Welcome to January 2021

Welcome to the new year! I sure hope 2021 will be better than 2020. I hope we can still have all the fun family time that 2020 brought us without all the stress of a pandemic, earthquakes, riots, toilet paper shortages, masks, and political unrest.

The new year didn't start out great in our country. On January 6, 2021 Congress was finalizing the electoral college vote count for Joe Biden. An angry mob protesting the results of the election stormed into the U.S. Capitol. The Capitol was placed under lock down and lawmakers were evacuated. Protesters broke into the capitol and caused a lot of damage. It was scary to watch it all unfold on t.v. Eventually the mob left, but 5 people died and about 140 people were injured. Just when you thought things would settle down, right? 

Then on January 20, 2021 Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States with Kamala Harris as the first woman Vice President. Regardless of who is in office or which side you agree with, I hope our country can put our differences aside and come together. We are, after all, one nation under God. We try to protect our kids as much as possible from all the unrest going on in our country. Little kids don't need the stress of trying to understand why people hate each other and why life outside our home seems so unsettled. 

Here's a few things we have been up to this month: 

Hey, remember me? I write the blog book. 

January has been filled with popcorn and movie nights. We love hot chocolate around here. 

We went ice skating as a family and had so much fun! We went to the Kearns Olympic Oval, which is where a lot of the 2002 Olympic game events were held. We skated for hours until we were exhausted. 

Makayla and Caden caught on pretty quickly and they were off. Brynnli needed a little more help. Either me or Tyler would hold her hand and help her skate. A few times she almost took me down with her. 

But by the end of the day she was a pro and could go around all by herself! 

Painting our bird houses. This gets me so excited for spring.

Have you met our 90's teenager? Her name is Brynnli. 

Teenager on minute, and Doctor the next. Makayla didn't feel great one day, so Brynnli got out her doctor supplies and took care of her. 

Hey guess what I got? I Louis Vitton purse! I have been wanting one for a while and since I work now, I saved up my money and purchased one. I love it. It was so expensive, but so worth it. Tyler snapped this picture as I was waiting for him. Louis suits me. 

Chillin' like a villain. 

I took Caden and Brynnli to the trampoline park one day. They had a blast running around.

Caden got a new haircut. Handsome boy. 

Makayla drew on her arm. Although we don't approve of drawing on herself, her picture of Harry Potter is very good. 

Makayla wanted to get her nails done for her birhtday, so she got to go to Denise. She chose teal and pink with palm trees. They look so great!

Some times I am just blown away by our kids' talents. Pencil in nose. 

Caden was so excited for cookies that he waited patiently by the oven until they were done. 

Just doin her afternoon work (watching Peppa Pig) with her Dr. Pepper. 

I am so happy, surprised, and grateful our kids are still in school and still able to participate in dance and tumbling. There are so many kids in the U.S. who haven't been back in the classroom for almost a year, but I am so glad our kids are able to go to school everyday because they really thrive in the classroom. 

Just because I always want to remember things here's the updates about Corona Virus. In November researchers announced the release of the Corona virus vaccine. In December 14, 2020 the first person in the United States received the vaccine. Through January hundreds of thousands of people have received the vaccine. Because of the vaccines, is seems like our numbers in Utah are slowing. At the end of January 2021 there were 346,624 people who have had the virus, 1,665 have died, and 310,692 people have received the vaccine. Right now people who are over 75, or in a long term care facility, or are front line workers can get the vaccine. Soon they will have educators and people over 65 or with underlying health conditions get the shot. Most people have to get on a waiting list and wait for a few weeks before they can get it. The CDC is hoping that everyone in the U.S. will be able to receive the vaccine by the fall.