On New Year's morning, we woke up to 2 inches of snow that fell overnight--totaling 5 inches of snowfall within 24 hours, which I thought was such a beautiful way to start the new year!
A New Year's miracle happened that evening when my laundry basket became empty, for two reasons: 1. I don't remember the last time I saw the bottom of this basket, and 2. Just the day before when I decided to tackle the mountain of laundry in my closet and bathroom, the washing machine died. We took the broken machine out, cleaned up the laundry room and mopped up the pool of water (unfortunately discovering some water damage evident in the walls and floor in the process), and purchased a used washer from my landlord in Mud Lake (that I sold him a year ago!). We drove to Mud Lake on New Year's Day in a snowstorm to retrieve the machine, drove back to Salmon, unloaded and hooked it up, and I proceeded to finish washing all the loads I started the previous day! I'm hopeful this empty basket is a symbol of a great year to come!
Kanyon and I had to return to school in Terreton on Thursday, January 2, but in Salmon, school was still out for Christmas Break. Josh took that day off to take Ammon up to Moscow to move in to his new room at the frat house--since he was voted in as V.P. in the fall, he got to have his own room starting in January! They put together the loft bed we got Ammon for Christmas, as well as moved in our old double recliner (which fit perfectly under the bed, thankfully!). Ammon was still on Christmas Break as well, so as soon as they got everything all moved in, they both drove back to Salmon that evening. It was a long day for them!
Josh and I found ourselves pretty lucky to be the only ones at Sharkey Hot Springs on Saturday the 4th; there's almost always other people there. We'd decided to go up in the afternoon during a snowstorm, because we thought it would feel good to lay in the hot water as cold snowflakes fell on our heads, but by the time we'd gotten there, the snowstorm had passed. However, we weren't at all disappointed when we discovered we were alone! Happy new year to us!
We celebrated Ammon's 20th birthday a week early, since he was heading for Boise and then would be heading back to school in Moscow on the weekend of his actual birthday. We ate his chosen meal of steak, mashed potatoes, and cream corn, and he got his wish of homemade pumpkin pie for dessert, too. Josh and I gifted him money to get a new set of irons for his golf club set, so he didn't have much to open. However, I did get a few small things for him (socks with designs on them, new dress shoelaces, and a box with the cash in it), just so that he would have something to open--it's rather sad when the day comes that you have nothing to open anymore because you've become an adult! I'm glad that we were able to celebrate his birthday with him!
His picture with the number 20 pies, compared to his first year's birthday number cake:
For Family Home Evening on Sunday the 5th (the same day as Ammon's birthday celebration), we played Settlers of Catan for the first time with Kanyon's new extension pack he got for Christmas. It was nice to have us all be able to play together!
We drove to Utah on Friday, January 10 to stay with my parents in Providence. We took the 3 younger boys with us. The twins were planning on going skiing with Grandpa Perkins the following day since they weren't able to go when we visited over Christmas Break, and Kanyon was going to spend some time at the house with Grandma. Before we left Mud Lake (Josh and the twins picked up Kanyon and I there), Josh attached their skis to the cargo carrier behind the car. Sadly, right after I passed a semi prior to our Idaho Falls exit to gas up, the skis became loosened. They dragged on the freeway for a mile, totally ruining one of the sets, and partially damaging another. Josh was really distraught about their skis, because he felt so responsible for how he'd tied them to the cargo carrier. Unfortunately, which made the situation even worse, my dad was too sick to even go skiing the next day, but hadn't told us that before we drove down to Utah. He said he would still drive them up to the ski hill, he just wouldn't be able to go downhill with them. If we'd known, we wouldn't have even brought the skis to begin with. It was too late to go back now, so Josh ordered Micah a new set online that night, and my dad got him some rental skis the next day so he was still able to go.
The next morning, Josh and I left to Ogden so we could spend the day with Amanda and Ryan, to celebrate her 40th birthday. Amanda and I went to SLC to see the musical "Seussical" at the Hale Center Theater while Josh stayed at their home with Ryan. Oh my goodness...it was such an incredible performance! It was super funny, magical, whimsical, and awe-inspiring. I loved every moment of it and was so glad we went! I used to direct a "Seussical Jr." show when I taught music in Salmon, so I was familiar with several of the songs, but the creative choices and excellent acting made the play so phenomenal! It was my favorite play I've ever seen at the Hale Theater! Amanda and I had a fabulous time!
