February 2023 Randoms

WEEK 1: 

Monday was super cold. It was -21 degrees in Salmon and -24 in Leadore plus an added wind chill there. Salmon schools were delayed for 2 hours that morning and Leadore, along with almost all schools in Southeast Idaho, were closed that day, and many again on Tuesday due to severe cold temps and blowing, drifting snow. Highway 28 from Leadore to Mud Lake was closed most of the day on Sunday and into Monday, too. 

I took this photo over Gilmore the next week--it was crazy how
high the snow was piled to the west of the highway!

WEEK 2: 

The Waste Management Pro Golf Tournament was held in Phoenix. Ammon was able to go to it a few times over the week, since he lives in Scottsdale. He was also there on Sunday, one of the broadcasted days, and we watched for him on TV, but we never spotted him. His favorite moment was watching Rickie Fowler getting a hole-in-one, and spending some time with cousin KC Franson at the fun tournament. 

Golf cousins Ammon & KC

The crowd behind the 18th tee for the last group on Sunday.

Tony Finau's tee-off. Funny comparison
between him & the volunteer!

The spot where Xander Schauffele's drive
landed, which was SO close to Ammon.

Ammon almost got hit by Dylan Frittelli's
drive. It bounced off the cart path and into
the snack/beer cart, but he still made birdie!

The highlight of the week for Ammon
was seeing Rickie's hole in one!

                

The final day of the Waste Management Open was also the same day as the Superbowl, which also happened to be located in the Phoenix area, too! It's crazy that two major pro events were held in the same city on the same weekend! We ended up not hosting a Superbowl party this year; it was the quietest Superbowl we've had for a decade or more! Josh made bacon-wrapped lil' smokies, and I made ham-wrapped pickles. I made some cookies, and Josh heated up some cheese for chips. We sat and watched the game together, and occasionally Kanyon would poke his head in the room whenever he grabbed more food. It was a great game with the Kansas City Chiefs beating the Philadelphia Eagle 38-35. Rihanna did the half time show, and Josh and I both enjoyed it immensely. 

WEEK 3:

We found out how much we owed in taxes this year. It was an unbelievable new record for us, and we were both shocked at the amount. As a result of changing child tax credits and new tax laws and my summer driving job not withholding ANY this year for the first time, we owed a whopping $5,220!!! Needless to say, the news both upset and depressed Josh and I all week!

In other noteworthy depressing and interesting news, my car's odometer hit all 2's one day, which I suppose was fitting since it was in the 2nd month of the year! I'm grateful this car is still running because we can't afford a new one at the moment!

WEEK 4: 

On Sunday we had the missionaries over for dinner. We'd been in charge of coordinating their meals for February, and they said we did the best that they'd had as far as lining up meals and communicating with them. They said, "Why can't everyone just do it like the Tolman's?" which was a nice compliment. We enjoy having them over and feeding them since we hope that's what others would do for our sons serving missions. Elder DeHart taught us a fun object lesson after dinner. He had Kanyon draw a picture of our family, then he went around the room and had us each say a sin. With every sin named, he scribbled on the picture in red ink. At the end, he used a lighter to burn off the red ink and restored the picture, comparing it to the process of repentance and the power of the Atonement. It was a cool lesson, and we especially liked Kanyon's depiction of our family--each person in the picture had an item to help represent them!

Josh helped referee boys' junior high basketball games on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. It was a lot in one week, but they were really needing help, and Josh is both a good sport to help out and he likes the opportunity to work out, so he agreed. During the Salmon game against Firth on Monday, one of the coaches kept stomping and yelling at the refs, and Josh finally told the 8th grade coach, "I'll referee, and you can coach, or else you can spend the rest of the game in the locker room!" and thankfully the coach simmered down after that! Josh is a good ref; I enjoy watching him on the court and I know the athletic program and members of the community are grateful that he provides this service, too.