February 20th-21st

 I’m gonna go v basic white girl here and just title everything with the dates to simplify. 

Friday was a 2-hour early release. Frankie had her last basketball game and Delaney still wasn’t feeling great, so stayed home from dance. 

The last game is always a little sad. Basketball is so fast paced and exciting so it’s fun to watch. In between watching the cheerleaders, obvi. 

Frankie’s stunt group is on the right and she’s the left base. They hit all their stunts this game and we are so proud of them for pushing through all their games that the didn’t hit all their stunts. 

It was Senior Night and some amazing momma put together this cool arch and had beautifully decorated cookies and snacks for everyone. Gotta remember this for Frankie’s senior year. They had blown up cardboard jerseys of the boys, but we could do cardboard cheer uniforms too. #adorbs. 

Curtis and Alecia came too and it’s so fun when friends come to support. We got there a few minutes late (as per the norm) and I didn’t see them and didn’t know for sure they were coming. So after the first quarter I finally looked at my phone and Alecia had texted “nice bun.” Haha, cue my searching the gym for my creepy friend. 🤣 I brought them over to the cheerleader viewing section and Curtis taught us about the rules of fouling. I understand most of basketball but fouls always got me like 🤔.

The girls had to turn in their uniforms, but when they finally came out of the bathroom we had a photo shoot. 

And with their 2 fun JV coaches. It’s been a learning and growing season and Frankie really loved it. 

Sarah Gravelle had a birthday board party, so Matt and I dipped pretzels and strawberries when we got home and I quickly made up our chocolate themed board. Frankie drove us and since I was pretty sure I wouldn’t take a single picture (I was right) I had Adi snap one while we were on our way. We family counseled about what theme of board to bring, and Frankie suggested the chocolate covered everything theme, so there you go. 

There were some fun ones! Mini chicken and waffles, Frankie’s favorite sushi, meatloaf and mashed potato’s on a toothpick, and then the gorgeous 10 foot long board Ryan handmade with all the chips and dips. All the theater people we sort of mostly know from over the years were there and I also sat and chatted with Chelsea for a long time. Aaaand, the girls had fun and weren’t begging to leave, so 🎉🎉🎉

On Saturday we had nothing on our plates so the girls rested since 2/3 were at that weird almost sort of sick place, but with rest you usually feel better. I’ve been making lots of new healthy recipes, so it was a little bit of this, little bit of that slow day. 

Monday storm

I love afternoon church! Sunday mornings are so slow and easy. I’ve been helping in the Nursery and it’s so fun. Jackie and I only had 3 cute little girls on Sunday and it was easy breezy. I’ve been class dojo’ing it for the parents and sending them cute pictures and blurbs about our day. I play primary music in the background and when a fun song comes on I try to get them to do the motions with me. They know some songs better than others. 🤣

By the time church ended at 2:00 it was snowing beautiful fat snowflakes. Matt had picked up Danny for church so we had 2 cars, so the girls went home and Matt and I stayed for the  baptism of a new sister I had never met. It snowed all evening and Adi made bread and when school was cancelled for Monday we all cheered. 

Just after 6 Monday morning, Matt jumped out of bed and looked out the window. Of course I jumped out of bed too but missed the action. A transformer exploded and caused several flashes of blue-green light. A neighbor caught this on their ring cam.  

And we didn’t have power. I stayed snuggled warmly in bed but Matt wanted to check things out. Thankfully the power can back on before the girls even woke up. One of our neighbors is a lineman for SMECO and I before that I never really thought about what important, difficult work those guys do. So thankful for them!

It was pretty snow that didn’t stick to any of our warm roads or sidewalks so all the little hopeful snow shovelers were disappointed. 

We watched Divergent and caught up on all the things. It was another lovely quiet at home day. 

Fixed

Matt fixed my blog issues. 🎉 

I hosted inklings today, so I spent my morning preparing for that. Bringing up table leaves, gathering chairs, and making King Cake since we studied Elder Amos talk and he’s from Louisiana. 

I wasn’t super prepared, but I wasn’t not prepared. I was medium prepared but the sisters participated and it was great. Relief Society sisters will never let a teacher fail. 

