Grandpa's Book

 For my dad's birthday last year we gave him a subscription to Story Worth. It's a site where they send you a question each week to answer and at the end of a year, they bind it into a book. You can add pictures to it was well. I was worried giving a gift that I knew would be a lot of work, and while it was a TON of work for them, I think the book after was worth it. It ended up being over 400 pages long. Throughout the year we have learned so much about Grandpa that we may not have known. All of us kids now have a journal from Grandpa to keep. We plan of giving it to Grandma as well, but maybe after their mission. 

Picture Dump

It's been a while, and although nothing big happened, a few little things have. 

We watched Makenzie's' kids a few days ago. The kids love having a baby around. I tried to let Emery have some control. She hasn't had the babysitting opportunities I had growing up. All of the kids have some learning to do when it comes to babies. 

She did not like burping him. Like a lot of first timers, she did it too soft and felt like she was hurting him. 

Having a baby around just wore Brad out right away.

Since we had a snow storm around Christmas, we weren't able to celebrate Christmas with Abby until January. She came up and spent the day with us opening presents, shopping, and good food. Jackson got a Build a Bear from her and a gift card. So we of course has to go and do that. He got another bear with his gift card. The kids had a blast making their bears. 

Teens eat a lot of food. Not sure if anyone knew that. They make a lot of sandwiches, which makes keeping bread in the house hard. So Emery and Camden made some bread. I was a little worried it would be flat, but it was really good. 

Teens eat a lot and have weird ideas. Beck was probably 80% serious about this and thought it was a good idea. He even had a type picked out. No we will not get a monkey any time soon. 

Glasses

 

When we would take Beckham out for dives at night he would say that it was much harder to see than during the day. Yes less lights, but he meant more than that. I have glasses as well and have to have them at night to drive. We ordered a pair from a site that had a little cheaper glasses, mainly to see if they work. I think the glasses fit him very well. 

Random

Beckham has really enjoyed working at Culver's. We were not sure about the job movement, but he really likes it. We had to go and bug him at least once while working. Little quiet when he speaks, but he did a good job. 

After a breaks the dogs take a few days to get back to normal. They decided that laying on top of each other to stay warm. 

Beck shoveled the snow one day when Brad wasn't feeling well. He came in very proud of the snow mountain that he made. Behold his snow mountain. 

Christmas Day

You would think since the kids are getting older they would sleep in a little, but nope. They woke us up at 6 am! Camden however didn't wake up at 6, he stayed awake all night. It takes months to set up and is over in 30 min. The kids loved it though.

Beck did ask for a cowboy hat so he had something to wear when we go to Texas this year. 

Camden's favorite gift was tickets to see AJR, Beckham's was his new electric guitar (he did have to pay for half of it), Emery's was her TV, and Jackson's was was a Rat King Hoodie.

Very quickly after we cleaned up we all wrapped up in blankets and watched movies all day, and too a nap. 

It was the perfect family relaxing day for us all. I loved days where we just relax all together. 

Christmas Eve

Christmas came way to fast this year, but every year we say that. This year we had a low key holiday season. We woke up to snow of Christmas Eve. 

We tried Jo Mamma's for Brunch. It wasnt bad, just very very slow. 

Jackson made a decent dent in his pancake, but did not finish all of that. 

We opened pjs and gift exchange gifts when we got home. The kids have been bugging us for a while to open them. 

Then the rest of the day we just relaxed, watched movies and played games.  It was the perfect day. 

Each year we have kicked Beck out of his room so we can set up after they go to bed. My favorite part of Christmas is the wrapping paper. I think the kids love it too and I don't think they would ever want to do it any other way. 

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun but super busy. Now living out of town, we try to fit in seeing everyone when we can. 

We went and saw Teresa and her family. Emery did not want to give up Quinn. He is such a sweet calm baby. Almost make you want one. 

Thanksgiving dinner we were at my families. We had all but one of my brothers there. We played Kahoot as a family. It took a little bit for all us old people to get it, but they are actually a lot of fun. Lots of good food and then we went to see "Ghostbusters".

After the movie we went to Grandma Barnes and were able to talk to Greyson who is on his mission. They boys loved being able to see him, however they were pretty awkward when talking to him. Not the countdown to Christmas begins. 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

It was hard to hold off this year until after Thanksgiving to put up the tree, but we made it. The kids still love putting up all their ornaments. Each year when they do it is a little memory trip for them. 

I do miss the days when they were really little and loved to do little activities to make ornaments. Some day I'll decorate the tree all matching, but for now, I prefer the mix of memories. 

A Big Choice

One reason Beck wanted a new job is so he could work more hours and could save more for a trip. His school in 2023 is going to Germany and he really wanted to go. We made him think about it for a while, due to it being a big cost commitment from him, and in the end, he wanted to go. Beck really must want to go because he doesn't really know anyone going on the trip. This weekend he signed up. I am a little nervous but also excited for him. 

New Job, New Sweaters and New Traditions?

Since Cam and Beck started their job, Beck has been looking for a new one. I'm not fully sure why since the one he had was pretty good. He was able to get an offer from Culver's. We told him to make a pros and cons list for both jobs and when it came down to it, he chose Culver's. He started this week and so far he really likes it. I think he wanted a little faster paced job. 

Each Christmas since the boys were little, we did a cheap Elf on the Shelf. I did not get an elf, but they would leave a message telling the kids to be good and leave a little gift or activity in their stocking. The kids are a little old for that now, so we decided this year to do advent calendars for everyone. They didn't really have one for teens, so we made Camden and Beckham's. They are not happy they have to wait until the first to start them. 

It's colder outside and the kids thought that the dogs need sweaters. However they are not my BFF or Princess. Luna is eating part of my lunch I gave to her. She just swallowed it and threw it up right after.