2021!

2021: Even though we still dealt with a lot of fall-out from COVID, including some friends and their loved ones passing away from complications of COVID, we are thankful that much of life, though not all, has returned to normal. In March we were able to return to church in person and temples were opened via reservation. The girls were able to go back to school in the fall with masks optional. Jason & Heidi got their COVID shot and we’re thankful we can test at home now & we’ve had to do that multiple times. Some other Hamilton Highlights for 2021:

* For our Spring Break, we tented it at Lake Powell for a few days. It was windy and we found sand everywhere, and we mean EVERYwhere! But we made some fun memories and enjoyed our time together!

*Our summer vacation was Yellowstone! Both sets of grandparents joined us and while we didn’t enjoy the traffic (crazy traffic coming out of the park one night - 2 hours), we DID enjoy exploring Bear World, hanging out at our Island Park rental cabin, seeing LOTS of wildlife (including a first bear-in-the-wild experience!), going to see Mesa Falls, seeing LOTS of hot pots and geysers, and just being together. 

*Summertime was also full of youth activities - youth conference @ Snow College (fun flashback memories for Heidi!) and girls camp on Cedar Mountain. 

*For Fall Break, we headed to a condo at Brian Head for a couple days. It was chilly! But we loved taking a minute out of our busy lives & spending time together!

 

A few more tidbits:

-We FINALLY finished our in-ground trampoline in June - hooray! The girls have had soooo much fun jumping on it and from the block wall onto it.

-July saw HEAVY rain in Cedar! Our flooding wasn't bad, but many of our neighbors were hit hard. We spent weeks filling & moving sandbags and helping those whose homes were damaged by the storms.

-In August, we sold our SUU rental, hoping to one day get a cabin in the mountains

-In September & October, the 3 olders and mom and dad took the Emotional Resilience class & we learned lots!

-LOTS of inside updates in Oct/Nov - new LVP flooring throughout the upstairs, new carpet downstairs, mom painted the kitchen cabinets blue!, and we painted the upstairs & downstairs walls as well as the base & case & we replaced all the base upstairs in the common area. Lots of time & effort, but we’re loving the results! 

 

JASON: Jason continues to enjoy his time at APHIS - learning new things and meeting new people. He also gets to go up in a chopper every once in a while, and also shoot guns, so he doesn’t complain about that! Jason got released from Elder’s Quorum Presidency at the beginning of the year (after 7+ years), but soon after took the calling of supporting Heidi in her new calling as YW president, which keeps her really busy & he’s great at helping with the littles. He also joined an axe throwing league and got fairly proficient at hitting the bullseye. Jason helped a ton with getting the trampoline in and he also helped with the interior home updates at the end of the year! 

FAVORITE 2021 Memories: Yellowstone, Pine Valley Romantic get away, spending time with family

GOALS/ANTICIPATION: Help Ireland learn to drive,  plan a date with Heidi once a month.

 

HEIDI:

-At the end of March, Heidi was very surprised when she got called to be the Young Women’s president after being the 2nd counselor for a couple of years. It has been a humbling, teaching experience, and she has much more to be taught, but she is really loving these girls and so grateful for the amazing ladies she works with in this calling. It’s been a sacrifice in time and mental/emotional/spiritual energy, but she is grateful for this opportunity. It’s also fun that Trisha (her sister) got called not long after her, and it’s been fun to bounce ideas off each other and commiserate/support each other!

-Heidi has also been pretty involved in the Share Board - in supporting Share’s events, board meetings, support meetings, and going to the hospital

-Wow, over a month straight of painting, painting, cutting, painting was enough to make Heidi not want to see a paintbrush or roller again for a VERY long time, but she really is loving seeing the updates every day!

FAVORITE 2021 Memories: Birthday getaway to Pine Valley Guard Station was magical, getting close to a bear in the wild at Yellowstone was epic, planning/surprising/embarrassing McKinley on her 16th birthday was so much fun, and watching my girls really excel at their music is so wonderful. 

GOALS/ANTICIPATION: Heidi hopes to do a race this year (for real this time!) :), She also hopes to get the garden in order and the backyard cleaned up from the trampoline. In her ideal world, they’d be able to get a cabin at Brian Head or Duck Creek, or at least some land and an RV :) She is SOOO looking forward to the Ireland trip as well! LISTEN is her word for 2022

 

McKINLEY (16):

-In September, McKinley turned the long-awaited 16 years old!!! She got a decent helping of surprises & embarrassment, as mom threw a surprise birthday breakfast for her, then there was a huge sign at the seminary that said “Happy Sweet 16 McKinley!” with a couple pictures of her - one when she was about 3, and the other a recent photo. Mom also made her a dating advice/idea book from her cousins, aunts & grandmas. Dad took her on her first date - complete with a dozen roses, a fancy italian restaurant & a real diamond “Link” ring :) McKinley also got her drivers license that day & it’s been so nice to have an extra driver, even though she has to drive the beat-up minivan around (including to school) :)

-McKiney is first chair & section lead in her symphonic orchestra & just recently auditioned & made the Orchestra of Southern Utah. It was so neat to see her perform The Messiah! 

-McKinley was an apple seller in CCCMT and it was so fun to see her perform! 

-McKinley had a summer job cleaning Elena Reed’s Airbnb unit. It was hard work, but she was able to work it around our many vacations and youth trips. 

-16 also means dating! McKinley has been out on a date with Henry Rupert and she also asked him to Sadie Hawkins, doubling with Emma Manley. Mostly, she just likes to hang out & watch a movie, play a game or just talk. 

-McKinley took a hefty load this year for school, taking 2 concurrent enrollment classes: Popular Music in America, and Anatomy & physiology. It has been demanding, but she has done well. 

