Ring out 2020

 Is there anything cuter than a 3-year-old in brand-new toddler underwear?

Such hope.

Such promise.

Can I REALLY be done with diapers?!

Needless to say, it's completely consumed the last 5 days.  I felt it was an appropriate way to ring out the old year.  Tommy has been pretty good... so far... 

In other non-pooping news.  I've been using this opportunity to catch up with blogging and journaling and cleaning the house.  We had absolutely no plans for New Year's Eve, until Drew swallowed a cylindrical neodymium magnet from the set of cheap magnaforms.  One magnet by itself isn't that big of deal, but we needed to make sure.  After a quick trip to instacare and a couple of x-rays, I was able to tell Mr. poisoncontrolguy that Drew checked out with a toilet "hat" and some latex gloves.  I'm sure we'll see it pass by sooner or later!  We made it home in time for fireworks and an early bedtime.  We had some leftover sparklers and a few spinny things that weren't that impressive.  Next year, I'll plan better.  Good thing some neighbors down the road had an impressive display of aerials.  We felt fulfilled.  So long 2020!

Children's Discovery Museum!

The kids were so excited to go back to this children's museum!  It made a great gift from Grandma and Grandpa Hawkins last year and makes and even better gift this year!  We were able to get in an hour before the crowds, which was nice.  The crowds weren't that bad anyway.  The exhibits were a little... scaled down.  Fewer props and toys, some were even closed.  Anna and Dallin were able to do the canopy tour which was so much fun!  This time I remembered to bring snacks so the kids could last until lunch.

For lunch, we went over to Pizza Pie Cafe.  It's still the same old pizza buffet and it was great!  Dallin got 3 plates of pasta and 3 slices of oreo dessert pizza.  They all got stuffed!  I sure love these memories.  Many thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Hawkins for the fun!

Day-after-Christmas Sledding Party

This is one of the longest-standing traditions in the Ackerson family.  It dates back to the mid 90's when we'd travel to Brigham City for sledding and hanging out with our Allen cousins.  When the cabin was bought a couple years later, a sledding run was the first thing cut into the scrub oaks and service berries.  It's still used 20 years later by Ackerson cousins, herds of deer, and occasional neighbor kids in the development.  It was a small party, again, but everyone had a good time with soup, breads, and old christmas neighbor treats.  We missed Vanessa's family, but she promised to come out for Sledding Party Part II.  There was BARELY enough snow on the hill and I had to go out with a shovel to cover some of the dirt.  We desperately need snow, or there may not be a Part II!

Christmas 2020

 It was a wonderful day!  Bevan had to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but we made the most of it.  We needed to stir up some excitement so we took pizza to Mom and Dad's and decided it was time to end their quarantine.  'Bout time!  We ate pizza, pumpkin cookies, and watched Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, a family favorite.  

Christmas morning was a blur for me.  The kids were up at their usual time, 6:30.  Bevan was able to stick around long enough to open presents and eat breakfast.  It was perfect!  I spent the rest of the day just cleaning up anyway.  Our house is full of nerf darts, legos, and trash.  Dallin is in love with his little drone (I give it 3 days, tops),  Anna wore her unicorn onsie for a whole week, and Drew and Tommy dumped the entire bottle of bubble bath into the water.  Beverly and Lloyd came up to visit and eat Christmas dinner with us.  It was a perfect day!

Ackerson Family Christmas Party and Cousin Covid Exchange!

I love the new name for this!  I think it'll stick for years, even after covid is long gone.  For those of us who just don't care to put our lives on hold, we got together for our annual party.  The traditional ice rink was all booked out, so Nora found us a groupon for her local trampoline park... and my kids LOVE trampoline parks!  It was technically for only an hour, but they let us have a little more time.  The place was dead, but the teenagers were pretty much done after an hour anyway.  They had such a blast with the dodgeball arena, open jump, hanging nets, and super high swing!  Tommy loved the foam pit and Paige and Meg kept having to fish him out.  Cousins are amazing!  

Afterwards, we headed back to Nora's for food and presents.  Baked Ziti and garlic knots are a new favorite!  The present exchange was a blast, as always.  My kids love having an "early Christmas" and genuinely love their cousin presents.  We had some family join via zoom, which was fun, but not as much fun.  Hopefully next Christmas we can have a full house again.  If there's ever LESS than 20 kids, it's borderline boring.  I love our big family!

Anniversary Soak

Our anniversary was not that eventful this year, but still one of our BETTER anniversaries.  I partially blame covid.  Bevan still thinks we're going to make it back to Kauai someday.  In the meantime, we decided to do something we've never done before, soak in the crater!  How have we never done this?!  It was amazing!  Bevan had the day off and we found a sitter for Tommy since the only time they had available was the middle of the day.  It's like swimming in a giant, 95-degree bathtub!  As far as things to do it Midway, it's so much more enjoyable than the ice castles... and cheaper.  I can see how bringing small kids would make it less relaxing.  We soaked up every minute of it.  Afterwards, we went to lunch at Goochy Goo Barbeque, also here in Midway, and also something we've never done.  It may not be Kauai, but we got to swim in warm water and eat good food.  Happy anniversary, Bevan love!