DECEMBER 2022

One more picture of our puppy before we get her.

Luke's 5th grade orchestra played at the High School's Christmas concert.

And the next day was Sam's concert!

The puppy was waiting for us in Waco.  I met up with the lady at Walmart south of Waco.

It was love at first sight.  She was absolutely darling!!! She did amazingly on the 3 hour drive home.

Tessa had stayed home from school as she had a cough.  She was the first to meet our little girl.

Then I picked up Luke from strings and picked up Sam at the same time.

The kids were so thrilled and immediately snuggled and chased her.  

Tessa slept on the hard floor to be next to her in the crate.

It took a skinny minute to find the right name for her. 

We went to Amelia's baptism.  We got to have Alex sit with us.

Crazy selfies

We named her Nutmeg.  I came up with a list and Luke immediately picked Nutmeg.  Sam and Tessa were not on board but Ryan and I felt like that was it.  Tessa resisted until I offered her $20.  

And just like that we have a new member of the family named Nutmeg.

Mimzy and Pop Pop came to spend Christmas with us.

We wanted to enjoy Seaworld and their festivities with 

the Olsons and the Hans.

We also went to the Riverwalk and enjoyed the lights.

I reminisced about coming here on Christmas day in 2013.

I was 9 months pregnant and we were holding of celebrating Christmas

until Bran/Claire and Mom and Dad joined us.

We had the boys strapped into the double stroller and it was a nightmare 

trying to navigate the crowds and not fall into the river.

The boys spit into the river right next to this Christmas tree.

More cute pics with our little girl.

Tessa has a sister.

Christmas Day

Christmas day was extremely busy as right after, I was cleaning, packing, and baking.

The next morning we were off to Kansas City.  We made a stop in Waco for mom and dad to see the Mammoth bones, Magnolia, and Dr. Pepper museum.  

Snow on the ground at Kazie's house

Craig's office is right next to the Liberty jail.

We enjoyed our tour.

We also went to the Independence Visitor's Center and had an amazing tour.  

We loved the Children's museum.

We went to Light the World giving machine and the Hallmark Visitor's Center.

We discovered how a teenager from Nebraska tucked two shoeboxes of postcards under his arms and set out to create an iconic company in Kansas City.  More than 100 years later, our billion-dollar brand contains a diverse portfolio of businesses.  Combined with one of the world’s largest creative communities, Hallmark helps to foster a more emotionally connected world.

Bowman turned 8 and Kazie did a quick upside down birthday party 

and I brought the ball pit.

On Tessa's birthday, Bowman had his baptism.  Craig's sister, Emily and husband came and his mom was on FaceTime.  The Bishop recognized that there were people from the other side of the veil with us that day.  It made me so tearful and the spirit was very strong.  

Tessa wanted to celebrate her 9th birthday by rock climbing.

Luckily Kazie had a POGO pass so it didn't cost out the nose.

Her other request was to run on the lake.  I was a little nervous but they did it.

HAPPY 2023!!!

 

NOVEMBER 2022

After work, I happened upon a Dia de los Muertos ceremony.

Lots of espanol, dancers, and great music.

YM activity- ice skating

Tessa took an after school cooking class

Here she made a bean dip.

She cried when it was over, she loved it so.

Good YM group for temple night

They have taken down all of the trees where we like to walk.

Here the kids are pretending to drive tractors.

While I was at work, Bran flew in and started building a fireplace and built-in shelves.  

He is a miracle man.  When I got home most of it was already done. 

But it sure was fun to be his sous chef and to see his mind at work and marvel at his skills.

Ryan watched the Hans so the parents could go on a date.

Something they have never been able to do with littles.

Ryan took the kids to SeaWorld

Ryan did a 23 mile bike ride down and back on the riverwalk hitting up all the missions.

Making a Halloween Gingerbread haunted house

Sam and Tessa sneaking into our bed

Another fun YM activity

Pretty skies and our bikinb trails

I haven't told the kids but we have claimed a puppy. 

We will get her when she is 9 weeks old but they send us photos as she grows.

She looks oh so sweet but I am so nervous to commit to another living being.

It is like an arranged marriage.  What if I don't like her?  What if she isn't the right one for our family?

Ryan got an infected ingrown nail.

We were introduced to Telehealth urgent care.

It was fabulous.

We planned to do a big Thanksgiving trip and go to a few states and places we haven't been yet.

NATIONAL VIDEO GAME MUSEUM

in Frisco, TX

It was a great stop and so nostalgic. 

The kids loved it.

Our stop for dinner before we stayed the night in Texarkana.

Little Rock, Arkansas

Unfortunately, we were underwhelmed with the Clinton Library.

It was very sterile and ego centric.

We did like Little Rock.  We walked across the bridge and saw some sites.

I never realized that the first desegregated school was in Little Rock.   With the help of police escorts, the students successfully entered the school through a side entrance on 23 September 1957 at Central High.

We went to the Governor's mansion, previous home of the Clintons and current home of Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Becky lived here and recommended this old mill.

A historic re-creation of an 1880's water-powered grist mill. It is in the opening scenes of the classic movie "Gone With The Wind." 

We went hiking up the "little rock".   The reviews advised parking on the west side for an easier hike.  Of course I got it mixed up and had Ryan park on the east side and we had to scramble the whole way up with no real trail.  Lucky for me, we have awesome kids and the scramble was their favorite part.

MEMPHIS

Our first stop was at the Lorraine Motel

Where Martin Luther King Jr. was killed.

It was a wonderful museum and I highly recommend it.

We then checked into our hotel.  Ryan was really worried because it was 

downtown and possibly sketchy.  The reviews talk about car break-ins.  

We found a car park and the hotel and location were great.

We walked to Beale Street and enjoyed the lights.

We ended up at a charming pizza place that brought the kids dough for play.

The next day we left the kids playing screens while Ry and I stopped at Sun Studio- Sun Studio is known worldwide as “The Birthplace of Rock'n'roll”. It is the discovery location of musical legends and genres of the 50's from B.B. King and Elvis Presley to Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis; from Blues and Gospel to Country and Rock'n'roll.

GRACELAND

Our tickets were the first tour of the day which is definitely the way to do it. 

We were able to take our time and not feel rushed. 

We stopped at Al Green's church on the way back to the hotel.

Waiting for the tram

BASS PRO SHOP at the Pyramid

We went to the Peabody to see the duck walk.

The Peabody hotel in Memphis hosts an odd tradition that dates back to the 1930's. A special ceremony led by a professional "duckmaster" has captured the hearts of millions of travelers across the world.

Then we went to the Grizzly NBA game.

Even in the nosebleeds, Luke caught a t-shirt.

On our way out, we stopped at Mud Island which had its heyday

 but is now abandoned but has a cool Memphis sign.

It was Pop Pop's birthday and we sent a Marco Polo to the fam.

One last stop in Memphis was  where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered this sermon on the night of April 3, 1968, at the Bishop Charles Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, as a storm raged outside. Titled “I've Been to the Mountaintop,” it was his last speech.

We spent a few days and Thanksgiving in Hot Springs.  We enjoyed hiking, Craker Barrel Thanksgiving dinner, bathhouse tours, swimming pools, and hot springs.

We got our tree before we left.  It was a good one.