So much to be Thankful for

 Adam makes a good binkie.

 

 

 I tried to get them to wear the hair for Halloween but they wouldn't.  Don't they make cute little girls??

 

 

in time out

 

 

 

November 12th marked 1 1/2 years since we lost Ryan.  Or as I should say, 1 1/2 years closer till we will be with him again.  We were so blessed to have him for 14 wonderful years.  We miss him deeply, but will be patient and faithful so we can be together again.  The promise of forever makes it worth it.

 

 

 Jaime and her cousin Benjamin

 

 

We made these cute little turkeys out of oreos for Thanksgiving.  Yummy Yummy

 

Thanksgiving day

We are so thankful that families can be together forever!!!!!

 

Adam made this at school.  Check out the scarecrow's name.  It really touched my heart.  He loves his brother Ryan so much.

 

 

 Temple Square

   We went to see the lights the day after Thanksgiving.  It was a balmy 40 degrees, unlike last year when it was in the teens.  We had a nice time. 

 

Alex being a good big brother.

 

 

 

Waiting for dinner at Maddox. 

 

 We remembered Mike's dad Stan yesterday with the Lott and Newman families at Maddox. December 10th marks the 20th anniversary of his passing. What a legacy he started. I look forward to the day when I will meet him and am able to give him a big hug and tell him not only thank you for raising a wonderful son, but thank you for taking care of my son. I am so comforted knowing he and Ryan are up there together doing the Lord's work.

 Have you been naughty or nice ?????

My cute little reindeer - Ethan.  Or as he likes to be called, Stink Brain.

 

 

 

 

Lotts of fun pictures from Oct

 I couldn't resist on this one.

 

 

 Adam helping pick apples at a ward member's house.  We have made a lot of yummy apple pies.

 

 

 Jaime and I went to Arctic Circle for some snacks after her first choir concert.  They sounded great and we were so proud of her.  She also got a 4.0 on her first report card from Jr. High and we are thrilled.  She loves being in young womens and is doing so well on her Personal Progress goals.  We love her very much.

 

 

   My cute shopping buddy

 

 

 

We had fun sleeping in our trailer a few weeks ago in our drive way.  It made for a super easy mini camping trip.  Wow, does it beat tent camping.  We should have figured this out years ago.

 Oct 12th  

 

 

Adam is so happy to be in Ryan's old room.  He loves it so much.  He loves all the Texas Longhorn things and has many items that Ryan once had in his room.  He has such a sweet and special connection with Ryan and I know Ryan is happy to share his things.  It was hard making this transition but I took baby steps along the way.  It was easier knowing how happy it would make Adam.  I have left the shelves in Ryan's closet with some of his things and don't know if I will ever be ready to completely move everything out.

 

 

 Alex has had a blast going fishing with my dad.  They take the canoe to Mantua Lake and have really caught a lot of fish.  I am glad they will have these special memories together.

 

 

 

 Our "Super Eagle Scout"

 

 

 

 

Look what we found on a bike ride.  It was dead so I let him bring it along.  He later went to show a friend.  Then he and the friend apparently lost it in the friend's house.  Gross.  They looked and looked and had no luck.  The family looked as well and finally gave up.  The next day Mike went out to get our mail and guess what he found....  the dead snake.  I guess Ethan has a bad memory and didn't remember hiding it in there.  I was relieved as I really didn't want to have a dead rotting snake in the neighbor's house.  Moral of the story...  don't let your kids carry around dead snakes.  To bad I probably won't be able to stick to this myself.

 

Having fun carving pumpkins. 

 I was in charge of pack meeting this month so the scouts carved pumpkins in our garage.  The pumpkins were then displayed in the Hooper Halloween Haunt.  Boy did my garage stick like pumpkin guts.

 

 

Practicing for Halloween

 

(Adam did this himself.  It made me laugh so much.)

 

 

For UEA weekend we took a trip to Goblin Vally in Central Utah.  The weather was great and we had a blast.  Poor little Adam did have the 24 hour flu on one of the days but still found the energy to run around a little.

 

 We rented this vehicle for the trip as ours was in the shop.  Mike enjoyed the smooth ride a little too much which lead him to getting pulled over in Price Canyon.  The cop was nice and dropped the ticket to only 5 over (which still cost us $90).  Mike wasn't amused that I thought it was kind of funny.  I have gotten two tickets since we have been married and this was his first.  At least I wasn't mad...  right??  In Mike's defense, we were going down a hill when he got pulled over.  Sorry babe I couldn't resist in sharing.

 

 

 Goblin Valley is so stunning.  Pictures don't do it justice.  The kids had fun exploring.  And no, we didn't see the one that was destroyed by those men on the news.

 

 

 We hiked through a slot canyon a few miles away from Goblin Valley.   It was awesome.  It is amazing that it was carved by millions of years of water and wind. (There happens to be an open spot on the back row perfect for Ryan.) 

 

 

 

 

 

We went repelling in Price after Goblin Valley.  I am not sure why it was on my bucket list, but it was.  After much prayer and a patient teacher, I braved it over the 140 foot cliff.  I was so scared I cried a little but no tears came out.  It only took a few minutes to get down.  I was so glad to have my feet on the ground and to be safe.  Maybe someday I will try it again, but if not I at least did it once.  Mike and Alex were more brave and went down a few times. 