-McKinley still loves reading whenever she can get the chance. Brandon Mull is still a favorite & she really enjoys reading (and suggesting edits to) Henry Rupert and Addison Bealer’s books. 

FAVORITE 2020 Memories: Girls camp, youth conference & Karmiyah is going to CHS again!

GOALS/ANTICIPATION: Summer job, more musical opportunities & maybe more dates.

 

IRELAND (14):

-Ireland is growing up fast! She has really practiced & gotten good at doing her make-up and she’s still  quite the fashionisha of the family!

-Ireland started HIGH SCHOOL this year! She is trying something new - she goes to Launch High School (an entrepreneur-focused school, at the district building by the middle school) on her B days, where she takes her core classes like math & LA, and then she goes to CHS on her A days, where she takes her electives, like band, Seminary, and things like Web Development. She is a fan of Launch and the structure and their less-strict rules.   

-Ireland is still doing well with the flute & took private lessons until summer came. She made the concert band at CHS and has enjoyed it! She had her first taste of marching band this year and it was fun to see her in a couple parades!

-Ireland was able to re-start gymnastics after a year and a half of the gym being closed, but after a few months, she decided that it was time to move on to other things. 

-Ireland still LOVES her nugget puppy - Ember, even when she’s naughty :) She still holds her like a baby and coddles her, but Ember loves it all!

-Ireland - along with McKinley - got to clean Elena Reed’s Airbnb in the summer-time to earn some extra money. She had good investment intentions, but she couldn’t resist spending it on clothes! She really loves Shein.com right now :)

-Ireland still is mom’s Austen reading companion. They love to pop some popcorn and sit down to read. Right now, they’re reading Northanger Abbey. The only Austen book Ireland still needs to check off is Mansfield Park. 

FAVORITE 2021 Memories: 

GOALS/ANTICIPATION: Ireland is registering for the Congressional Medal of Honor! It’s a big deal and is going to require tracking a LOT of hours for Physical Activity, Personal Development, Community Service, and planning her trip! It’s exciting! Ireland is, of course, also looking forward to her IRELAND TRIP this next year! And getting her drivers permit :)

 

KEZIA (12):

-Kezia got to start Young Women’s at the beginning of the year! Mom was over her group until she got called to be the president, but it has been a lot of fun! Kezia is the 2nd counselor in her presidency and Sue Vernon is over her group. 

-Kezia got to attend the temple for the first time in May this year & it was so special! It was just mom, dad, Kezia and a bunch of temple workers. She had it all to herself since we’re on the reservation system now! It was really neat & she did great. 

-Kezia finished elementary school this year & started middle school! She misses seeing a lot of her friends from elementary school, but likes middle school, too. She is still in the Spanish Immersion program, so she gets to see some of her friends there. 

-Kezia was one of the orphan girls - Kate - in CCMT’s Annie play and she did so well with the singing and dancing. We loved watching her perform!

-After MUCH thinking, praying, and pondering, Kezia decided to play the violin instead of doing percussion. She took lessons for a bit and has improved so quickly that her teacher included her in the more advanced class performance. We can’t wait to see and hear more!

-Kezia loved her time with her chinchillas, but eventually let them go due to allergies. 

-Kezia has a love for reading - still especially Harry Potter - but she’s read lots of other books this year, including reading Narnia with mom, The Ickabog, the Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, and The Janitors. 

-Turning 12 means a birthday party! Of course, it was a Harry Potter Party!  It was quite elaborate and involved a custom video invitation, inviting like 20 people, booking the church for the event, getting the Beast Pizza, having homemade root beer, dividing friends into Hogwarts Houses, doing challenges, watching a HP3, and mom making a custom butterbeer cake!  

-Kezia has turned into quite the in-demand babysitter! We knew she would be with how good she is with her sisters :) She babysits frequently for the Durbans and she also has babysat for the Tryons. 

-Kezia is still our wonderful gift-giver and service-giver and laugh-giver and we are so thankful for her in our family!

FAVORITE 2021 MEMORIES: The Temple, Girls Camp, the Potts Retreat,her Harry Potter Party, Yellowstone & Brian Head for fall break. 

GOALS/ANTICIPATION:Another fun girls camp, a dog?, making intermediate orchestra, 

 

 

LINK:

-Link would be 9 this year. He continues to send us love notes and watch over us all. He was with us in Yellowstone! From Kezia finding forget-me-nots to seeing a rainbow on our last day to seeing a car with a LINK license plate, we felt him close, and continue to feel him close in our lives. Mom continues to honor and remember him by helping those who have lost babies in our community, and we all are Linking our family together when we are able to go to the temple and take family names!

 

 

NOELLE (7):

-Noelle performed as one of the orphan girls in CCCMT’s Annie & she loved meeting new friends and being on stage!

-Noelle also did soccer for the first time this year -  almost all the girls on her team were in her school class, so it was like a bonus recess with her friends :)

-Noelle & Oaklyn have a lot of neighborhood friends, and when the weather is good, they are at the Sundquists, or the Petersens, or Brother Watson’s to get ice cream sandwiches, or Bernice’s to see her cats. Or they are just riding all over on their bikes :)

-Noelle still loves Minecraft, Lego Marvel, and Mr. Beast on youtube.

-Noelle is still a terrific reader & is getting long chapter books in her book-in-a-bag & more advanced spanish books, too! Together, mom & Noelle have been reading the Narnia books, which  we both love! 

-Noelle started 2nd grade this year & loves school. She has done so well & got the “Catch the Vision” award for her kindness and listening to the teacher. 

