January 24th - February 6th

 In Our Family The Past Two Weeks...

* It was McKendra's sister (Meranna's) Birthday. We had them over for an awesome (and delicious!) cake that Aubrie baked. Gave her some gifts and then mom, the girls and Meranna went to the movies. Meranna wanted to see the new Spiderman movie and we had no objection of watching it for a second time. In fact, I think I enjoyed it better the second time! haha

* Nathan got his Drivers Permit! He finished up the 30 hours of Classroom time over the Christmas break and finished up the additional 12 hours of instructional driving time this past week. Honestly he's actually a pretty good little driver and he's been doing GREAT driving us around town!

* Everyone is 100% over being sick with Covid/other ailments and so all kids are back to Rugby practices. The girls have been practicing with the high school team as they await the Middle School practices to start up (which they do on Feb 15th). And Nathan plays with the Rocky Mountain High School Team. Also, in addition to being on the Rugby Idaho Board of Directors, Dad has also become one of the Assistant coaches for the girls HS team. He's excited since that's what he really wanted so he can move up with Aubrie and Lexi and coach at the high school level next year. He will still be the Head Coach for the Middle School team for this season. He is absolutely loving it!

* The 2021-22 Duck Season has officially ended. Dad and Maggie went out for their final hunt together. He says it went by way too quick and he's already looking forward to September when he can get back out there!

* Ben's job is still going so well! He seems to enjoy each shift better than the last! He's been taking time to really study the Come Follow Me lessons during his shift and has come to gain some great insights

* August officially is no longer the General Manager for Marco's Pizza. His first order of business was taking a much needed vacation with his family to Nebraska! The valley is booming with business and opportunity, and we are all praying he will quickly find a job that will provide well for him and his family.

Spiritually Speaking...(Dad Edition)

This past week I had an opportunity to be interviewed by Seth for a class assignment he had. I was interviewed about accomplishing a life goal. As I contemplated what I would talk about, I realized that, while I had accomplished many things of a secular nature, they all paled in comparison to one accomplishment we experienced in the beginning of 2020. On that day, every member of our family was able to enter into the House of the Lord - the Boise, Idaho Temple. There was such a feeling of contentment, peace, and relief to see all of us there, dressed in white, performing ordinances for our deceased ancestors. At that moment in time, I felt true joy. It was amazing to see the brothers baptizing their younger siblings and conferring the gift of the Holy Ghost upon them. As parents, you feel like - "OK, we're doing alright. We're all here where we need to be." I know that there will be challenges ahead of us. Life always throws curve balls our way. With the gospel in our lives, faith in The Lord, and love in our hearts, we can overcome any obstacle together.