February 2023

 

My cousin, Angie Cannon, was in town, which is a rarity. We had their family over for dinner and had fun reminiscing. We pulled out Grandma Hinckley's blanket that we all loved.

Valentine's shenanagins! Making sugar cookies, getting class valentine's ready for co-op, having fun food and our fancy dinner on valentine's day. 

Jessica Millich and I were in charge of Activity Day girls at the time, and we threw a Father Daughter Dance in February. I'd say it was a huge hit! We had a photo booth station, a nail painting station, hoolahoops and other fun things to play with, free dancing, and some guided dancing. Lindy and Richie had a great time! 

Davy turned 4!!! What a cute pie!! Despite never having seen a batman movie, he was determined that his birthday would be batman themed. So he got a batman cake, and batman decorations courtesy of his sisters, batman pajamas, and a batman toaster from g&g Garner! For his family party, he wanted to go to the arcade. The only arcade nearby is not the best, but he seemed to enjoy it nonetheless! We love Davy! 

Homestead note-worthys. Miles sold off some cows and made a pretty penny, our arborist neighbor blesses us with lots of free firewood ready to chop, we shifted around the garage to accomodate my growing soap and basket businesses. 

January 2023

 A few portraits :) 

Date night with Lindy! We went and got our hair trimmed, then went to The Village to get a treat and watch the fountains! 

In January, our family made a huge leap. We were tired of working for American Construction Supply. Honestly, it was something we hadn't wanted to do in the first place after quitting seminary and moving to Idaho, but jobs turned out to be more scarce than we thought! Even for someone with a Masters degree. But it was 2020 and no one was hiring, so we were grateful for a job offer from American. We hung on for about 2 years, hoping things would pan out in a good way. Unfortunately, things continually went downhill and we knew we couldn't make this our long term plan. So, in January, we decided to launch our very own window washing company. Richie had done it as a side hustle for years- we figured we would just pump things up and be legit and it had potential to be a full time gig. Here he is in front of the work van we bought for the business. 

Gwen's first time at the temple! Richie and I want to be the first ones to take our kids through. It was so special. Richie baptized her and I was able to be a witness.  The things I remember the most is that Gwen legitimately could not stop smiling the whole time she was getting dunked. We went and got some costa vida afterward.

This boy of ours turned 14!!! No friend party this year. We did manage to sneak out on a lunch date and he requested his favorite dinner- pulled pork sandwhiches and german chocolate cake for dessert. What a stud muffin!

Gwen started taking sewing lessons from Virginia Gross in our ward! For the first few months, she took them alongside Aralyn, a girl living with the Beckles at the time. Their first project was pillow cases! 

Homestead Happenings. Lindy learning how to milk goats in the winter! I figured out how to make dish soap out of pig lard, huzzah! 

Christmas and the New Year's Break!

Christmas Eve! We had our traditional Hawaiian food for dinner, made "gingerbread" houses and got our Christmas pj's and keepsake books!

Christmas fell on a Sunday that year! So we went to church first thing, came back home and lined up to see what Santa brought! It's lovely to have Christmas fall on a Sunday, but it's also makes things feel a little off and out of order. :) After we spoiled ourselves with presents, we hopped into the van and made our way down to Bluffdale in time to have Christmas day dinner with the Garner crew!
 

The next day, we made it down to St. George to spend time with the Crosbys. The kids loved playing with Grandma on her ipad and doing crafts with her. They loved watching TV with grandpa, playing cards, and eating his world famous eggos! They got to go swimming with cousins, go to a trampoline park, hung out with cousins at the traditional grandkid's sleepover, and stayed up late to ring in the new year. Honorable mention for the quilt we worked on that year as a Christmas gift for the Ben Crosbys. 

Nothing is more important or better than family time! What a gift! Every time we left after visiting, it was harder and harder to leave Grandma.