January

Happy 2020! This is going to be a great year and we are excited to get it started....after I recover from tonsillectomy. This was a brutal 2 weeks. I had been warned that it was going to be rough, but nothing could have prepared me for the recovery. David took great care of me and held down the fort really well. I pretty much just slept, and took my medications around the clock. 

We finally got some snow and got to play all day! The kids built some snowmen and a snow fort and drank a lot of hot chocolate. 

 Several months ago we opened banks accounts for each of the kids. They are always excited to get their bank statements and see how much interest they've made. It always seems a bit disappointing to see that they only earned a few pennies. We've given them each a lesson in interest and how the more money they have in their accounts, the more interest they'll earn. It's a hard concept to understand, but slowly they'll get it. 

 With the new year came a new Children and Youth program at church. This meant that Dallin's get to participate in primary activities now and he LOVES it so far. 

 Finally after a year of Peyton being on the swim team, I got to see her compete. It was so fun, I'd never been to a swim meet before. 

 Whenever David is traveling, Dallin likes to keep his spot in the bed warm for him. 

Another lunch duty picture from my friend who teaches at the high school. 

        Carmen is so in love with Koda!                                            

                                                   Carmen got a drastic haircut that she's been wanting for a while now, but was never brave enough to do it. But I think it's adorable!

Dallin's class had a super bowl party and some UVA football players came. They had snacks and played football on the soccer field.                                 

December 2019

 For Christmas break we had a quick getaway to Great Wold Lodge. The water was freezing this time and hard to enjoy, but's it's always a fun time there. 

We also took the kids to do their first escape room, which was really hard. After a few clues we were able to escape. But I was super impressed that some of the clues they were able to figure out on their own. I was very little help...

  Carmen completed her Personal Progress requirement and received her medallion. I am so proud of the hard work she put in to this program. 

 Charlotte spent many recess' making rubber band bracelets to sell at her school market. She was able to sell quite a few and made some extra spending money. 

 She had some great sales pitches and wonderful negotiating skills. 

 Carmen had her first high school band concert. 

And Oma and Poppy came to do the annual gingerbread houses with us. This is a favorite Christmas activity in our family. 

The church has announced a new youth program in which the kids are to pick 4 goals relating to physical, social, spiritual and knowledge related goals. So we decided to make goal boards for us all to hang our goals up where we'll see them every day as a reminder of what we want to be working to improve. 

 After our caroling on the bus last year, it was hard to top anything this year. But we managed to get a big group together to sing with this year. We met beforehand for soup and hot chocolate. 

Our very ghetto Nativity reenactment was meant to be spiritual, but was was more hilarious. 

And our late night Christmas Eve project this year was a foosball table. We've had some doozies in the past, like the pool table, air hokey table, barbie house...this was fairly straight forward this year. 

Bean family tradition say it isn't Christmas until cereal snack has been made. This stuff is gobbled up in our home! 

 Christmas morning came early as it always does. We these kids ever sleep in on Christmas morning? 

 Aliza's most wanted gift was a type writer and those things are hard to find!!! But I found one and she was instantly in love. 

 This little trophy is from Dallin and was perhaps my favorite gift this year. It reads "Congrats on Adulting". 

 THe family got a dart board and we've had fun competing against each other. I would say Aliza and Dallin the best so far at it. 

And finally after 3 years of this swing sitting in our garage, we got it hung up in our tallest tree. It took a giant ladder and an even bigger dose of bravery for the girls to climb up there and get the old swing down and hang the new one. But once hung, they each got a big push on the swing from Poppy. 

  I got my tonsils out of New Years Eve and my sweet friend Candace came over the night before with popsicles and this great book she remembered from her childhood about a little girl who gets her tonsils out. I loved that she thought me before my surgery. 

Out with the old and in with new! Happy New Year! I spent it in bed recovering. Goodbye 2019, hello 2020.