-We love Noelle’s notes, drawings, and stories and she is cute about writing goals and schedules.

-Noelle loves her glow-in-the-dark glasses & we only had to replace one pair this year! 

FAVORITE 2021 MEMORIES: CCCMT play, her birthday, and her recent late-over with her friends. 

GOALS/ANTICIPATION: Doing a play, getting a birthday party, getting baptized & confirmed, tying shoe laces! 

 

 

OAKLYN (5): 

-5 years old and this girl continues to be so naughty and nice. She is a character, though, and we wouldn’t change her!

-Oaklyn often disappears. We have to do a neighborhood check - Prices? Sundquists? Watsons? Petersens? Bernices? She makes the rounds and sometimes walks right into houses! She really does think she owns the neighborhood! Good thing we have amazing neighbors :)

-Mom really had an internal debate/prayer-wrestle about whether to send Oaklyn to Kindergarten or preschool again. In the end, we decided to keep her in preschool for another year & let her be the oldest in her class. Oaklyn LOVES preschool and her teachers and friends. Recess is her favorite and she points out her favorite tricycle every time we go to school. We’re carpooling with Tucker Riddle this year, 4x/week, & it’s so fun to hear their conversations on the way to & from school. 

-With afternoon preschool, mom & Oaklyn have had fun mornings. For mom & Oaklyn time, she likes to do puzzles, color, play with play doh, and sometimes dress up the dogs :)

-Oaklyn still seems to have the worst immune system of any of our kids and if there is any kind of runny nose going around, it’s pretty much guaranteed that she will catch it :(

-Oaklyn loves to sing and we LOVE to hear her sing!

FAVORITE 2020 Memories: Sleepover at Rachel’s house, going on rides at Bear World, hikes with mom & Dani Hillstead in the fall, and any time there’s swimming. 

GOALS/ANTICIPATION: Soccer, writing full name, swim lessons, zip zippers. 

2020 Happenings!

(9 minute end-of-year slideshow)

2020! What a year! COVID has really taken over!  It took over all the news headlines - international and domestic, caused the cancellations of concerts, and even moving school and church to home! It also made it very difficult to buy toilet paper - And we ended up grinding our hard winter wheat for flour. Wow - what experiences we've had this year!  We learned and grew a lot. This was also the year of racial protests and a crazy presidential election year. I think I speak for Earth in general when I say that we are thankful 2020 is finished and we fervently pray that 2021 will have brighter headlines. We pray for those affected by this pandemic - so much more than we have been. We hope that you will find peace and hope through the Christmas baby himself - Jesus Christ. We testify that His peace passeth all understanding! 
Even with all the COVID craziness, we did manage to do a few things this year.

* For our Spring Break, we kept close to home and went to a cabin in Brian Head. It was muddy and slushy, but we had fun doing puzzles, watching movies, going sledding, and just in general having new scenery from our quarantine home.
*In July, Jason, Heidi, and McKinley went on the first of our family's 14-year-old trips. We spent 10 days exploring, oohing, and ahhing over the majesty of Denali and Alaska in general. See McKinley's section for more details. We all agree mask-wearing was worth that trip :)
*In August we had a combined Potts/Tew retreat at Bear Lake (courtesty of GG Tew) where we spent a week in our swim suits :) We had so much fun wakeboarding, paddle boarding, kayaking, skiing, tubing, catching frogs, roasting s'mores, playing games & visiting with cousins. It was awesome last-minute getaway before school started.

*In October, we had a super-fun trip to Lagoon! 

A few more highlights for our year:
 -Jason started a new job with APHIS (still under USDA)
-After lots of time (plus blood, sweat, and tears) and a zillion trips to Home Depot, we finished our basement rooms, changing Ireland's old room downstairs into a kitchenette/living room. And changing the large unfinished room downstairs into a bedroom for the renters, another bathroom for the girls to use downstairs, and a real bedroom for Ireland (she's been in a makeshift bedroom for 3 years now). We are SO THANKFUL for all the help on this one! It's SO nice to have the apartment all set up down there. There is a cute couple renting from us now :)
-We added another furry member to our family in November! Ember is Ireland's long wished-for puppy and she is fluffly and tiny and adorable :) 

JASON: As mentioned above Jason started a new job with APHIS. He still works in Cedar City and now is a part of the APHIS, Wildlife Services, Aviation Training Operations Center. They are under the USDA and they are the Federal group that takes care of the feral animal issues (feral swine, coyotes, etc.) from the air. He does budget and finance for the group and is enjoying the change as well as the new folks he works with. The group he works with trains Pilots and Gunners all over the nation at the Cedar City Training Operations Center.

 
Jason has also been quite handy around the house this year as well! He helped his brother frame, a friend plumb and a neighbor do the electrical in the un-finished rooms space we had. The end product was the finishing of 2 bedrooms and a bathroom as well as changing one room into a kitchenette/living room in the mother-in-law. He was also super sexy working in the back yard on a tractor this summer digging a hole for an in ground trampoline. He also replaced plenty of sprinkling pipe and drip house. He also fixed or replaced the following in our house: kitchen faucet and garbage disposal; fixed toilets including snaking multiple times; installed new window in front door; fixed 2 door hinges that were pulled out on 2 doors; replaced stackable washer/dryer inlet valve; fixed main washer/dryer door latch, struts, drain pump and re-attached balance weights; replaced computer graphics card and manipulated the BIOS to make it work; etc. – the things you do to save a penny!

 
He has also enjoyed seeing his wife 😉 and girls more while working from home more during COVID and counts his blessings to be living in Cedar City and to have the job he has. He is still in the Elder’s Quorum Presidency and enjoys his calling.