When we got back to Ogden, we picked up the guys and went to eat at the Sonora Grill, a Mexican fine dining place that Josh and I had never been to. The food was okay, but not as good as the Fiesta En Jalisco Mexican Restaurant that used to be in Salmon. We sure miss that place!
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| We shared the queso dip |
We went dancing afterwards at a place called the Outlaw Saloon. One of the items on my 40 Things to Do list was to go dancing with Josh, and Amanda said she wanted to do that list item with me when she first read the list, so we included that on this trip as well. It was a country bar with a nice, open feel to it, and they had a live band performing. Josh danced with me once and with Amanda once. I love the way he holds me when we dance, and I love what a great dancer he is! We also played pool together (he won) which was fun and reminiscent of our dating days. Once we couldn't take the country music anymore, we left and dropped off Ryan & Amanda at their house, and drove back to my parents' house at midnight through a snowstorm.
We left to return back to Salmon the next morning, driving in a snowstorm for most of the way. The Idaho Falls area was the worst because the wind was blowing there, too. On Monday morning, due to the snow and wind, school in West J was cancelled! After Josh drove his bus route for Salmon, he came home and we went to Sharkey Hot Springs. And once again, we were surprisingly the only ones there! I had a really relaxing day the remainder of the day at home, and was grateful for the extra time I had with Josh!
I took a picture on the morning of July 15 and sent it to Josh, and he took a picture that evening of his view. We don't live that far apart, but sometimes our worlds are so different!
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| Brrr...it's too cold to be out and about! |
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| It's so pretty here to be out and about! |
Josh sent me this photo he saw in the newspaper of the twins. They'd had a sophomore class fundraiser selling homemade soups the previous weekend. They're such good boys, who are always doing serviceful, uplifting things for others! I'm so grateful for their examples of goodness!
Josh drove the wrestling bus to a tournament in Wendell on Friday the 17th. I missed him so much that week, and was sad that I wouldn't get to see him for most of the weekend, so the night before he left, I came up with a great idea: the next day after school, I would drive down to Jerome/Wendell and stay with him overnight! It all worked out great: after school on Friday, I immediately left and drove to Wendell to see the last bit of the wrestling tournament for the night, and Kanyon went to his friend Ryker's house and stayed there until bedtime. The team stayed at a hotel in Jerome, which was really nice, and Josh and I relaxed all night and I slept in the next morning; he took the team back to the tournament and dropped them off, then came back to the hotel and we enjoyed each other's company until it was time to check out. After that, he drove back to Wendell for the day and drove the team home to Salmon that night, and I left to drive back to Mud Lake to pick up Kanyon and drove home to Salmon that evening. Kanyon and I arrived to an empty house since Jonah was gone skiing with friends for the day, and Micah was gone to an indoor track meet at BYU, and it made me glad that I'd chosen to go spend time with Josh because the house would've been so quiet and lonely all day had I not.
Josh and I teach Sunday School, and we got a new group of students at the beginning of January. This year's curriculum is the Book of Mormon. On Sunday the 19th, our lesson was on Lehi's vision, and I had the student's each take turns drawing one aspect of the dream on the chalkboard; I loved seeing their perspectives and the discussions we had as well!
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Jonah and Erik both discovered after Christmas
that they got the same tie set, and for two weeks in a row,
they wore twinner ties to church! I thought it was hilarious:
Jonah hates dressing identical to Micah, and always has,
but he was totally into dressing the same as Erik!
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Micah arrived after church on Sunday after being gone to BYU all weekend
for his first indoor track competition. He PR'd in both the 800 and 1600m,
so he was happy. He had a great time with some of his running friends!
