Category: Uncategorized

Happy Valentine’s day!

The last two weeks have been brutal. I knew when my last day of work was going to be, but no one else knew. 🙂 Can’t tell the the employees because we need them. As soon as they find out, they have a high chance of quitting.

So, I needed to direct my stress and anxiety somewhere, and that somewhere was shopping. I have shopped EVERY day 🙂

Cute, right? I purchased the shirt and pants!

In between shopping, I did have to go to work. I still need to keep things rolling. One of the days I smashed my finger on…

This traffic cone. They are doing road construction and blocked the right lane that goes to my store. Directing traffic away from my store, making the entrance hard for customers to get into. I had to move it. Need to keep the lunch rush coming even during construction.

Another stress reliever I have been doing is eating. And not the healthy eating. Mrs. Bakers bakery became my closest friend over the last two weeks. I have frequented her bakery almost every day. I would have gone every day, but she is closed on Monday’s 🙂 A lot of calories in that tiny square of tasty goodness!

Finally the day came! We announced we sold the store to employees, completed a few tasks, and had our last Subway dinner 🙂 Yup! That’s my boy!

knowing we wouldn’t be in Bountiful anytime soon, because we now don’t have a reason to drive an hour away from home, we stopped off at Dick’s for the last time. Very sad about this. They have the BEST buttermilk donuts. We were late and they didn’t have any left, so I had to try…

Their cakes. And it didn’t disappoint. For the 10 years we owned the store, we have been going to Dicks for donuts and never tried their cakes. Such a disappointment. 🙂

Next stop, my favorite cookie place.

Cutlers. They have the best cookies in the state. Yes, I eat a LOT of treats. I eat, therefore I run. It works for me.

Many times I have purchased these cookies as an employee motivator. I’m going to miss these cookies.

One last memory of our week. The crazy snow storm we drove in. The last day of driving to Bountiful we scheduled it on the only storm of the week. How is that for fantastic scheduling! I want to remember this store, because this wasn’t normal snow. It was dirty, brown snow.

Look at this. Filthy dirty. I think there is some salt from the Great Salt Lake as well.

You can see the different colors in this picture. The white snow with the crazy brown snow on top.

A lot happened during the last two weeks and we have done a lot of “last” things, but we are not done celebrating just yet. Selling the store was a huge accomplishment, but we still have a few things to wrap up, like QuickBooks and taxes. After we close out QuickBooks, we are going to do a celebratory dinner at the Dodo!

Yup, more eating 🙂

Do you hear the choir of angels singing in the background? They have been here all week!

Can’t hear them? Well, this is what we are hearing….

That’s right. THE STORE HAS BEEN SOLD!!!!

Here’s saying goodbye to running 5 stores for the last 10 years!

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday to Paul!

Paul really want to to go snowmobiling for his birthday. On the way, we stopped in at the store to make sandwiches for lunch. We knew we would be starving after a day on the mountain.

Drove to Monte Cristo. Utah as been going through a drought with little snow, we were worried we wouldn’t have enough snow to ride the snowmobiles. Driving further up in elevations, we finally came to a little snow and frosted covered trees.

Eli rode with Paul.

I rode my own 🙂

With the lack of snow, we stayed on the main roads. We didn’t want to risk damaging the machine by running over rocks or branches. We went down Dry Bread Pond.

Lots of open space to go where ever you wanted.

Paul picked a good day to have a birthday 🙂

We switched so Paul could have some fun. After all, it’s his birthday 🙂

We played in the snow. It’s sad and a little scary that we haven’t had snow in the valley this year. A little worried about next year.

It was a gorgeous day.

Paul and Eli. It was hard to video. The sun was so bright, I couldn’t see what I was taping 🙂

Eli had a lot of fun!

After several hours riding it was time to head home and get dinner. Every year Paul wants to go to Maddox for his birthday dinner. I don’t complain. Maddox is delicious and I’m glad I can tag along 🙂 We also took home a coconut cream pie!

Happy Birthday, Paul!

I’m not going to post a picture of our house, but I haven’t vacuumed in 5 days and it’s driving me crazy. Paul took some video of the house because he couldn’t believe I have stayed calm through all this. That footage has been archived and not to be viewed by anyone. But, this is what Christmas is all about, right? Playing and being with family. We played hard every day for a week. We started playing the minute we woke up to when we hit the pillow that night. Five days of this!

