December

We experienced our first cleaning and changing the water in the hot tub at the beginning of the month.  It was nice that it was warm with no snow on the ground yet so we could let the water drain on the grass.  Now we can wait until spring when the snow is all gone to do it again. 

 Me and my three boys.  I feel like a shrimp!

 We were so happy to have Jessica and Brad home from Peru on the 9th.  Brad had been gone for a little over three months doing an internship with the Seed program, with Jess joining him for the last 5 weeks.  They had a marvelous adventure and were so happy they were able to go and experience all they did.  The highlight was going to Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca.   Look how tan they are! 

 I always dread putting up my 16 bins of Christmas decorations (and that doesn't include the tree, lights, or wreaths, garlands, or 3 big wooden Santa decorations), but when I'm done, I'm so happy with everything and love turning on all the lights throughout the house each day.  There should be a new rule in the world that everything stays decorated through January.  It's so much work for only 4-5 weeks!

 We tried to get tickets to the MTC Christmas Concert for the first time this year but didn't get them.  I had heard that people from out of state have better luck, so I had Kylee try for us. . . and. . . she got some!  Since they were still in Colorado on the day of the concert, we took Jess and Brad.  We had a great evening with them (and the boys who tagged along so they could go shopping while we were at the concert) eating out, and doing a little shopping before the concert.  We would have liked to look around at the lights more, but it rained the whole evening.  The concert- featuring Alfie Boe was tremendous.  We really loved it.

 Carol had a fun family party at her Elementary School that we attended on the 16th.  This was my appetizer (thank you pinterest) and dessert that I took. . .

 She had so many fun games planned that everyone loved.  I loved Jakes choice of dinner companions. We played some fun "minute to win it" games in the gym.  The bottom right picture is Cam and Tanner dressed as a candy cane. We had 2 minutes, a roll of toilet paper and red crepe paper and we had to make the most creative human candy cane.  Needless to say, Tanners team (he's the one on the right) didn't win. . .

 

 On the morning of Christmas Eve, we did an activity that I'm sure will become a tradition.  We all went to the Jump Zone- a new trampoline Park in Logan.  It was a blast!  We had a great time.  I even tried a front flip! (3rd collage, bottom left picture)

 Everyone came over afterwards for a delicious breakfast (although it was 1 pm by this time. . . ). Then we all went our separate ways after eating to do last minute shopping, wrapping, and other projects,  then we met up at 5 for the Pickle game (Cam won) and a fun game that Jake taught us.

 At 6 we went to Tom and Freda's for a delicious dinner of honey ham, roast beef and crab along with many side dishes.  You can be assured if you're eating dinner at their house at any time that you're not going away hungry.  It was fun to be there with the Nelson's and Weyerts.  After dinner we took some family pictures then played the present game.

 It's so much easier for everyone to be silly than serious.
 

 

 Everyone was so happy that it snowed the entire day.  So once home, we had to take some time to clear the snow.  For the first time in 8 years we didn't have to deliver the newspaper, so that was a nice change.  We had a nice Christmas program, then played our family trivia game.  Once again, Kylee was the winner.  It's really starting to annoy the other participants. . . she's such a show off. . . haha just kidding Kylee- She just takes reading and studying (with highlighting even) everyone's history seriously!

 We had a wonderful Christmas morning with everyone (except Kylee and Brody who spent the day with Brody's mom) opening presents and eating cute snowman pancakes.  Jess and Brad left to spend the day with Brad's family in Willard, and Jake had to work at 12:00 at the theater, so me, Mike and Cam went to the movie "Life of Pi."  It was very entertaining and good.  We had a relaxing day at home, and visiting the Weyerts and opening more presents and having leftovers. 

 Kylee and Brody came over when Jess and Brad got back at 10 pm and we all (except for Mike and Jake who went to bed) had fun sitting in the hot tub for an hour.  The crazy boys thought it would be fun and memorable to roll around in the snow and then jump in the hot tub.  The girls didn't even consider it.
 
 With Kylee's new iphone that she got for Christmas, that makes 7 of the 8 of us who have an iphone.  Only Brody is the odd man out with his DNA (Jake has since had his cracked screen fixed).

 

 It's been great having Kylee here for a week longer than Brody.  He left on the 29th so he could study 12 hours a day for his Qualifying Exams which are in a few weeks, and since she doesn't start back to work until the 8th, we offered to fly her home on the 5th so we could have her for an extra week. We've been busy everyday with many fun activities- including a short trip to Provo one day to visit the Romney's, Hatch's  and Syd and Rafe.  It was so fun to see everyone. We've worked out, shopped, made cards, played games, went snow shoeing, and tomorrow we're going to a session in the Brigham City Temple- our first time there.  I absolutely love the overload of family during the holidays and wish it would be this way every day of the year.

