Quaratine 16!

Sunday was William’s 16^th birthday!  I can’t believe he is 16 now!  He had a good birthday and is planning something with his friends for this coming week. Everyone in the family was happy with his food selections for the day—French Toast Bread Pudding with warm peaches for breakfast, ribs for dinner, and crème brulee for dessert! 

Super 16

 Time just won't slow down!  William has accomplished some amazing things this past year including earning his Eagle Scout award, getting his drivers permit, blessing the sacrament for our home Sacrament Meetings for most of the year, and learning guitar.  

William is so patient with others, researches topics he cares about, and is really musically talented (although you have to catch him at it because he doesn't like to share).  He is a great friend and loves to sleep.

William was so funny during this interview and gave me all sorts of crazy answers... so here you go. See if you can tell where he was being serious and where he was just saying the first thing that popped into his head!

What is your favorite...

color? brown
food? dino chicken nuggets
toy? hot wheels (really though? I think it's his phone or his skateboard)
show? Calliou (he really doesn't watch many shows but I know he hates Calliou...)
animal?  monkey
book(s)? "I don't read"
song?  Baby by Justin Beiber (he's laughing as he says this so I know it's absolutely false)
hymn? Joy to the World
What do you like to do? hang out with my friends
Who is your best friend?  Elias
What do you want to be when you grow up? dump truck driver (again, super not true)
Do you have a girlfriend/crush? "no... and I wouldn't tell you if I did because you'd tease me about it"

I am -  16

I am afraid of - 

I like - my birthday and Christmas

I like to eat - food

I don't like - school

I know - stuff

I want to be -  out of school

I like to watch - YouTube

I like to go to - not school

My hero is- me

I cry when - I yawn

Mom gets mad when -  I don't do school

Mom is happy when - I do my school

Dad gets mad when - I don't do my seminary

Dad is happy when - I do my seminary

I can't wait for - April (first he said Coronavirus to be over... )

Something Mom says to me - "do your homework"

Something Dad says to me - "don't fall asleep in class"

My favorite place to go is - fun places

My Mom and Dad make me laugh by - showing me a funny video

I know my mom loves me because -she tells me to do my homework

I know my dad loves me because -he's making ribs for me right now

The next year will bring even more changes.  William, I am so excited the path that you will take.  You are amazing!  Happy birthday!

Utah Courthouse

Friday after school (around 1:30) we left for Utah.  We made good time and got up to Junction Utah around dinner time.  We checked out a hotspot from the library so James was able to do some homework in the car.  It was so fun to see our friends and explore the old courthouse (built in 1903) that we stayed in.

The attendees this year were the Scotts (Rebecca), Fitzgibbons, Trumans (Lori), and us. Junction is so small and the courthouse is definitely the main attraction in town. (Rich went into the General Store next door and saw a lady go in, grab what she needed, and ask them to add it to her account).  The first night we hung out and talked.  

Saturday we explored some more, went to see Butch Cassidy's childhood home nearby, and played games.

There was so much to explore at the courthouse.

Heather and Royce were supposed to come down but then Royce was potentially exposed to someone with COVID and they decided to stay home.  Saturday morning they got the news that his friend's test came back negative so they decided to come down! We had decided beforehand that courthouse would make a great setting for a murder mystery... so in the evening after the kids were fed we played a murder mystery game--it was a lot of fun!

We also did an m&m taste test which was fun.

Sunday morning Ryan decided to check out the forbidden attic space.

Afterwards we cleared out and headed home.  We did our Come Follow Me lesson in the car which worked great! 

The three of us brought matching shirts without knowing!    Reminded me of our college days when Lori and I would end up matching accidentally all the time!

October 2020

 We had a busy October! Moments like these make homeschooling worth it.

We enjoyed watching General Conference while we colored!

We were learning about the pioneers and explorers who settled Nevada in history so I let Henry and Lydia play Oregon Trail.  They loved it so much!  They were so excited when they finally won! 

William always provides great photos.

We had our ward "primary presentation."  It was Alex's last! We planned it back when we were still only having church once a month and were split into small groups of 50.  It was decided that the primary presidency would speak and we made a video presentation of the children.  I was really worried that we wouldn't get anyone to participate.  I told Rich that we'd only get 3 submissions (us, the Darringtons, and another family.)  For about 2 weeks that's exactly what happened!  I finally sent out an email and told everyone that we only had 3 videos and then we got a few more.  Still less than 50% of the families... but better than 3! 

James got his top braces on and he will get the bottom ones on in December.  I took him to Panda for a late lunch/early dinner before his teeth started to hurt.  (James loves Panda but he always gets outvoted on the rare occasions when we eat out and let the kids choose).  

Our talented neighbor, Audrey Davis, chalked our sidewalk for Halloween!

In honor of Nevada Day we visited the Old Mormon Fort where they had some displays about Nevada and a fun scavenger hunt for the state symbols.  It was a beautiful day outside too so it was perfect.  We learned earlier in the year about these decoy ducks that the early Native Americans made from tule reeds.  There were a few on display and I knew Henry and Lydia would be excited to see a real one!  We found some of the reeds out in the pond as well and took some home with us to see if we could figure out how they were able to shape them.  It was fun! I checked out an internet hot spot from the library so Henry was able to work on his math on the drive over.

Lydia invited the Davis girls over for a tea party.  She hand delivered an invitation to their house.  They were such good sports (they are 16, 13, 11)!  They dressed up and played with her for hours!

The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed the hammock!

We had a ward trunk or treat.  It felt “normal” and so nice! Surprisingly I won 2nd place in the chili contest.  I think it’s because I had the only white chili there.

The kids were creative with their pumpkins.

William and Kate hanging out.

 

My three little trick-or-treaters had a great time!  We had lots of people in the neighborhood--you'd never know we were in the middle of a pandemic!