Our Story: The Bell Family

I was surprised to find that I can’t create any more posts because I’ve reached the storage limit on the free version of Word Press!

We will be moving our blog to blogger! Please go to ourstorybellfamily.blogspot.com

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“See” you on our new blog!! 🙂

On Sunday, I was subbing the CTR 5 class in primary. The ward clerk was sitting in front of me and he turned around and said, “Oh yeah, you teach this class now don’t you?” Haha! I hadn’t officially been told that, but knew from talking with the primary president that I probably was going to. After church, I met with a member of the bishopric and found out that, yes, I am teaching the CTR 5 class! I also will be helping with primary activities for the 9-10 year old girls. I’m really excited for these callings and the two wonderful sisters I get to work with! I’ve started a list of possible activities to do with the girls and think it will be a lot of fun!

Monday was the last day of holiday break for me! I’ve been soaking up my free time by reading a ton! It’s been so fun! We also each got AirPods Pro on Monday! We saved up some of our own money and then used Christmas money from my parents to get them on a New Year’s sale. It’s so fun having nice technology! Mark put his coat on, anxiously waiting by the door when we could see the mailman at the box. And then the mailman brought them to our door haha.

We had a few appointments that kept us busy this week. We took Flynn to the dermatologist for a follow up. Everything is looking good so we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing for now! Mark and I went to the temple on Wednesday. We haven’t done a session for a really long time! I also had a dentist appointment this week. The hygienist I had was awesome, but then I waited almost an hour for the dentist. I finally had to ask if he could just look at the x-rays and call me so I could go home. He never called so everything must have looked fine. We haven’t been very impressed by this new dentist so I think we’ll be looking for a new one. Our long-time dentist retired recently and we were just trying the guy who took over the office.

Mark spent some time in his office working on his dissertation and preparing to apply for jobs. He sent in his first job application Saturday evening to Dixie State. We’re excited about the possibility of staying in Utah so we’re can be close to family. He also took a new grad student around campus to give her a tour this week.

For our date on Friday, we had a “Chopped” challenge. I gave Mark two ingredients to use when making dinner and he gave me two ingredients to use in dessert. Mark used the assigned tofu and coconut milk to make a curry with rice noodles. It was amazing and I think we’ll make it again! I made monkey bread with my assigned cinnamon bears and cream cheese. As I was making it, Make suggested I put a piece of cinnamon bear inside the balls of dough. That turned out to be a delicious idea!

BYUI officially started this Wednesday. I’m teaching one section of Parent Education and doing one credit’s worth of grading for English Connect 3. Mark doesn’t start school until next Monday.

Mark got to do some fun things before school starts next week! He went snowshoeing with my brother on Wednesday. It rained on them and they were soaked! Mark’s shirt was soaking even under his coat. He also went shooting with a friend on Saturday.

Sunday morning, Mark woke up feeling pretty sick. We decided to stay home and watch church on Zoom to make sure we didn’t spread whatever he had. I was a little sad not to be there when I was released, but it wasn’t a big deal. We decided Mark should get a Covid test because my family planned to gather this week and we didn’t want to risk giving them Covid. So Monday morning, Mark went to Lee’s for a Covid test. We stayed home this week except for the occasional times when mark went to his office to work (no one else is in his office during holidays). My parents were super nice and brought us left over Christmas food to enjoy while isolating! By Thursday, we STILL didn’t have Mark’s test results but we were beginning to suspect it was covid because the photographer we were with last week tested positive and several of Mark’s family members were sick too. I was getting stressed because I needed to know if I could commit to substituting in primary on Sunday, so I asked around and found out about a rapid testing site! Mark and I both went and had results in 15 minutes! Both tests were negative! Yay! We know the long term tests can be more accurate than the rapid ones so we were extra relieved when his slower test came in later that night with a negative result too.

There was enough snow that my sisters didn’t come visit as planned. So it was ok that we were isolating all week-we didn’t miss any gatherings. My family did get on Zoom one evening to share the annual memory stories we write. This year we all wrote about our memories playing games.

I worked for webaim on Wednesday and Thursday. I also got my BYUI class all set up. Mark worked on his dissertation chapter and maps. He also started writing a CV for job applications. The majority of our time was spent relaxing though, which was so nice and very needed. We watched Home Improvement, read books, and we played our new game, Wingspan, every day!

