Bridal Veil Falls

One of my goals for the Christmas break was to go up Provo canyon and walk the trail to Bridal Veil Falls. Years ago, we had gone up during the winter and it was so beautiful. This year did not disappoint either. Luke was less than thrilled and after an extended rest period Peter and I went back to discover he was going pee in some bushes near the trail. More than a little embarrassing for me. It will be a funny memory in the years to come though. 

The very next day the boys were gone to spend time with Brandon plus it was New Years' Eve. Thankfully, my friend Erica (whose daughter was also spending time with her Dad) came to spend the day with me. We also decided to go to Bridal Veil Falls. This time we spent an hour and a half up there and walked A LOT farther than I did with the boys. It was quiet and peaceful. 

During the last part of our walk we were even walking with light snow was coming down. It was magical. It was a beautiful memory neither one of us will forget. 

A Golden Unicorn

Tonight my 5:30pm class was a Golden Unicorn. That's a term Qkid teachers call a class that doesn't have any students scheduled to take. They are very rare. I think I've had two of them since starting for Qkids. 

The class I had tonight was a one-on-one class. For whatever reason, the student canceled the class and the Qkids platform didn't bump me to a different class. Pretty sweet! 

I must 10 minutes after the start of class. Then, I can log off and get paid my normal class completion rate. I am thrilled!

While I was waiting, I created this happy fruit/veggie doll. Some teachers are quite creative and I've even seen T-Rex dinosaurs and watermelon women gardening. We teachers can get pretty silly. This week I only taught 23 classes instead of my typical 27. It was necessary to take two mornings off and I feel so much better for being able to sleep in. Thank goodness for an understanding company that doesn't charge me money for taking time off like other ESL companies do. 

Random Things

Uncle Kent brought this juice over when he made us dinner in December. The boys really, really love it! I am so surprised because they are always so picky. Uncle Kent was awesome and brought it again for Christmas dinner. The boys were, once again, thrilled. 

A few weeks ago I remembered that my Grandma Christensen (maternal grandmother) had a very large Christmas cactus that she kept in her front room when I was young. I remember it having the most beautiful flowers and I loved them! I took that as I sign that I needed a Christmas cactus for myself. 

I've searched high and low and can't find the exact color she had at my local stores. So, I went to my favorite nursery and they said they have ordered them and they will be coming in 4-6 weeks. Christmas present and Birthday present all at the same time. Hurray!

He ordered purple, white, salmon, fushia (the kind Gma had) and red. I am soooo tempted to get more than one. Anyway, I needed something to put this cactus on. So, I went to DI and found myself this adorable barstool/plant stand. It is super sturdy and just what I needed. Merry Christmas to myself.

On Sunday the boys payed their tithing. To help them remember what tithing is all about I pulled up a children's video the church had produced about it. In that video they had a picture of the Provo Temple. Luke told me it looked like the collosum in one of his computer games. 

Naturally, we had to take a trip to the real thing. The sun was just beginning to set as we got there. The temple and mountain was glowing. It was absolutely stunning in real life. This picture isn't too bad either. There were a few other people visiting too. I love the faith of so many - even though most of us can't go inside people still visit to feel it's special power.

This week I noticed that my car hit 110,000 miles. With each mile I worry more and more about it holding together. I can't even begin to imagine making a car payment. It's been many, many years since we've had one. Now that I'm on my own I wonder how I would make that work. Anyway. it's a milestone that I felt I needed to record.

 

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning came WAY too fast. I could have used another week to enjoy the season. 

On Christmas evening, our mistering family (Brother & Sister Raymond) came and shared with us the Nativity Story from Luke 2. It was absolutely beautiful. Luke had wanted to go to bed at 6pm so he wouldn't have to participate. Then, after they came and were here for a while, he slowly came sneaking down the stairs. I was so thankful he decided to join us. Instead of just reading from Luke 2, Brother Raymond made it more of a story with discussion questions. It was absolutely beautiful. I didn't want the evening to end. Brother Raymond does a great job of drawing out Peter and getting him to answer questions. It was awesome! 

After they left I had the boys put their stockings where they wanted their gifts and then we all went off to bed. It was just after 8pm. Around 11:30 both Luke and I got up to use the potty. I stayed up until I was sure Luke was back asleep and then I went downstairs and put out all the gifts. There were so many generous people that provided me with gift cards and gifts. So, the majority of the gifts were not paid for with my funds. It was a Christmas to remember. 

I set my alarm 10 minutes early so I could get the stockings all stuffed. Thankfully, it went quickly and I was able to be ready for my class at 2:45am. I was in the groove and teaching perfectly when Peter comes stumbling out of his room. It was 3:30am. Ugh.....my boys are the WORST about sleeping on Christmas Day. Luke wasn't much better - he was up at 4am. The were both so anxious to get their gifts open yet they had to wait until I was done with my 5 classes.

By 6:05 we were each ready. The boys dug into quickly and everything was open by 6:10. Luke is very difficult to get pictures of because he is always moving. He really loves the UVU hoodie though - and the potato chips made him super happy. He ate them for Breakfast. 

Peter was thrilled with the Marvel blanket that I made for him. He was surprised. He said "Hey, it's what I asked for". I was so glad I was able to do it for him. 

                                                          

Later in the day I took the boys over to Brandon's place where they spent the rest of the day. Peter received Rollerblades. He has been wearing them all the time. He hurt his elbow on the first day and it has really been bothering him. So much so that I gave his adult Ibuprofen for the first time ever. He swallowed it down like a pro. Last night he told me that his bottom was really hurting too. He is determined to learn thought and he goes out multiple times a day. Thank goodness there isn't any snow.

