Christmas Newsletter

Merry Christmas!

In 2020 we had to cancel a trip planned to visit the eastern US, but this year we were able to use our airline credits to take two trips to the east and finish our goal of visiting all 48 continental US states. 

With Covid still being prevalent and many restrictions and closures, our trip was different from what we had originally planned years ago, but we were still able to see everything we wanted, even if only from the outside. We were able to visit New York City (my favorite), Plymouth, Boston, Niagara Falls, Kirtland, Columbus Zoo, Philadelphia, Jamestown, Washington DC, and much more.

Ben has been extra busy with work in the City as the Assistant Leisure Services Director this year and teaching a class at the University. He also just finished creating an online class for the college. With the little bit of extra time this year, Ben built a large shed in our backyard. He even designed the shed himself. Ben and Westley also spent a week hiking and camping with Ben’s brothers and dad again this year. He has also kept busy serving in the Bishopric in our ward, which has been a blessing to our family.

Jill has been busy homeschooling the kids and chauffeuring them to all their activities. She also volunteers for many of their activities, including helping with costumes and backstage. As with most moms, she never gets enough credit for all that she does (I had to add this so she wouldn’t downplay all she does). Jill is now serving in the ward Primary and enjoys the children. She is very happy to be back in person at church with the Primary children after over a year.

Jenna has been busy with dance and theater. She has performed in 3 musicals this year, Les Miserables (her favorite), The Wizard of Oz, and Addams Family. She was also Assistant Choreographer for Addams Family, which is something she has dreamed about doing one day. She continues to take dance classes in multiple styles. Dance is still her passion and she hopes to own a studio one day. She has also been working hard to complete all her schoolwork. She will graduate with an Associates Degree this spring. She has applied to BYU and BYU-Idaho and plans to start college officially next fall studying Dance and Business. She is president of her class at church and was happy that Girls Camp was in person this year.

 

Westley still loves sports, math, coding, and anything that can be remotely competitive. He began running with the high school cross country team this year. He has really enjoyed high school sports so far. He still has a passion for coding. He is taking his first ever public school class, AP Computer Science at the high school. It has been a very different experience for all of us. He continues to be homeschooled for the rest of his classes. He has also found an outlet for his passion for math, math competitions. In February, he won 1st place at the virtual Mathcounts chapter competition (the best 6-8 graders in the county). He then placed 5th at state, only 1 place away from making it to Nationals. Even though all the competitions were virtual this year, he still enjoyed his experience. He also continued to participate in the MathClub hosted at the university and is happy to be back in person this fall. He was very excited to see the MIT and Harvard campuses while on our trip this summer.

Charlotte enjoys the arts, performing and fine. She loves musical theater, dancing, art, drawing, cake decorating, reading, and sleeping. She was in two plays this year, Addams Family and The Wizard of Oz as Toto. Her barking and dog noises were very realistic. She also continued to participate in her children’s choir and sang a solo at the spring concert. She loves any opportunity to be on stage and perform. She also loves drawing and making clay animals. She entered many art pieces into the county fair and a couple of items won special ribbons. 

Choir Concert

The girls recently had their Christmas Choir Concert. I really loved the harmonies in some of their songs. They both sang alto this year and did a great job. They also had a few pieces that were more show choir style.

Fall Trip

We were able to finish our goal of visiting all 48 contiguous United States this Fall. The kids will have to figure out Hawaii and Alaska on their own someday. Even though we had to miss Thanksgiving (ate at a buffet that night) it was worth the trip.

Our first stop was Virginia. We went to Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. At Jamestown, we saw some glass blowers, which was really cool.

Next, we drove up to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. We didn't get there last trip, so we made the effort this time. The battlefield was extremely large. It was nice to see all the monuments, but sad to think of all those who died there.

We then spent multiple days in Washington, DC. Jill loved all the museums. Especially because they are mostly free. We saw the Declaration of Independence, the original Wright Bros airplane, and some famous paintings.

We also visited all the monuments. The MLK Jr monument was one of our favorites, but all of them were beautiful. The Christmas tree at the White House was very underwhelming though. We also were able to visit Arlington National Cemetary.

Addams Family

Jenna and Charlotte were in Addams Family. Jenna was the assistant choreographer and choreographed a couple of the dances by herself. She was also in one dance. Charlotte was a ballerina ancestor with an eye problem.

 

Youth Temple Trip

One benefit of our temple being under construction, Covid, and needing to make appointments to visit the temple is youth temple trips! Youth temple trips were one of my favorite things as a teen, so I am so glad my kids have been able to experience one. The ward went to the Vegas Temple and the kids had a great time.