I especially spent a lot of time reading this week! It made me so happy to spend hours reading during Christmas break like I did as a teenager. I read four books this week which wrapped up my reading goal for the year nicely! I made a goal to read 21 books in 2021, and ended the year with 55 books!

My dad dropped by with a surprise gift this week-a really warm camping blanket! He had given one to my mom for Christmas and I loved it so he brought one to me! It was perfect for a snuggly week inside when it was really really cold (like 1 degree) outside!

For New Year’s Eve, Mark made us borscht for dinner. We looked at all our pictures from 2021 while eating. It was fun to see all the happy moments we had this year. Then we went to my parents’ house to play a few games with them. Before too late, we came home. We baked brownies, played a couples’ new Year game, drank sparkling cider, and watched Home Improvement in our matching pajamas until midnight!

2022 is going to bring a lot of changes which makes us excited (and makes me nervous)! We plan for Mark to graduate and don’t know where he will find a job! We have faith everything will work out though, and we look forward to seeing where we are and what we’re doing one year from now!

Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful holiday week!! First off, a bit of news- after church on Sunday, I was told I was going to be released from my calling as primary president. I actually knew about the change before my meeting with the bishopric member. My second counselor was called to be the new primary president and she let me know last Thursday. This was very helpful and important knowledge to have as we were planning teachers for next year! I’m so glad my friend told me so we could make plans and so I could know it would be my last Sunday in primary. I was able to bear my testimony to the kids. They don’t know I’m being released yet since the official change will happen next Sunday. I spent a lot of time this week getting things ready to hand off to the new primary president. I tried to take care of ordering any supplies they will need in January so they will have a few less things to think about. I’m excited for the new presidency! They’ll do a fantastic job and the kids will love them!

Sunday evening, we drove around to look at Christmas lights and my parents came too! We went to Smithfield to see the light show WebAIM’s assistant director puts on. It was awesome! Then we meandered home looking at other lights and listening to Christmas music together.

Monday afternoon, my brother asked if I would deliver donuts for him. He used my Grandma Murray’s recipe and made a big batch of donuts for our aunts, uncles, and cousins that live in the area. I picked up Mark from campus when he was done and we delivered a ton of donuts! When we were at my aunt, Jolene’s, house she showed us the fox that was hunting in the fields behind her house! It was so cool! After deliveries, we had a quick dinner and then hopped on Zoom for the Murray Family Christmas party. I can’t wait until COVID is better under control so we can have these parties in person again, but for now Zoom is a good substitute. Each family gave an update and shared something they did to light the world this year.

During Mark’s lunch break on Tuesday we did an activity we called “Last minute Christmas shopping.” We went to the DI and each had a budget to find an inexpensive gift for each other. It could be a nice gift or a white elephant gift. Neither of us found anything too exciting, so we both ended up telling the other person what to get us haha. So it didn’t go exactly as planned, but it was still fun to be out together. I chose a couple books and Mark chose a couple movies.

Tuesday evening, Mark’s cousin, Carrie, came by to visit. She’s so sweet and it was fun to catch up with her! Funny enough, while she was there visiting, their second cousin, J’ana, dropped by with a Christmas gift. So we had a mini family reunion for Mark’s family!

Thursday morning, I worked earlier than normal so we could get on the road to go see Mark’s parents in Blackfoot. It’s a good thing I adjusted my schedule because it started snowing just before we arrived.

Mark spent that afternoon with his brother working on their guns. I hung out and visited as they worked. That evening, the whole family met at a barn-turned-event-center for family photos. It’s the first time the whole family has been together for a long time. The photographer was super fast and I think we got some good pictures!

Friday morning, most of the family went to help clean the church building. I was able to stay at the house and help a little with breakfast and setting out presents. We had a big breakfast with the whole family that morning, read a couple of Christmas stories, and then opened presents. We helped pay for family photos, so that was our biggest gift for Mark’s parents. Then we had Chris’s family for the sibling gift exchange. We were able to get them matching pajamas from my aunt who works at Lazy One. We gave our sister in law a gel nail polish kit, Chris got a tumbling target, and we gave the girls duo Lego blocks. I love planning presents for others so it was really fun to think of something for everyone! We’re really excited for our dates around the world that we got from Mark’s sister and her family! We had a great time visiting everyone!

