Christmas Break Roundup #2

Michael, 

I hope you are enjoying being back in Quincy and getting to know a new companion and having new friends to teach. I know you are a force for good wherever you go!

Alright, here’s my Christmas roundup #2.

1. On Thursday the 29th Dad and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary. I’ve officially been married longer than I was single. Crazy! Ty took Jett and Tate skiing for the day, and Blake went skiing with Jimmy. Ty said Tate was an absolute natural and did not want to be done at the end of the day! Poor Ethan was stuck at home with nothing to do. So we took him to the movies with us to see Wakanda Forever—which of course was so good! In the evening Dad and I went to dinner at Ruth’s Chris—also very good! And then we stayed the night at the beautiful new Hyatt hotel in downtown Salt Lake. We got the corner room up on the 22nd floor which had a huge wall of windows and a view across the city. Very fun day!

2. In the morning we met my parents, Dana, and Alison & Zach at the Bountiful temple to do sealings that Dana had worked on. Dana does a lot of family history work but needs help getting all of the temple work done. We did work for my grandpa Stadelbauer’s mother—Ella Lore Albert.My grandpa never quite knew what to do about his mother’s temple work. He wasn’t sure if she would have wanted to be sealed to her first or second husband. I think the answer is that they can seal her to both husbands. Anyway, my Grandpa asked my dad to make sure Ella Lore’s temple work got done. From what I can see on Family Search, Ella Lore was sealed to my Grandpa’s dad in 1993. But this time we had her sealed to her other husband and to her parents along with several siblings. They had all of us gather around the altar to be sealed together at the same time, which was a neat experience, and not one that I’ve had at the temple before that I can recall.

3. On Saturday morning we had the Stadelbauer Christmas party at our house. My parents and siblings and cousins all came—minus a few. We had a good time catching up with each other. No drama over the gift exchange! I hadn’t seen my cousins since the last Christmas party in 2019—and I suspect they hadn’t seen each other either. That makes me sad. It also makes me so grateful for the family structure and stability my parents created in their home which was so different than the home my cousins grew up in.

4. After the Stadelbauer party we cleaned up and got ready for the New Year’s party at our house. We had an amazing Taco bar, goodies, and games. Dad and his brothers installed the punching bag down in the court! And Eli whopped the rest of us in Quacks. We also played a fun round of the name game, which the kids loved. We sipped our Martinelli’s and rang in the new year together.

5. Sunday was our last day in the Shepard ward. And then dinner at our house and more games with the cousins.

6. Tuesday was an adult ski day. Dad went back to work, and Nana watched all of the kids. My dad, Ty, Dana, Tanner, Alison, and Zach went up to Snow Basin for the day. It was fun to all ski together, but it was cold and snowy! Visibility was very poor. I’ve decided I’m a fair-weather skier. Also I’ve decided I’m our of shape. I was sick on the day we skied, so I was huffing and puffing a bit. Dang it. Getting old is not fun!

7. Wednesday we all had to come back to reality. The kids went back to school and the Staples and Allemans went back to Colorado. My dad invited me to go with him to visit my Grandma’s sister Rhean at her retirement home in Layton. My grandpa and Janet came down to Utah from Idaho for doctors appointments, so they were there to visit too. It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to see them all. Harder to see grandpa and Janet now that they are living in Idaho. It should like Janet needs to have surgery on her shoulder and will need a few weeks to recover at her daughter’s house, so maybe we will see more of grandpa during that time.

8. Blake and Jett have both started playing basketball again. Sadly, Ethan can’t join them yet.

9. On Saturday I got to take the little kids and Nate & Gavin to the movies to see Puss in Boots 2. Such a fun movie! Tate absolutely loved being able to go to the theater. When we got home Ethan opened up his Yummy Crate (a gift he got for Christmas) and decided to learn how to make Gnocchi with Pesto. It was delicious! Ethan is becoming quite the good cook!

10. Both Blake and Ty have been asked to the Sweethearts dance In February. I guess the new dating standards in the Strength of Youth aren’t as specific and Blake figured he’d be able to talk us into letting him go to the dance if he was asked. Lol. He was right! When I talked to him about purchasing a corsage for his date he seemed totally clueless about needing to do that. I may need to give him some pointers for his first date!

Love you,

Mom