Christmas

 Babi and Papou came up a couple weeks before Christmas so we sort of celebrated early with them while they were there.  They came with us to our ward Christmas Party and we all dressed up for a photo op. 

While there Babi took both boys on lunch dates for their birthday. 

This year for the first time in a long while we had none of my family coming for Christmas.  We debated about going to Orlando for the BYU pop tart bowl game.  Derek actually bought tickets and everything, but when Notre Dame dropped out he got mad and cancelled the trip.  Which would have been very expensive.  Then we toyed with the idea of spending it in San Diego as canceling the trip was a bit of let down for the kids.  But ultimately, we decided to drive out to Reno and spend Christmas with Kylie and Jordan. 

In honor of visiting Jordan (and mostly because I didn’t want to pack all the kids presents out to Reno and back), we decided to celebrate Hanukkah this year.  We bought a menorah and candles.  Each night we would light an additional candle and let the kids open one gift.  They loved it.  The first night learned about why Hanukkah is celebrated and the miracle of the oil lasting 8 days in the temple.  The next night we learned about dreidels and sang a dreidel song and played a dreidel game.  The next night, we made potato latkes.  The next night we learned some family history about the Roshen family from my line who were orthodox Jews from Odessa Russia (Ukraine) who left due to persecution after some horrible pogroms and came to New York City- they changed their name from Roshen to Rowe.  The next night, we called Jordan on the phone and he recited the Hanukkah prayers in Hebrew for us.  He would say a line and the kids would repeat it back.  One night we actually did a Christ spin off and talked about how our Savior is the light of the world and how the light the Jews were trying to keep burning in the temple was to help them look forward to the coming of The Messiah (The Light of the world).  And the last night, we made fried donut holes!  It was really a lot of fun and the perfect year to do it so most all the presents had been opened when we left on Christmas Eve for Kylie and Jordans. 

I only packed out stockings for each person and Christmas jammies that matched their cousins.

  The 8 hour drive to Reno was pretty painless.  Our kids are becoming great car travelers and our new expedition is so nice to travel in.  I loved getting to spend time with Ky.  All the kids loved beating up on Derek- even Ava got in on it.  

We had great food.  A charcuterie snack, cheese and chocolate fondue, halibut that stunk up the whole house the rest of the time we were there. The last night there we had prime rib and Ky made a homemade Ceasar Salad. 

Despite the picture, JoJo absolutely abhorred the boys and would bark and growl at them every time they walked past her. 

One day everyone went to see David in the movie theater, but Ky and I stayed back at the house with Ava.  

Then next day, we all went to Wild Island- rode go karts, played arcade games, bowled. 

Liv and Derek mini golfed while the younger kids played in a big indoor playground.  The last day there, we sent Kylie and Jordan for a spa day and we watched the kids- took them to the park and watched the BYU bowl game with Dad at the house.  It was a close game with Georgia Tech, but BYU won!  It was so fun (and exhausting) to spend time with our young cousins.  The baby cousins woke up early (about 6:30 every morning and would wake up their older cousins too). We played some games- LIFE and we taught Jordan and Kylie Idiot.   Dean is so funny right now- will only wear black tshirts and khaki shorts or jeans.  I think Kylie and Jordan really loved having us in their home and it was nice for my kids to spent time with their grandpa, uncle, aunt and cousins. 

How the Boys Wrap up 2025

Ander invited the boys to his EMT class on pediatric day so all the students could practice these skills on pediatric patients.  Carter got strapped into a body board. 

The boys are officially teenagers and all they wanted to do for their birthday party was play tackle football in the backyard with their friends and then they watched the BYU basketball game. 

They got Nike slippers from Babi and Papou for their birthday. They were pretty excited about it. 

Camden is playing the French Horn in the junior high band.  Not sure he loves it or carrying that awkward instrument around, but it has been a good experience learning a new instrument.  Carter has learning percussion instruments and seems to really enjoy it.  They both did great in their Christmas band concert. 

Carter is now in round two of braces.  Camden has to get 4 teeth pulled in the coming weeks and will get his second round on soon too. 

The boys got into a free basketball camp put on by the BYU player Rob Wright.  It was a fun way to spend a Saturday morning.  They had free breakfast and lunch and free haircuts (but the boys didn't have time to get one) and ran some basketball drills.  

How Liv Wraps Up 2025

 Liv is still participating with her acapella group Amplify.  They had a fun photo shoot of the kids.

One day at school they had the option to pet alpacas for flight time.  Liv decided she loves alpacas and wants one.

Liv is getting better and better at driving.  She was so proud of herself the first time she parked between the lines in a parking lot that she took a picture to send her Dad.

Liv and her friends love Taco Bell- mostly for the baja blasts during happy hour.  Almost every Friday she convinces me to take a car full of kids to Taco Bell after school. 

Liv and her friends love a local artist, Paige Fish, she was playing at the Depot in SLC so they all got tickets and went to the concert together. 

I got invited to go with Liv to see the second half of Wicked with Emma and her Family.  Our musical loving selves loved it of course. 

Liv was invited to participate in a BYU film student’s final project.  It was a great opportunity to get some film experience.  It was a cute story called "To Love Somebody" by Ella Revill about a grandma getting her granddaughter ready for her first date dance and reminiscing about her first date dance with her husband who had since passed. 