 

He has been enjoying spending time with his older girls too recently – watching Star Wars, Marvel, Mandalorian and some other fun movies with them. He loves to see the accomplishments and fun crafts his younger girls bring home and show him at dinner. He loves to see them succeed and is enjoying that Noelle is learning Spanish this year. He frequently speaks Spanish with 1 of his 3 girls learning Spanish throughout the week (Noelle, Kezia & McKinley).

 

-Jason turned in to quite the hippie this year, growing his hair almost past his shoulders before cutting it really short before he started his new job. 

HEIDI:
-Heidi learned a lot this year about resiliency and creativity with stores not having what she needed.
She bought personal bidets :), she stopped going to the gym when it was closed and didn't go back - she's been running and working out to youtube videos at home, she even has dyed her own hair! (we'll see how long that one lasts) :)
-More real life education for Heidi this year has been learning how to make a colored cement pathway with a stamp, install LVP flooring and using a paint gun! 

-Heidi is now the offical Secretary on the Share Board. It's been a hard year for Share with cancelling our May walk because of COVID and restrictions in the hospital, but she is thankful to still be involved and hopefully make a difference. 

-Heidi got to be interviewed for a podcast this year called A Light in the Darkness. She got to share Link's story and it was a stretching, but wonderful experience. 

FAVORITE 2020 Memories: Mom LOVED the trip to Alaska - she's never been in the summer & it was Ahhhmazing! She also really enjoyed the family's time at Bear Lake. 
GOALS/ANTICIPATION: Mostly, Heidi is just hoping COVID will be gone by this time next year! But, in addition, hopefully doing a race next year & maybe taking a community class! More hiking & trail running. Also, praying we can finish our backyard trampoline & garden area! It would also be great to paint the cabinets and do the flooring upstairs. We'll see!

McKINLEY (15):

-McKinley continues to excel in cello and made the CHS Symphonic Orchestra! Her CMS Orchestra also made State & got the highest marks possible! She continues to take lessons with Jessie and we love to hear her play! :) She also continues with piano and plays in seminary and accompanied Kezia singing Gethsemane in the primary program. She also got a ukelele for her birthday and plays it and the guitar :)

-McKinley played Ms. Teavee in Willy Wonka and had fun meeting new friends and singing fun songs!
-This was the year we've looked forward to for so long! McKinley got to go to Alaska! We were very unsure about everything right up until the end if we were going to go or not with all the COVID restrictions. We had an Airbnb host cancel our booking because of COVID, and we had to take a COVID test before we went and wear masks for much of our trip, but we REALLY enjoyed it! We did a flightseeing and bus tour of Denali, which were both awesome & we saw grizzlies among other awesome animals. Jason & McKinley did a deep sea fishing halibut trip in Homer, and we did a Kenai Fjords cruise in Seward which was amazing & we saw orcas, whales, sea otters, puffins and so much more. Overall, we just loved being together in a beautiful place. What an adventure!

-McKinley's adventures continued after she got home with starting high school! She really loves taking seminary, and she enjoys most of her other classes too. She gets overwhelmed sometimes, but so far has done really well!

-Some of McKinley's friends this year: Ella, Karmiyah (who moved to Paragonah this year :( ), Emily (new girl who moved into Karmiyah's home), Emma (Beacham and Manley), Lizzy Arnel, the Ruperts, and Blythe. 
-McKinley still wants to be a teacher when she grows up!  

FAVORITE 2020 Memories: Alaska! State Orchestra, finally going back to school, late nights hanging out with friends - playing guitar and ukulele. 
GOALS/ANTICIPATION: Dating, driving, and maybe a job! 

IRELAND (13):

-Ireland continues to do well with flute and is taking private lessons now. She made 8th grade Symphonic Band!

-Sadly, COVID really cut out Ireland's gymnastics goals and dreams. They closed the gym in March and it doesn't look like they'll be opening it till at least next fall :( It's so sad because Ireland made the rec team & would have had a team leo and everything. She's been trying to stay in shape with strength traning and flexibility at home. 
-Ireland still wants to be a lawyer when she grows up - and make lots of money. 

-Ireland has had quite a year! Big changes! First, her real room got finished and it's awesome! She chose her paint, her chandelier, and she helped choose her flooing and lay out her closet. Her room is super-stylish and lovely! 

-Second, after some struggles in 8th grade, and some answers to prayers, we decided to homeschool Ireland for most of the day. She still goes to Chinese and band, but comes home and does LA, Math, Science and History at home. It's been nice to get more mommy & Ireland time and her stress levels have gone way down. We are playing it by prayer as far as when she'll go back, but she'll stay at home for the rest of 8th grade. 
-Third, Ireland is SO happy to FINALLY get her furry best friend Ember! Daddy and Ireland drove all the way to Wyoming to get her! Ireland really loves coming home from school & having her to give her hugs and kisses. It hasn't been easy for her being a puppy parent, getting up at night with her and cleaning up messes, but she says it's all worth it :) 
-Ireland's favorite friends are Mahina and Sam and Annie. 
FAVORITE 2020 Memories: Starting flute lessons with Twila, Lagoon, Ember, and her room :)
GOALS/ANTICIPATION: Gymnastics and Seminary :) 

KEZIA (11):
-Kezia performed in A Midsummer Night's Dream for Cedar City Junior Ballet in March. It was right at the start of all the COVID craziness and we are SO thankful she still got to perform after 6 months of hard work! She did a wonderful job! 

-Kezi was Violet Beauregarde in CCCMT's Willy Wonka this year and got really good at chewing gum! 
-Kezia is queen of her elementary this year in 5th grade Dual Immersion. It was kind of a crazy start with getting a new Spanish teacher only 2 weeks before the year began (her friend Sophie's mom) and her english teacher needing to take time off for military duties, but now things are going well and she is enjoying her year, even with having to wear a mask to school. 