We took a week off of eating healthy as well. It would be safe to say we haven’t followed the basic four food groups, unless that consists of sugar cookies and chocolate covered marzipan. We did have a balanced breakfast one morning, we went to the Black Bear Diner. Ha!

See what is around us? Mass hysteria is what it is.

We opened battleship and played a game. Paul was quick to sink our ship. Eli thought it was fun, but it was a long game and wanted to play something else. It’s his week, so we did what he wanted to do. And what was that?

He wanted to play the Nintendo Switch. We were going to get it for Eli last year, but we thought he was too young, and I’m glad we waited. This year was perfect for him.

They played all day. When their patooties got tired, they moved to the couch. 🙂

See the sock in the couch? The place was crazy!

We played Smess, the Ninny’s chess. Eli didn’t get this for Christmas, but he is obsessed with it. He is getting quite good at it as well. There are times when I don’t have to let him take my guy. He moves his guys, traps me, and takes it!

Well, this isn’t playing, but I have to remember it. Cyber Monday had a fantastic deal on a new kitchen faucet and we couldn’t pass it up. Paul said he would take just a moment to install it. After he installed it, we found out the handle was too tong and it hit the lip of the window seal. So out came the new one and the old one went back in.

Oh, the trains. Trains, trains, and more trains. Eli wants to be a train driver when he grows up so he wanted anything with a train. He received another box of wooden train tracks. We built a city out of train tracks. He is in love with this!

Eli learned how to read the legend on the instructions for the electric car track. He did a fantastic job putting the track together.

After the track was put together we had to protect the furniture because the cars were flying everywhere. We raced several races!

We brought out the electric train that blows real smoke. We also played with a fort kit and made several forts.

At night we went Christmas light watching. We found this street on Solemn street. It was king of fun to see the lights going across the street connecting all the houses.

One of the houses had a projector playing the Christmas story.

Then in the window we saw the leg lamp. Too funny.

Paul spotted Eli finishing up a Christmas project.

Different day, same Nintendo, but different game. They paused their playing to leave the house to purchase another game.

Same game, new position 🙂

It’s going to be rough going back to reality. We had a fun filled week of playing, enjoying family time, and eating whatever and whenever we wanted.

From the words of Dr. Seuss: Today is done. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one…but with a clean floor. Everyday from here to there, [great] things are every where.

Looking forward to a fun filled 2021!

This year Eli is old enough to participate in service projects.

We loaded up this morning and went to the store to make, and donate 50 footlongs to the food pantry.

We made all the sandwiches on the back prep tables, so our employees could have the front area to serve customers.

We wrapped them in 6 inch sandwiches.

After making the sandwiches, it was time to make some for us!

We delivered 100 6 inch sandwiches.

Eli has been begging us to ride the train. After all, he is going to be a train driver 🙂 My parents dropped us off at the train station.

Eli was skipping on the platform he was so excited.

Looking at the train through his binoculars (his fingers shaped like binoculars).

He LOVED the ride home.

It was a smooth ride home. My parents drove and met us at the station to pick us up.

It was a fun day of service. We have decided to make and donate 10 footlongs (20 six inches) every Friday when I work. 10 doesn’t sound like a lot, we may have to increase that number…

Every year we say the same thing, “It’s Christmas already? How did that happen?” Sure enough, this year wasn’t any different. Another year ending and another year will begin even if I want to prolong the holiday season.

We left last night with this….

And this…

And woke up at 6:00am to this….

Paul always makes Christmas fun. 15 years ago on our first Christmas, Paul wrote tags: To: me From: Santa, Rudolph, or Judy the Elf. He also had many tags: To: Paul, From: Paul. And when he opens his gifts from himself, he is genuinely excited saying, “That was exactly what I wanted! How did he know?” 🙂

This year, Paul didn’t disappoint. We had gifts from everyone, including the Grinch.

I had to hold back my tears with every tag that said: To: Mommy. I know it’s been 6 years, but I’m still so blessed to have a little boy in my life!

Eli was pretty excited to get gifts from Comet!

Paul did open gifts. A lot of them. I failed him and didn’t get one picture of him, but I do have a tag above to prove he was loved and received many gift from all of us. Including himself!

Every year I give Paul several bottles of different brands of root beers. While shopping for his drinks, I found a bottle of Butter Soda. I had to get it for my butter boy! Eli is constantly asking for a spoonful of butter. I don’t know where he learned to like butter so much. It’s like he was born in the South or something. 🙂

One picture of Paul! It’s bury, but it’s a picture!