Wizard of Oz

The girls spent the summer working on another show. This time it was the Wizard of Oz. Charlotte was Toto and Jenna was a jitterbug dancer, a crow, and a winkie. It was a fun play with really fun choreography and Charlotte had very realistic barks.

Temple Trips

Thanks to Covid, Charlotte had to wait a little longer for her first temple trip, but it was worth it. It was great to have her first two times so close together and with family and friends.

Singing for the Candy Bomber

Charlotte was able to participate in a children's choir that sang for the Candy Bomber, Gail Halvorson. He was receiving an award as part of the Fourth of July Celebrations. I think this was also his last candy drop.

Math Kangaroo Comp

Westley earned 2nd place in state and 7th nationally. He was pretty happy with how well he did.

Trip Post 5 - Pennsylvania

Finally, we also went through Pennsylvania. We thought it would be fun to stop by the Hershey factory and take the tour while we were passing through. The tour was nothing like we thought. Not quite like Willy Wonka, but definitely not just a walk through a factory. It was more of an amusement park ride.

Next, we were on to Philidelphia. There we were able to visit the liberty Bell, the hall, and many cool houses. The coble stone streets were cool too. It was weird to see cars actually driving on them. 

We also went over to Winters Quarters, where the army camped during the Revolutionary War. Also, we saw some covered bridges and visited a small museum, and learned about the Amish and Mennonites.

Trip Post 4 - Ohio

We were also able to visit Ohio and much of the midwest. 

Our first stop after Niagra was Kirtland, Ohio. We visited the Kirtland temple. It was still closed because of Covid, but we were able to see the grounds and get a picture.

We also went to some of the other church history sites, including Historic Kirtland.

In Michigan, we stopped near a lighthouse to use the restroom and take a picture by Lake Erie. 

When we were planning this trip, we asked the kids where they wanted to go and Charlotte and Westley both really wanted to see the Columbus Zoo. The zoo is very large and was definitely worth the trip. While there they were able to feed a giraffe. Even though it was a bit rainy, it was a great time.

Trip Post 3 - Upstate New York

We then traveled to Palmyra, New York. We saw the Erie Canal, Hill Commorah, the Palmyra temple, the sacred grove, and much more. We were fascinated by how many churches there were in such a small town. There really was a church on every corner.

Next, we went to Niagra Falls. The falls really were impressive. The Canadian side was completely closed and quiet, but it would be cool to see the falls from that side one day.

Trip Post 2 - New England

We continued our trip through the Northeast visiting all the New England states. We, however, are not great at taking pictures, so there are no pictures of most of those states.

In Massachusetts,  we stopped on a very cold and windy day at Plymouth. We saw Plymouth rock, the replica of the Mayflower, and then hid out in the John Alden Gift Shop while Ben ran back in the rain to get the car. I was happy to find the gift shop, John Alden in one of my ancestors.

After buying some warmer clothes, we visited Boston, walked the freedom trail, saw the USS Consitution, watched church next to Bunker Hill, and stopped over to see MIT and Harvard.

We also went up to Lexington and Concord. It was such a beautiful area!

We did take a couple of picture in Vermont at Joseph Smith's birthplace. It was very hilly there and we can see why the Smiths would move to find better farming land.

Trip Post 1 - New York City

As a family, we have a goal to visit all 48 lower US states. We were going to go on a trip to the East Coast in 2020, but we had to cancel because of Covid. Luckily, we were able to go this summer. Even though some things were still closed, enough was open to make a great trip.

Our first stop was New York City! This was Jill and Jenna's favorite. We will have to go back one day when Broadway shows are open again.

Everyone enjoyed Central Park. It is HUGE! We walked for half a day and only saw a portion of the park.

There are so many forms of transportation in NYC that we do not get to use a on regular basis. It was fun taking a ferry, riding the subway, and seeing Grand Central Station.

We were able to see many of the sites in New York. There are many more we will have to go back and do another time. We went to the MET, the library, Times Square, the temple, and Nintendo World, and we also saw many cool old churches. 

MathCounts

Westley won the MathCounts chapter competition again this year. He also placed 5th at State! It was a bittersweet place to earn since he was one spot out of going to Nationals. But the Utah team won 4th at nationals, so he didn't feel as bad placing just behind such great mathletes.

Les Miserables

With covid closing theaters and school productions, Jenna was excited to have some friends moms put on a production of Les Miserables. The kids were amazing. I am not sure they will ever be able to recreate the magic they made with this show.