11.02-11.06: I headed out at 4:00 AM the next morning for a business trip to BYU-Hawaii. The flights to and fro were great and the week there was absolutely marvelous. My main purpose was to meet many individuals face-to-face (including the two presidents), my first opportunity since assuming this position. I also attended the BYU-H President’s Leadership Council meetings, including great presentations from students, their choir, the PCC luau, and the new evening show. There is something absolutely special about BYU-H students…each of them has a story. It was fun to sit with Haley at the weekly devotional and to visit with a Japanese friend to whom I was able to help share the gospel. Of course, it rained the entire week, but the experiences were amazing (and the food was too!). Elizabeth and the kids held up just fine. It was wonderful to be reunited!
11.07: Attended a 2010 planning meeting with our Young Men. Caught up with each other and went out to dinner as a family.
11.08: I attended our stake Priesthood meeting.
11.09: We’ve had some fun FHEs this month and the girls’ attention span has now increased from 30 seconds to 32!
11.11: I went up to SLC for the LDS Business College’s annual donor appreciation dinner. Always humbling to meet such generous people.
11.12: Met up with Dad for the Cougar Club luncheon, attended Round Table, and had bishopric visits. This whole format makes us look busy, but we’re really not!
11:13: Friday the 13th came and went and nothing bad happened to us. Let’s put this superstition away, shall we? We went out to Red Robin with the Wilkins and all six of our children four and younger. Waiters have to hate waiting on tables like ours!
11.14: Kadence and I had our daddy/daughter date at Kammi’s stake play of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. Really great production!
11.15: Priesthood Preview for our 11-year olds.
11.17: It seems like we had something Church-related most days this month! The 17th saw both of us at Young Women in Excellence. It was a fantastic program. Following Elizabeth’s example, I was able to finish up the Personal Progress Award for leaders. I gained a whole new appreciation for what our YW do to earn this great award.
11.18: The doctor gives Elizabeth a clean slate of health, as she recovered nicely from the C-section.
11.19: I participated in the annual rechartering meeting with the Stake. The Utah Jazz won in San Antonio for the first time since 1999…when I was still in Japan on my mission!
11.20: Our whole family got together for Donna and Connor’s birthday, going out to dinner and then to Carissa’s play, Guys and Dolls. Nice job Carissa!
11.21: We held a Thanksgiving food drive
11.24-11.29: It was fabulous to have most of Thanksgiving week off, taking a few final paternal leave days (yes, six weeks after Stockton joined the fun!). Among other things, we went to a Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band concert, out to eat several times, shopping, etc. We naturally attended the Smith Family Thanksgiving and again escaped unscathed from the Cranberry Rock-off. The next day, after taking in the entire Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, we went to our Aunt Diane’s house for the Nelson get-together. We finished the evening with games and food at Darrell and Tanya’s. What a great day full of good food and even better company. The girls did well! I braved the Black Friday crowds at one store, coming away with some great deals. Still, not sure if it was worth it… All of us had a ball decorating the house. Nothing compares to the Christmas season! We also watched most of the infamous BYU/Utah game and can quantifiably say that we do not hate Utah as much as Max Hall.
Sunday evening, Darrell and I went with Sarah to the Messiah Sing-In, an annual tradition of ours.
11.30: For FHE, we went to the Museum of Art to see some paintings of Christ, followed by a Christmas handbell concert at the Provo Library. Wow…quite the month!
Stockton continues to be simply adorable. We could not ask for a better, sweeter baby. He doesn’t cry much and has started to smile and coo. He is loved by his sisters who will do their best to console him when he’s on the sad side. He sleeps pretty well during the night, having a few five-hour spells. We can’t remember things without him, nor do we want to.
Poor Tayah has been ill off and on most of the month. She had several days of fever and coughing. Still, she is happy for the most part. Again, she certainly has her moments of red-headedness. She loves reading, singing, and doing whatever big sister is doing.
Kadence still attends preschool and loves learning. She is recognizing more and more letters and can write most of them. She LOVES coloring, drawing, and writing. She was mesmerized by Joseph and will go around singing the songs.
Elizabeth got back into her YW teaching rotation. She started going out for errands this month. She is doing an amazing job as a sleep-deprived mother of three!
I’m boring. I am enjoying my Utah Jazz writing gig and life in general.
Now on the Christmas…Happy Holidays everyone!
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