It's Almost Christmas!

I wanted to quick write a post before Christmas because then my next post can be just about Christmas and the holiday activities!

First Teacher Exam
The main thing that I am excited to share is that I PASSED my first teacher's exam! There are two tests that I have to take in order to become certified as a teacher and the first one is called the "Professional Teacher Knowledge Exam." I had studied for it the whole month of November and then I decided to go ahead and take it a few weeks earlier than I had originally planned. I was going to take it on December 18th, but I decided to just take it on December 2nd and get it over with so I could enjoy the holiday season! I'm so glad I did!

Josh and I drove down to Pocatello (where the testing center is) after dropping the kids off at school. I was kind of a nervous wreck, so we stopped at TJ Maxx so I could calm my nerves with my best way possible....shopping. We bought a few things for the boys for Christmas and then drove over to the testing center. I was there from about 11:00 - 2:00. Once I came out, they gave me a print out of my multiple choice score and I saw that I PASSED! But then I still had to wait for another week to receive the results of my essay since that has to be read and graded by an actual person! That week was the worst. If I would've failed the essay portion, I would have had to take then WHOLE thing over (including the multiple choice!) But I felt like I had written a pretty good essay, so if I wouldn't have passed I would've been a little upset. Thankfully, I received a 5/6 on the essay (4 and up is passing.) Now I have to study all of the English/Literature content and prepare to take THAT exam. I am hoping to take that some time in March.

Shop with a Cop
Another fun thing that happened in the past few weeks was the Shop with a Cop day. Josh had worked the night before until 2:00am (that always seems to happen) and then he had to be at the Rexburg Tabernacle by 5:45am. That is where they meet up with all the families that have been chosen to participate and they get paired up with their specific child. Next, they drive down main street to the McDonald's with the child in their front seat and their sirens going. They eat breakfast (for free) and then drive to Walmart. From about 7am to 8am the officers and their assigned child get to go shopping and pick out things for their family members. I left the kids home sleeping and went to Walmart to help with the wrapping center. Josh was assigned an eight-year-old boy named Woodrow that actually goes to our elementary school, so I got to say hi and snap a picture of the two of them together. He picked out some gloves for his dad, a fishing pole, a hot wheels track, and a few other things for his siblings. It's always fun to see the kids get excited about shopping for their families.

Santa
Avery and Caleb went with Josh to a neighborhood Christmas party a couple weeks ago. I wasn't feeling too good and Gabe was gone to a friend's birthday party so we didn't go. At the party, Santa made a special visit! I had told Josh that he needed to take her to this party and get a picture of her with Santa, or else we would have to brave the crowds and go to the mall in Idaho Falls. He made the smart choice and took her to the party. Here are a few pictures:

Sledding in the Backyard
Josh used the table from Halloween (the one that Gabe used to scare everyone!) and put it into the backyard about a month ago. Every time it would snow, the kids would pile the snow around it. Eventually, there was a nice little sledding hill for the kids to play on. Avery will climb up there with her little sled and she's able to make it all the way across the backyard to the playhouse. We haven't really had any snow the past couple of weeks! We did have quite a bit the first two weeks of December. Then it kind of stopped and warmed up and they are saying we shouldn't have any until after Christmas! I would be just fine with that. We've still got plenty on the ground so it should be a white Christmas either way!

That's about it! I feel like we haven't been too exciting lately! We mostly hang out indoors and watch movies on TV. Caleb's favorite is the Mandalorain on Disney Plus. He is in love with Baby Yoda (as is most of the rest of the world right now.) His favorite thing to do is find Baby Yoda memes and text them to his friends from school (with my approval of course lol.) Here are a couple Baby Yoda pictures in case you have been living under a rock and missed out!

I also took the boys to Fat Cats on Saturday for an afternoon of bowling and arcade games while Avery was at a birthday party and Josh was at work. I schooled Gabe in air hockey but he won in bowling.

Next time I will talk about Christmas and how we revealed a BIG SURPRISE to the kids about our travel plans for January! Merry Christmas! (This was our best attempt at a nice family picture before church today!)