 

 

 

 

Alex's Eagle Court of Honor

Oct 26, 2013

 

We are so proud of Alex and all of his hard work.  It was a great ceremony.  The highlight was the live eagle Liberty and of course Alex getting the award.  Thank you to all the family and friends and leaders who helped him along the way.  He couldn't have done this without you.

 

 

Happy Halloween

 

 Go Longhorns.  I got many compliments on my pink hair.  I did chicken out and decide not to wear it to church on Sunday.

 

 

 

Not exactly sure what Jaime was, but she had fun, even though she got mistaken for a boy about 6 times.

 

 

The Eagle has landed

 

 

All are invited.  Come join us in honor of Alex and all of his hard work.

 

 

Needless to say we are all Happy Happy Happy.

Lotts of fun in September

Ethan's first day of preschool.  Ok, so it's his third, first day of preschool.  He has taken three years of preschool and will officially graduate in the spring and move on to kindergarten next fall.  He barely missed the deadline for starting this year but I am totally fine with that.

The Eagle has landed!!!!

Alex had his Eagle board of review on September 4, 2013 and officially became an Eagle scout.  Needless to say he is Happy Happy Happy.  His Eagle court of honor will be held on October 26th.  We are so excited and proud of all of his hard work.

How cute !!!  I think he's a Bear.

 Alex's Arrow of Light

The boys started playing soccer this fall and love it.  It is very entertaining to watch and they look so cute out there.  Ethan scored his first (and so far only) goal during the first game.  He was so excited to receive the dollar we promised him for every goal.  He loves to play goalie and was so excited his uniform is orange. 

Adam never ceases to amaze us with his talent.  I am not sure where he gets it as neither Mike or I have ever played or really even practice with him.  He is a natural.  We decided that this year is the last year we will pay him for goals since we are going broke.  We were grateful he was ok with us lowering his amount to 50 cents a goal.  Who knows maybe we have a pro on our hands???

September 12, 2013

The time seems to fly by and yet it feels like it's been an eternity since we lost Ryan.  The kids still enjoy remembering him by setting off balloons and wearing orange.  We miss him so much and look forward to our reunion at some unknown time in the future.

My dear sweet aunt passed away on September 13, 2013 after a bravely fought battle with breast cancer.  My heart was full knowing that my sweet son was up there waiting to greet her and welcome her Home.  Tears of joy flowed because I know they are together in Paradise.  I am thankful she was able to give him the hug I so long to give myself, but I know that I will get my turn someday.

Go Aggies!!!

Before the rain

We have started a new tradition of attending a USU football game.  It is actually pretty fun to watch and I am kind of figuring things out.  It's pretty sad my seven year old knows more about the game than me but oh well, such is life. 

Ethan was so excited to see the "Moose".  We had to nicely inform him that it is a bull.  Big Blue actually gave him a big hug before he posed for this picture.  It was the highlight of our night.

During the rain 

 

It poured down rain for over half of the game.  The kids didn't want to leave and so we stayed to the finish.  It wasn't actually too bad and we stayed mostly dry.  Thank goodness I planned ahead with the ponchos or we would have been soaked.  The Aggies beat Weber State 70-6.  I am glad Weber was able to score (even though Mike wasn't) and it wasn't a shut out.  Anyways, I have a little Weber in my blood because I have taken an online class through them and will most likely graduate from there some day.  Go Aggies!! Go Wildcats!!

So Mike and I are officially True Aggies.  Yep, we braved the madness and were by the A at midnight of Homecoming, Sept 13, 2013.   Let's just say we felt totally out of place and could have been most of the student's parents, but we did it.  We didn't want to wait in line for hours to get our official card so hopefully it still counts.

Ethan's field trip to the Syracuse fire station on September 17, 2013

Ryan's field trip to the Syracuse fire station back when he was in preschool.  He's the one in the middle.  Boy how time flies.

I can't believe my baby will be 5 in a few short hours.  He has been so excited and has been telling everyone for weeks.  I asked him what he wanted for a present today and he told me a purse like the one his cousin has, because it is cute.  Oh boy,  I don't think so.  I did let him carry around a little Nemo purse last week.  Nemo is a boy and it was orange so that's ok, right??  It also had a Kiss figurine (the gross rock star, with his tongue sticking out) on it and that's totally boy.  Right???  The crazy things parents allow there last child to get away with.


Mike and Alex tonight at the Broncos game

For Alex's early graduation present, he and Mike attended the Broncos vs. Raiders game in Denver.  They flew out there this morning and will be home tomorrow in time for Ethan's celebration.  They had a fun time.  Denver beat the Raiders (or as Ethan referred to them, the Trailers) 37-21.  It's an especially great victory considering Mike's brother Matt loves the Raiders and they feuded over them growing up.  Now we just hope Alex actaully graduates- right??  Just kidding.




Once again, I am so thankful for all of my blessings.  I would be lost without the gospel and my faith.  It brings me hope, peace, comfort and true happiness.  I have great friends and family.  I have a wonderful husband and five terrific kids...  and someday we will all be together again forever.  Isn't that wonderful!!!


My niece will be leaving on a mission to South Carolina in a few short weeks.  How wonderful it is she will be able to share this joyous message of eternal life and forever families with them.