Around lunch time, we were back on the road driving home. I’ve been checking the weather daily and praying there wouldn’t be too much snow. It was snowing for the first thirty minutes, but the roads were practically dry after that!

That evening, we had Christmas Eve Dinner with my parents. My mom cooked all the food, but I was in charge of setting the table. Thanks to Pinterest, it turned out really nice! We had a nice, quiet dinner with just the four of us and then read a little Christmas program before dessert.

At home that night, Mark and I watched Eloise at Christmastime and we each got to open one present.

Christmas Day was practically perfect in every way! We woke up earlyish without an alarm clock and started off by reading scriptures by the Christmas tree. We all had matching pajamas (thanks to my cousin and aunt)!

Then we looked to see what Santa left in our stockings and began opening presents. I was sooooo excited for Mark to open his dremel, Strikeman laser training system, and the Hedwig Lego set. He loved them all! Mark was so thoughtful in his gift giving and found some really cute earrings for me, a journal edition of the Old Testament (which is HUGE), Chutes & Ladders, and a donut pan (for baked cake donuts). We realized though, the donut pan is too big for our half-size oven! Oops! I guess I’ll have to bake donuts at my parents’ house until we move. Flynn excited about his burrowing bed, wool balls, and treats!

We made avocado caprese toast for breakfast. It was delicious and very festive!

After breakfast, we headed to my parents’ to give them their Christmas gifts. My mom liked her African Violet and my Dad was really excited for his candy dispenser! I had another present to open at their house from Mark. It was really big and Mark thought I might see what it was if it was delivered to our house. I had no idea what it was, but I had been joking it was a miniature pony. I planned to name him Winston. 🙂 Turns out Winston is actually an exercise bike! We’re going to have to rearrange a few things to make space for it, but it’s going to be so nice to take a break from the exercise videos I do every day.

We visited my brother for a little while. He had my name this year for our sibling gift exchange. Our theme was “favorite things.” He kept teasing he was going to give me a bee hive. Instead, he went with circus animal cookies, his favorite candies, and some chipotle powder he made. I’m happy I didn’t get any bees!!

We spent the rest of Christmas Day at home! My parents came to deliver the exercise bike and to see our presents. While Mark put together my bike, I tried to learn how to play the new game we got, Wingspan.

We decided to make a charcuterie board to munch on in the evening instead of a full dinner. It was really fun planning it and putting it together! I think it turned out well and it was delicious! We watched Encanto while eating. We thought it was an ok movie, but not our favorite.

We spent the rest of the evening watching Home Improvement (one of Mark’s gifts) while Mark built his Lego set and I colored in my new coloring book. I was really impressed Mark built Hedwig in just one evening! It was a big and complicated Lego set. It’s really cool because you can turn a handle and her wings flap!

I look forward to Christmas all year and it just goes too quickly! Luckily, we have some time planned for fun and relaxation next week too! And I can start looking forward to and planning Mark’s birthday!

This was such a fun week! We’re just soaking up Christmas time and all the magical and fun moments that come with it! We did A LOT of fun things this week, so prepare yourself for a longer blog.

Monday, was WebAIM’s holiday luncheon. We went to Crumb Brother’s and ate in their special back room for catered events. Each team member got to bring one guest. Mark and I had so much fun talking with my colleagues and their spouses. Also, the food was delicious!

We decided, for the twelve days leading up to Christmas to do “Twelve Dates of Christmas.” We planned one fun date each day. Most of them are just simple activities to do at home, but it’s been a lot of fun! Monday evening we watched a nativity video together.

Tuesday after work and walking Flynn, I met with my primary presidency over Zoom to finalize teacher spots for 2022. Then I immediately hopped onto a Zoom meeting for work. That evening, we made paw print ornaments using a kit my sister, Marisa, gave us! It took a few tries, but turned out really cute!

Wednesday, Mark was the one who had extra meetings! He and his professor were supposed to drive to Salt Lake City for a meeting but due to the snow and ice the meeting was moved onto Zoom (thank goodness for Zoom!!). That evening, Mark and I walked around downtown Logan to look at gingerbread houses that were on display. Our favorites were the elves’ library and Calvin & Hobbes making snowman on the quad. Mark also really liked the farmhouse and barn one!!

