November 2024

November so far has been fairly relaxing, which is so nice. 

We put up a Christmas tree the first week of November and we have really been staying at home as much as possible. It is hard that the sun goes out at 4:30 and we have really been struggling to go on our nightly walks because it's so cold. But I do really try to get out at least once a day during the day and make sure that I keep up with my workout classes. I'm not sure if I've talked about this already but on November 3, Tyson was confirmed to be part of the bishopric in our Lord. He is serving with Bishop Rogers and Tyson got called to be the first counselor. And we have brother KOA as the second counselor. This was actually a very hard decision and even though both Tyson and I prayed and felt good about saying yes it was still a big responsibility. I bet this first month. We've just been kind of getting used to seeing less Tyson, but the nice thing is is that I can genuinely see Tyson being really intentional about how he spends his time with us. And I am really grateful for it. I can already tell that he is really experiencing a lot of sweet and tender moments and is really staying close to the spirit and I love that for him because I think in in this life when you feel close to God and the spirit things just feel clear and hopeful, and I love that for him.

The end of November was again really, really relaxed. The girls and I attended sometime at Urban Air and played. London also had a very one of her longer nutcracker rehearsals and she got to get dressed up in all her pretty dresses and make up and she looks so so cute. We spent time at Barnes & Noble reading books. We did crafts to help decorate for the Relief Society Christmas party. We also hung out a lot at home. We played trivia. We played Nintendo Switch. 

Thanksgiving week was really fun and really chill. The girls had a full week off, and this was the first time we did not send them to Nathan's camp, and we took advantage of that time to do just things that we knew we needed to do. For example, we cut the girl's hair. We did cat-sitting and guinea pig-sitting for some friends. We also got to go watch the movie Wicked. It was excellent and I really really loved it. 

We sold and give away some stuff on Facebook marketplace. We also did a lot of touchup paint around the house which is something we normally do during a big break like this. Overall, I love that we just don't travel during the holidays. I feel that this is such a great time to get caught up on sleep, get caught up on projects, get caught up on just being together, and it feels great. 

Thanksgiving day itself we spend with the Blakely's. We got there early morning, and Iuliana and I attended a workout class. Then we went to see Wicked together and hung out at home the rest of the day. We watched the parade we watched football. We helped with cooking and cleaning. We ate a really delicious meal, and we left at 8 PM and came home to sleep in our own bed. 

Tyson and I spent a lot of time hanging out in our couch taking naps watching survivor and some of our favorite shows. Which just felt like such a needed mental break. It was a perfect mix of getting stuff done but, at the same time, really catching up on good sleep and enjoying the ability to stay in and really let our bodies and minds rest during the winter season. 

The days in Denver have been unusually warm, which means that we're still able to get out and walks during the day which has been some of my favorite things to do. And we didn't go out on Black Friday. We did not go out on cyber Monday, we just kind of hung out at home, and it almost feels like we're hibernating a little bit, but I also think that it's us really learning to slow down during the season and not worry so much about the hustle and bustle.

 I have been keeping up with my workout classes. It's been such a fun thing to be able to still go do four times a week and it makes my mental health so much better. So overall November has been wonderful and we are thankful for it. We are moving into December starting today and I just can't believe that there is one month left in 2024.