Saturday Adventure

Ever dream of the perfect day? A day where everyone gets along wonderfully.. no bickering, no complaining, no arguing, no drama.. just a perfect day. A day where everything goes as planned (or if you're like us.. don't make plans.. just fly be the seat of your pants and wing it).



Well today we had one of those days. Kolton & Hayden had gone down to Provo to attend the BYU game with the ward so it was just us & the younger 3. Kelly & I hit a couple yard sales in the morning and had been talking about how we wanted to spend our day. We wanted to do something fun and only having 3 kids was a huge difference. We had them hurry & shower, get cleaned up, packed a back pack and were off... We had an adventure to take



A few months previous our state got this neat new transportation system. We had been anxious to take it but just hadn't. Well, today was the day. We didn't tell the kids where we were headed we just headed. We got on the train just a few miles from our house and headed south. So once on the train the kids were anxious to know where we were going.. We kept telling them we were going on an adventure. They loved it.. I loved it! I loved looking at each of the kids as they were looking out the train window with wonder, excitement and a little bit of where in the heck are Mom & Dad taking us in their eyes. They were all smiles



We rode Frontrunner down to salt lake and from there hopped on Trax to the Jordan Commons & the Mayan. By this time the kids were starting to figure out where we were headed. They were super surprised when they looked up as we were walking across the parking lot to see Grandma & Grandpa. They had been to a meeting in Salt Lake so it worked out perfect that we could meet up together.
It was so fun to be with them. I also called Kolton's cell and found out they were on their way back from Provo so our neighbor dropped Kolton & Hayden off at the Mayan too. They were able to ride Trax & Frontrunner home with us. What an awesome day!

Happy Halloween.......er

Even Cooper & Kirby dressed up. Kirby was a piggy (self explanatory) and Cooper was a hot dog (and yes.. Kirby tried to eat Cooper's costume)... I tell ya.. that Kirby is the goofiest dog... he eats everything!

Funny.. trying to take pics of these guys is like trying to take pics of a baby... They look away everytime I go to push the button. Cooper has never liked his picture taken but Kirby used to love it (he used to follow me around and beg for his picture to be taken).. he even looks away now too.

Halloween

Chet & Jasmyn on their way to school (wyatt was sick that day and Kolton & Hayden didn't get to dress up for school).. it was cake getting only 2 kids dressed for school this year. Chet changed his mind so many times on what he wanted to be so he was a little bit of everything.. LOL. We wore a little of this and a little of that and then I made him a sign out of a pizza box that said "100% Recycled". He loved it... (easiest costume ever!) I don't think I've met anyone so indecisive... poor guy has the hardest time making decisions sometimes.

Jasmyn was a cute little witch but decided she didn't want to wear her wig at the last minute because it was too itchy

Cute pumpkins huh? Pumpkin carving was a little stressful this year.. by the time we got dinner & homework over with we were in a race to get some pumpkins carved and of course couldn't find a decent knife.. we thought they turned out cute though. Carving pumpkins is one of my favorite things about Halloween (that and picking them out).. I love lighting the candle, stepping back and seeing them come to life. (Kolton carved Jack the pumpkin King and he was my favorite)

Our Annual Family Costume Party

Steve & Erica hosted this years Halloween party and it was a blast. We had a couple different kinds of soups and the bread bowls, Dad made his famous homemade root beer, and then had cookies and cake. After dinner the kids broke open the pinata that Steve & Erica had filled. That was a hit! The kids (and some of the adults but names we won't mention) went crazy. We had a good time.

It's always fun to see what costume Dad is going to wear.. for someone who doesn't like being center stage.. this is the one night he really seems to enjoy it. He was a woopie cushion with a hand held button and boy did he have fun with that button... he was tootin all night.

Sarah dressed up as an ACORN worker and brought Dave the voter with her.. it was hilarious! Sarah carried a clipboard with names on it that had been registered.. mickey mouse, dead people, 2nd graders etc.

We had a super fun time. Thanks Steve & Erica for all you did to make our family party another success!

YAY!!

We got carpet in Saturday afternoon so we are one step closer.. now we just have to do a little bit of paint touch up, and replace a few doors (oh, and save for some furniture) and we are done!

during and after

Before Pics..

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

Yay! Weber high school's sophomore football team won their last game yesterday.. undefeated.. 9-0! They played Layton High and won 21-48.. they did so good. We are so proud of this awesome team! Never has this been done in the history of Weber's football. What a great team.

LOVE'N & LEAF'N

We Heart Fall!

Some of the things we love about fall are.. playing in the leaves, caramel apples, scarecrows, spooks, the cool, crisp air, the beautiful colors, pumpkins & the traditions

He's Got Class!

As I watch my kids grow and learn everyday I am so proud of the little people they are growing up to be.

This week Kolton was asked to go to the Girl's Choice Dance. The girl is a girl he knew in elementary school ( kindergarten) and then she moved away for a while and then came back. He went to a year of Jr. High with her but hasn't really talked to her since about first grade. She had left 2 plates of sugar cookies on the door step and each cookie had a letter on it. He had to unscramble the letters to find out what it was for and who it was from. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was worried about having to turn someone down (not 16 until new year's eve) and then when we got it figured out (which took FOREVER!) he was even more worried. He kept saying he always thought he was going to make it without being asked before he turned 16.

We thought and thought of a creative way to say "sorry, I can't". A friend had mentioned a 2-liter of crush and a note saying "I'm crushed but I'm not 16".. we thought that was cute so we printed off a note and went to by the crush.. they don't even carry it anymore.. grrr! So Kelly, Kolton & I sat in the van for a while in the store parking lot trying to think of something else. We decided on a squash and a dozen rose buds. We hurried home and typed up another note saying "I'm sorry to squash your plans but like these rose buds, I have not bloomed yet (I'm not 16)". We get in the car and headed down to her house. The whole time he's telling me he's got butterflies.

As we pull up across the street he tells us he's not going to set them on the doorstep, ring the doorbell and run.. he was going to talk to her face to face. He felt that was more meaningful. Her big sister answered the door and said she was at work so he gave the squash and flowers to her and came back to the car. Once he got back to the car he decided that he didn't even want to do that.. he needed and wanted to talk to her. So he went back to the door and asked the sister what time she'd be home and if he could get the things and come back. By this time the parents had them and I'm sure they had read the note so they knew their daughter was going to be turned down. The sister had said she'd be home in about 25 minutes. We went for a little drive until it was time to go back.. he was shaking and still had butterflies.

We pulled back up to the house a little later and walked back up to the door carrying the squash and the flowers. She answered this time and he handed her the note and asked her to read it first (her dad was standing in the background). Then he handed her the squash and the flowers and gave her a hug and told her sorry. He felt so much better when he got back to the van.

You know.. it would of been so easy to just leave the stuff on the doorstep, run and not have to face her. But it was too easy.. he was concerned that if he did that things would be too uncomfortable between them that they'd never talk again. He wanted her to know that he WOULD go if he could, he wanted to talk to her and let her know that he appreciated the fact that she asked him. Kelly & I thought that was awesome! As he was walking up to the door (3 different times) we were amazed by him.. It took guts and it took class. Every single day he makes us proud.. proud to be his parents.. proud of the young man he has become. Also, he never moaned or complained, never asked us to please bend the rules.. he just knew it was something he had to do.

We love you Kolton!