-Kezia has REALLY gotten into Harry Potter this year - reading, and re-reading the books up to book 4 and watching the movies. She was Ginny Weasley for Halloween this year, complete with a red wig, Ginny's specific wand, and a broom. 
-Kezi continues to be an outstanding student, her teachers always rave about her. She has worked hard on her math skills this year and is down to 1.5 seconds per fact.
-Kezia's friends are: Addy Price,  Macie Mitchell, Sarah Simmons, Ivy Hawks, Lori Bailey, The Ruperts, and Sophie Burgess.
- Sadly, Kezia's chinchilla Fox died this year, but she still has her chinchilla named Coyote and he's getting more friendly and willing to come to you. We're still working on teaching him the Macarena :)
-Kezia still takes piano from Jessie, working to do percussion in middle school next year

-Kezia sang a solo for the primary program this year. She sang Gethsemane in Spanish and English and it was beautiful!
-Kezia still says her dream is becoming an author. She wrote a story called Jessie this year about a girl with plant powers - it's great!

-Kezia is still our silly and kind girl. She loves funny things and is always doing nice things for others 

FAVORITE 2020 Memories: Summertime fun, including doing lip syncs with Addie on the fence, the Willy Wonka play, camping, Bear Lake - hanging out with her cousin Love, going to Lagoon. 

GOALS/ANTICIPATION: Start Young Women's & going to the temple, do percussion, do another CCCMT play, have a Harry Potter 12th birthday party. 

LINK:
-Link would have turned 8 this year and gotten baptized on his birthday. The week before his birthday, we saw 2 rainbows & had multiple people text us rainbow pictures. Then, on the day of his birth, he sent us snow to remind us he's already pure and white and waiting patiently for us. We love him SO much and are so thankful for his love notes and watching over us. It was so neat to share his story on the podcast and re-live the tender moments. 

NOELLE (6):
-Noelle did the Midsummer Night's Dream Ballet with Kezia this year. She wasn't fond of the rehearsals, but she really loved being on stage! 
-Noelle finished up Kindergarten online and started 1st grade! She is in dual immersion and really loves learning spanish words! It's fun for her to be in the same school as her big sister, Kezia, even if it's just for one year. She is one of the very top readers in her class and she reads scriptures with us in the mornings. This year we read The Secret Garden, The Indian in the Cupboard, and mom is currently reading Heidi with her. The transition to the long 1st grade days was pretty rough for Noelle. She really struggled the first month or so, but has gotten a lot better. 

-Noelle is also a great writer and loves to write notes to people & write in her journal. She's also a great artist and we love all her drawings!

-Noelle is also a great builder & makes wonderful Lego creations or just any kind of building out of anything!

-Noelle has a love for cats :) We had some neighborhood cats this summer that would come into our yard and let Noelle love on them. She really enjoyed that time, she just had to make sure that she washed her hands or her eyes would swell up! She says when she grows up, she's going to be a crazy cat lady and a crazy dog lady! 

-Noelle sang I Feel My Savior's Love with 2 other girls for the primary program this year and she did SO good! What a beautiful voice and spirit she has. 

-Noelle has also really gotten into Minecraft this year! She knows lots of strategies and tricks to making awesome Minecraft creations. She was a Minecraft girl for Halloween! 
-Noelle's special friends are Molly, Carolina, Andy, Baylee, Katelyn, Henry, and the Ruperts. 
FAVORITE 2020 Memories:Noelle LOVED Lagoon & didn't stop talking about it for weeks :) She also loved going camping and asks to go a lot. Bear Lake was another favorite memory - she LOVED the frogs and even kayaked all by herself! 
GOALS/ANTICIPATION: Tie her shoes by herself, ride her bike more, and swimming lessons! 

OAKLYN (4): 
-My goodness, this girl has kept us on our toes this year. We don't call them Fearsome Fours for nothing! She has made SO many messes, wasted SO much toothpaste, TP, baking ingredients, you name it. We think she definitely would have done better as an only child as most of her naughtiness comes out when her sisters get home and she has to share mom's attention. Good thing she's also SO sweet and constantly tells us that she loves us and she loves to cuddle and give sweet hugs. 
-Oaklyn and Charlotte Price are like 2 peas in a pod. She lives over the back fence and now that Charlotte & Oaklyn are big enough, they love to come see each other. We have tried repeatedly to get Oaklyn to ASK before she goes over, but sometimes she just can't wait to see Charlotte & jumps over & walks right in! 
-Oaklyn has been putting a backpack on for the past couple years when her sisters go back to school, wishing she coudl go, too. This year she was SO excited to be able to be a big girl and go to school! She started preschool at South Preschool with Mrs. Shirley (same teacher that Noelle had) and she is loving it :) She goes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and wishes she could go all day every day. Preschool has been wonderful because with no gym daycare or Grifols daycare to go to. 
-Oaklyn's favorite shows right now are Bo on the Go, PJ Masks, and Oomie Zoomie :)

-For mommy & Oaklyn time, Oaklyn still loves playing with blocks and doing tea parties and playing with her "cooker", but she's been more into playing barbies/ponies lately. 

-#4 is the year of the birthday party! Oaklyn invited all her friends and their families to the park for a water slide/jump house event! It was a lot of fun and Oaklyn got lots of fun gifts. 

-Oaklyn has come to an awareness of fear. She fears strangers and monsters and darkness. She would have a lot of nightmares and mom and dad had lots of sleep-deprived nights trying to help her. We decided to add primary songs to our nightly routine of books, scriptures, prayer & good-night songs & it seems to have helped. 

