden with Jeremy and fam to see Moana.  I used the time to get some cleaning done.  They came home and then they headed to Midway to snorkel at the crater.  Brr...  Carson hung out with us.  On our way to the party at Dave's parents, we stopped at the Tabernacle so Carson could get out and see Baby Jesus.  He is obsessed with Him.  It was cute!  Dave pulled over to the side and I carried him through the snow up to the nativity.  Look at these adorable pictures!

Poor Baby Jesus was covered in snow!   I did dig down through the snow to see if my parents had actually left our "gifts" to him and sure enough there they were!  (They are in the baggy in the bottom photo)

We then headed to Dave's parents.  We were few in number this year.  Dave went and got a pizza and I took all the fudge ingredients but we didn't end up making it because Tanae was the only niece there and Dave's mom wasn't anxious for us to mess up her kitchen.  We played a lot of fun games and Carson had fun with the tinker toys (and Denver!).  This New Year's Eve went down in history as being the earliest we have ever left a party.  I think we left by 10:30!  Dave had meetings at 6 a.m. and so he was happy to get home at a decent hour!

We drove Carson past the gingerbread house and the Disney house again.  He loved them!

dear church, I was so happy that Sky, Sarah and Carson all came to church again today.  They were late and ended up walking to the front and sat down by Janet who Sky thought was me.  Nope!  I was in the back on the side.  After the sacrament, they moved back by me.  Carson was so excited to see me.  He sat on my lap the entire meeting and we played with the quiet book and the Spy Bag and other books.  He was very good.  The meeting was excellent.  I was wondering what Sarah was thinking, but she seemed to be listening intently.  I took Carson to Primary, but he didn't want me to leave and so I sat through Sharing Time with him.  I enjoyed that!  After Sharing Time I walked him to his class and he was okay with me leaving.  Tammy is the cutest teacher.  He was SO cute.   I picked him up and his other teacher Mrs. Johnsen told me that they asked him if he had fun and he said, "No!".  Haha  

We came home and had yummy roast dinner.  We just hung out the rest of the day.  Carson went with me to feed Trixie.  Carson was enthralled with the calendar.

Snuggles!  Taylor helped him build his Build a Monkey.  He even sewed it!  Haha

This kid is a character through and through. He has SO much personality!

dear random, I have been working on My Social Books early in the morning so I can get them done while they are 40% off!  I still have a couple years to go!

  A shot of our house WITHOUT snow a couple weeks ago!

dear end of year social media fun, here are my best NINE photos of Instagram!  I only posted 14 times last year and so it's slim pickin's.

Here are some fun things from Facebook.  This is my quote for 2017:

My year in a collage.  Hmmm... looks like the same photos a couple times!  Dumb algorithms.

Glad it didn't say BARELY alive!

HE HE HE! I'll take the top one!

Hmmmmm......

And my fave!!!

I really really like this quote!