December Adventures

Buckle up for another busy week or two in December. Isn't December always busy? Yes!!

Time for another club meet ugly sweaters are a bonus.

Stingrays Christmas Chaos 2024

Having fun + competiting = A whole lot of fun.

Event #2 Mixed 13&O 200 Yard Free  3rd Place  1:58.59

Event #9 Mixed 13&O 100 Yard Back. 1st Place  59.39

Event #15. Mixed 13&O 100 Yard IM 3rd Place. 59.26

Event #19  Mixed 13&O 50 Yard Free. 1st Place  24.59

Great swims!! He is working so hard to get back on track withou his cast.

Look close

That's Grandma JeanAnn singing in the choir

for Uncle Murrel's funeral.

Thank you to Alton & Terri for taking her to Colorado with them.

Grease Monkey Christmas Party

Ryder was in heaven enjoying this steak.

The DHHS Swim Team

Headed to their only away meet in Gunnison

It was a good meet and fun to hang out with friends.

No times it's a high school meet.

Buck's Hurst Ace Hardware

new store in Hurricane

Would love to buy this display for Reganne.

Nope she doesn't have enough room in her apartment.

Even funnier it roars and breaths heavy.

Another one for the books and without any food or water pictures.

 

BON Christmas Tree Contest

BON has a Christmas tradition of putting together decorating teams to compete for the bragging rights of the best tree of the year. Swim & decorating usually colide with swim winning both times. This year was a near miss so I decided to give it a try. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't decorate the tree. My job is to decorate the house Dave's job is the tree. That is the way it's been for 37 years.

It's time to cshake things up!!

The team came up with

"Under The Sea"

Time to get started!!

Finished!!

It looks amazing!!

Finishing with seconds left on the clock.

Looking at the competition!!

Another one!!

Each one was so amazing!!

It's going to be a close contest.

Under The Sea

Won first place.

It was fun to be part of this great team with great ideas and creativity. I was there to support and give encourgement. Maybe I will try this again next year. Why not?

Food, Dogs, and Decorations

December is the perfect time for baking and sharing. Sunday afternoons are the perfect time to experiment.

Brownie Banana Bread

Yummy for sure and a definite make again.

Grandma JeanAnn's Christmas tree

Looks like she is now ready to celebrate the season.

Look closely

It's Ranger snuggled down by my feet sleeping.

There might have been a little snoring.

More dogs snoozing

what a better way to spend Sunday afternoon

Funfetti Cookies

Verdict....Not so good.

Will not make again.

Carmel Sauce

Except made with pure maple syrup

Very yummy!!

Ryder ate it all before I could eat more.

This is a firm yes in making again.

There are so many recipes to try and so little time. Stay tuned for more adventures in cooking. If your close I may even share with you.

Utah Senior State Championships 2024

Ready or not state championships are here. This is the second year of it being moved to December instead of February. It still seems really weird and I'm not convinced that speeding the season up helps the swimmers. Well, I am not in charge or even have a voice to give an opinion. So I get on board and support our swimmers.

It's time to get the show started!!

The kids all gather around Mike

listening to his instructions.

Men's Relay Team

Being on deck makes it hard to take pictures. Our kids set such a good example by cheering for every team member plus everyone else around them. Everyone worked hard and achieved many goals that were set at the beginning of the season. Ryder has worked so hard with his injury to achieve his goals. 

I am exhausted and starting to have a reaction to the chlorine with coughing, sneezing, and sore throat. I feel fine but sound awful. It's going to be a busy month with a lot more chlorine. Suck it up and enjoy this season.

Event #1    Mixed 200 Yard Free Relay    1:36.34    19th Place

Event #7    Men 50 Yard Free        23.75    77th Place

Event #9    Men 400 Yard Medley Relay    3:55.41    28th Place

Event #10    Mixed 200 Yard Medley Relay    2:00.25    40th Place

Event #20    Men 100 Yard Back    1:00.38    86th Place

Event #22    Men 200 Yard Medley Relay    1:45.67    25th Place

Event #24    Men 400 Yard Free Relay    3:26.89    21st Place

Event #28    Men 100 Yard Free    52.14    81st Place

Event #34    Men 200 Yard Free Relay    1:34.50    23rd Place

Hard work & determination is his game as he continues to heal. We continue to support him, feed him, and watch him go to bed by 8:30 exhausted from working hard.    

 

Black Friday

It is Friday for sure but there isn't much shopping going on at our house. Instead it's time to get ready for Christmas.

Watch Out!!

Who knew that Rubbermaid storage bins could fly.

Neither Dave or I as we watched the new storage bins

fly out of the back of the truck.

Time to dodge the cars on the highway that in turn were

dodging the bins as they flew out.

Good news we only lost 3.

Christmas decoration

Go right along with the storage bins.

Empty them and then fill them back up.

I am exhausted just thinking about them.

Ranger snuggling down in the decoration.