-Oaklyn is still very friendly with anyone and everyone and can start up a conversation in a moment's notice. 

-Oaklyn's special friends are Charlotte Price, Tucker Riddle, and her preschool friends - Lillia, James, Brookelyn. 
-Oaklyn learned how to ride a bike without training wheels before she even turned 4! It's fun to watch her go! 

FAVORITE 2020 Memories: Oaklyn enjoyed Bear Lake and Lagoon this year! 
GOALS/ANTICIPATION: Write her name and letters more clearly, learn some sight words, and take swimming lessons. 

2019 in Review

(11 minute slideshow)

It boggles the mind to think that this isn't just the end of a year, but the end of a decade! How quickly it has passed! Looking back on the memories from 2019, I am filled with gratitude. We had deaths (Jason's Aunt LuRae and Margaret Ann, my Aunt Cindy, and our 16-year-old dog Sydney). We had struggles and trials and heartaches. But we also had hope and peace and love through and because of our Savior Jesus Christ. We pray at this time of year that all may feel that pure and holy love. Merry Christmas from the Hamilton family!

FAMILY:
-Our big family trips were Oregon in April for Spring Break and Texas in October for Aunt Margaret's funeral. In Oregon, we played in the ocean. We found treasures in the sand and in the tidepools. We gaped at the giant Redwoods. We ate yummy food and watched movies and just enjoyed being together. We even got to take the dogs and it was Sydney's first, and last time at the ocean. We enjoyed seeing our Texas family in October and had fun checking out the blue pool in New Mexico on the way home.

-Summer was a crazy traveling time for us! We missed daddy who had to work, the girls and mom headed up north and enjoyed using our get out passes that included going to Cowabunga Bay, Seaquest Aquarium, and the kids climbing place in Lehi. We also had a great time hiking in Millcreek Canyon. After our SLC fun, we headed up to Lava Hot Springs for the Potts family retreat, where we had fun in the hot springs, at the pool, in a horse-drawn wagon ride/dinner, and just enjoying being together, playing games, watching movies, and having fun. After the retreat, we headed to Uncle Burton's for water skiing! We had so much fun, but were so glad to make it back to be with daddy.

-Our goal of getting an outside entrance in the basement was finally realized this year! It's on the south side of our home, and has been nice for the renters (Brookelynn and Ivanan) to have more privacy. We even turned the unfinished side of the room into a makeshift kitchen for the girls, complete with full-sized fridge and oven.

-Another thing that has kept us really busy was changing the downstairs of the SUU rental from a couple unit to a student unit to accommodate Tiarra coming to SUU. We have 4 girls downstairs and Truly & Levi upstairs. Because it's a student rental, we also Airbnb'd it for the summer and that was a learning experience. But it allowed the girls to earn money for cleaning, so that was great!

-We still LOVE watching Studio C, even though it's not the same with the new cast. Still so funny! We almost always watch Studio C after our movie on Friday night :)

-For fall break, we headed to the Pine Valley Guard Station and had such a great time camping for a few days.

-We have loved having 4 missionaires out right now! Sedona in Anchorage, Camri in Sacramento, and Grandma & Grandpa Potts in Cape Girardaux, Missouri. We miss them all so much, but love getting their e-mails and we pray for them every day.

-MORE, so many more changes in the church, especially for Heidi who is in Young Women's. She's excited for the changes (For the Strength of Youth in the summer, flexibility in classes, new theme, etc), we're also excited as a family to start the new Youth Program, where the girls can choose their own goals in 4 categories.

-We have LOVED the new Come Follow Me program for the New Testament this year. We have all learned and grown so much & coming together for discussions are always such a treat to hear everyone's insights. It has totally changed our scripture study for the better, as a family and on a personal level! We are STOKED to read the Book of Mormon Come Follow Me in 2020.

JASON: No fires for Jason this year - good news for the forests! Unfortunately, the extra income is missed, but we also were so glad to have him home more than last year.
*When we were in Texas, Jason was able to work capture some old pictures, help his family get some old reels digitalized, and visit with Granmda Hamilton's last living sibling, Lula Pearl. We missed out on interviewing Margaret Ann, but we are thankful for her life and legacy and the information we got while there.
*Jason is always the homework hero in our home and stays up late many nights a week helping the girls out. He is such a good daddy!
*Jason's favorite memory of 2019 is Oregon, he is looking forward to Alaska in 2020.

HEIDI: Heidi turned the big 4-0 this year! Jason somehow managed to pull off a huge, wonderful surprise party at a church near our friends' home. He even put together a wonderful slideshow - it was awesome. And the awesome-ness contintued with a weekend in St. George with Heidi's sisters. What a great way to embrace aging! :)
*Heidi's big brave thing this year was doing the Half-Ironman triathlon in California at the beginning of March. It was a LOT of training, but she felt so thankful to be able to complete it and do well. After that long race, she didn't do any more races, but enjoyed the freedom of choosing what she wanted to do and doing it.
*Heidi continues to read physical books and listening to audio books. She has loved
reading biographies, autobiographies, inspirational books, and novels.
*Heidi had fun at girls camp this year, getting to know the leaders and girls more.
*Heidi wanted to work on bringing a LITTLE extra money in this year, so she is going to Grifols and earning some spending money and that's been nice.
*Heidi is now on the Share Board (pregnancy and infant loss support group), so she can help out more with the fundraisers and hospital needs.
*Heidi's favorite memories of 2019 are of our family trip to Oregon and even though the funerals were sad, she loved seeing family she hasn't seen in a while. In 2019, Heidi is looking forward to re-reading a lot of books, going to Alaska with McKinley & Jason, and doing Come Follow Me for the Book of Mormon. Her goals are to work on the attritbute of humility, take better care of her body, skin, and mind, and do a race of some sort.