Thursday morning, I graded my last couple of final exams and submitted final grades! Luckily, most of my students took the exam early so I was able to grade them as they trickled in instead of grading them all after the due date. I also finished up my contract hours for English Connect on Thursday morning! For the next couple weeks I’ll just have WebAIM work which is going to be lovely!!

Thursday morning, we also watched the special Christmas message from President Nelson! We were able to watch it together when it came out at 8:00 before Mark left for school. That evening, our date was reading our favorite Christmas Children’s books by the Christmas tree. We had to shuffle our dates around a bit because our car was in the shop for emission testing and to repair a windshield wiper that broke because of ice on the windshield. The mechanic fixed it so quickly and it was ready the next morning!

Friday, Mark had his FINAL final!!!! This is his last semester taking classes, so he won’t be on the student side of finals week again! He studied a lot and felt it went well!! It’s crazy to think he’s done with classes. Now, he gets to really focus on his dissertation and start applying for jobs. We really hope we can find a good job, close to family!

Friday evening was a lot of fun! I made a nice dinner-stuffed pasta shells and green salad. For our date, we went to Zootah lights. We got there when it started at 4:30 and had the zoo to ourselves until it was time to go home. I wore lots and lots of layers!

When we got home from the zoo, we did our Christmas Break Book tradition. Earlier, we had each picked a book to order from Amazon. On Friday, we wrapped and hid each other’s books. We were too tired to spend much time searching this year, so we gave each other hints to make it go faster haha! I think it would have taken a long time without hints! Mark hid mine in our flour bucket and I hid Mark’s behind our DVD’s. It really is wonderful sitting by the tree reading together after we find our books. So peaceful. One of my favorite Christmas feelings. I got A Christmas Carol! I wanted to read the original book after seeing the play and movie last week. It was really fun to see all the details the play and movie implemented from the book. I got a beautiful, silk-covered version with illustrations. I read the whole thing that night!! Mark requested The Hobbit! He listened to it on audible earlier this year and really wanted to own a copy. We found a nice, illustrated version for him too!!

After Christmas Break Books, we put on our matching Christmas pajamas (thanks to my cousin who gave Flynn these pajamas last Christmas and my aunt who gave us these pajama pants last January) and got set up to sleep under the Christmas tree! We pulled our mattress out to the living room and ate brownies and peppermint ice cream in bed while watching The Santa Clause. It was such a fun evening and falling asleep under our Christmas tree was the perfect way to end it.

Saturday morning, (after a quick exercise session and putting away our bed) we made gingerbread reindeer pancakes. They were delicious and adorable! Mark cut the bacon to look like antlers and I baked the pancakes.

We spent the rest of Saturday relaxing and that evening we watched Christmas with the Kranks with my brother’s family. My sister in law loves that movie so it’s a lot of fun to watch it with them!!

It was such a great week and we’re very excited for next week and all the Christmas moments ahead!!

This week was BUSY! But a lot of fun. 🙂

Sunday we had teacher council. We didn’t know if my presidency members would be well enough to help, so Mark took my lesson plans and lead the primary teacher council discussion. I stayed in the primary room and taught a lesson to the children. Luckily, one of my counselors and my Secretary came!! Everything went well! It was a little hard for the kids to be in one room for 50 minutes, but the substitutes were helpful and my Presidency and I jumped in wherever there was need of extra support. Mark felt like the teacher council went great!

Sunday evening we ran around Christmas gifts and Christmas cards to family and friends, then watched the Christmas Devotional with my parents. I think it officially feels like the Christmas season now!

Mark went on a flight this Tuesday, collected birds on Great Salt Lake on Wednesday, and put in more time writing the second chapter of his dissertation throughout the week! Saturday morning and late Saturday night, he was in his office writing.

I met with the student study groups for my BYUI class this week. I love hearing their experiences from the parenting class they taught. Another student asked to meet with me individually. She just wanted to thank me for my help this semester. That made me pretty happy! It’s been a great semester!

On Thursday, I picked up twenty loaves of cinnamon bread from Great Harvest. It was our thank you/Christmas present for the primary workers. I’m so grateful one of my counselors was feeling well enough to help deliver them! That evening, between two BYUI student meetings, Mark drove me around the neighborhood and I delivered half of the loaves. We have the best primary workers and it was really fun to brighten their day a bit.

