Family Christmas Letter 2016

Time for my annual family Christmas letter. It only took me 2 hours to write it (an hour of that was the procrastinating that always has to happen first...)

<deep breath> Here goes.

December 2016

Another year has come and gone. So many exciting things happening in our family!

Bossy and Gamer became foster parents and now they have filed for adoption so they can keep Chips and Salsa permanently. They are expecting a court date after the first of the year. Gamer is working a new job packing food for American Airlines. Bossy is currently looking for something to supplement their income and has several good leads. I will let her fill you in on all the activities with the kids.

Beauty and The Beast are both still working at the bank. Beauty finished her Associates Degree in Mathematics from SLCC in the spring and they have been updating and repairing their home with the idea of relocating eventually into a little nicer part of town.

Drama Queen finished her mission in the spring and landed her dream job at our Middle School as an English teacher. She has the ups and downs of a 1^st year teacher all over again, but she rolls with the punches. She has recently moved her records to a new Singles’ ward and is enjoying hanging out with friends her own age rather than the little ones in the nursery.

Teach married Twiz in February in the Jordan River Temple. They are expecting a baby girl almost a year to the date of their wedding and they plan to name her Twizlet. Teach is teaching 6^th grade in the Granite District and Twiz is working at Target. He takes classes at SLCC and hopes to enter the Police Academy soon.

Dog Walker just got accepted into the UVU Elementary Ed program. He works about 24 hours a week doing freight at the WalMart just down the street. He bought a new car (his first major purchase) and he loves that the heat and AC actually work in it. He is coaching Baby Doll’s basketball team and he also signed up for Tinder and has been talking with girls. Someday he may even go on a date!

Princess married The Frog in the Oquirrh Mt. Temple in August. He is going to school in Computer Science at BYU and works as a Web Page Designer. Princess is almost finished with her degree from UVU in Elementary Ed. She loves that she can focus on school and making a home and no longer has to hold down a job.

Prima Donna graduated from Bingham, earning the coveted Theatre Department Senior of the Year award. She also received her Associates from SLCC in the spring. She is now at Weber, hoping to major in their Musical Theater program. She had her first big role in a show in November and was just cast in one that will happen in the spring.  She has an amazing voice and is rekindling her love for dance.

Crafty is a sophomore at Bingham and she is super busy! She is the president of the Cupcake Club, a member of FCCLA, an Executive for the South Jordan Youth City Council, Team Captain for her Dance Company, and a soloist for South Pointe Ballet’s upcoming production. She continues to be a 4.0 student and she even sings with me in the ward choir.

Sport is an 8^th grader and he is busy and active in sports and in school. He just finished a successful football season and is beginning basketball. He played 1st base and pitched for his baseball team in the spring and he had the lowest ERA in the league for his age. He is my Den Chief and he has earned a pile of merit badges already. He is on the MathCounts team and a PTSA Rep at SoJo as well as a 4.0 student. He is also an amazing "water-bottle flipper." (Trust me, it's a thing...)

Scout is a 5^th grader. She plays the saxophone in the band, is a Safety Patrol leader and a good student. In her free time she plays basketball, dances many hours at the studio and with South Pointe Ballet, and she loves Girl Scouts and Activity Days. She is also a super softball player and had her first try at pitching this year.

Curly is a 3^rd grader. He loves sports of all kinds! He was the top pitcher in stats for his age group and the A team wouldn’t have won the Championship without his amazing work on the offensive line. He is a good student and he still loves to dance, especially tap. He is a cub scout in my Wolf Den and he works hard. His car won first place in our pack pinewood derby a couple of weeks ago.

Baby Doll is a kindergartner. She is an excellent student who loves to dance. She takes jazz, ballet, and tap. She loves Girl Scouts and primary. In November she had a leading role in Prima Donna’s play. It was hard making all those trips to Ogden, but so worth it. She played her first sports this year and was chosen as the only MVP for her baseball team and she is just starting basketball. She is an excellent defender; if she would just remember to dribble…

Grandpa moved in with us in August. We love having him here! He recently was called as a Church Service Missionary and he is serving in the hosting center at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. He loves it and is grateful for the opportunity. He rides the Trax train downtown, and works two days a week. He is my assistant coach for Scout’s basketball team and will teach his first lesson in the High Priest’s group this week.

My sweetie continues to put in long hours at work, but that doesn’t stop him from building a bathroom for my dad downstairs and growing a large, productive garden. He is still the Young Men’s secretary, but lately has been helping me as a long-term sub in the nursery. (Who can resist toys and treats?) He is an amazing husband and father and takes good care of us financially and spiritually. In the spring he and I were actually able to take a much-anticipated trip together to Boston and the east coast. It was 10 glorious days together! Other than spending time with me, he loves driving his G8 really fast especially on the on-ramps and helping build pinewood derby cars.

I am crazy busy as usual. I am helping Dog Walker coach Baby Doll's basketball team and I’m the head coach for Scout’s team. I was the Reflection’s Co-chair at Bingham and the unofficial Cupcake Club mentor. I am still the Women’s Stake Sports Specialist (Are you counting? That’s 11 years.) I am also the Wolf Den Leader and the unofficial nursery leader. I still work with the dance studio and I am a board member for South Pointe Ballet. I am heading into my 25^th year as a Girl Scout leader. I am also the Higher Awards Specialist for the Oquirrh Community and a member of the Gold Award Committee on the council level. In my spare time I still sell a little Tupperware and write in my daily blog, Twelve Makes A Dozen.

Life is crazy and wonderful; full of love and new adventures. We hope you are all well and enjoying the Christmas season. 


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Mom asked me to log in and add updates on my children.  

Fajita is a senior at Bingham.  She is the Vice President of Cupcake Club and continues to be involved with Teen Advisory Board at the library and Youth City Council.  Over the summer she tried out boot camp and has signed with the Army Reserve to join when she graduates. 

Bean Dip is in 9th grade and enjoying programming classes.  He was starting pitcher for his baseball team this year and they won the Championship.  He is a foodie who enjoys trying things with his bio-mom.  He sings an excellent bass and continues to love all genres of music. 

Taco is in 6th grade and turned 12 and was ordained a deacon last week.  He became a Second Class scout this summer and has earned several merit badges.  His baseball team (ranked 11th) won the intracity tournament, beating two undefeated teams.  His football team came in second.  He got to be an assistant with swimming lessons this year and loves to be one of the "big kids."

Burrito is in 4th grade.  He is still in the dual immersion Spanish program.  He is doing so much better with his dyslexia and works very hard in school. He loves baseball and is developing into a smart catcher.  Gamer coached his team as well as Curly and Salsa on a different team.  Burrito has adjusted well to no longer being the baby of the family.  

Salsa is in 4th grade and on a different track from Burrito.  Before living with us he had never played any sports.  He was a natural hitter in baseball.  He earned the "toughest defensive player" for football.  He skipped 2 levels in swimming this summer.  He is going to be baptized early next year. 

Chips is 4 and in preschool.  He played baseball with Baby Doll.  He didn't like it much and preferred to be in the stands watching his brothers.  He tried soccer in the fall and seemed to finally get the hang of it in the last week of games. He loves to sing and plans on trying dance in January. 

Enchilada is still in Texas with her maternal grandparents.  We chat on Instagram and she is looking forward to applying to dental schools in Utah so she can spend more time with us. She is on the high school swim team and travels all over Texas competing.