1st week of December

I can't believe December is here!  This year sure has flown by.  Here are some highlights of the first week of December.

I went into work the whole week, taking the train.  After work on Monday, Steve and the boys came and picked me up at our office downtown.  We were driving down South Temple to go visit Barb, Rich and Ryan in the hospital, and I saw the BYU Creamery there in Dessert Book. Barb had been asking for the cookies and cream milk from them, so we stopped and I got them the last 2 they had.  We then went to the hospital.  Steve had smoked a beef roast, potatoes, and carrots for them for dinner.  Ryan was moved out of the ICU, and could eat what he wanted, so he tried the milk, which he liked.  Barb and Rich ate their dinner and we visited for a while, then left to get the kids home to bed.  It was great seeing them, and especially seeing the progress Ryan had been making.  He ended up being released from the hospital on Saturday, and was able to go home, yeah!!!

Christ is the reason for the season.  The cookies and cream milk.

Ryan trying the milk, w/ Barb and the boys in the background.

Steve has been making great progress in the attic for the "Lego Room," adding supports on the side so he can then cut down the middle beams, to make the room "bigger."

Buddy the Elf is back!  More progress in the attic.

Our neighbor Ron taught Steve how to change the oil in our cars, so he's doing it now, yeah!

Thursday night Nyles had another band performance.  I had a work event, so I missed it, but Steve recorded it for us to watch later.  Dave was able to come watch as well, while others watched via video.  Thanks for your love and support; we really appreciate it!

Nyles' band performance here.

So funny.  Apparently this week in preschool they were talking about the letter V.  The teachers were giving words that started with V, then asked the kids to say a word that started with V as they went around the circle.  When they got to Hudson, he sat there thinking, then said Vomit starts with V!  It's another word for throw up!  Haha, that's true!  He is so funny, and a pretty deep thinker!

Thursday and Friday I had training at work.  My boss came in from Texas, and we had other reps from Colorado come in.  We had dinner together Thursday night as a team, as I mentioned.  Thankfully we got done earlier on Friday though, so I hurried home on the train.  Nyles got on the same train as me, so we rode the rest of the way home together.  We then packed up our stuff and headed out to Idaho, to go visit my parents.  Steve and Nyles were planning to hunt with Mark Gasper on Saturday.  We made it to my parents by 8pm or so.  We then got unpacked and settled in, and went to bed.

Leaving SLC and the gross inversion (smog) behind.

The next morning, Steve and Nyles left early (5am) to go goose and duck hunting.  The other boys and I were up at 7am.  Carter and Hudson wanted to hold the little kittens as soon as they could, even though it was really cold outside.

Carter and Hudson holding the kittens.

Instead of smog, they had fog and frost all over!  Pretty cool to see!

Thankfully they were able to find the geese!

And some ducks!  They did great!

My mom and I worked on canning the boys' 3 pumpkins while they were hunting.  

Carter and Hudson wanted to hold the kittens throughout the day.  They even played on the slick ramp.

They had a successful hunt!  

Hudson wanted to hold them when they got back, but the geese were too heavy haha :)

Mom getting the pumpkin ready to blend up before putting in bottles, then the pressure cooker.  

The boys wrestling w/ grandpa.  We also played games, and I got pictures from my parents for the family calendar I'm putting together.

Later, they sat down to watch a show and Hudson fell asleep.  After he woke up he wanted to wrestle w/ his brothers of course.  Hudson and I getting ready for bed.

We canned 23 bottles of pumpkin from the boys' 3 pumpkins.  It took all day!  It was a lot of work, but we'll be grateful to have it later.  We gave my mom a cat advent puzzle calendar.  So everyday she opens a new puzzle and puts it together.  To my surprise they all actually stick together, so it'll make a 1000 piece puzzle in total!  Also kind of smart, the makers of the puzzle put numbers on the back of each mini puzzle, so you know which puzzle pieces go with each other, in case you wanted to do it again as an advent calendar.

Pumpkin and puzzles!

Taking a group picture before he left to go home Sunday morning.

Fog on the river as we were going home.

When we got home, Steve vacuumed sealed up the goose and duck breasts.  That evening we went over to Diane/LuDean's place for our family dinner.  After dinner we did a white elephant gift exchange.  Steve got a toilet seat (soft close).

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