Friday evening, was our ward Christmas celebration. We had a concert and then donuts after (though Mark and I didn’t stay for dessert). It was so fun! We have a very musical ward and there was a great variety of music. I absolutely loved having a specific reason to practice my flute and it was so fun to perform again. I played a really fun arrangement of Hark! The Harold Angels Sing.

My parents decided to join us for the concert. After the concert, we went to their house to watch A Christmas Story. Mark and I made homemade egg nog for the first time and brought some to share during the movie. I also tried out the pink bunny suit my mom bought a while ago!

Saturday afternoon we went to see A Christmas Carol by the Four Seasons Theater company. It was beautifully done, as always. The little boy who played Tiny Tim has some genetic disorders, one of which makes his feet unstable, so it was very realistic and very sweet. We came home singing the songs and definitely feeling like Christmas! We even decided to watch the Muppet Christmas Carol that night to make it a full day of Christmas Carol! It was so fun!

Also! Mark surprised me with a charcuterie board this week! Our plan is to have a Christmas charcuterie platter instead of a big dinner on Christmas Day. I was just going to use one of our serving platters, but now I have a pretty board to use! I’m so excited! It actually was supposed to be a Christmas present, but it was delivered to our door unwrapped so I accidentally saw it. Poor Mark has the worst luck with surprises being ruined! But I’m very excited to get my board all planned and ready for Christmas!

This was one of the most stressful weeks we’ve had in a long time, but we made it through!! There just seemed to be a lot of things that went wrong this week. For example, we spent hours trying to figure out a problem with my health insurance. I finally got an angel to answer when I called for the third time. Every worker previously had said there was no problem with my insurance (but it still wasn’t working). This awesome lady stayed on the phone with me for an hour while she called different departments and worked out the problem. I wish I could send her a Christmas gift!

Mark is staying busy with classes and he drove Dr. Conover’s class on a field trip to the Compass Mineral company this week. This company extracts salt from Great Salt Lake. After class on Friday, Mark drove to Blackfoot to help balance his sister’s tires.

I stayed busy with preparations for primary. We had a boy get baptized on Saturday so I got to help a little with that. I spent a lot of time preparing for this Sunday. It’s teacher council. It was my turn to lead the teacher Council, but with my presidency members being a little out of commission, we decided to have Mark lead the discussion I had prepared. That meant I would be available to teach a lesson to the primary children, so I spent a lot of time planning that and a little Christmas activity to send home with each family. We are also filling in a few holes for teachers in 2022 and choosing birthday gifts for the next year. It’s a busy time of year for primary!

I did get to go fishing with my dad a couple of times this week! We had a lot of fun and caught some nice trout! They have made some yummy dinners for us!

I decided to bake something from the Great British Bake off finale- a carrot cake. My pans ended up being too small and the batter overflowed into a huge mess! Luckily, I had the foresight to put a cookie sheet under the pans. My decorating wasn’t as good as I’d hoped, but the cake did end up tasting delicious.

Monday we got our COVID booster vaccines! For a while, only those who worked in high risk jobs or those with immune needs could get the booster. Last week, Governor Cox encouraged everyone to get their booster because many areas in Utah are high risk right now. We’re grateful we could get the booster before the holidays! Our arms were barely sore, but Mark’s armpit was sore a few days after! His family taught us that your lymph nodes can become swollen when fighting off viruses. It was a strange reaction! We both felt well other than that!

Monday we were also able to take dinner to our friends. The wife, who is the second counselor in my presidency, has a kidney stone and we wanted to help them. The craziest thing is that my first counselor text me on Monday to say she had a kidney stone too! Such a crazy coincidence. We were planning to meet in person this week to plan out teachers for 2022, so we’ll likely be doing a lot of planning through texting in the next little bit while they go through procedures and recovering.

Tuesday, I was asked to help with primary activities for the older girls. Mark helped with the boys’ activity last week so it was fun that I got to go this time! The girls played a bunch of fun thanksgiving games.