He didn't want to move.

He could be a cute rather large ornament.

Love decorating!!

Dave found the cute flamingo hat.

It moves

or rather baubles back and forth.

Decorating can be exhausting we finished up before dinner. Now it's time to sit back and enjoy the twinkly lights and Christmas smells. Time to enjoy the holiday season. 

The Best Part of Thanksgiving

Is the food of course. Our house revolves around food. Thanksgiving only brings it out more than ever.  The morning starts off with doughnuts from Lins.

Deadly Doughnut

This one was so sweet I had to get rid of the frosting

in the middle.

A bowl of grated cheese

Reganne's contribution homemade mac & cheese.

She found the recipe on Tik Tok

She bought the ingredients and even shredded all that cheese.

Dinner time!!

Smoked turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy, stuffing, deviled eggs,

and fluff salad. I am sure I missed something it was all really yummy.

Mac & Cheese

Cheesy goodness!!

However, I think we made too much.

Many hands made awesome food.

Everyone finding seat before the music stops

A whole lot of leftovers

Time to clean up!

Well just like that!!

The clean up got a whole lot bigger.

I plugged up the garbage disposal with a few too may peelings.

Dave took care of the problem. 

The clean up is up to me.

All Done!!

Everyone is full. The kitchen is clean.

It was a successful day.

It's now time to relax and enjoy what is left of the day. Let's break out the movies and maybe popcorn?Tomorrow is another busy day.

 

4 Week Check Up

The last 4 weeks have flown by way to fast. It's time for a followup with the doctor. Amazing facts of the last 4 weeks he only missed 2 practices. Ryder hates to attend swim meets and not participating instead of being the gofer for the coaches. Technology is great his cast doesn't smell or show grease marks.

The cleanest cast you will

ever find. Disinfected daily.

Nervous with the saw so close

to his arm.

Next comes the plyers

cracking open the cast.

His hand looks really good

with only black dust not flaky skin.

Followup xray

The fracture is healing very nicely.

Brace for another 4 weeks.

He can't swim with it.

However, over the next 4 weeks to slowly reduce wearing time.

It was a great visit with very positive feedback. Word of warning to put avoid putting to much pressure on the wrist. No breaststroke or Butterfly for another couple of weeks. 

Next appointment is December 23rd.

 

It's A Swim Weekend

It's the weekend and it's going to be full of chlorine, kids, and service. Friday afternoon kicks off with a college swim meet "Trailblazer's Invitational" of course this is after work.

Warm up

There are alot of kids getting ready

to compete.

Saturday morning 

New meet and different pool

Welcome to SUU

and the CSC Thanksgiving Open

Ryder is competiting for the first time with a cast.

 I am officiating.

Relaxing poolside between events.

Nothing better than a whole lot of chlorine

and good friends.

Food drive @ Lins Marketplace

Fun to hang out with our team and receive donations.

One older lady was in tears because she couldn't contribute

due to fixed income. Gave her a hug and told her that her heart was in the right place.

Guess where?

Finishing off Saturday with the final session of the Trailblazer Invitational

The difference between meets?

College meet the boys all sporty their first mustaches. The girls were all tatted up.

I am tired all chlorinated and Ryder just plain worn out. It was a busy weekend for sure and the last swim meet before Thanksgiving. Let's enjoy the break.

Event #1    Mixed 100 Yard Free    55.71    4th Place

Event #16   Mixed 50 Yard Free    24.05    2nd Place 

Not bad times with a cast. Note you can't be DQ for swimming with a cast. It doesn't give you any advantage. We had to look this up in the USA Handbook.

 

R & R Update

It's time for a Rylee & Ruston update. What have they been up to? Check out these fun pictures. 

Ruston's new project

a dog house for Miss Indy & Ranger

There are now walls and a door

All done under the supervision 

of Miss Indy.

Looks like it's

ready to move in.

Getting ready for Christmas

Rylee awesome decorating job.

Fun time with family

in the backyard.

Miss Indy & Dr. Jake

A fun photo shoot 

Indy loves to pose for the camera.

I love when the kids share pictures with me. They make me smile and beam with pride to see how they are accepting challenges and turning them into successes. Stay tune for more updates.

Jubilee of Trees 2024

Not sure how it snuck up on us but it's that time of year again. Plus it's employee night so what's not to enjoy. One minus all the kids were busy with work or swim it was just Dave & I.

I love the ballon arrangement

It amazes me that balloons can still be fun

in a formal setting.

DHHS FFA Tree

I am amazed at the attention to detail.

Another angle

still so much fun

This one is another favorite.

It maybe the red toy truck 

that is decorated just like many pictures that

are always around during Christmas.

You know the ones!

Better angle

Still fun.

A little hot chocolate and cookies arranged to attract all the tiny hands tonight. This still hasn't returned to pre-COVID years still making time to visit kicks of the holiday season.