New Year's Eve

Normally on New Year's Eve we go for Thai food with Lee and Cammie, and then to the Drake's for an end of year party with games and raucous behavior for the children, visiting and eating for the adults, and a tree burning at 9:00pm. Because of Covid, the party at the Drake's didn't happen (grrr), and we opted for take-out rather than dining in. A tree burning was still completely in order, so two days ago, I sent out an email to the Rock Canyon Google Group and invited anyone interested to come watch a tree burning. 

Offering a tree burning meant we needed to find a tree. Yesterday we drove around the east side, looking for someone who was not only disposing of their tree, but who had a dry one. We found trees, but many were puny or too fresh. We did find two good options, one exceptionally dry and fairly full. We chose it for our fiery offering.

The kids in the back seat, holding on to the tree we've picked up off the street.

Our tree was so fresh, it sprouted new growth on the end of each branch.

It was waaaaay too fresh to burn.

Lee and Cammie came to our house, along with my mom, and we ate Thai food that took an inordinate amount of time being prepared and arrived somewhat cold. No tom kai gai either (they ran out). Mom and the kids went over to Mikayla's to play games and ring in the new year. Kent and I and Lee and Cammie talked and talked until it was time for the tree burning when many, many people showed up for the flames. The tree burned well, bright and hot, providing enough excitement for all in attendance. It was nice to visit with our neighbors too. We miss them.

Burn baby burn!

The kids returned to Mikayla and Guy's house, Lee and Cammie went home, and Kent and I spent the late part of the evening watching a movie and trying to stay awake. Thank goodness we all get to sleep late. Here's to seeing 2020 end, and here's hoping 2021 sees a return to somewhat normal life.

Christmas Day

 Happily, Blythe did not wake us at 5:00am. She couldn't, however, hold off longer than 7:00am when she came into our bedroom and joyfully proclaimed, "Merry Christmas! We went downstairs for our requisite by the tree Christmas picture, and then opened presents.

Some weeks ago, I ordered the kids phones. Some would say, "It's about time!" Others might say, "Why?!" I'm still sort of the in the latter camp, but realized the kids wants to be in touch with friends and able to call and text us without borrowing someone else's phone. I imagine they were both probably the only kids at Centennial Middle School and Timpview High School without one. So I caved and ordered Gabb phones. These are not smartphones; they have no internet access, so no apps and no access to porn in the palm of their hands. I'm hopeful we can avoid many of the pitfalls of comparison on social media. Anyway. I was excited to see their excitement. 

I had also asked them for a list of things they wanted for Christmas, mostly because others had asked what they might like. Brandt's list was very short.

1. New Spy School Book
2. Money
3. Karambit MTech Black Fixed Blade Knife Set
4. More books

As with most things, Blythe was a bit more wordy (she is a writer, after all).

5$ Robux Gift Card

I think it's a bit unfair that Brandt spent like 100 dollars on a game and a video editor and I can’t use my OWN money to buy Robux ONCE? It makes Roblox more fun and I only want to buy Robux once. To buy the Royale High gamepasses and some diamonds and some clothes/hair for my avatar. And that's it. Nothing more. Not ever again. And it's my OWN money. I know that you guys say that some people get addicted but if I only want it once and only get it once I can’t really get addicted. And i’ve wanted Robux for 2 years. Brandt found the video editor, did some research and then bought it in like a week? 

A Phone

I can think of a lot of circumstances where a phone would be great. I could text you guys and tell you where I am, or if I’m having an emergency and need to vent, I can call Lily or David and calm down. Or if I’m being kidnapped or something bad happened like somebody got hurt, I can always call 911 and you guys. And the only apps I really want is a paint by number game to make fantasy backgrounds that I can use, texting, calling, notes, google, wattpad, camera, marco polo, pinterest, venmo (for Janie) and a snapchat app that only gives you the filters, which is the only thing I use anyways. 

Nail Polish

I know this seems weird but I want some new bottles of nail polish. Preferably in these colors: Emerald green, white, orange, yellow, lavender and the normal clear nail strengthening stuff. 