After, everyone hung out and ate cake and talked kids and college. And Alecia got the baby. Good luck for her 2026!

I made dinner yesterday and tried to make it so Frankie could eat before drivers ed, but then I realized two things. First, the recipe called for it to sit in the fridge overnight. Oops, but since it was pasta I figured it didn’t really matter. But second, it wouldn’t be done in time to eat before she left anyway. So Monday me threw frozen burritos in my already preheated oven, and lucky Tuesday me just had to pull the pasta out of the fridge and bake it. 

Adi and Frankie went to piano today too since Johnna didn’t have power for a lot of the day yesterday. 

It was a quiet night of homework and family time. Tuesday is D’s only night without dance so it’s usually our family night, but since we didn’t have school yesterday we had a family home afternoon and it was great. 

I picked Bryn up from dance since Chelsea is dealing with workers fixing her roof from the tree that fell on their house. 

And now this ace Lent’er is heading to bed, all night time stretched and ready. 

Well hello

I have zero desire to work on getting caught up on 3 months of blogging and I also can’t get my pictures to upload  

So anyway. Everything from just before Thanksgiving to February 1st was wild and busy. Then on the 1st we had our postponed Stake Conference where, after 5 years and 2 months, I was released. I’m grateful I had several months to prepare myself because it is a big adjustment. 

And now life is so much less busy! It’s pretty spectacular. Elizabeth was also released and we’ve been checking in with each other. She said she was gonna keep her February kind of clear and that was music to my ears.

And now it’s the end of February and I’m feeling much more grounded and adjusted. It’s an odd feeling going from 10 years as a relief society President to not being one. I loved my calling, and now I’m loving not having that calling. I’ve been helping in the nursery the last 3 weeks since I was released and the slow Sunday mornings with my crew are not too shabby.

I’ll try to get my pictures figured out and get back to catching up, but maybe not today. After a week of great all night sleep, last night I didn’t sleep well and I gave up napping for Lent, so it will be an early to bed kind of night. ❤️

November 23rd-November 24th

 

Special Stake Conference with Elder Rasband! Matt invited Danny to ride with us so we took the Jolly Green and I rode in the back with the girls. And while we were driving to the Stake Center, Lu and crew were leaving to come to our house for Thanksgiving, so we sent them our in the car pic.

The Stake Center was so crowded, but we sat in the overflow and it was wonderful. 

I will always do whatever I can to be where an apostle is.

We got home and got to pie baking. We each took a pie and prepped the house. Matt made a huge pot of homemade macaroni and cheese and when our weary travelers I arrived we ate a giant early dinner and played games. Cutie Carter admiring my magnets.

We had 18 people for pies and I took one bang up picture. It was fun and casual and delicious. I was telling Elizabeth about it and she asked if I would do it again, which I thought was a great question, and I don't actually know. I am trying to host more, it's important to me, but I'm not sure if this is the one. We'll see how 2026 Michelle feels.

The next day was Ms. Payne's big Thanksgiving Feast. I made a big pot of mashed potatoes and was able to volunteer in the class. I sniped Delaney while they were going over their lesson.

And Henry's first Mimi Snack Surprise! These boys have my whole heart! Emmett is not wearing glasses here because the boys and aunties were jumping on the trampoline and Adi bounced them too hard and Delaney and Emmett bonked and his glasses broke. Poor guy!

That night we put on a Hallmark Christmas movie and addressed Christmas cards and it was one of those special moments you want to remember forever. Years ago I read somewhere of friends that get together to address all their Christmas cards together while they watch Christmas movies and I love the idea but have never been able to make it happen. Until now. 💕

November 1st-November 3rd

Going back through my Line a Day journal to help me remember. This is what I wrote for November 1st. "I wanted today to be a complete Saturday off, but as soon as I started thinking of all I had to do, the longest list formed and it was frustrating. When it's busy, everyday life things get pushed aside so we did those today."

At least Adi looked cute. This girl and her rollers!

Alli made us birthday gift bags and they had juicy pickle candy in them, so we filmed ourselves tasting them. Spoiler - no good.

