Candy Houses

To keep the kids busy one night we decided to do gingerbread houses. Within 3 min the boys had quit leaving it to be a Haley and Abi project. Whatever, boys are boring.

Haley made the one on the left. If you look closely there is blood dripping down the roof. Something about a snowman being squished to death. Really the red icing was too thin and dripped so we had to come up with a reason. I would like to think that it was a Zombie that attacked and the blood is all that is left from the people... moving on....

Abi's is on the right. She was very methodical and neat. All the same colors on each window and a grid pattern on the roof. That is my kind of house. Not that I am OCD at all...

Reindeer Romp

Haley started a program in October called Girls On The Run. It is a program for girls grades 3 to 5 that promotes good self esteem, health and wellness. The main part of the program was about setting good healthy goals and sticking to them. Haley's teacher at school ran the program at Channing. Haley loved it. The culmination of the program was a 5K run in Sugarhouse park on December 5th. It was completely freezing out (high of 20) while they were running and even though it was sunny most of the run was in the shade. I was going to run with her but since I am totally out of shape and lazy. Lewis was her running partner. They dressed up for the race and they looked great. Santa with his little elf. They finished in 46 min, which I think was pretty good considering the hills and cold that they had to deal with.

Thanksgiving

We started a family tradition about 4 years ago. We (I) decided that Thanksgiving is a hard holiday in a household of 4 children who are just like their mom picky eaters. I would make the whole spread and cook for two days just for them to eat turkey and pie. So we decided for my sanity to start going out for our big meal. It has been heaven ever since. We have been going to The Grand America in Salt Lake the past 2 years and we love it. This year we took my parents with us and we had a great time.

The girls happily get all dressed up in new dresses and the boys were button up shirts. This year Adam even put on pants! You might think that is funny but he wears shorts every single day unless he has to. In the past year he has worn pants twice. Once on Thanksgiving and once on Halloween but only because it was part of his costume.



We had a great time eating lunch. In the evening we all (including Adam) went to see Aurthur Christmas and have dinner at the movies. I LOVE our Thanksgiving tradition. It is just a day that we can be together and have fun without the fuss and mess. I am THANKFUL that my little family puts up with me and embraces my tradition :)

Hiking, Um Walking Around The Lake



We went up to Brighton and took the kids on a hike, well a walk around the lake. It was one of the last warm and sunny days that we had in November. There was snow on the ground and the lake was about half way frozen but if you stayed in the sun (easier said then done while you are on the far side of the lake) it was nice and warm.

Notice the stache on both Adam and Lewis. It was No Shave November after all.

Costumes and Parade

The kids got to wear their costumes to school on Friday. Everyone had great costumes this year. Adam was Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead, one of his favorite shows, Jason was the Sham"wow" guy, Haley was Hermione from Harry Potter, and Abi was a little ladybug. I got pictures of all of the kids (except for Adam) at the school's parade. 

Carving and Crying

The day after we got our pumpkins we had to carve them. Haley and Jason had a great time pretending to both eat and throw up the pumpkin guts.

Abi on the other hand had a hard day and could hardly function long enough to draw the face on her pumpkin. It all worked out and everyone got a pumpkin done. Adam's is a little different and not exactly carved, but it is done and dead all the same.

Picking Pumpkins

After school last week Lewis and I took the kids to the pumpkin patch to get pumpkins. The patch that we go to has tons of hay and corn stalks laid out to take pictures, a corn maze, and a ton of old tractors for the kids to climb on. The girls had a great time posing and the boys just picked out pumpkins. They also have a tractor takes you on a ride but we did not do that because we were starving and needed to leave and go to dinner.

Decorating Cakes

Abigail had a play date set up so I went to the store and got some decorating supplies. We decorated a ton of cupcakes. The girls had a great time and we got some yummy treats to eat!

Gardner Village

During UEA (a break from school) I took the kids to Gardner Village to see the witches and have some lunch. It was a very nice day with sunshine and warm temps. We ate sandwiches at the deli and walked around until we found the candy store. Each of the kids got one thing and we got a treat for Lewis too. Haley and Abi participated in the picture taking happily, Jason got in one or two and I think we managed to not get any of Adam at all.

Family Fun and Trail of Terror

We took the kids to a fun family corn maze. We all did the maze and then when it was dark we were all supposed to do the Trail of Terror. Well Jason saw some of the guys getting ready for the haunted part and saw that some of them were dressed as clowns, and as everyone knows clowns are a deal breaker for Jason. So Jason and Haley decided that they were going to be more safe sitting in the car playing on their I-pods. I almost chickened out but decided that since Abigail was going to give it a try, then so would I. It was a little scary but with Adam next to me so that I could hold on tight and close my eyes when I needed to, I was just fine. I didn't see much but what I did see scared me just enough. When we got into the building with the clowns I just shut my eyes and Adam had to scream at me to keep moving. Thanks Adam, you saved me. 

Awesome!

Check out this awesome pumpkin that a teacher brought into school this week. It was made by one of her "friends". Not a boyfriend, but a special friend all the same.

This is the school crest. I am just in awe by people that can create this kind of thing. He used a picture and cut just using sight. If I even want to do a smile I need to draw it on the pumpkin first.

 In September my brother Sam got sealed to his wonderful wife Erin. It was beautiful and I am so very happy for both of them.

 Of course I had to take a funny picture and of course Cris had to jump in and make me look even stranger. Thanks.

We Put A New Bumper On The Jeep

Awesome!

BYU Football Team

The CTE teacher at Channing knows some of the BYU players so they came and talked to the middle school students this week at school. I was able to get some pictures and we sent them into the local paper. I also think it will be a great addition to the yearbook. The kids had a good time.

Girls Night Out

Our friend Winnie came into town so we went out Friday night. Started at one place and quickly went to another. We had a great time. We miss you Winnie!!!!

Vegas Baby!!!

Susan and I went to Vegas for a girls trip. We left on Friday and came home on Sunday. We were able to get lots of pool time a little bit of gambling (winning), shopping, eating, and some Adam Levine into our trip. We also had a free concert right outside our hotel window from One Republic. Not to mention we saw Joe here right before the big fight at the MGM.

We had a great time!

And of course my love, Adam.

Lewis, thanks for the great trip!

Party Time

We had a little party in September. So fun! Thanks everyone for coming!

Labor Day Camping

In September we took the kids and went up into the woods for Labor Day weekend for a short camping trip. It was nice and warm during the day and it sprinkled at night but we had a great time. We bought a 22 right before we went so all of the kids got a chance to shoot. They all did really well. Adam is amazing. He can hit things that Lewis I can't even come close to hitting.