Luke got a few video games. It has made him excited about Pokémon again and he has requested that I play it with him for at least an hour every day. So far, I've made it a priority to do so. 

It was a very memorable Christmas day and entire December. So many people shared goodness with us and I will never, ever forget their goodness. This Christmas could have been so very sad and hard, but wasn't because of the generosity of so many friends, strangers, and Christmas Angels. 

Early Mornings

This is what I look like at 2:45am every weekday morning. It's amazing what a bit of lipstick can do to one's face. That and my ratty pajama shirt turned backward. I think it's funny that I never started wearing lipstick on a regular basis until I started working for Qkids. 

This past week I got notification that my 3rd contract will be up soon and they will be evaluating me. I'm not worried about getting renewed. Qkids is a great company and the value their teachers. Each contract is 6 months long. It astounds me that I've been doing this for nearly 18 months. It's been such a learning and growing process. I am a better person from having this job. 

This past week I taught 29 class which included 73 adorable children. The youngest was 4 and the oldest was 12. I never know before getting into the class what I will get. Each child has their own unique personality/needs and you can quickly adjust your teaching style depending on what their need are. This week I even taught a cat that decided to sit right in front of the student's camera. It was a happy, healthy long-haired orange cat. Pretty funny!

Sledding Fun

The boys and I finally made it out for a afternoon of sledding. Even though there wasn't a lot of snow, there was enough at the Bicentennial Park. Admittedly, we were dressed too warm and it wasn't long before Peter shed some of his layers. It was so great to see the boys having fun and laughing. I got into the fun too and it was hilarious. Almost every time I would abruptly stop halfway down because I would hit a patch of grass. Such fun! We went right after lunch so there were only a few homeschoolers there. It was the best!

Christmas spirit - spreading love

This holiday season has been my favorite so far. The boys and I have done so many wonderful things. It has all happened because I stopped using Facebook and decided to live my own life on my own terms instead of trying to keep up with the lives of everyone on Facebook. It's been a really good thing.

In school, the boys and I made these fun poems. I really love that poems can be whatever you want them to be. There are no set of rules to follow. Just like homeschool. I am free to explore, research, and determine what is best for my children. 

Peter and I spent quite a bit of time rebuilding this Harry Potter dining hall. I think it was on my kitchen table for two weeks. I thought I had all the pieces in one specific bucket, but I was wrong. I was the piece finder, and Peter was the builder. It was such a great project to work on together. We are displaying it proudly on the piano with all our Christmas nativities. 

Here is my poem. I was telling my friend on Marco Polo (Lisa Hogelin) about the poems the boys and I wrote. Then, I decided to write my own. It's all about the cute gingerbread treat the DUP camp captain brought over to my house (Susan Mitchell). I have felt so much love from so many people this season, including both of the ladies mentioned above. 

One night I spent some time on myself listening to a Webinar by one of my favorite story tellers. This is Jim Weiss and Julie Bogart. Julie is the developer of our Learning Arts program this year. It was such a fun hour listening to ways I can be a better story teller. We already do A LOT of read aloud books and I really enjoyed learning more ways to make books become magical. Jim also did a John Wayne impression that was so impressive. It was a great night.

 

One night, the boys and I drove these packages of candy around to three houses in our area. We thought it was so much fun. The boys loved picking their favorite lighted house and then doorbell ditching the candy. I think it might become a tradition we do every year. 

Our good friends - the Thomas family went away for a few days to visit family. While they were gone we took care of their sugar gliders. Since we were over there, I also did a little cleaning. This teapot needed a good clean and I also got some vacuuming and stove top cleaning in. The Mom of this family has littlies and it must be so hard to get any cleaning in with two darlings underfoot. 

I have started taking the boys out once a week for outdoor adventures. It has been good for all of us. On this particular day we hiked up to the Shale pit here in Springville. At least that's what people here call it. I don't think it is shale. It is more like chalk powder. When I tried to do research on what it could be all anyone said was that it was leftover tailing from mining operations that happened on this mountain many, many years ago. Regardless, it was an enjoyable hike and the boys can always see this on the mountain and know that they climbed up onto it.

This season I have learned how to make some new treats. I had a friend send me a recipe for Mexican wedding cookies. Some people call them snowball cookies. Regardless, they are amazing. I add both vanilla and almond extract to them. I've made two batches. Enough to eat plenty myself and some to share with many others. 

My darling cousin - Bekah came over for a visit one Saturday. I gave her a plant start and she helped me shovel snow for the Thomas family while they were away. This picture will always be a happy memory. We worked hard and enjoyed every moment together. 

 

Hair Update

I thought I would quickly post an update on my hair. I haven't cut it since September. Cassi ended up needing surgery on her leg and that left her without being able to work for 8 week or so. I haven't ever called to see if she is back to work. It's cheaper on my pocketbook to grow it out and I'm liking it okay. I do like my hair short and hopefully someday I can maintain it again.  

 

Lost tooth

I made chocolate cake mix cookies a few days ago. Luke was not a fan of the powdered sugar on top so I made a few without just for him. 

While he was eating his cookies, I started doing piano practice with Peter. Soon, Luke came into the front room to say that his tooth fell out in his cookie. Even more amazing was that he told me he had been wiggling it for days. It's only amazing because my boys are notorious for not wiggling their loose teeth.

The Tooth Fairy got a very mushy package that night.

Christmas Poems

In homeschool yesterday we made winter poems. The boys always laugh and laugh about the ones they create. This will be a fond memory. I love their creativity.