November 2nd

"Fall back and fast Sunday. We slept in as best as we could. Church, nap, then tithing declaration, which was fun. I worked on Inklings and church tasks, then cilantro lime chicken for dinner." 

No pictures 

November 3rd

"Frankie's last JV football game and it was a fun one! All the girls took turns being flyers so I got to take pictures of Frankie. She had a good season and the team won a ton of games. Then D got en pointe and is so exciting! Double yay!"

I do love going to the high school games. I've missed that the last few years!

Coming down is hard!

On our way home I let her drive around the school parking lot and then home. Permit test is next week on Christmas Eve!

This girl! So so so happy she loves to dance. We've turned a corner and I hope we don't go back. Love her and so proud of how hard she's working!

I also got pictures from Lu's wedding and I came up with the best gift idea for me, which was for Lexi to print my annual family canvas picture. It took a tast from my plate and is something I love. So smart!

Halloween 2025!

 Adi went all in for Halloween at school  I can’t even with that wig! 🤣

I bought pumpkins and then we didn’t end up carving them till Halloween. Better late than never, I guess. 

And then Frankie decided she didn’t need to carve hers. 🙃 D’s was super cute though!

We hosted our potluck dinner again. We had at least 30 people and it was crazy but fun chaos. Delaney and Emma were excited to head out!

And even Adi and Lily went out for awhile. 

Matt had invited a friend from school over and they passed out candy together. I flitted between outside and inside and got to visit and tidy and it was a simple and fun Halloween. 

Chocolate and games and Ruby

 Grandpa sent us a fun box of Wisconsin chocolates for Christmas  we had fun taste testing them all  

Sunday will be our 10th annual Hot Chocolate Stane! One of my favorite activists we do each year. 

I got to see Frankie’s 2nd game and it was a good one. The boys were crazy aggressive and only won by 2 points. Frankie looked so good!

And finally, Miss Ruby! She’s getting so big and is basically a sitter upper and an unenthusiastic solids eater. Those cheeks and hand rolls!

I made good progress on my Women of Light tasks and bought Christmas dinner supplies and am that much closer to being ready for Christmas. 🎄 ❤️

18 and 21 years

Today is the day 18 years ago that Sharon passed away. She was diagnosed with renal cancer the Summer after Matt and I were married. We had just visited Seattle, which Matt wasn't stoked about, but so glad we did. We didn't know how bad it was till very close to the end. I remember talking to a friend from Seattle who was a nurse and she laid it out for me, that because of the metastasizing there would be no recovery. I don't think Jim had accepted that yet, so that was hard. We had made plans to gather for Christmas, had rented a big house in the snow and had plane tickets ready. 

I was teaching 3rd grade at the Arts Academy and got a call at school, they called me over the intercom to come up to the office for a phone call and my heart sank. My partner teachers were outside their doors with hugs and offers to keep an eye on my class. I went into the office and talked to Matt. Mike had called him and said Sharon didn't have long and asked if we could come early. 

After that was a whirlwind. I was able to leave school immediately and he left work and we went through all our options. We decided Matt and I would leave that day and my mom was going to drive up to be with the kids and then get them on a plane after school got out for Christmas break. But as soon as the kids came home they really wanted to come with us, and we really wanted them to also. So we packed in an hour and drove the 3 1/2 hours to Albuquerque to fly to Seattle. I was 3 months pregnant with Adi and not feeling great on the flight but everyone was very kind and patient with us. We unknowingly met up with James at the Denver airport and we all flew into Seattle together.

And then we waited. When we first arrived she was still talking a little so we got to hug her and talk to her, She slipped into a coma a few days later. We spent time at the hospital and together and did activities with all the kids. Ken came from Chicago and Dan and Chantell from Ellensburg. The day she passed away Dan and Chantell had decided to drive home to check things and pick up some things they felt they needed and Cami and I were going to take the kids to the Science Center. Matt, Jim, and Ken were at the hospital, and Matt called to tell me she had passed away. I called Dan and Cami called Mike. We left the kids with Cami's bestie and met at the hospital to be with her and together. I'll never forget walking into the hospital and Matt walking out to meet me and just crumbling. Losing our parents is so hard and she was only 65, too young.

