A little time with Grandma Ison

Oh man we’re having a blast with Grandma Ison here! It’s so fun! Last Saturday we watched the Baker kids while their parents went Christmas shopping-it was the perfect distraction to have friends over because the boys were so anxious to have Grandma get here. 

Such a long drive-and that’s the first time she’s made it alone. But she made it!!! 

The Baker kids were still here when she got here so I missed those first walk in door Grandma hugs pics-but I assure you the happened 😊

Grandma studies the gospel more diligently than anyone I know! She’s a great example to all of us, Sunday the boys were quizzing her about how and why she was taking notes. 

Isaac gets his his go-getter-ness (hows that for a hyphenated together word?) maybe I should’ve just picked “ambition” or something. But Grandma doesn’t just sit around! Monday morning she got right to work bottling chicken. It was extra awesome because while I bottled with my grandma when I was a kid...I haven’t done it since! So it was one of my goals when we made goals with the children and youth program because I know it’s a good way to preserve food. I just felt like I wanted to do something but then when we found out I was pregnant I was like eh-bag it I don’t care if it’s a good way to preserve food. But this was perfect! Grandma Ison bottles all the time, she really did all the work, and made it look easy-like I think I could do it. I helped a little and asked a lot of questions, so I’m counting it as a goal completed! 😉

And look how cute Cann is helping! 

There has been lots of spoiling with treats this week too (and not just the kids-among other things she brought 2 bags of delicious chocolates from Costco with her-yum! She knows I’m a sucker!) 

Only Grandma Ison would bring squash and a tricky little tool to turn it into noodles that the boys loved helping with (and even ate a few bites of squash because they’d helped make it.) 

Tuesday Grandma bottle MORE chicken just because we had more jars-they are all HER jars that I was going to give back. Ha. But I’m telling you she’s a do-er! 

Wednesday we took the boys down to the church to play. We have a book about the Jazz bear doing a high flying dunk Tanner is sure he should be able to do it 🤣 he wanted to set up the jump house and the small hoop. We didn’t. And the 10 ft hoop was still a ways up there. 

Sethy’s still not so sure about dunking it. It won’t be long! 

Tans idea got his brothers wheels turning...and they started climbing! 

They had fun. Cannon said he’d “never felt more like an NBA player” 🤣 oh brother 🙄
Afterward we hit our favorite Mexican joint for lunch-had the place to ourselves! The boys were good and I like it way better with the kids with extra adult helping hands!!! Sethy was in same old same old Salsa only form....and happy about it I might add-

We do TRY to get him to eat other food-just to clarify- 

Just playing-it’s a full time job (usually mine) to keep Seth out of the board games but Colt LOVES them and dad had time so the went for it. 

Then Thanksgiving morning (we might’ve had pie for breakfast ...shhh...) and the boys were playing with the big mixer truck when Grandma came down the stairs with an armload of presents!!!! It was Christmas on Thanksgiving and it was so fun! The boys were pumped!

We had a simple but delicious Thanksgiving dinner and a great Thanksgiving day! We have so much to be grateful for!! One of the things I’m grateful for is all of Grandmas extra help. The big dinner-or any meal- is just so much easier when I have hands that help prepare and hands that help clean up! It’s fantastic!! 

But it really wouldn’t be a holiday without Isaac drumming up some kind of project. So he switched around a couple outlets so the USB port one would be in the kitchen and boys could charge their drones where Seth can’t reach them. 

Todays project 

The boys want us to build a railing for Christmas so they can play above the guest bedroom upstairs. Oh and they want to get to this place via climbing wall. He’s measuring and looking into it-if anybody will make it happen it will be Mr fun dad Isaac. I’m sure I’ll keep ya posted on this one. 
And there can never have been a 1 year old that cares about laundry as much as this kid. He loves his construction jamas, that he pronounces “dams dams dams!” And when he takes them off he sees to it that I put them right in the washer. Then he wants to check on them 5 times while there washing, and then help transfer them to the dryer. 

If he hears either machine stop he yells “dams dams dams” and runs to the hallway. And when they’re done, he’s ready to put them back on! We don’t (until night) but I confess he’s had a few naps with them with him in his crib. Sometimes it’s just easier than fighting him on it. We do laundry most days-and they’re gray so I wash them with lights or darks- so he gets to wear them most nights. Crazy kid! 

Cann flew his drone into my hair today. Lucky for him I’d just had a nap so I was in a pretty good mood. 😉

He did pretty good untangling it...until the end-then he yanked-little punk. 

Oh and up is as far as we got with the tree today, maybe tomorrow. But the boys were trying to wear their stockings. 