Liv killed it in her voice recital this year.  She sang Grown Up Christmas Wish.  

Thanksgiving

We hosted Derek’s familys’ Thanksgiving this year. We hosted 80 people! Liv was totally upset and thought it isn’t Thanksgiving if it isn’t at Jennifer’s house, but it ended up being a great day.  Lots of prep gathering enough tables and chairs for everyone.  We cleaned out the garage and set up a bunch of tables and chairs in there.  

Food wasn’t too bad because everyone brought stuff to shar.  Derek smoked two turkeys and they were fantastic.  I made mashed potatoes and gravy and cranberry sauce. 

Luckily, it was a lovely warm day, so people were able to go outside and play pickleball and basketball.  It also wasn’t too cold in the garage.  I didn’t know but the kids snapped a photo of themselves on Thanksgivng- they all love Thanksgiving.  

Everyone stayed till almost midnight playing games.  Then, people went home, Chase spent the night.  And the next morning we had Steph’s family and Grandpa all over for breakfast and they helped us take down all the tables and chairs.  Then the kids played games with their cousins all day. 

Hiking Season

This time of year in Utah is just lovely and I have been able to get out on several fantastic hikes.  Hiking has really become one of my favorite things.  Crystal and Kris and I found Bunnel’s Fork.  The beginning of the trail is particularly beautiful crossing over the river several times, then you get up to a gorgeous aspen grove, then it starts to get pretty steep with loose shale rock, so we turned around, but it was fun to find a new hike.  Kota jumped in the water at South Fork right at the end- that dog loves the water.  

Ever since last summer Crystal and Kris have been wanting to do a loop hike up Shingle Mill at Big Springs to the cascade saddle and back down the Big Springs trail.  It was 7 miles up, very steep, and with lots of shale hike. And it was hot!  I haven’t been that tired and pushed to the extreme in a long while.  I started to wonder if I could hike up any more, but then we made it to the top and going down was a lot easier and it is gorgeous at the top of that peak.  Glad we tackled it I think, but if I were to do it again I would probably just go up big springs and back down the same way that Shingle Mill trail was super steep almost to the point of unenjoyable. 

Sienna and I made it out for another hike at Big Springs- we did a lower elevation loop.  All the trees were starting to turn and it was beautiful. 

On the way down Sienna and I got stopped and were unable to get down the canyon road.  We discovered the reason was because a 15 year old boy had committed suicide in the park (the park that our 9^th grade girls were having a canyon’s field trip/bbq and this boy happened to be a classmate of theirs).  It was supposed to be a wonderful, fun filled day and it ended in tragedy.  Several of the boys in our neighborhood witnessed the event and it has been very hard for them.  Liv did not know Max Miller, the victim, well and didn’t see the shooting.  In fact, when she was loaded back on the buses to go back to school she hadn’t known for sure what had happened.  But, she got down the canyon and had Piper take her and Star to target to get poster board.  Unbeknownst to me, they made a sign that said hearts for Max and hung it up on the cement in front of the school.  That evening a bunch of students placed candles and pictures around it and drew hearts on the sign.  And the next day at school, kids drew more signs, or cut out hearts to tape around it, or made origami hearts to tape around it.  I honestly had no idea she had done this till the next day when I dropped her off at school and she pointed it out and told me.  It was such a sad, tragic event that I am sure will affect her class for a long while. 

Kris and Crystal and I did a fun little loop up Rock Canyon when the leaves were just perfect.  Kota loves hiking!

Crystal showed me and Kris the coolest hike we had never done before it was called Little Rock Canyon and we went to Little Rock Peak and the rock garden.  This hike is right in my backyard and I can't believe I didn't know about it.  The actual hike up Little Rock Canyon is quite steep and a little bit of a rock scamble up a creekbed.  This cute dog from the house at the start of the trail came on the entire hike with us.  His name was Duke, he got along so great with Kota and he was like our little trailguide- which was helpful as sometimes it was hard to find the trail.  Along the trail we found a geocache, a teepee, a swing, and a little link-n-log type cabin.  The view from Little Rock Peak was goregous.  And the Rock garden was the coolest rock maze that someone has build up there on the moutain it is really so neat.  

One day I didn't go for a hike, but Kota and I walked down Carterville road and that road is so isolated it almost feels like a hike in the city.  The leaves were gorgeous!

Kris and Crystal showed me the way they like to hike to Buffalo peak.  I loved it and want to go back.  We all color coordinated that day without even trying.

I really wanted to take my kids up to see the Rock garden so one Saturday when Derek was out of town, I got the boys and the Watkins to come hike it again with me.  They were less enthralled, but Amber and I enjoyed the adventure.

One Novemeber day, I got off work an hour earlier than expected and the weather was so nice for November- 65 degrees and sunny that I decided I better get a hike in with Kota before the kids got out of school.  I attempted to invite people to come with me, but no one could come.  So just Kota and I went up dry canyon and I listened to confernece talks the whole hike.  It was exactly what I needed.  We hiked to a little peak on the right side of the canyon that I have always wanted to conquer.  Well, we hiked until the trail kinda disappeared and I worried I might get lost. I might have to try to find a better trail to the top some future day.