Dec 27 - 31, 2024 - Pennsylvania Trip

Moments Dec 27 - 31

Sofie made some binoculars out of the new craft supplies we got for Christmas.

I got to play some pickleball in my new shoes.  :)

Dec 29 - Sunday 

Nels got a job offer for a position in Pennsylvania.  We were invited to see the area and the plant that Nels would be working at before saying yes or no to the job.  So we loaded up the car and drove for 10 hours to Chambersburg, PA.

Noah was a happy camper with a show and a pancake.

Funny sign as we drove through eastern Tennessee.

We ate at Cracker Barrel.  

It was a good travel day.  No one got sick and we were all pretty nice.  :)

Dec 30 - Monday

We dropped Nels off at the plant and he stayed there from 10 am -2 pm.  The kids and I drove around Chambersburg.  We found the middle schools and elementary schools and our church building.  We drove by four houses that were for sale.  We played at a playground that we found, but it was cold.  So we didn't stay too long.

We got Sonic for lunch and picked up Nels.  Then we ate at Red Robin for dinner.  Sofie and Noah liked the chocolate milk and water.  Haha.

Dec 31 - Tuesday

We drove to a town called Greencastle.  It was a cute little town.  We walked through two houses there.  We found a park with pickleball courts.  Isak and I played a quick game.  

Little playground next to the courts.

We drove to another town called Waynesboro.  We ate lunch there at Red Run Grill.  Yummy smoked turkey sandwich.  We didn't find any housing options in Waynesboro.  We drove to Hagerstown, MD and found the Walmart.  We didn't find any housing options in Hagerstown.  

The areas are older, but then with some new homes sometimes.  It just seemed kind of sad and we weren't excited about the areas we saw.  We went back to the hotel. 

I watched the kids swim while Nels picked up food from Sonics, Panera and blizzards at DQ.

We drove home the next day - January 1.  After a lot of stewing and going back and forth in our minds, we ended up saying no to the job offer in Pennsylvania.  We hope it's ok and we'll find something better around the corner!

That's the end of 2024!  We celebrated new year's eve on January 3...I'll post about that later.

Moments of 2024

Sofie and Noah's Baptisms

Trip to Chattanooga, Ruby Falls, Rock City

Loved all of the waterfalls we discovered this year

Unicorn Festival with Sofie and Kira

Solar Eclipse

Road Trip to Colorado, Idaho and Utah -- So much fun!

Trip to Door County!!

Dollywood

Celebrating the holidays

Sad moments - Nels losing his job, Grandma Stewart passing away, me getting pneumonia.

Favorite thing I learned in 2024 - PICKLEBALL!  I'm so glad I taught it to my family too and Nels loves it too.  :)

Still loved my sister's book club and chatting with them once a month

Loved seeing Isak and Kira go to the temple for the first time and then they got to go a few times during 2024.  And I loved my time I got to go to the temple.  I tried to go more often this year, and I really enjoyed it.  

Hopes for 2025:

Nels finds a great job that is awesome for him and our family.

 

Dec 24 - 26, 2024 - Christmas Eve, Day and More.

Dec 24 - 26

Merry Christmas Eve!

Sofie and Noah colored Christmas pictures.  

Nels and I rocked out for a few minutes.  

I made Chocolate cookies with candy cane kisses.

Nels and I made a Christmas Eve dinner.  Nels baked a pork with the bone in.  I made green beans in the air fryer.  Rolls, fruit, potatoes.  

It was a yummy meal.

I did a little video and asked the kids to tell me "What do you want for Christmas and what gift will you give to Jesus."  It turned out cute.  

Nels read "T'was the Night Before Christmas" to the kids.

And I read Luke 2 and the Christmas book "Humphrey."

Then the kids opened their one gift for the night.

Sofie opened a tea set from Noah.  

 Noah opened a fidget cube from Isak.  Isak opened a Rubik's game from all of his siblings.  

Kira opened a coin purse from Isak. 

We watched the movie Noelle as a family.  then put the kids to bed.  Nels and I put the gifts out...

Then we went to bed and...

Then it was Christmas morning!!

Kids lined up, ready to go.

Kira was happy to have her stuffed animal.  She named her Mango.

Isak got the blue body pillow behind him and his traditional $1 Million dollar candy bar.

Sofie got her ballerina panda.  She named Anna.

Noah got a sloth.  He name it, "Medium Sloth."  :)

Then we opened the rest of the gifts.  Here's a few:

Noah got a car to build.  Sofie got an ice cream Barbie.

Isak got cubes!  4x4, 2x2, and a smart 3x3 cube.

Noah's gift to me was a big hug. :)

Noah got Gravitrax.

Sofie got Scribble scrubby.

Gifts strewn about...

Kira got desk organizer stuff, room decor and crochet stuff.  

Family game Qwirkle.

Nels did scavenger hunts for all of us, even me.  He gave me money to buy new shoes for pickleball.

And each of the kids got $50.  They were excited and had fun doing the clues to find it.  

All of Isak's cubes.  :)

Nels made an amazing breakfast.  Sausage, eggs, English muffins, fruit.  I made hot cocoa in the Vitamix. 

Isak loved his hover ball.  I had fun playing it with him.

I only helped him a little with his car.  He's a good builder.

Scribble scrubby...

Slime kit...

We just spent the day playing and eating.  It was a great day.  

Dec 26 - 

I painted the girls nails and my own nails too!

Aunt Kierstin's gift came.  Thank you!

She gave us a "Twas the Night Before Christmas in Door County."  Nels read it to us at dinner.

Just enjoyed the time together.  It was a wonderful Christmas.  We received some unexpected gifts that made this year special too.  We are grateful for the generosity of others and hope to pay it forward someday.