 McKINLEY (14): McKinley is in 8th grade this year at Cedar Middle School and queen of the school :)
*McKinley has REALLY excelled in cello this year! Her teacher, Mrs. Carrigan, thinks very highly of her and talks about what a great cellist she is. A couple weeks ago she was in a quartet for their Christmas concert with 3 other kids who had been playing from the time they were tiny and their parents are music teachers. McKinley is really amazing, especially coming from a non-musical home!
*McKinley aslo continues to take piano lessons - from Jessie now (who also teaches her cello), and McKinley also picks up the guitar whenever she can to work on that, too :)
*McKinley is a wonderful student and continues to excel academically. We are very proud of her. McKinley loves all her teachers! Newmann, Rowland, Steele, Carrigan, Black, Hirschi
*McKinley played Maleficent, one of the main roles, in CCCMT's Once Upon a Time. It wasn't easy for her to act evil, but she did a great job & it was so fun to watch her.
*McKinley is the secretary in her young women's class, and loves the girls in there. Karmiyah and Emma and Olivia are some of her best friends.
*McKinley went to Oakrest girls camp in Kamas this year with her good friend Addison Bealer. She had a really wonderful time!
*She also went to our ward girls camp and had a great time :)
*McKinley has worked SO HARD these past few months to accomplish her Young Women Personal Progress before the program ends and we start the new youth program. She will earn her medallion in the next couple weeks! This is a huge accomplishment and we are so proud of her.
*McKinley's favorite memories of 2019 were Oregon & girls camp, she's looking forward to going to Alaska with mom & dad, starting high school, the new youth program, her goals are getting good grades in HS, doing the new youth program, get into symphonic orchestra.

IRELAND (12): Ireland is in 7th grade & likes it a lot more than 6th grade. She also has done so well academically, throwing down those 4.0s. She's in honors society and has fun at their activities. Her favorite teachers are Mrs. Walquist, Mrs. Allred, and Mrs. Esplin.
*Ireland continues to play the flute this year and has improved a lot! She's in JV band & it's so fun to come to her concerts & hear her play.
*Ireland also continues with gymnastics & is in level 4. She is working on her arials and back hand springs on the floor.
*Ireland turned 12 this year and so she got to start wearing make-up and have
a birthday party! Her party was at Fiddlers Fun Center and there was much fun to be had watching a movie, doing laser tag, playing the arcade games, and then going to DQ for an ice cream cake & presents. So much fun!
*Some of Ireland's favorite friends: Mahina Vogt, Sienna Gardner, and Sariah Bailey.
*Ireland is still in the unfinished room downstairs. Hopefully in the next couple years we'll get it done, but in the mean time, she's made it so cute, with lots of posters and drawings on the walls. She got a loft bed for her birthday with a futon on the bottom, so that's been fun. Ireland even put fairy lights on it and it's so cute. A couple weeks ago we even put up a hammock chair that she can use.
*Ireland is SO good about setting out all her clothes for school the next day and waking up at 5:30 the next morning to get ready for school. We are so impressed with her progress with keeping track of her homework and taking responsibility for the things she needs to do. We are so proud of her.
*Snow skiing is still one of Ireland's all-time favorite activities. She also loves to ice skate, and this year she went tubing for the first time on the lake and had so much fun.
*Ireland's favorite memory of 2019 was Oregon and Cowabunga Bay. She also had fun at girls' camp. She is looking forward to Bear Lake with the Tews in 2020. One goal she has for 2020, she really wants to be better about practicing gymnastics.

KEZIA (10): Kezia is in 4th grade this year (Mrs. VanArdsale and Senora
Engst), still in the dual immersion program and doing so well. Her teachers just rave about what a good student and friend she is.
*Kezia was Snow White in CCCMT's Once Upon a Time. She was so cute and great and fun to watch!
*Kezia's special friends are Macie Mitchell, Addy Price, Elizabeth Niles, and Sophie Burgess.
*Kezia did her 4th year of soccer this year and they were the pink tigers. She had a lot of fun, scored some goals and loved being goalie!
*Kezia's big dream this year was realized when she got chinchillas! She got her first chinchilla, Wolf, in February and she earned all $100 for her. She had so much fun putting Wolf on her head & shoulders and watching her play in her cage. Sadly, Wolf passed away in September after an accident :( Kezia got 2 new chinchillas around her birthday, a female (Fox) and a male (Coyote) and she's hoping she'll be getting some babies next year :)
*Kezia turned 10 this year and got her ears pierced as per the Hamilton rite of passage :) She insisted on opal earrings.
*Kezia decided to try something new this year and tried out for the Midsummer Night's Dream ballet even though she's never ever danced. She had a great time & is now taking ballet lessons every Thursday, and practices for the Midsummer performance on Saturdays.
*Kezia still takes piano - now from Jessie - and doing really well! She also sings in the ward choir and we love to hear her practice her songs.
*Kezia decided she wanted to be Anne of Green Gables for Halloween this year. She even made homemade raspberry coridal! Mom posted about it on the Anne of Green Gables Facebook page & it got almost a thousands likes and almost a hundred comments! Everyone said how she looked just like Anne! It was so fun, she even got a letter & an address book from a woman in Australia who loved her costume :)
*We did a 5k race in September & Kezia did so good, she ran with mom the whole way & never stopped! She did 10 min/miles and mom was impressed! Kezi started running with mom on Tuesday mornings. It's been fun :)
*Kezia worked hard and was completely self-motivated in completing her Faith in God! We're so proud of her!
*Kezia still loves to write and wrote a story called "Dalace and the Unicorn" (inspired by our renter) that she submitted to the Reflections contest and won first prize. She is a girl of many talents!
Favorite Memories: Getting chinchillas, Oregon, Cowabunga bay. Looking forward to doing MidSummer Night's Dream ballet porformance in 2020.  Her goals are to continue doing ballet, and possibly play another instrument.