LED lights

I know this is even weirder but LED lights are amazing and beautiful and Sabby has some in her room and it's the first I’ll mess with when I go to their house haha

Hair Chalk Brush

Just seemed fun and interesting and It’s a cheaper option than dying my hair and all I need to do is run the brush through my hair and boom! Done >=3 Easy peasy lemon squeezy. And it's washable. 

Boots

I need some new boots and this is preferably what I would like: Knee or mid-calf boots, with fur on the inside. Black or chocolate brown. Maybe a tiny heel but small and tiny so I can feel fashionable but comfortable and so I don’t trip XD

CeraVe

I’m out and I need some more haha

Neither child got everything they wanted. Brandt did get the new Spy School book, and a couple others, but he did not get money or knives. Blythe did not get Robux or the type of phone she wanted with all the apps, and she didn't get boots because last year's still fit her. But they got other things, and I think they were happy. 

If not, too bad.

Speaking of bad, this isn't a brilliant picture of us. Cute tree though.

A published author

New deodorant for our frequently smelly boy.

I know it was his favorite gift!

After presents, a delicious crepe breakfast, and some serious lounging around and snoozing on the couch, we loaded nosh in the car and headed to Grandma Sue's house for general Christmas cheer. We ate and talked and played lots of games, including a full family charades extravaganza. Everyone participated, including Cora and Lyla. We did some prep work with the two of them, taking them aside and helping them figure out how to act out things like "salt and pepper," "skunk," and "angel." It was a riotous good time, and so fun to have everyone participating. As adults, we also played a new game called Think in Sync which had us all roaring with laughter, too. It was a pleasure and delight to be together, eating, laughing, and strengthening our relationships.

I love Christmas, the feeling of love and closeness of family. I love celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, which is really what Christmas is all about. I am grateful for his willingness to come to earth as a babe, grow, teach, offer a perfect example, then atone and die for us. Here's to many a merry Christmases!

Christmas Eve

I worked today, though I was finished by about 2:00pm. I sort of volunteered to help someone else, but told my boss that I really wanted to go home and be mom. Nice to work, but nice to be done early. 

Normally, on Christmas Eve, we are with both DeMartinis and Barri. We were with DeMartinis last night, and decided, in consultation with others, that we wouldn't gather with the Barri as we usually do. D*!n Covid. Not really Covid, but government people blowing everything out of proportion. So we were not going to have our large family gathering. 

We refused, however, to not celebrate. Instead of going elsewhere, we brought the party home. We invited my mom, Lee, Cammie, and Aaron, Richard Ledford, and Saneh and Willie Echols to join us for dinner. We had our typical ham and cheesy potatoes, plus fruit, salad, rolls, and trifle which Saneh brought. We ate and talked and laughed together, sending people off into the night after a lovely time together. 

Kent and I had a bit of wrapping and Christmas morning preparations to complete, but got to bed at a reasonable hour. Blythe insisted she was going to wake us all at 5:00am, but I told her I would return all her presents if she did that. I'm glad the thrill of Christmas lives on.

The only picture I took.

Foodstuffs

Yum!

Christmas Adam

Because I am working for UPS, I have been busy every day, including Saturdays, since early November. I had hoped to have Christmas Eve off, but I don't. I'm set to deliver lots of packages tomorrow, though I hope it won't be a huge day. As a result, our normal DeMartini Christmas Eve breakfast will not be possible. I told everyone they could gather without me, but they like me and wanted me to be able to participate. So instead of gathering tomorrow morning (when I'll be working), we gathered this evening, after work. 

We love our traditional Christmas breakfast menu, so we had breakfast for dinner. Scrambled eggs, monkey bread, orange roll wreath, bacon, sausage, fruit, juice, and chocolate milk. It was all delicious! We also did our cousin gift exchange. The excitement is always palpable, and patience wears thin quickly after we've eaten. Mikayla gave us all family painted peg people, a gift that took hours and hours and hours and one which I love. Our little peg family will look so great in the entertainment center. We played games after the gift opening extravaganza, including Telestrations. I laughed so hard I peed my pants just a bit. I had to leap up and cross my legs, then dash to the bathroom when I'd calmed down enough. It was a riotous good time, wonderful to be together to celebrate.