One of our family gifts, a paddle board! VERY excited to use it this summer.

I love my gifts from Eli. Last year he got me a goblet and I use it all the time. The goblet was so random, I was really excited to see what he picked out for me this year.

After several hours of opening gifts, with a break of orange rolls, we packed up and left for my parents for our second breakfast.

We zoomed Bryan and Shayna, and Ferelyn’s family. We had four sessions going, including the session Mom and Dad were having on the couch 🙂 I was conducting. It was crazy.

Mom and Dad’s session on the couch, ha!

Eli was very excited to show everyone his gifts.

Rin and Gage showed us theirs.

We zoomed because Dad and I sent out the ties we made to everyone. They all loved them!

This year we all decided to give Mom and Dad a family trip and their gift from all of us. Dad said he would like to go to Italy and Aaron said wanted to go to Norway. Yeah, all beautiful places and I would love to go back and visit again, but I was thinking a little cheaper and closer to home, like Lake Powell. 🙂

I’m pretty excited for where ever we end up going. I miss spending time with the whole family and this summer we will be able to have the opportunity.

After the zoom meeting we ate breakfast. Well, really lunch. Breakfast for lunch. Mom made her usual french toast casserole and quiche. I look forward to it every year. What? No picture? I know. I don’t know what happened to that one as well 🙂

Mom and Dads tree. Easy up and easy down. Or should I say, easy up the stairs and back down the stairs into a closet. I love it. Give me a few more years and this will be my tree. 🙂

We opened gifts.

I can’t handle another dog after Charlie so unfortunately this will be the only dog Eli gets. He had fun with him.

All the boys had fun with him. 🙂

Lu Lu didn’t like him and felt left out!

We opened our Christmas crackers

Read the jokes out of the crackers.

And then we had to say goodbye so we could head over to Paul’s parents house for snacks.

Eli was spoiled here as well. A double car electric race track. He needed a new one. He was using Aaron’s 20 year old version and his track needs to be retired. Paul and Eli opened it and began to assemble.

And assemble…

Look at Paul’s face! Reed jumped in to help out.

They worked and worked on this track.

And finally!!

After an hour of building we couldn’t just take it back down. We had to stay for a while to race.

We got home extremely late. Eli hit the pillow at 9:00pm and I don’t think we read a full page of his book and he was out!

We had another wonderful Christmas! Still very grateful and blessed for our miracle, our son. For bringing the magic of Christmas into our home and to celebrate Christ’s birth.

Paul’s family has a tradition of opening pajamas on Christmas Eve and Paul and we have continued with this tradition.

Eli had a lot of fun this year in shopping for a few gifts, wrapping them, and placing them under the tree. Waiting for a few weeks until he could open them was taking everything out of him, and practicing patience was killing him! And NOW he gets to finally open one! He was disappointed that we were the ones to choose which one to open, but he got over it and was so excited to finally open one!

Eli didn’t catch on that all the gifts we opened that night were pajamas. Waiting for us to open our gift was excitement for him.

Paul wrote my tag: To: Kris (mommy). For the last few months, Eli has been asking me why people use my nickname (Kris) instead of my real name (mommy). I have always wanted to be a mother, and this little boy not only gave me the title of a mother, but a mommy!

We put our pajamas on and started to prepare for Santa’s arrival.

We have had a few discussions on what type of cookies were were going to make. Eli said he wanted to give cookies to Santa and carrots to Santa’s reindeer, so we decided to multitask and make orange carrot cookies.

Eli wanted to put out water for his reindeer as well. He insisted on using Charlies old dish. I haven’t had the courage to throw out all of Charlies stuff, so I’m pleased to see it being used.

Just before bed he had to do a research check. What is a research check??

Eli said he saw Santa flying in the sky, so it was off to bed!

We stuffed the stockings with tasty treats.

We loaded up the tree.

While Paul was making several trips bringing up wrapped gifts from the basement, I took one for the team and ate some cookies.

Eli insisted on giving Santa 1% milk, so Paul drank the milk 🙂

And Santa came. He delivered gifts. He enjoyed his cookies and milk. His reindeer were refreshed with their water. It was a successful night.

I think I’m more excited for Eli to see this empty plate than he is to open everything! I can’t wait. Christmas day is never going to come!! 🙂