McAlister Matters

  After a year and 2 vaccine shots we decided to leave the bunker and head down to Moab. We spent 2 days in Arches and enjoyed the awesome scenery with warm weather. We had trained for a few months of walks with the kids so they were ready to hike! This time was extra fun because Grandpa and Grandma Musser came along! They gave Sarah and I a chance to hike Delicate Arch together which was a real treat. We also all got to hike the park avenue trail which requires some car shuttling. Paul (aka Batman) was a trooper and did all the hikes too, at his own pace. He was excited for the stair steps and liked to count them out loud. He kept us inspired by singing 'Be what I Believe' many times. He ate the trail mix but only the M&M's and was very specific which colors.  Half the people we passed commented on the princess in the carrier. Penny was a good sport and only complained when we buckled her in. She patted my back and said 'Da da' :) Then she usually passed out...

  Paul turned three last week. This big guy is growing up fast! He's in the sticker chart club now. We had a small birthday party with cake and ice cream. Sarah's parents were able to attend. Paul wanted a yellow cake so Sarah made a lemon cake with lemon frosting. Paul received some new train sets to play with, a nerf rocket pad and a Cat Bingo game. He's been learning the cats and his favorite is the Munchkin. Paul's a super sweet boy. He loves playing with his magnet blocks and likes to pretend they are food. He constructs sandwiches and pineapples with them. He's learning to ride his new Razor scooter and is walking by himself on our walks now, no more strollers. He's ready to do some hiking in Moab this month! Paul has all the cards of Dominion memorized and likes to watch the games and organize the cards afterwards. He likes to say the word dude. So we love having this little dude around. Click for more pics

  Little Penny turned one recently. She'd been walking for several weeks prior and starting to gain speed. She's got two top teeth to match her bottom ones. My mom came to visit for her birthday and stayed with us for several days. Penny warmed up to her pretty fast (and Slinky too!). She had Grandma Musser and Grandma Mimi at her birthday party and enjoyed her first piece of cake. Penny is a busy body, explores all over the house and is a climber. She likes to climb up on Paul's bed and mess it up. He doesn't like it so much. Penny says one distinguishable word...kitty. She says it clearly whenever she spots Slinky who stays a safe distance away. Penny loves walking around in the backyard. She doesn't like socks except to eat. Whatever she doesn't like to eat she throws on the floor. She likes to help with the dishes and play notes on the piano. She brightens all our lives. More pics!  

  It's been hard to call this much of a winter. The weather was relatively warm for January and February until this last week. We've gotten very little snow. I had an enjoyable birthday last month. We've made several pies this year for some reason. Cottage cheese, butterscotch, pumpkin and cherry so far. Besides pies, it's been a winter of cleaning. Each Saturday we've had a different room or area to deep clean. Last week was the bathrooms. This week it's the family room. It's been really beneficial to go through all our stuff, take inventory and purge a lot of old useless stuff. I think it's also inspired us to make little improvements in all the areas too. Kudos to Sarah for leading the charge. Penny has stepped up her game this year. She's still a rug rat but she's on her feet a lot of the time and practices taking steps on her own. She does a funny forward scoot besides crawling that gets her around surprisingly fast. She still terrorizes Pau...

  We'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! We are disappointed that we won't be able to see everyone this year in person. It's been a good year in many ways despite the pandemic. We lost some vacations but we gained a pretty Penny! We found new ways to exercise, do school and visit remotely. We adopted some house plants and finally got a cat! Thankfully my job situation has been pretty stable and wasn't impacted by the pandemic too much.  Penny started crawling just two weeks ago but already wants to stand up next to everything and help with the dishes. She is already very speedy when she wants something and terrorizes poor Paul's block creations. She's like Godzilla to his tall towers. She's also still obsessed with the cat and laughs whenever she see's it. BTW, she has the cutest laugh!   When asked what he wants for Christmas Paul always replies that he wants a yellow present, and maybe a green or red one too. What's inside doesn't seem t...

There were no trick-or-treaters this year because of COVID-19. Instead, we had a scary Halloween candy hunt in our basement that the kids loved. Sarah made chocolate pudding brownie sundaes which were amazing. Kahlan was Cinderella, Juniper was Snow White, Paul was Spiderman and Penny was the Dalmatian of course. I had to dress up for my company costume zoom party. I showed up as Groucho. Recently Juni cut her hair. It was down to her waist so Sarah took off 4 or 5 inches. We carved pumpkins with the kids. Kahlan had to count all the seeds for a school assignment. Lately Paul likes turning on and off the lights. Penny's been sitting up and getting in crawling position. She also has her first tooth coming in! We're sad we can't travel or see many people this holiday season. Utah's COVID cases have spiked since school started. Hope everyone is staying safe! Click for more pics!  

This week on Labor Day we went to Farmington and played kick ball at a park with Sarah's family. While we were there Sarah found a cat for sale online that we decided we wanted to get. So we took the kids on a surprise drive and picked it up. The kids were so excited! So we got our very first family cat! We're calling her Slinky (Malinki). She's a beautiful Russian Blue / Siamese mix. She has emerald color eyes and soft fur. She's 7 months old and very affectionate. She took a few days getting adjusted to her new house. She retreats to the downstairs when things get too loud and crazy, but she's good with the kids and lets them pet and play with her. She was litter trained and is pretty respectful to everything. Slinky demands occasional affection throughout the day, which is great. We all really like having her as a new addition to the family!  Monday night the big wind storm hit us as the temperature dropped 40 degrees. We usually get strong winds from the canyons...