November

Cam got asked to the girls choice dance by his friend Megan Mills.  He was with a fun group with a lot of his friends.  The theme of the dance was super heros, so he and Megan were batman and batgirl.  He had a good time.

 Mike was left alone to help him get ready as I was gone to SLC on my annual Christmas shopping weekend with Freda, Teresa and Stacie. I always love our time together and the many great bargins we find.
 
 Janet helped me pick out some fabric this summer to make a baby quilt. I thought if I offered it to the first girl who got pregnant, maybe that would entice them to make me a grandma sooner, rather than later!  I had a fun time making it- sewing most of it while watching the summer olympics.  I finally got it quilted and sewed the binding on while driving to Ft. Collins for Thanksgiving.  I'm thrilled with how it turned out.  Now the question is-  who will get it???
 

We had the Bundy's over for a fun and creative Election Party on the night of the Presidential election.  It was fun eating, playing games and watching the results.  But not so fun with the outcome of the voting.

 Jake voted for the first time ever and proudly wore his badge.

 We had a great 5 days with Kylee and Brody in Ft. Collins.  We arrived at midnight on Tuesday the 20th.  Wednesday:  Brody took us on a fun hike to the "A" (because CSU used to be the Aggies) on the mountain behind their house.  Ky had a dentist appointment so had to miss out.  The weather was amazing- in the 60's.  We did a little shopping (Ky is not that much shorter than the boys. . . they were up on the curb), got the groceries for our Thanksgiving meal, made pizza, looked at the pretty lights in Old Town, then played cards.

Thanksgiving: After we got some food items cooking, and had breakfast (Ky had some fun styling the boys' hair) we took off for an hour's walk around City Park- an awesome park in Ft. Collins.  It was so pretty, and so nice to be out enjoying the beauty of nature on Thanksgiving.

 This is how much shorter Ky is than the boys. . . I'm sure it's so weird for her to look up to her younger brothers. . .

 After the hike Ky and I got busy in the kitchen while the boys lazed around watching football and playing on their phones and computers (doesn't that ever get old???). 

 Our meal was delicious.  I couldn't pick a favorite dish because everything was so tasty.

 We went to the matinee of "Lincoln" (very interesting and good.  We sure had a great education with that great President as we listened to the book "Killing Lincoln" on the drive, and saw his face on Mt. Rushmore!) came home for leftovers and then watched some funny stuff on Youtube (check out Bad Lip Reading- namely the Presidential debates and Hunger Games and Twilight).  Ky, Jake, Cam and I went to Walmart around 10 to check out a few things. It was pretty busy when we got there, but we ended up in a line to pay for our purchases with only one person ahead of us.

Friday: We left at 8:30 for our fun road trip to Mt. Rushmore- which is about 5-6 hours away from Ft. Collins.  We arrived in time to see it in the daylight, then by the time we looked around in the museum and gift shops it was dark so we got to see it lit up too.  It was awesome and I loved learning more about this great historical monument.

 After checking into our motel in Custer, we went out to eat, then enjoyed an evening playing cards while watching TV.

 Saturday:  We spent a few hours in the morning looking at the Crazy Horse Monument.  It was incredible, especially to think that it was started in 1948 and there is still soo much more work to be done before it's finished.  There are many buildings full of Indian Artifacts and information.  It was very interesting and informative.

 Our last adventure was checking out Jewel Cave- the second longest cave in the world. It was in a very pretty setting (those black hills are beautiful) and I'm glad we went.  We arrived back in Ft. Collins in time to go to Old Town again to Rocket Fizz (it was closed Wednesday night when we went) which is a cool soda and candy store.  This may have been the boys favorite part of the trip. . .  We had leftovers and played Scum.  We went to Sacrament meeting with Ky and Brody, then headed home.  We had such a fun time with the Hatch's and our fun adventures, but we sure missed Jess and Brad.

October

 Another month come and gone.  I can't believe it's November already!  We've had some fun times this past month.  We had a fun Monday evening tin foil dinner in the canyon with the Skeens, Bundys and Pete boys.

Ann went all out with her decorations, and the Bundy's had prepared a fun scavenger hunt game and awesome FHE lesson.  It was a great evening.

  

 

 We always look forward to Conference weekend.  We love lazing around all day on Sunday and eating our traditional picnic.  The announcement of the lower missionary age was exciting.

