For Christmas of 2024, Nathan gave Kevin, Malia and I an experience gift consisting of a trip to Color Me Mine. Malia’s gift certificate also specified that lunch would be included. But after Christmas break, everyone went back to school. And as is common in college, balancing school, work, and church callings left Nathan with very little free time. Once school ended in May/June, we were up to our eyeballs in prepping Matthew to head to Arkansas and planning a wedding. The week after the wedding, everyone went back to school. So those experiences didn’t happen in the timely manner that we had all anticipated. We did head to Color Me Mine during Nathan’s fall break this year, but Malia ascertained that it did not count as her gift because 1) lunch was not included and 2) an outing where Kev and I were in on the fun was absolutely not the outing with her brother that she expected. I know we are old and boring, so I get where she is coming from. LAUGHING WITH TEARS SMILEY However, during our adventure in the fall, a plan was hatched in which Malia would be transported to Logan between Christmas and New Year’s to spend some time with her older siblings.
Nathan was home for a week and when he went back to Logan on Sunday evening, Malia went with them. She stayed with Daniel and Tawni, so some coordinating of schedules was necessary as they were in Orem with Tawni’s family all day on Sunday. Once they all made it back north, they gathered at Daniel and Tawni’s abode and played games. I love that playing games is such a beloved pastime for my kiddos. It is so much more interactive than just watching a movie. Not that they don’t do that too, and not that a movie viewing can’t be a fun social activity, especially when the film is accompanied by much joking and commentary, but in my opinion, playing games is a great way to enjoy the company of others and get to know them really well. I mean, a rousing round of any number of games can tell you a lot about a person. You learn who is super competitive, who is a poor loser, who takes things too seriously, who is a fantastic problem solver, who is willing to take a loss for the team, etc. And to throw in a real-life example of how game playing can help you get to know people, Daniel and Tawni met in a Dungeons and Dragons group. They played weekly for two years before they decided they wanted to give dating a try. So, they have proven that being an avid game player can lead to marital bliss. WINKY SMILY But editorializing aside, they gathered, they played, they stayed up late, they had lots of fun.
Yesterday was a full day of sibling time. Tawni had to work for a few hours in the morning, so Daniel, Nathan and Malia played more games while she was gone. Then they all headed to Raising Cane’s for lunch. This not only filled the obligatory “lunch” portion of the Christmas gift, but Cane’s is one of Malia’s most favorite meals ever. Nathan may be addicted to Chick-fil-a, but Malia is hooked on Cane’s. And in her defense, they do make one of the better versions of fast-food chicken fingers. The menu is not as varied as Chick-fil-a, but where food allergies are concerned, often that is beneficial. Anyway, it has been probably a month since the last time we hit Cane’s, so Malia was definitely ready for a dose of fingers and fries.
After lunch, they went to Color Me Mine and exercised their creativity. Apparently, the location in Logan has fancier paint options than the one we visited, because Nathan sent us details on all the cool speckled paints they have. Several of the kids made use of said fancy paints, and I’m excited to see how everything turns out. That’s one of the fun things about painting ceramics. The color and luster of the paint are completely different once they are fired, so you make a plan based on your desired end result, but don’t really get to see how it will all work out until you pick up your pieces. It’s also fun to see what piece each person chooses. There are lots of options and I don’t think I’ve ever done an outing where more than one person selected the same item.
Once they were done painting, they visited the Pepperidge Farm store at the factory up there. With all the goodies significantly cheaper than at normal retail stores, they loaded up on goldfish crackers and Milano cookies. Nathan even grabbed a couple of bags of the new white chocolate Milano cookies that I can eat sans headache. They are so good! And I appreciate that he thinks of me. Malia, who is hooked on hoodies, also came home with a Goldfish logoed sweatshirt.
In the evening, Daniel and Nathan got sent away since it was officially a girls’ night. Charlotte, one of Tawni’s sisters, joined them for pizza, nail painting, and a movie. With three brothers and no sisters, Malia hasn’t had the opportunity for a whole lot of girls’ nights. I mean, there have been some, especially with Kate, but those have been relatively few. So, Malia was pretty darn happy about the whole thing. She gets along really well with Tawni too. They text all the time and I could not be more pleased that Malia is getting a glimpse of what it is like to have a sister.
When Kev picked Malia up today, she was tired but happy. When the gift was given last Christmas, we did not yet know that there would be a sister-in-law to join in the fun. But having Tawni around has been such a blessing already. And as I’ve mentioned before, Malia misses her brothers so the chance to spend a few days with them was a fantastic thing for her. I just means that it was even quieter than usual around here…
