December 2019

On the first of December we put up the tree and other decorations with the help of the kids who were around. On December 4^th, we went to a Christmas party for the area seminary teachers and then went to Rexburg to hear Isaac sing with the Men’s Choir. Great concert!

I was excited to start my 12 Days of Christmas tradition with Kory. He loved this sweater and wore it to work and the students loved it. On December 13^th, we all got together at Josh and Kasey’s because Grandpa Kunz and Aunt Lori were in town for a funeral on the 14^th. It was fun to hang around with everyone and we were excited to have Austin and Leah in town for the holidays with the two cuties Andy and Stevie.

On the 14^th Kory and my mom and dad and I headed down to the Holt Arena for my ISU graduation. I didn’t ever walk when I got my Master’s degree, but this doctoral degree has taken ten years from start to finish and I really wanted a sense of closure. I’m glad I did. It was a small, short ceremony and it was fun to walk with some fellow BYUI teachers who also finished up their degrees this semester. It will be so nice to never worry about that again! After the ceremony, we headed back to Idaho Falls and gathered up the kids and went to Smitty’s for a celebratory lunch.

The 16th was the last day of BYUI. In addition to wrapping up my classes, Kory and I helped a little with getting Phoebe moved out of her apartment and back to our house. On the 17^th, the kids went to their mom’s house for a Christmas party, so Kory and I went to the Madison High School choir concert, since I have three nieces in choir there—Madeline, Abby, and Ainsley. It was so fun to watch and hear them. I love Christmas music. The 18^th was BYUI graduation. Also, that night Madison and Quinton got engaged!! We are so excited for them and look forward to a wedding sometime this summer or fall. On the 19^th Chloe had a Christmas choir concert, but each kid was only allowed two tickets, so Kory went and recorded things for me to hear. On the 20^th, Kory and I went to a Christmas party with the teachers at Skyline Seminary. We had a fun time. The Child’s hosted it. Under each person’s plate was a thing you had to act out throughout the entire dinner and then people tried to guess what the behavior was. For example, if someone commented on the Child’s family pictures, I had to say, “you should see my kid’s pictures.” If someone coughed, one of the people had to say “Is there a doctor in the house?” And then someone else’s prompt was if they asked for a doctor, they had to say, “Suzette is a doctor.” Anyway, they are a great group of people and Kory loves working with them.

Starting with the 21^st we had lots of great family time. Austin and Leah were here with the girls a lot, and Phoebe and Isaac were back from college, so there was a lot of hanging out, playing video games and other games, playing with the babies, eating, talking, and laughing. On the 22^nd we had our Christmas program at church. Kory, Caleb, and I sang in the choir. Morgan sang with the Primary and did a special number with the other 11-year-old girls that sounded beautiful. 

On the 23^rd, we had family pictures. We figured it’s been about six years since we got one, so it’s time to update. I hired one of my BYUI students to do the photos and we met at Tautphaus Park to do it. Usually family pictures are a drag, but everyone was in a great mood and had a lot of fun. We took some of the kids to Taco Time after the pictures, then Kory and I finished up some shopping. We wrapped everything while the kids were at the Andrus Christmas Party.

On the 24^th, we went to brunch at Smitty’s. After that we hung out and then watched the nativity video and did our family gift exchange, which was lots of fun. Then we went to Quinton’s family’s house—the Lovato’s. They made some delicious Mexican food for us and we had fun getting to know them better, chatting, and playing games. After that, we went back home and the kids laid out all of their bedding in the basement for their traditional all-night party playing games and watching movies.

On Christmas morning, we actually had to wake the kids up! We finally started opening gifts around 9:30, which is what happens when you have a houseful of teen-agers and young adults. We had fun opening gifts and everyone seemed happy. After that, we made some buttermilk pancakes for breakfast and then the kids packed up to head to their mom’s house. 

After the kids left, we went on a cleaning spree for a couple of hours, then we made our food to take to my parent’s house for dinner. I had volunteered to bring ham, since we had a ham in the freezer. But as I started Googling things, I realized that the meat was probably too old. So, Kory and I went on a fun trip around town, trying to see if any grocery stores were open. They weren’t. So, I checked in Walgreens—surprise, surprise, they don’t sell hams. So, we cooked it anyway, but when it was all done, we decided it didn’t really look or smell right, so we dumped it! Luckily, my mom had cooked a “little” turkey-aka a TON of turkey—so it really didn’t matter in the long run. We had fun eating and visiting at my mom’s. I pulled out our new Disney songbook and we all had fun belting out our favorite songs. When we got home, we arrived just as Kory’s dad was pulling into town from Utah. We had a nice visit and he dropped off some gifts for the family. So that wrapped it up for Christmas 2019.         

On the 27^th Kory and I joined Anytime Fitness to get a jump on our New Year’s goals. All of my friends who have finished the dissertation have lost 35 pounds of stress weight. Here’s hoping mine comes off quickly! That night we had a party at Kristi and Terry’s for the Gee adult cousins. We all brought treats to share and had a fun night of Karaoke, Rollick (charades), Cards for Rexburg (a Cards for Humanity knock off) and visiting. We all had so much fun!

On the 28^th, Kory and I exercised and cleaned and did errands. In the afternoon, I joined my sister and two of her daughters—Ainsley and Abby—to go see Little Women. We all loved it and went to Chik Fil A after. On the 29^th, we went to church. It was the last Sunday of the year, which means the last day of Primary for Morgan, who will go into Young Women next week. She’s excited and nervous.

On the 30^th, we exercised again—(see a pattern?)—then we prepared for Phoebe’s birthday party, since she won’t be at our house on her birthday. In the afternoon we took Phoebe and Chloe to Little Women. That night, we had people over for cake and ice cream and pizza for Phoebe’s birthday. She is 19 this year and has been learning a lot as she figures out what she wants to do with her life. She finished a semester at BYUI but doesn’t think that’s the place for her right now. Her current plan is to work for a few months and save money to go to hair school this fall. After cake and ice cream we played some Mario Kart and then everyone got pretty involved in a jigsaw puzzle. Kory and I went to bed around 11:00 and the kids were still up and playing for a few more hours. To top it off, Phoebe threw up around 2:00 a.m.. Happy birthday!

On the 31^st, we worked on the puzzle a bit more, then we took the kids to their mom’s house. I cleaned the house for awhile. Later, Kory and I joined Josh and Kasey for a fantastic dinner at their house-prime rib, shrimp, home-made rolls, grilled pineapple, etc. Kasey and I worked on a Star Wars jigsaw puzzle and then after the kids were in bed, we sat outside in their hot tub. They are up on the hill and have a great view of Idaho Falls and Ammon. After that, Kory and I picked Chloe up from one party and dropped her off at another one and then headed home and to bed. Happy New Year!