Brandt, Katherine, Kent, Blythe

Adult Christmas Dinner

This evening we gathered at my mom's house for our adults-only Christmas dinner. I love to gather with our siblings to eat and talk and laugh without the concern or interruption of little people. Not that I don't love the little people, because I do. But it's nice to have time without them to strengthen our relationships. We ate crown rib roast, Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, salad, rolls, and chocolate raspberry Pavlova for dessert. It was lovely to be together.

I took no pictures. I don't think anyone else did either.

Zoom Cookie Decorating

A very talented woman in our ward, Justine Banks, has a cookie business she runs out of her home. She does the most amazing cookies which are both beautiful and delicious. I could eat several every day. This evening, she did a zoom cookie decorating tutorial with all the young women. Blythe had a box of cookies, frosting, sprinkles, two cookie cutters, a recipe and instructions all delivered to the door, and at 7:00, got to open it all up and follow along as Justine talked all the girls through how to decorate Santa's face, his hat, and his coat. Justine was patient, encouraging, and funny as she helped the girls make super cute cookies which were almost immediately devoured as soon as they decorating was finished. Blythe thought it was super fun and wants to do more of the same again soon.

So cute end product decorated by our so cute Blythe!

Parcel Delivery

 I have been working really hard the last month. I'm good at parcel delivery, so my supervisor, Rob, gives me big routes with lots of parcels. I deliver as quickly as I can, and if I've still got time, will usually help a regular driver by taking 20-30 stops off them. The car is being driven daily far more than ever before, but we are both holding up under the strain. I'm feeling my age. When I went in for a driving test, the UPS supervisor who was with me expressed concern about my age and if I would have the stamina and strength to deliver 200+ packages a day, and climb in and out of a big truck at least that many times a day, too. I was also worried about it, and we agreed that being a PVD (personal vehicle driver) would be a better option. I can say, I am certainly glad I made that choice. I think I would have lasted about three days (maybe) had I tried to do the big truck gig. 

Here's an example of the number of parcels I deliver daily. I've been working a route in Alpine, delivering to huge homes and people with lots of money. Most of the parcels I can lift fairly easily; some are trickier. The large box next to the open door in a pre-lit Christmas tree. It weighed nearly 100 pounds and took up nearly half the back of the car, meaning I had to make four trips to deliver everything (I try to do it in only three). The day before this, I had muscled that same tree from a porch to the car as they were returning one. Turns out, they didn't want the tree at all, but the company kept sending them trees. Fortunately, before I muscled it back up their long, eight-stepped path to the porch and then onto the porch, the customer came out of the house and told me she didn't want it. I had only gotten it out of the car and up the curb. It was a relief to just shove it back in the car. 

My top day, most delivered, was 191 packages to 105 stops. So many packages. So many stops. That was a four trip day.

I've discovered there are lots of funny UPS memes, including these two that made me laugh. While I haven't yet delivered a llama, I'm certain I would be able to get it in the car, and wouldn't be at surprised to have something of that size to deliver. And I do find myself going to the same houses repeatedly, day after day. 

It was recommended that I get a good pair of work shoes with leather uppers and slip resistant soles. I was reluctant to spend the money, but after a week of really sore feet at the end of the day, I gave in and got a pair. They are unattractive. Kent teased me that they look like orthopedic shoes for a little old lady. Maybe that's me now. My mom suggested I wear them to Thanksgiving so they could all laugh at me, and Mikayla quoted My Blue Heaven saying, "It's the shoes. The shoes are tragic!" Sadly, it's all too true. However, my feet don't hurt at the end of the day and they will be much better in the snow than my running shoes.

Christmas Pictures

 Mikayla took cute Christmas pictures of her kids in Mom's backyard this afternoon. We stopped by just as she was finishing and I sent Brandt and Blythe outside to get their picture taken too. They weren't dressed for a Christmas picture, but I need a couple more for their annual photobooks, so out they went. The results are acceptable.

