Celebrating SWEET Sixteen!
Nov 2nd-3rd, 2024
Matt said he can't think of a dining out experience he has enjoyed more. It's a bit of a victory to get into the relatively new Cheesecake Factory in Orem. Callie had a Sunday birthday, so we got to celebrate her for TWO days.
We were glad Gray could join us at the tail end (even though he isn't a fan of cheesecake, "I just don't get it," he says). He always has tales from the senior center where he works. The way he recreates conversations takes you there and is quite hilare.
The other bonus is that Cheesecake is attached to the mall, y'all! I looked at handbags in Dillard's while we waited for our table. The sales gal started talking my ear off and was still doing so when our table was called. My family skittered off, and I had to figure out a way to bow out gracefully. It was rather odd, if truth be told. 
We went to Ava's place afterward. She has quite the cozy set-up. I was able to sneak in buying the boys' Christmas jammies, practically right under their noses! I had picked up lounge sets for the girls while in Vegas. Family, dinner, shopping, and a birthday girl make for a great night!
November 3, 2024
Baby Cakes got a baby cake to make even babier cakes...
...cake pops!
A few days later, I asked her how her new curling wand was working out. She said, I think I just want a big barrel curling iron instead. I looked in the cupboard at one we already have, "Like this?"
"Yeah."
I returned the one she received as a gift.
Seems we keep setting up the Christmas tree earlier and earlier every year! We just get so excited! I already had the lounge sets, so we even opened Christmas jammies. Check and check!
We watched While You Were Sleeping. Christmasy enough without being a Christmas movie, cause it was too early for that. Love these sweeties.
Side note: Callie's were a bit snug, so I sent them with Ava to exchange. Boy, did that turn out to be a runaround...just not for me;) Thanks, Binnie!
We probably should have stuck to our Christmas classics in the weeks following for our Sundee night movie. Callie said she was tired of the same old, so we gave Candy Cane Lane a try. We couldn't even finish it.
Celebrating Callie was a real joy.
When the older kids were here in the summer, I heard loving chatter that "Callie is so spoiled." When I asked why, I heard reasons such as we give her rides everywhere. Uh-hum. We LIVED in the car when they were her age!
However, our treasured drives together were coming to an end because...
It was surreal to see our youngest drive off for school in the minivan we bought because of her! We needed a van that sat eight. Mattnabby8.
However, upon further reflection. Callie is indeed spoiled in the sense that she has a better mom!
President Trump. Here we go again!
Election night was the very next night, November 5th, 2024. I had a work event and was surprised by how nonchalant everyone seemed to be about taking their sweet time cleaning up. I was anxious to go home and find out who the next president of the United States would be! When I came into Graham's room, he was keeping tabs and predicted the Donald with an easy win. He was accurate on that!
Peek-a-boo, Kitty, I see you!
Friends and Fun
When I was leaving the above-mentioned work event, I could tell my voice was going out. It turned into more than that, and I was in bed sicky-poo for a couple of days! I thought I was well enough to go out with friends, Emily and Darren, that weekend, but I really wasn't. I just hate being down! I was glad Grayson found us in the stands at the BYU basketball game and said hello. We did end up having a great time. We always do with them.
When we put up the tree, we only got the lights on and then ran out of steam. I liked seeing Graham getting the tree just so the next weekend.
Sadie Hawkins
Callie and her date went as Mack and Brady from Teen Beach (something I am completely unfamiliar with). Her Preference outfit was a nod to her birthday curling iron. After ordering a flop of a dress online, she described what she was going for. I rummaged in the closet, "Like this?" We also found a leather jacket for her date to wear and another for her to bedazzle, both in the storage room. That jacket! After all the trouble she went to to bedazzle it, she could only wear it once. By the end of the night, it was literally disintegrating. "LEATHER." But how cute are they?
Sadie Hawkins was the night of the BYU vs. Utah game. The dates came to our house to play games after the dance, but eventually made their way downstairs. The tension!
Graham didn't come sit down till the post-show recap. He was either pacing or dividing his attention between his flight simulator. The Cougs pulled out a win, but it was PAINFUL.
The cat seemed completely unbothered.
The Simple Things
Dinner and a Little House marathon. Happy place.
Nutcracker Tea Party
November 20, 2024
Callie has been several times, but this was the first for me. For the benefit show, the ballet is condensed into an hour-long performance while you sit at a delightful table and are served tea and nibbles. The butter was even in the shape of a nutcracker. All in our backyard, Midway.
Tea for two.
I rode the train with my good friend, Brenda, to see about hosting a few times this season. Why not. Our train had ELVIS.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Thanksgiving 2024 —Heber City, Utah
But first. Thanksgiving prep.
We have a joke about the time Mallerie made the apple pie, and she left a handprint in the crumble top. We have to do it now.
Traditions. I guess the Midway Turkey Trot is a tradition now as well, since this was our second year in a row. It is an energizing way to start the day!
The table seemed to decorate itself and morphed into what it was. Sean had given Matt flowers when they went to lunch, which I added to the table. When it was finished, we realized it was Wicked. Being that we would be seeing the movie that evening, green and pink were perfect!
"You're perfect, I'm perfect, so we're perfect together!"
(The table before landing in Munchkinland.)
This is the first year we didn't have any company come for dinner or go somewhere. It made for a fuss-free vibe. After dinner, the boys went downstairs to watch football. We drew the shades, and Ava and Callie each took a couch in the living room. I retreated to my room, lay on the bed, and had the best two-hour nap of my life.
An evening at the movies and pie for days (literally) = perfection.
The hustle and bustle of Black Friday the next day seemed too much. I took the girls up to Kamas, and we got a burger at a diner in Oakley. Then I proceeded to get on I-80 (?) in the wrong direction for a spell. Yet, an open road with the sun coming through the windshield made for a relaxing drive. We stopped at Borders in Park City on our way home and chalked off black Friday. We would have gone to more stores, but we had those pies calling to us.
(Remember: this is called "My Point of View."
I wager Ava and Callie may have a differing story to tell;)
Okay, one more.
Obsessed.