Wednesday, all the real holiday fun started!! Early in the morning, I mixed up roll dough. While I was working, Mark rolled out the rolls and put them in the oven. After a quick lunch, we drove to Blackfoot to be with Mark’s family. Mark was able to help his little brother change some tires before dinner. We brought a chocolate mousse pie and rolls, then we made roasted carrots there. The carrots were burnt on the outside and raw on the inside because the oven temperature was high for the cooking turkey… oh well. They weren’t too bad, but will hopefully be better next time. It was nice to have time to relax and visit there! We drove home later that evening.

Wednesday morning, after a quick workout, I spent the whole morning baking and cooking. I made a caramel apple tart and a green bean salad. I just saw this salad recipe on The Kitchen on Saturday and was excited to try it! It’s inspired by green bean casserole, but it’s much healthier! Mark helped me get started and then went to donate plasma while I finished everything up.

At 1:00 we had dinner with my parents and my sister Tiffany and her family. One of her daughter’s had covid a couple weeks ago so we were especially grateful everyone was healthy and well enough to be together! After dinner, we went for a walk, ate pie, then watched The Blindside.

At home, Mark and I watched the National Dog Show. It’s one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving. I just love seeing all the different breeds and learning what they were bred to do. Mark was so awesome to figure out how to get a free trial of YouTube TV so we could record it and watch it later. Here’s a picture of Flynn “cheering” for the Havanese.

Friday morning at 7:00, I picked up Tiffany and her three oldest daughters. We went to Kohl’s and had so much fun together. After that, we went back to my parents’ for a post-Thanksgiving Zumba workout which was also a lot of fun.

That afternoon, I went fishing at first dam with my dad and a niece and nephew. My Dad was so nice to buy me a fishing license for my Christmas present! Most of the fish we caught were small so we released some. We caught quite a few though! Mark and I cooked up a couple for dinner that night (using the new pans I got at Kohl’s that morning!)!

Flynn even got a little taste of unseasoned fish which he gobbled up!!

Friday, we also put up our Christmas tree!! It’s the tallest tree we’ve had and it’s just so beautiful! We really lucked out that the two trees we found in the forest were both great! Friday night we decorated the tree and the apartment while watching the live action How the Grinch Stole Christmas and eating left over pie. This time of year is beautiful and magical. I want to soak in every moment because, while I want Christmas to come, I know it always comes and goes too quickly!

On Saturday, Mark went hunting with Dr. Conover. They didn’t see any pheasants, but it gave me a good chance to wrap up Mark’s presents while watching a cheesy Christmas romance movie. So fun!! It was a wonderful vacation. It’s going to be hard to go back to work on Monday, but there are so many fun Christmas activities to look forward to!

Oh, and our niece, Whitney, made a tiny hat for Flynn! It was so cute but he liked it better as a chew toy. He didn’t want to give it back to us!

Mark collected Greebes on Monday, had a flight on Tuesday, and led a field trip on Friday.

Thursday evening we got to watch a broadcast leadership training for church leadership in the Utah area. It was informative, and it was nice to watch from home on Zoom!

I baked another tart this week. The crust is called a Sable Breton- it’s more like a shortbread cookie than a regular tart. On top was peach raspberry jam, mascarpone cream, raspberries, and white chocolate. Yum!

There’s not too much else to report this week! We’re getting excited for the Christmas season. I started wrapping my friends’ Christmas presents and I’ve been writing addresses on Christmas cards. I found this cool technique for wrapping presents on Pinterest and am having a lot of fun with it! It’s perfect because it has a built-in pocket for cards.

We celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary! It’s crazy how fast time goes! On Friday morning, I worked and Mark went to class. Then we headed to Salt Lake City! We spent the afternoon at Hogle Zoo. The weather was perfect and it wasn’t too crowded. Our favorites this time were the seals and sea lions working with the trainers and then the baby monkeys. It was a lot of fun. We also went to Applebee’s for dinner. It was a really nice anniversary!

We did a little gift exchange for our anniversary too! Mark gave me the first two Fantastic Beasts movies. We’ve never seen them so we’re excited! I decided to give Mark five small gifts for our fifth anniversary- one for every sense. He got a watch band, bubble bath, potato chips, tickets to the cheap movie theater, and a pentatonix Christmas cd.

This week’s baking theme was “free-from.” I made ice cream sandwiches that were dairy free. I really liked this ice cream recipe and want to make it again!