LINK: Link would have had his magical/golden birthday this year - turning 7 on the 7th. To honor the day, we had printed a picture we've been looking forward to for quite some time. A man in our ward, Jeff Brunson, is a photographer and Heidi asked him to look for a rainbow coming to the temple. We are SO thankful for that amazing print and it is so special to us! It is hanging in our front room and we think of our sweet boy every time we pass by that room.

NOELLE (5): Our cute Noelle-my-Belle/sunrise girl graduated Mrs. Shirley's preschool this year and started in Mrs. Nakken's Kindergarten class! She loves Kindergarten and is doing awesome! In the first couple months she passed off all her sight words for all of Kindergarten, and she's almost done reading level B in the take-home books. She says her favorite part of Kindergarten is math :) She also loves going to comptuers.
*Unfortunately, the take-home Kindergarten bus wasn't a great experience for a couple months for Noelle. We eventually called the bus garage and they changed seating arrangements and it's been much better :)
*Noelle has turned into the quite the responsible girl. She doesn't ever forget to read her book-in-a-bag every night. And afterwards, she puts it right in her backpack. She wakes up right at 7 (or before) every morning and is fully ready to go - dressed, hair, backpack, coat - usually 30 minutes before we
need to leave to head to the bus stop.
*Noelle is sure mom's helper! She is so good about setting the table without being asked, even getting everyone their hydroflasks! She is great at cooking tortillas and helping bake, too. We are so thankful for her!
*Noelle started lessons this year! In the summer she took swimming lessons at the Little Shark Academy at SUU, and in the fall she started ballet with Kezia. She is doing great and learning lots!
*Noelle has such awesome primary teachers, the Comps - Gunner's parents. They teach her on Sundays, then on Thursdays they have an activity at their house & it's so much fun. Noelle loves it!
*Noelle continues to be our pickiest eater and only wants everything plain - but with ranch. One night mom made fajitas and Noelle wrote her a note that said "I can not handl this food" (did we mention she's getting really good at writing, too :)
*Instead of movies, Noelle is now preferring to play computer games on pbskids or starfall. She's even started figuring out the xbox!
*Noelle's special friends are Sam, James, Katelyn,  and McKai, Marybelle, and Jessie from school.
Noelle's favorite memory of 2019 was Cowabunga Bay. She's looking forward to swimming next year, being in the same school as Kezia.  Goal - tie shoes, ride a bike with no training wheels, and multiplication up to 5.

OAKLYN (3): Where did our baby go? She has grown up so much this past year and we are so sad, but so happy to watch her grow. She is just the CUTEST.
*Oaklyn loves to go-go-go, which is great because that's what we spend most of our time doing! Thankfully, Oaklyn has been so good to go to nursery, or gym daycare, of Grifols daycare, or run errands with mommy. She was so sad this year when she didn't go to school like her sisters, so we call it "gym daycare school" and she brings her backpack :)
*speaking of backpacks, Oaklyn went through a phase where she wore her little backpack everywhere, and wouldn't take it off, even to sleep!
*Oaklyn is at a point where she can take a nap, or not. If she does, we have to make sure it's not too long or she won't go to sleep at night.
*Oaklyn & mommy time usually consists of having a tea party, playing with play doh or sand, coloring, putting together her huge United States puzzle, or playing her Hungry Caterpillar game :)
*Oaklyn still comes in mom & dad's room once/week or so at night. When she does, she usually sleeps on the floor, but she is not a quiet sleeper! She yells, screams, cries, and laughs loudly & mom & dad are usually pretty tired in the morning.
*The week of her 3rd birthday, Oaklyn decided she didn't want to wear pull-ups anymore. It wasn't all roses, but she's done pretty well & we can hardly believe that after 14 years of diapers, we are done!
*Oaklyn is a STRONG girl! Like, if she wants to resist you getting in her carseat, it takes almost all your strength to strap her in!
*She is still SUCH a sweet thing, but has definitely shown her anger in inappropriate ways lately, including pushing and biting!
-Oaklyn still LOVES babies! She has her tiny baby, and her backflip baby, and every night she has to make sure that her backflip baby is tucked into her carseat (her bed) JUST SO and that she has the exact right blanket on her. Then she sings her "baby go to sleep song."  She takes her on lots of stroller walks and is such a good mommy.
*Oaklyn also still LOVES "helping" mommy and whenever mommy pulls out the vaccuum, broom, or mop, Oaklyn is right by her side with her mini versions :)
*Another not-so-fun phase of hers right now is locking doors. She goes in rooms and locks the door immidiately, or locks people out. Or locks the van (about a month ago mom had to call the police to unlock the van door)
*Oaklyn loves Daniel Tiger, Dora, and Minnie Mouse!
*Oaklyn's special friends are Charlotte Price (her best friend!), Tucker, and Thomas. She also loves talking about her cousin Rachel.
*Oaklyn says her favorite memory of 2019 was Dora ;) In 2019, Oaklyn looks forward to the possibility of starting preschool and being in Sunbeams in 2020, and her goals are to ride the bike with training wheels, know all her ABCs and their sounds, count to 20, and write more letters of her name (she knows the O really well :)