Sewing Class

 Blythe has a intro to family and consumer science class this term. She's doing foods and sewing, and the first unit has been the sewing one. She made this face mask in class, using straight lines and zigzag stitches, attaching the trim and making pleats. She did a great job! And it got her interested in doing more sewing. Here's to learning new things.

Norton Christmas

Today we joined the Norton Family for our annual Christmas book shopping at Barnes & Noble. As you can see, there were lots of Nortons in attendance. This outing is the only time of the year we see some of them, and it was fun to connect. We hadn't met Goose and Miles' daughter Ashe yet, due to Covid, and it was fun to see her in real life in all her squishness. We missed Keybug. We are grateful to these good people who have adopted us all into their family.

Book selections this year: 

Katherine & Kent: The Talented Mr. Varg  We intend on reading this aloud together, so one book for both of us was entirely sufficient.

Brandt: Tales From Shadowhunter Academy  Brandt didn't realize this was the fourth book in a series.

Blythe: The Okay Witch  A graphic novel Blythe read from start to finish while she waited for everyone else to finish making their selections.

TED Talk

 Blythe has Speech and Debate this semester. She loves it! She loves her teacher, Mrs. Hanni, she loves the subject, she loves her classmates. It has been a terrific class for her. When we were looking over class choices, I said, "You should take Speech and Debate. You like to talk and argue; it will be a perfect fit." And indeed, it has been.

For the "speech" portion of the class, they studied TED Talks, and then had to prepare a TED Talk themselves. Blythe selected the topic and wrote out the whole thing before presenting to me and Kent. It was terrific! We only made one small suggestion that she add a bit more detail to one section, but otherwise, thought it was spot on.

When Blythe presented it to the class, her teacher thought it was spot on, too. Blythe got 47/50 points, the three point deduction coming because she had a hand in her pocket. Otherwise, Mrs. Hanni gave her excellent feedback and told her she did a wonderful job. It is fun to see Blythe developing. 

Here is her talk.

Most of the time, the stuff you judge most is yourself and your choices. I know for a fact that last year I judged myself a lot. I looked back on my choices and my words and I always came up with something else I could have said. Something to make people laugh, or something that makes my friends happier. Or choices. Something I could have done better for a better grade or something I could have done so I didn’t get in as many fights as I did. But I realized that self love is important. It makes others feel drawn to you. There is an online site I use called Rolepages. It's a Roleplaying site and I use it often. However whenever I tell somebody I am close to what my real age is, they’re always surprised that I'm 12. And when I ask why I usually get the same answer. “Oh you're just so confident”. My self love and respect makes me believe in who I am. I almost never back down from dares, and I do a lot of things most people would have to be talked into doing. I am definitely not perfect. And I never will be. However a lot of people think they need to be perfect to be loved. This is not true. Now i’m going to share some examples of ways you can love and accept yourself:

Forgive Yourself For Your Mistakes 

Reflecting on your mistakes can help you to forgive and forget. If you can look back at some poor choices you may have made, and forgive yourself, you can start to move on and forget about the past. Loving yourself despite any mistakes you made in the past is great for your self-worth.

Start a Journal

If you can write down your thoughts and feelings, you can go back at a later date and see how you coped with certain situations.

This is also a positive way for you to get rid of any negative experiences and feelings, helping you to focus on the good things.

Saying No To Others

Sometimes we do too much for people, we like to please other people, so we tend to stretch ourselves too thin and commit to everything we can. It's alright to say no sometimes!

Pursue New Interests

It’s great to try something new that you have wanted to try for a while, or have been too scared to do. For me, I was scared to speak in front of people! But I tried it! 

Challenging Yourself

If you can challenge yourself, you will also be getting to know yourself and what you are capable of.

Give Yourself A Break

Try and put aside 30 minutes of your time, to completely relax. Having a break from the chaos of life is a great way to love and care for yourself. Nobody is perfect and you can’t expect yourself to be either

Work On Your Self-Trust

A great way to show yourself self-love is to trust yourself and your own instincts.

You are most likely going to know what is best for you, and self-trust is a step to self-love.

Take Care Of Yourself

This one probably seems obvious, but taking care of yourself plays a big part in learning how to love yourself, and a lot of people do not do it. If you take care of yourself, you will be the best version of yourself. Take a walk by yourself or sleep earlier than some days. And most importantly, don’t stress out too much!

