A Morales Minute

We're ready to usher in the new year! We're having our annual New Year's Eve party tonight with friends and lots of snacks and games. I have a feeling 2023 will go just as fast as 2022.   

We've been loving time with Koda. He is such a momma's boy. He wants to be with me ALL. THE. TIME. Sometimes I like it. Sometimes, not so much.  The kid picked up ringing the bell to be let out side to go that bathroom real quick.  It was cute..until he started doing it because he wanted to keep going out to chew on seeds fallen from a tree. Sometimes it's funny how he will ring it loudly then look over at us like "Hello I rang the bell!" His AirTag Lindsey getting in some snuggles.  He looks like a snuggly teddy bear! His name tag is super cute.  He commandeered my yoga mat and fell asleep!  

20  years ago today we said yes to each other. I love him the same but so much more. Does that make sense? Jaime is such an amazing person. He's more than I deserve and as such I thank the Lord for him every day.  He took me out to dinner at Bud's Broiler. We had a delicious meal then went and did some fun shopping. It was a low-key date because we'd already had our big 20th celebration in Jamaica. :)  

Bel and Chris joined us for Christmas Eve Tradtional tamale dinner for Christmas Eve! We had fun opening gifts with Bel and Chris. Grandma and Grandpa Morales and Marcus and his family joined in via FaceTime.  Christmas Jammies! We were gifted a couple other shirts and they matched our pants perfectly so we swapped them out for pics.  They all look so good! These two keep the excitement of Christmas Eve bedtime alive by still sleeping in the same room on this night.  Christmas Day we went to church and had a wonderful meeting. Jaime conducted. We had lots of musical numbers and even Olivia played! We let family know they could watch it via YouTube. My parents and some siblings and Jaime's parents and siblings all watched it. It was a great program so I'm glad they could enjoy it with us.  After church we went to my parents for Christmas dinner. We had a wonderful time being with family.   

Jaime has put so much time into the building of and establishing McClintock STEM elementary that he had a hard time leaving there when he took the job at Chiawana High school. He wasn't ready to let go of his school shirts so I gathered them together + some extras I got from others and had a blanket made out of them. He LOVES it.  Happy Birthday Jaime. I love you.   

Meet Koda. We picked out a Mini Australian Labradoodle to bring into our home. No shedding, good temperament, smart breed. That's the kind of dog that I felt would work well for our home.  His first little bed that Brian's kids made for him. They picked him up from the breeder's after they got back from their trip to Arizona for Thanksgiving.  Koda and his brother Bear were great friends. Koda learned a lot from Bear. This picture is so cute! Look at that face! Brian flew up to Washington on December 16th. Tyler's birthday. We finally got to meet Koda.  There was a lot of conversation about getting a dog. The kids have begged and asked for a dog for years. I didn't want to take care of one while still taking care of young kids. I finally felt like I was ready to handle one knowing we could get one that doesn't shed dog hair all over. Making the kids wait so long made them all the more willing to help care for a dog if we could get one.  He's the cutest littl...

  Today was the boys' piano recital. They both did so good! This was Aidan's first recital as he started taking lessons in September. His teacher said he's an advanced beginner. He picks up on it so quickly. He enjoys the theory of it too. With his long fingers he seems like he should be able to play those chords that those of us with short fingers can not. :) Tyler had his song memorized. He'd been working on it for a long time.  Love my boys and I love that they both enjoy playing the piano. I hope it's something that they both will continue as they get older. 

  Tyler turns 13 today! My baby is now a teenager. All my kids are in their teens now. Am I that old?! Tyler's grown so much in the last year. He's grown funnier, witty, more helpful, smarter (I can't tell you how many random facts he knows), and he's still just as loving as ever. I really think belonging to his football team helped build his confidence. I have seen a big change in him this year.  He still loves this dinosaurs, transformers, and video games. Happy Birthday Tyler!

Our Christmas card and the letter I wrote to send with it... Dear Family and Friends,                                                                                   Christmas 2022   2022  has been such a whirlwind of a year that I’m not surprised we’ve come to the end of it already. Like the saying goes, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” And boy have we been having fun. We’ve been all over the place this year and made some awesome memories in the process. As a family we went on a Disney cruise with Grandma and Grandpa Naylor to Cabo and Ensenada in April. ...

I walked in to the room this morning after everyone had gone to school. I looked at my bed and noticed Jaime's pillow was scooted over close to my side. Just warmed my heart. He does like to sleep close and help keep me warm in the night.   

  Olivia's started wrestling this year. Her junior year. Wrestling against girls who have been wrestling for years already! Nonetheless she is loving it.  Her first dual was versus Southridge Suns. Her first tournament and she placed 4th! One happy girl. Her BFF Makayla, aka twin from another mother,  placed 6th. This is her first year wrestling as well. She has great coaches who motivate her well. These are just the girls left at the end of the tournament. Their team is big, over 20 girls!