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Christmas Joy

   I'm happy I finally get to post these photos. I had Jon's name for Christmas this year and couldn't figure out what to make for him. I was talking to Kim Davidson one afternoon and she told me Rob could help me make some bullets. I was thrilled, it was perfect! So I went over the Saturday after Thanksgiving to make my first, and most likely last, 9 mm bullets. It took a total of five hours to make 105 bullets. 

  First, I poured super hot lead into the bullet molds. Then I dumped them out and let them cool.




  Next it was time for powder coating. I chose red because it looked manly and cool. Stay tuned to see how that worked out for me. I covered the bullet in dry powder and put them into the oven to bake for twenty minutes. When we pulled them out, it made a plastic, shiny coating. I also did a few pink for Rach. 



  Next we put the casings into a cleaning machine to make sure they were shiny and free of debris. 

  Next, I put all the bullets through a sizing machine one at a time to make sure they were the same size. My arm burned a bit after this one. 



  Next I put all the casings through a machine that plunked the old primers out, again one by one. Then I inserted the new primers into each casing. It was a delicate process as the primers are really small and I jammed the machine a good few times. Rob was so patient with all my mistakes. 


  Next was the slightly terrifying part. I had to measure the gunpowder the exact amount or else the gun would explode while firing. I did ten on my own, with Rob watching closely behind me and then because I have no intention of killing Jon, I let Rob do the rest.  


    The last step was the best part. I finally got to see it all come together! I put the bullet on top of the casing and put it through a machine that molded them together. Out came a finished cartridge! 


  There they are! One hundred and five perfect lipstick tubes. 

  I'm so grateful for Rob for taking so much time out of his very busy schedule to help me with this project. It's something I'll remember forever and have bragging rights to say I did! 

  The girls and I made sure Kaleb was ready for Christmas. 

  Unfortunately this year the granddaughters weren't able to get together for my Grandma Rigby's birthday in person so we settled for a Zoom call instead. It think it might have been my Grandparents first Zoom call ever. It was fun to see how excited they were to see everyone. We had a great visit.  





  We sent her a beautiful flower arrangement with 13 carnations for her 13 granddaughters. I love her so much. 


   Lydia lost both front teeth within a couple weeks of each other. I love her cute, little smile!

  Here's a random preschool pic. 


  How I love this princess. Allie's at such a fun age, I wish time would stop. 


    This mischievous guy on the other hand.. haha. He was made cute for a reason! Hudson is so busy and curious about everything around him. We've replaced Loren's $80 laptop charging cord twice and other cords numerous times from his chomping. Though we're constantly keeping him out of trouble, his smile makes me melt. I love his giggle and the way he sucks his fingers like Spiderman. I especially love when he wakes up from his nap and gives me a hug for two seconds before he's on the go again. He has his sisters wrapped around his fingers, they let him get away with more than he should. We all love him and can't imagine life without our sweet boy. Crazy to think he's almost two!

  When December started we decided to add a little extra to our Christmas countdown chain. We added acts of service on each chain to complete everyday. One of Lydia's ideas was to pick up trash outside. So out we went with our garbage bag. We picked up quite a bit! I was proud of these girls. 

  It was one of those years with a toddler. 

  Grandma Peck invited us over to decorate Christmas cookies. The kids had a blast eating the yummy cookies! The good quality photos are the ones Kristen took, haha. 








   This year we drove by the Nibley City Nativity instead of in person. They gave us hot chocolate to drink in our cars as we drove by the scenes. 




   There was even a camel at the end! 
  This is Loren's gift to Lindsay, her own avatar! He spent so much time making it just right. Really impressive. 

   I'm not sure what got into us but Loren and I found ourselves at Home Depot one day buying shelving for the toy room. I really wanted to be able to set out toys so Hudson and Max can see them instead of sitting at the bottom of a tote and never being played with. It took about thirty minutes of measuring and drilling and we had shelves! I love them so much. 

  We have more plans for this room like getting rid of the bookshelf and putting up fairy lights. This was a great step forward. 





  I love my Christmas card door. 

 Our neighbors brought an ugly sweater cookie decorating kit and we had a blast making our own ugly sweaters. 



  Celebrating Kristen's birthday. 


  Christmas morning! The kids were so excited!



  Lydia got a sewing kit, a book, Slamwich game and an Ezyroller. Allie got a sewing kit, a book, Book of Mormon Go Fish game and a Ponycycle. Hudson got some play cleaning supplies, a book and a car. Needless to say, Hudson was pretty jealous of the Ezyroller and was a mess the whole day. Maybe he'll be getting one for his birthday. 

  Lydia was so sweet and let him ride with her. 


  Thanks to Elf Em who made this possible. 

  In the afternoon we went out to Avon. We had a delicious dinner as always with twice baked potatoes, deviled eggs, prime rib, salad and torte for dessert. YUM!!

We had a wonderful day, albeit a little exhausting with Hudson. I was so excited to get some frozen pizzas and cookie dough from Jon! If I could chose one gift to receive every year it would be freezer meals or something so I don't have to cook dinner. It was perfect.  

  The day after Christmas was Em's drive-by baby shower followed by my family's Christmas party. Everyone came to the shower who was invited so I'd say it was a success! It was sooo cold though. We made it an hour before I pulled mom's car out and we sat in the blasting heat waiting for people to come. 



  The girls sang the Christmas song mom wrote for the program. 

  Lydia and dad played a Jingle Bells duet. 

  Hudson got this adorable train set from Greyson and Adeline. He's played with it everyday!
  It was so fun to spend time with my family though we really missed Cam, Mary and their family. We hope to see them soon because Adeline is getting too big!
  The next day we kept partying with Loren's birthday! He got breakfast in bed for the first time ever I think. 

  After having church, dinner and playing games with my family we went out to Avon for more partying. We played Pin the Tail on the Cow and it was hilarious to watch. 


  We ended the night with a competitive ping pong tournament. Everyone played which made it super fun! Aaron really gave me a run for my money. He's so good! Loren ended up winning, which was a pretty good birthday present. 
As with everyone else in the world, I'm pretty excited for a new year. I know I can get through anything with my family and with Christ. I have so much to be thankful for. Bring on 2021!














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