I know that as I worked on my self love I used a lot of these, even without realizing it. I used to struggle a lot with self respect. If you didn’t know, I’m adopted. It's a huge part of my life. And it comes with many ups and downs. When I struggled to love myself little voices of doubt kept me from seeing how amazing I truly am. I would think, “I’m not enough” or “I am not worthy of these people in my life” or “My birth parents didn’t want me” when in reality, none of those things are true. Everybody in the world deserves self love. And that includes you. The End. 

Christmas Lights and Santa Claus

This evening, in company with practically all the DeMartinis, we went to the Riverwoods to see the lights and chat at a distance with Santa. Because of Covid, you had to stand six feet from Santa, wear a mask, and yell at him what you want for Christmas. Because my children are both big, neither of them did this. But they did run around with or after cousins, and were happy to be together. I hoped for a family picture in front of a faux fireplace, but Blythe went off with Makenna and Brandt raced to the car well before me and Kent, so I must be content with the picture of us in front of Christmas lights. After wandering for a bit in the cold, we all met at Waffle Love for a treat. It was a fun and tasty family night activity.

Lyla is often unwilling to walk, so Tysen wisely brought a large stroller.

Here is Thea in the owl hat.

I got that hat for Brandt when he was about Thea's age.

Numerous family children have worn it and all have looked absolutely darling.

Is it the hat or just the super cute kids?

And speaking of super cute kids . . . 

Oh look! More!

Super cute bigger people.

Bestest husband standing next to bestest mother.

Cuzzies!

National Cookie Day

Today is National Cookie Day. Jarom and Sam Oyler were over, hanging out with Brandt, and when Brandt read it was cookie day, all three boys asked if they could make cookies. Why not? Three boys in the kitchen--what could go wrong? 

In the end, not much. Jarom wanted to make red velvet cookies with white chocolate chips, so I found a recipe, started the oven, and let them have at it. With little help from Brandt who was changing music and pulling up stuff on YouTube, they got cookie dough whipped up and cookies in the oven. The end result was delicious, and they made enough for Jarom and Sam to take home to their family. 

National Cookie Day is certainly a celebration I can support.

Getting all three of the boys to smile was perhaps the most difficult part of the whole activity.

Throwback Thursday

 Aunt Darlene sent the Hare Family annual Christmas card with family picture, and this year, she included extra pictures. Maybe she's been sorting through boxes of photos, maybe she's trying to purge, maybe she just thought it would be fun to send some pics we haven't seen in years (if ever). Here is what I received.

Me and John Kartchner, a fellow Swiss missionary.

Taken in July 1993.

He is from Arizona and came to Provo to visit me.

John really liked me.

I found, in real life, that we didn't have much to talk about.

Two pictures from Christmas Adam (December 23), 1996.

We are at Aunt Georgianne and Uncle Lauren's house for a Christmas dinner.

It is Michael Dalzen's (next to me) birthday (I think).

Below, Kent is talking to Trey Hare.

Not a brilliant picture of me.

What am I doing with my mouth?

Fourth of July 1997.

Kent and I had been married two years.

I'm wearing the same overalls I was wearing on the Fourth of July in 1993 in the picture with John.

We look thin.

25 November 1999

Thanksgiving at Georgianne and Lauren's.

30 March 2002

Georgianne, Grandma Hare, me and Kent

I don't know what the occasion was for our gathering.

That's a great velour pantsuit Grandma is wearing.

Christmas or maybe Thanksgiving 2010.

Brandt was four, Blythe two.

Me and Blythe at the cemetery the day we buried my dad.

5 August 2011

I wish Darlene had sent me ten pictures of him.

Date on the back of the picture is 4 January 2013

Makes me think this was a Christmas picture from 2012, but hard to say for sure.

I am, however, confident that those are two really cute kids!

Christmas time 2016

It had been a long time since we had gathered as cousins, so I invited my women to come for lunch.

We had a lovely time!

These are good people and I love them.

Many thanks to Aunt Darlene for the photos!