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I almost hit a huge herd of elk on the morning of January 20 on the way to school. I was drowsy, and it was an area I'd never seen them before, and it was dark and I simply didn't see them. It was between Nicholia Ranch and Kauffman Creek. Thankfully, there was an oncoming car that had come down the hill and I'd seen its lights, but then the lights disappeared and I couldn't figure out what happened to the car. Suddenly it dawned on me that animals were blocking its light, and I slammed on my brakes, just missing several elk by a couple of yards. After I stopped, I tried to take some photos, but the lighting wasn't good to show the hundreds of elk that were in the herd by the road! It was a very scary experience that shook me for most of the day. I honestly believe that if the other car hadn't been there, I would've seen the elk too late to completely stop before hitting them. I don't often see much oncoming traffic on my 2-hour commute in the mornings, and that was truly a tender mercy that morning. It was there at just the right time in the right place to save me and Kanyon.
Just 15 minutes later on the drive, the sun was coming up behind the Tetons in the distance; it was such a beautiful sunrise, and I felt God's love, and I was so full of gratitude for my life and all of God's creations.
This arrived in the mail! Yay, Ammon! He is still maintaining an incredible 4.0 at school! We are so proud of him and how well he's doing at college, and for his many accomplishments!
Josh worked on several trimming projects at the golf course this winter. One of them was to cut down a MASSIVE Willow tree on #9 fairway. It took a couple of hours to get it to come down, and then a couple of weeks to cut up all the branches and trunk and haul them away. He did it almost all single-handedly, which is impressive! I'm still in awe when I see the sheer size of the trunk in person--its diameter is about 6 feet across!
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| Before--it's the big one on the right of the two |
On Saturday the 25th, Josh and I attended the funeral of Dora Cummings, a sweet lady who used to live in our ward, and her daughter-in-law Trisa is Josh's cousin. I played the prelude for it, and also sang the song "Jealous of the Angels" for one of the musical numbers. I hadn't heard of it before, and was without a piano all week long, so I couldn't practice it with the accompaniment, either. I played it over and over on Youtube until I knew it so well that I had it memorized. It's a beautiful song, and I was so grateful for the opportunity to sing at her funeral. I know it sounds strange, but singing at funerals is what my voice was made for, and I am so grateful whenever I'm given the chance.
After the funeral dinner, Josh and I headed over to the high school for the girl's basketball game. It was "Senior Night", so the choir sang the national anthem. We got there just in time to watch Micah sing with the choir, and we stayed until halftime, and got to hear Jonah play with the pep band, too. I'm grateful that my children participate in the school's music program! I'm so proud of them both for using their talents and spending time to share those talents with others!
After school on the 30th, I rode on Tanis' snowmobile to cross off another item on my 40 Things to Do list. I met her and Ken (her husband) at the shop by his mom's house. It was foggy and fairly cold, so I wore my coat and gloves. Ken told me to go down the tracks in the field and turn around at the haystack to come back. On my way back, I was feeling more confident, so even though it was freezing and my nose and cheeks were on fire, I drove even faster. It was exhilarating and I squealed with delight! I had such a fun ride, and couldn't stop smiling afterwards! I'm so grateful they let me ride their machine!
On January 31, I checked out of school early so Kanyon and I could go to Aunt Edna's funeral in Salmon. We barely made it in time! It was such a wonderful funeral. Frank Dalrymple gave the life sketch. It was well-written and had a lot of nice details about her life. The grandkids sang a song, and then Dave Silcock and her daughter Tuana Lyn both spoke, giving beautiful tributes. The funeral lasted exactly an hour. It was informational, sweet, sentimental, and punctual! What a perfect memorial to her! We went to the cemetery for the graveside dedication, and then back to the church for the family meal. Cousin Rachel and her daughters stayed at our house the night before and after the funeral. It was nice having girls in the house! Lexi and Madi get along great with the twins. We played some Jackbox TV games with them and they played board games with the boys, too. I'm so glad they came!
That night, Josh and I went to Phil & Darcy's house to finally celebrate her birthday, which happened weeks before. I got us some wood-fired pizza to eat at their house. We played Settlers of Catan, which Phil won pretty quickly, so then we played the card game Spades, which the boys won. We had a really enjoyable night with them!
