finishing up the year

Brynn had held off on her Lego's for as long as she could because she didn't want to get them done all at once but eventually the temptation was too strong and she got started on them when we got home from Plain City the day after Christmas.  We also started our Harry Potter movie marathon that night.  Harry Potter + Lego's + comfy clothes...can't really think of a better combination!

Ivy, on the other hand, had finished hers as fast as she could.  Lego Friends Baking Competition...she loves watching baking shows so this set was appropriate for her and she is now addicted to Lego Friends like Brynn.

We were super boring over the break.  I usually try to plan something every day to get the kids out of the house but after having Ivy sick almost the entire month of December and then having the girls be sick over Christmas, I really was ready for a true break and didn't feel like actually leaving the house.  We continued our tradition of deep-cleaning bedrooms like I do every year and Stockton was first.  We cleaned every shelf, drawer, and sorted through every article of clothing in his room, as well as every else's room the rest of the week.  Here is a tour of Stockton's super cool mostly baseball-themed room.  It took us three hours to get his room done and we filled up one giant garbage bag with garbage and another with stuff for the DI.  All the kids also got their blinds cleaned which was way overdue.

need to fix that hole in the wall

Brynn stayed on the couch and did Lego's that entire day and finished that night.  Her set was a Lego Friend treehouse and it was so fun!  Lego's are incredibly cool with all their detail.  I don't think they are ever a waste of money. We love them at our house.

Brynn's room was next.  Her room took me four hours and was probably the worst one out of the four.  She has so many places to hide little trinkets and also doesn't know how to throw anything away. She was amazed at how clean her closet got.  We filled up one garbage bag and passed on plenty of things to Ivy.

someone needs a new dresser!

On Thursday I drove Stockton down to the Orem mall to get him new church clothes.  We were down and back before noon so I could do Ivy's room that afternoon.  Hers wasn't as bad as Brynn's but there are a few things I want to sneak back to and get rid of.  The kids were really good at getting rid of junk but there were a few things Ivy wanted to hang onto that I thought we should have thrown out.  I'm sure she would have no idea if I did it while she was gone.  It took us three hours.  She filled a garbage bag and we had plenty of hand-me-downs and DI items as well.  She still has a lot of toys so it's harder to keep her closet clutter free but it's organized for now and hopefully we can keep it that way!

Molly was last, on Friday.  She told me last year that she didn't need it and that was probably a bad idea because we had two years worth of stuff to sort through.  She was probably the worst after Brynn...but she did have that extra year of stuff.  She also had more of an opinion on where to put things, and that was fine.  She had a ton of clothes that she wasn't wearing, her drawers were bursting.  And she had lots and lots of old soccer jerseys.  She filled 1.5 garbage bags and got rid of a huge pile of clothes...some to save for Brynn and Ivy, some to the DI, and some that I might keep for myself!  She does have one wall that she is not sure what to do with but I think her room is so cool.

It was a big job to get all those rooms tidied up...it took me 14.5 hours total that week and I was feeling pretty good about myself!  We had a big family council about the expectation this year for keeping their rooms clean and I intend to follow through and enforce!  

We finally got out of the house Friday night but just to the Webb's for a game night.  We were back at the cleaning out thing Saturday (New Years Eve) when we took down Christmas.  This is definitely a family affair, I could not do this on my own.  It's not quite as involved as the set up but it still takes a good chunk of the day to get it all put away.  This picture was taken about 2 hours into the project when it seemed like it would never get done.  But it did and the house got put back to normal and that felt very wonderful.

New Years Eve-

Justin stayed home and did some more organizing while I took the kids to the store for their dinner item.  We had about an hour left of putting bins away (in the crawl space and attic) and then I got to the business of making our NYE dinner.  This year we had wings, egg rolls, soft baked pretzels with cheese dip, cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip Eggo waffles, and orange chicken.  I was so glad that I was able to talk Ivy out of her traditional spaghetti.  And shirley temples to drink, of course.  We picnicked on the floor while continuing our Harry Potter marathon.  Molly and Stockton stayed for dinner and then they were off.  They both had plans with their friends but were starting at the same time so Molly was able to drop Stockton off at his friends house on her way to her friends house.  How very convenient for me.  Glad we got them for a minute that night.

It was just Brynn and Ivy for the rest of the night.  I gave them the option of Legos or puzzles instead of games but they did not want to stray from tradition and that was okay.  It ended up being very fun.  We played Grounded for Life, Code Names, Enchanted Forest, Clue, Poophead (a Broadbent game), Headbanz, and Sorry.  We kept going on Harry Potter but stopped about five minutes before midnight to watch the ball drop.  Both girls managed to stay up until midnight!  They finished their game of Sorry with Justin and then it was to bed for the both of them.

midnight...Happy New Year!

Molly's curfew is usually 11 but later for New Year's Eve.  She had gone to her friend's house (Jalynn) for most of the night and then to the multi-stake dance at the rec center for the last hour.  She said it was a perfect night, they had so much fun.  I even got cute pictures from her!

Molly and Regan Heywood

Jalynn, Regan, Molly, Carol Ritchie

Jalynn, Regan, Molly, Carol

Stockton went to a friend's house and then to the dance as well.  He said they played a lot of football and basketball.  It was for 14-year-olds and up but we figured since he is going to be a teacher this year, it would be fine.  Some of his friends have already turned 14.  No one bothered him about it and he had a really great time.  I'm glad the kids have somewhere like that to go where I know it's going to be clean and uplifting.  The stakes in the valley take turns running it...Stockton even came home with a "Trust in the Lord" booklet!

Molly was able drive them both home (yay!) and they got home around 12:20 and everyone went to bed.  We were all very glad not to have 9:00 church anymore the next morning.! ;)