Christmas 2021

We have had a great tradition of celebrating Christmas with the Akers on December 23, and this year was no different.  They came over and we had pork roast that I had bought from our church fundraiser and we opened presents and played games.  

On Christmas Eve, we met Erin and Steve and Daniel at Garcia's Mexican restaurant in Tempe.  It was a nice meal and the queso dip was especially good!  I didn't realize until we got there that Great Harvest Bread company was in the same shopping center so we picked up some yummy bread.   

On the way home, we stopped at Chandler Mall to buy a few things for a family in our neighborhood.  That night, we did our tradition of reading Luke 2 and Mosiah 14 and also The Living Christ.  The kids opened their pajamas and we watched Jingle All the Way.  It wasn't as good as I remembered, but it was cute. 

On Christmas morning, we got up at 8am to unwrap presents.  It took us about an hour since we take turns.  Nathaniel was especially happy about his PS5.  I was pretty proud of myself that I was able to get it because they have been hard to find. Michael and the kids cleaned up while I made aebleskivers.  Erin came over in the afternoon and we had steak.  We opened gifts together and then everyone worked together to take down the Christmas decorations since we were about to leave for our trip on Monday.

On Sunday morning, Audrey's flight was cancelled, but luckily we were able to get her on a Southwest flight that was supposed to arrive around the same time.  It was delayed a few hours, but she made it!  We heated up the leftovers and finished up the steak.  Then Audrey and Nathaniel opened up their presents.  We tried to get to bed early so we could leave early the next morning for Disneyland.  

Merry Christmas!

Papa's Visit, part 2

Nathaniel flew home on Sunday afternoon.  It was great to have both kids home from college!  We took this picture soon after he arrived, so that is why he is the only one not wearing Sunday clothes.

On Sunday afternoon, we baked all the sugar cookies and decorated them that evening.

Here are the kids being silly

There was some crazy decorating going on this time

Don't look too closely at Daniel's creations, lol

We decorated about 70 cookies

On Monday, Dad, Emily, and I went shopping.  We got some cute clothes at Macy's.  That afternoon, we got ready to go to our fancy dinner in Scottsdale.  Dad wanted to take us as a special treat, but I didn't realize he had also planned it as our anniversary celebration.  We will actually celebrate 26 years next week, but Dad wanted an opportunity to celebrate us for our 25th anniversary since we never got a proper celebration because our trips to Hawaii and Cancun both got cancelled.  He even had Betsy take a cake to the restaurant so it would be there for our special night.  Each of the kids had prepared something to say to us and it was so sweet and special to us.  It was all a complete surprise, but it was wonderful!  And, of course, the food was amazing! 

After dinner, we went to the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Resort for the Holiday Light Experience.  We all piled into the minivan and drove through together.  It was nice, but pretty short.  I still had quite a bit to do when we got home, so it was a long day but a wonderful one.

On Tuesday, we had the work luncheon and white elephant gift exchange.  It had been a lot of work for me, and I was glad to have Dad and the kids there to help me.  Jonathan and Daniel stayed home, but the other kids actually do work for the business so they came to the luncheon.  It was so fun!

That night, we went to one of our all-time favorite restaurants, Osaka.  We had to wait quite a while for our chef, but it was still a fun evening.

After dinner, we drove to downtown Gilbert to go to the Giving Machine.  

We bought peanut butter, a beehive, three chickens, take-home meals, immunizations for children, meals for 100 fixed-income seniors, therapy toys, clothes, and produce.

We stopped for ice cream at Cold Stone on the way home.  Papa had to leave the next morning, but we were so glad to have him for as long as we did! 

Papa's Visit, Part 1

Having Papa here the week before Christmas is the best tradition!  He flew in on Tuesday, December 14, and on Wednesday we got the boys off to school and went right to work on wrapping presents.  We wrapped Wednesday and Thursday morning and got it done.  It was difficult because the boys had early release both days, but thankfully Dad wraps really quickly.

Lunch break!

On Thursday afternoon, we went to Feed My Starving Children with the Wisdom Natural Brands team.  It was so fun to serve together, as always!

On Friday morning, Papa flew up to Provo to be with Emily and Nathaniel.  They helped Nathaniel move to his new apartment that he will share with Audrey.  Audrey moved at the same time, but her family helped her so it all worked out.  Here they are at breakfast when Papa got into town.

Here are some pictures of Nathaniel and Audrey's basement apartment.

On Saturday, Papa and Emily drove back to Arizona

Stay tuned for part 2...

Jonathan got braces!

I can't believe that all three boys are now in braces!  Jonathan got his braces on today and he isn't loving it but I know he will get used to them like his siblings did.  Looking good, Jonny!

Before

During

After

My triplets, lol!

Company Movie Event

This year, for our company family party, we rented a theater at Harkins and watched the movie Encanto.  It was a really cute movie!  We treated everyone to popcorn and drink vouchers.  I had the boys stand near the concessions in their bright Monk fruit shirts to hand them out.  We presented recognitions and gifts and then enjoyed the movie together.  It was a fun night!

Jonathan's Band Concert

We had a great time at Jonathan's band concert!  All the bands did a really good job and the music was fantastic!  Here are the songs by Jonathan's seventh grade band:

Great job, Jonathan!!

Piano Recital for Daniel and Jonathan

Daniel and Jonathan did a great job at their piano recital!  Daniel didn't start lessons until after his swim season ended, so he hasn't been going to this teacher for very long.  He played one song at the recital and Jonathan played two.  We are so proud of them!