It's a New Year in the Hogue House. Welcome to 2016!

New Year's Day started off with sometime at the gym in the morning. (We made a resolution to really try and use our gym membership. We joined a new gym ...1/2 miles from our house... last May, BUT we've only been a handful of times.)  
After leaving the gym we got some lunch and then I took Wiggy and Tubbs to Color Me Mine so they could spend some Christmas money. Bubba wanted to stay behind and hang with dad.

Wiggy has began setting up the "Wiggy Spa" at home. She comes out with a notepad and calls our name. She brings up back to her spa area. She cleans our feet and gives us pedicures/foot massages. She gave Luke a back massage and put him to sleep. It was quite hilarious.

 I snapped this photo of Bubba before bed one night. He was reading his scriptures after we said prayers and turned off lights. He keeps a flashlight next to his bed.

Tubbs made himself a pair of eyeglasses out of some Wiki-Sticks at The Broken Yolk.

 Tubbs throws himself on the floor while watching the Seahawks/Vikings playoff game. It came down to the last few seconds of the game, but Tubbs was sure the Seahawks were going to lose. This kid loves watching his football win, but he's not a good loser. 
Bubba is a Bears fan, so he likes to heckle his brother...especially when they're losing. I think Bubba actually felt sorry for his brother during this game, so he left him alone.

Monday I left work at lunch and picked up Tubbs and Wiggy. We headed to LA so I could take Tubbs back to the neurologist. Wiggyfell asleep in the backseat on the way home.

 We did have time to stop by Cheesecake Factory for a quick lunch before our 3:30 appointment. We got to the appointment on time, but waited 90 minutes to see the doctor. Surprisingly, I was very calm and patient. When we saw the doctor she told us they were "overbooked."No duh.

Wiggy watching TV while waiting to see the doctor.

While I was gone with the younger kids, Luke picked up Bubba from school and treated him to his favorite honey garlic wings at Gooseloonies. Bubba ate two dozen wings and enjoyed having all evening alone with dad. Because of LA traffic we didn't get home until almost 8:30pm. It was a long day on the road.

Bubba waiting for his Jersey Mike's Philly cheese steak....his new favorite sandwich.

 Playing some Madden 16 in the den. 
The boys like to challenge their dad and make wagers.

Tubbs' Honor Roll assembly - second quarter. 
Way to go Tubbs! I wasn't able to be there to watch, but thankfully dad was.

Wiggy had a ballet/tap recital at Hannah's house, with friends from church. It only last 15 minutes and it was fun to watch. Her favorite part was the brownies and rice krispy treats Hannah served afterwards.

 Daddy/Daughter Dance. Wiggy and dad got to the dance right at 6pm so they could be in line for photos. They danced for 90 minutes before leaving for dinner. Wiggy chose Panda Express this year and Tutti Frutti Yogurt for dessert. Luke sent me videos of her dancing the night away with all of her friends. She sure loves to dance.

While they were out at the dance, I had some time alone with the boys. They chose BJ's restaurant for dinner. I was going to take them to a trampoline place afterwards, but the wait time was so long for dinner, that we were there for two hours. I told them we could go to "Rush Air" next weekend, just the three of us. They seemed happy with that.

Saturday morning we headed down to LA for Stake Temple Day. The chapel session started at 11:15. Youth baptisms began at 11:45. There was also a primary activity for the kids from 10:30 until 2:30. It was a wonderful day at the temple with the family.

Plenty of antics by my oldest child on the way down since they had no electronics.

After the temple we drove over to Beverly Hills for a Sprinkles cupcake run. Then we ate an early dinner at Cheesecake Factory. After dinner we made the 30 minute drive northeast to Burbank. There were some shelves we were looking at for the boys' room at Ikea. We ended up not leaving LA until 7pm to head home.

 After church the boys wanted to play some ball in the rain.

 Wiggy's favorite thing to do these days is looks up puppies online and watch puppy videos. This girl would really love to have a dog. It sounds all nice and trust me, she almost has her dad talked into it. But then reality sets up. We know who would be cleaning everything up and we just aren't prepared for all the needs a puppy would have. In the meantime, Wiggy has YouTube to keep her entertained.

Camp KEEP - 2016

Tubbs is in 6th grade, so it was his turn to head to Camp KEEP. I went as a counselor with Bubba's grade two years ago, so Tubbs wanted me to go with him. Thankfully when our school goes, it's the week of MLK holiday, so it's only a 4-day week, instead of the normal Monday - Friday week at camp. 
Tuesday morning I dropped Bubba off at school with big goodbye kisses and then we headed to BV. We loaded up on the charter buses at 8:45am and took off by 9am. It was raining really hard the entire drive over to Morro Bay. 
Tubbs was a little anxious when we got on the bus. He was a little more emotional than I thought he would be. He is an interesting kid. Haven't quite figured him out. :) I think he was really going to miss being home and his family...and not wanting to be "camping" all week. I was glad I was able to go with him and spend some time with him.

It was raining when we arrived at KEEP so we unloaded in the garage and then headed to the dome for a bit. Normally the welcome discussions take place outside by the fire pit. My co-counselor is a good friend, so I was thankful we were working together this year. She was at KEEP with her daughter two years ago too, but we were in different cabins.

 First morning at KEEP

 Wednesday hike at Camp KEEP. We hiked to the creek and then in the afternoon headed to the dunes/tide pools.

 Our cabin on Wednesday's night games.

 Thursday morning's hike was on the cove and the afternoon was up to Valencia Peak Jr. It was quite the hike! Most exercise I've had since the back procedure last summer.

The view from the top of Valencia Peak Jr. We took a few minutes to talk about the shale we found and enjoy the view.

Thursday's lunch was a sunflower butter and jam sandwich. Not bad at all! 

Friday morning we ate breakfast, cleaned cabins, went on a hike to the dunes with our hiking group, ate lunch and then loaded up on the buses by noon. Tubbs and I couldn't wait to get home! We had to stop on the way home for a bit, at a rest stop, so that we wouldn't be back at the school until 3:15pm. 

Grandma and Grandpa Baer's Holiday Getaway

My parents headed down to San Diego the weekend before Christmas and we were so happy to see them, because they never come down this way during the holidays. They spent the next week with my mom's sister and her husband (Thelma and Dennis) and her mom. Grandma Strickland has been in and out of the hospital the last few months and is now in an assisted living facility--when she is well. She is no longer able to stay in her home, so that's where my parents stayed. 
Grandpa sent us photos while they were away and we enjoyed passing the phone around to look at them all. On Christmas morning he surprised mom with three days at Disneyland. They left Sunday evening for Anahaim and drove back to San Diego on Wednesday evening.

Ready to head into Disneyland after eating breakfast! Little did they know they were headed into a sea of 80,000 other people for three days. :)

On Friday, New Year's Day, Grandma and Grandpa headed back to our house to stay the night on their way back home. We had some fried chicken for dinner after they arrived. 
The following morning we had some eggs and cinnamon cake before letting Grandma and Grandpa leave us. I was in my pajamas, but they made me pose too since I had the kids get their photos taken. Don't I look wonderful?!

I'm so glad my parents were able to spend some time alone and with my mom's family for two weeks. It looked like time very well spent. Of course we liked getting to see them too!