They’re goofs! But they keep things interesting around here. 

Until next week...

Is it fair to say we’ve had the most Ison week ever... or is that every week? ...maybe...

Isaac and Cannon went hunting Saturday morning. They were back by 7:30-so I still had to make breakfast (darn-just kidding-everyone loves it when I make biscuits and gravy on Saturday morning but if they hadn’t come home we totally would have had pop tarts. Ha) Then Isaac was laying on the living room floor stretching his back or something when he decided it was drafty. *the farmhouse is always drafty and super cold when the wind blows-it’s life- * But quite naturally that led to a project and him tearing something apart. 

(Sigh...)

They decided to move the door frame over...

But really I should count my blessings this project was started AND FINISHED in the same day. Hallelujah! 

That evening they went back out hunting. I was feeling pretty good about things since they’d come home so quickly and empty handed that morning. 

But as I was fixing dinner Isaac came in with a big ole smirk on his face saying he’d “never experienced anything like it” come to find out it was part of hunting white tail instead of mule deer-that they’re more aggressive or something. But Isaac was wound up when he came in! (Here’s the Lyndi version) I guess they were down wind from this little buck so he couldn’t really smell them and he just kept coming closer and closer-looking up at them checking them out then getting another bite of to eat until it was about 15 yards from them. Isaac didn’t think Cann was ever going to pull the trigger (and he was going to have to shoot it before it attacked them 🤣) Cannon just explains how his heart was pounding so dang hard. But I guess finally it turned broadside and got to be about 20 yards away and Cann shot it. So then they came home and ate dinner and got headlamps and the brothers and went back to look for it. (Oh they were hunting in the neighbors field about 2 miles from here.) The Bryant’s came to help. The troops were pumped. Thankfully Brad (Neff our neighbor) wasn’t busy and came over and helped them work it up. Everyone was digging it-well except me but I will admit the anticipation of them getting a deer was worse than them actually getting one. 

Honestly...I could do without the pics but...they love it and it was a big part of our week. So here’s a few more...

But really I’m not a big dead head person! 

So moving on! 
That night the bathroom light was on so I went to turn it off and there was Tanner-asleep on the bathroom step...????....too far to walk back to bed? I guess the deer fun wore them out! 

Sunday Colt tied his own tie!! And this is how we do singing time these days. 

Oh and Cann was the spotlight for primary so I logged on to FB posted his spotlight-let them watch singing time. Then re-deactivated my account. I’m not sure how I’m going to fulfill President Nelson’s challenge from today to flood social media with what we’re thankful for...cuz right now I’m thankful to NOT have social media #givethanks 😉

Anyway Monday...more deer (#givethanks for the Neff’s and the Bryant’s!!!) and Tuesday we had fried deer steaks for dinner. 

Colt has been begging for us to do a full blown Family Home Evening complete with song, prayers, lesson, and mostly with a special treat and activity. I’m like Ug man, we do Come Follow Me every night...but I told him we could do it if we actually planned it-it couldn’t be a fly by the seat of our pants thing. So Sunday he and I planned a lesson about captain Moroni and the armor of God and planned to do it Tuesday (knowing we would be dealing with the deer Monday and Wednesday dad had YM/YW) The boys loved it. In fact I felt a little guilty because really we do Come Follow Me every night which in my mind is like a mini FHE right? Good enough! But what the boys really loved was the activity and the treat. Oh yeah...I guess our normal everyday thing pretty much just factors out the fun parts. Whoops. I told Colt as long as we plan it ahead of time yes we can do it every week. (And I can try to make CFM more fun too—) 

(Oh and even Sethy was pretty darn cute pounding his fist as we sang Book of Mormon stories) 

These two goods in their “boat” and the “turtle car” I guess it was slow 🤣

Seth loves to chase the blowing leaves then stomp on them when we walk Tan into school. It’s pretty dang cute. 



Tonight my friend cut my hair then offered to tend our kids while we went on a date-sold! #givethanks! She’s the best! And the kids had so much fun! 

And last but not least a little Friday night hoopla!! They built this fort last night but we wouldn’t let them sleep in it on a school night-even if it is just online school- but tonight—game on! They were pumped! 

(Note Colts arm waving far right 🤣) 

Speaking of online school Colt is getting to where he can do more and more himself so that’s nice. Also our hot spot had reset so I actually got to have my phone-that was nice too. But it’s almost out of high-speed again already and it’s only been a week. Ug.  

But in other exciting news Grandma Ison is on her way! So I’m sure we’ll have some thanksgiving fun to report on next week!