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!

Steph and Vanessa's visit

My cousins, Steph and Vanessa, who live in Osage, Iowa came to Arizona for a fun girls' trip.  They stayed in Tempe and went to Sedona, as well.  They had contacted me a couple weeks ago and asked if I wanted to meet for lunch and I said, "Sure!"  I'm so glad I got to see them!  We had planned to get together on Wednesday, but they ended up having more time on Monday and that worked for me, too.  They came to see my house and then we went to downtown Gilbert to have lunch at Snooze.  It was pretty good!  I bought them Salt River bars from Liberty Market since we were so close.  Then we said goodbye and they headed off in their rented Mustang convertible for Sedona.  They had a great time!