I remember their ward taking such good care of us. They brought dinners and someone brought a big thing of toilet paper, paper plates, napkins, etc to help make it easy with all the visitors. That was so helpful and I've copied that a time or two.

I only had my mother-in-law for a year, plus the year and a half Matt and I dated. She never got to meet our little girls, but Matt was grateful she got to know Alexis and Christian so she did get to see him as a dad. Jim wrote a book about her life, and every few years we read it with the girls. I miss her and wish she could have stayed longer, but am grateful to know of the Plan of Salvation.

And then, as life is so often bittersweet, today is also the day 21 years ago that Matt and I went out on our first date. We had met at a dance on the 10th and had planned a big group ice skating night on the 17th, but Matt called a few days before that and we made plans to go to dinner before. And the rest is history. 💗

 From the birth of our Savior, to the sting of death, to the promise of eternal life together, December holds multitudes.

So how about some Rainbow Ellie Sparkles after all that? 😝 

My toast broke when I tried to cut the arm holes and I like doing the elf stuff but not that much.

Yesterday they drank orange juice, but Delaney asked what the heck was going on, which I thought was obviously 2 straws in an orange, but I guess not?

Yesterday I had Inklings (love), a doctors appt (meh), D's counseling appt (she likes it), Matt volunteered at the Festival of lights (he loves to serve), and the missionaries for dinner (yay).

During D's appointment I ran to BJ's for some things we need this week and then realized after I left that I haven't thought about Christmas dinner yet, so I guess I get to go back. Then after we stopped at Target for some gift exchange gifts for Frankie, and D spent some Grandpa money on mini brands. I will keep this girl little for as long as I possibly can, even if it means mini brand clutter.

We enjoyed girls night with the sister missionaries. We love having sisters! We had grilled cheese and tomato bisque and brownies and ice cream and it was a lovely evening. 

Frankie and Adi went to check the mail after and they were cracking themselves up getting ready to go. I came over to find that they had each taken a roller blade to wear for their trip up. I never did get a report on how that went because I had a Women of Light meeting, but I'm assuming not great.

There are so many little things that have cropped up - now suddenly the ballroom will take 2 hours to transform from the classes we have scheduled in the morning to the large ballroom we'll have our keynote speakers in and EventBrite is being kind of annoying. We've got technology stuff and interpretation stuff and 5 strong women with lots of opinions and it's December and busy and this is happening so soon, so it was a long meeting and we all left with another long list of to do's. It will be soooo good and worth it, I just pray we are thinking through everything and are ready!

And finally, on this long and meandering journey this post has been, Emmett won an award for having the most growth of his reading assessments from fall to winter. He was already a good reader, so this is very exciting! And we love a pajama day!

Alli’s 40!

Alli turned 40 at the end of October. She invited us to Medieval Times to celebrate. We also decided to throw in an Escape Room before the dinner. It was a tricky Escape Room with so many possible options that it was hard to know how to move forward. We got a couple hints, but didn't ever figure it out. They offered to give us more time, but we had to get to dinner. It was a frustrating one. 

Alli got us the premium package, which meant we got to sit up front, a lovely lanyard and flag, and also we each got an 8x10 picture of us. 7 lovely 8x10's. 😂 Not worth it, just fyi.

The show was fun and silly and the food was fine. Since we had just been to the Stampede at Dollywood, we all kind of compared it to that and both are cheesy but we liked the Stampede better.

Frankie had her baby that day and it was so loud inside the theater that she had to leave to feed him because she couldn't hear when he was done sucking or if he was crying.

That was kind of a bummer, but she was a cute and diligent little mommy. Who knows what people thought though! 😂 The guy at the Escape Room brought a chair into our room before he realized it was not a real baby. 😂😂

The girls don't remember going here, so it was fun. And Delaney remains a fashion icon.

It had started raining by the time we were leaving, so we did a quick gift handoff in the parking lot and gave birthday hugs. So happy we could celebrate as my second to last sibling turns 40.