 I can't believe I don't have any pictures for this next event.  The camera I took wasn't working, so I have nothing.  My brother Paul came to town for a few days and I loved spending time with him.  We had a nice dinner at the Skeens, then went on a hike to Temple Fork Sawmill  the next day and had dinner at our house afterwards.  The next day I joined Paul, Janet, and Ann (Carol had flown to Mesa a few days before to be with Mom) on a drive to Mesa to be with Mom and attend her husband David's funeral.  He died after battling complications from a tumor on his spine.  He was a wonderful man and will be missed. He and Mom were married 14 years, so he was a part of a lot of our family milestones.  I especially love that he was able to marry 6 of my nieces and nephews and Kylee and Brody as he was made a sealer prior to their mission to the London Temple.  It was a quick trip- only a day and a half, but it was great to enjoy the warm weather, be together with Mom, Paul, DeNae, Ann, Janet and Carol (we missed Von greatly- her Chemo treatments for breast cancer prohibited her from coming) visit with my friend Lorene, and my niece Jordan and her cute family.  We were glad we got to fly home instead of having that long drive again (we had driven down in Mom's car since she flew down to be with David earlier than she had planned and so this worked perfectly as a way to get her car to her). 

 Cam got a job reffing youth flag football twice a week for 2 hours a time for 6 weeks.  It's a great fit for him and his schedule.  And the $14 an hour pay isn't too shabby either!  It's been especially fun for him to ref most of Caleb and Jaken's games.
 
 The Calls bought a fab-u-lous ranch house in Star Valley, Wyoming and invited Mike's whole family to hang out with them over fall break.  The amenities that come with owning a home there are incredible. . . access to horses, kayaks, a saloon (complete with theatre, pool table and free snacks and drinks), extra housing, and a golf course.  The boys stayed in an awesome bedroom upstairs from the saloon, so had unlimited access to the theatre, pool table, drinks and snacks.  Were they in heaven?  Indeed they were.

 Mike and I got to stay in this charming cabin about a 5 minute walk from Teresa and Brad's home (and a 2 minute walk from the saloon).  It had a full kitchen, living room, bathroom and upstairs bedroom.  We loved it!  The beauty of the valley was spectacular!

This is Teresa and Brad's home.  Breathtaking!  It was so much fun to spend the weekend with them, their kids, Freda and Tom, and Stacie, Rick and kids.  

A few of my favorite features of the house . . . 1.  An ice maker drawer!  It's what my dreams are made of as I'm an ice-a-holic.  2. A dishwasher drawer (plus a regular size one), and, 3- two refrigerator drawers.  I personally have never thought such things even existed!

 Our first evening there, we all went out to dinner at Juan's house of Taco's.  There were only a few other tables available for other customers!  It was delicious food.

 Almost everyone took a turn riding horses- even Freda!  She was a bit sore that night and the next day. It was a lot of fun, and the weather was great.

 Jess joined Teresa, Brad and most of their kids, and Stacie and her kids on a 2 hour kayak ride down the river that runs through the property.  She was a bit tired when they got done.  We all had a blast riding 4 wheelers and razors.  There are cool places to go.

  Jess was a productive girl on the car ride and whipped these cute creations up on the way there and home.  Isn't she amazing?  She gave the pink items to her friend Mikell who's having a baby girl soon, and the hats are for twin boys she nannys for who just turned 1.



Thanks Teresa and Brad for the invite!  We hope there are more in the future!  Brad, Ky and Brody really missed out.

The Bundy's invited us over for a yummy dinner one night followed by a couple fun rounds of jenga.

 Jake turned 19 on the 29th. . . what?  Can that be?  I made him his 2nd choice for breakfast (it was Sunday evening when he said what he wanted for the next day and I was just fresh out of blueberries and strawberries to go on waffles with whip cream) which was bacon, waffles, and scrambled eggs.  After school I picked him up to take him to lunch at Panda, then after work me and Mike watched Lord of the Rings with him, and then went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse, then came home for a soak in the hot tub. He's a great boy and I"m so proud of the choices he's made in life.
 
 Halloween was great because we were all entertained with Jake's mask and how he stood out on our front porch scaring kids who came trick-or-treating.  He stood real still looking like a mannequin and then as they were leaving, he'd move ever so slightly.  It was pretty funny.  Although Lydia is cozying up to him in this picture, she was not wanting to get too close to him when she first saw him.

 There's a game called Slender Man that Jake and his friend Jameson had fun copying as their Halloween costumes.,  You won't really get it if you haven't seen/played the game (notice Jake to the right of the tree).

And last but not least. . . Mike and I are so excited with our new iphone purchases! (our first smart phones!)  It's amazing how we ever lived without these babies.

 

September

 Another month has come and gone and I'm amazed as always at how quickly time goes! It seems like we were just celebrating Labor Day, and now here it is October. . .  We did have a fun Labor Day weekend.  On Saturday Mike, Cam, Brad and I went on a bike ride along the Bonneville Shoreline, then we went to the movie Bourne Legacy joined by Jake and Jess.  Jake had a bunch of friends over for a cookout and badminton, then after they left, Cam had a bunch of friends over for beach volleyball and a soak in the hot tub.  Me and Mike took Jess and Brad on in Rook.  On Monday the Bundy's organized a fun morning of breakfast, then a thrilling game of Amazing Race (the pict of me and Mike is after "checking in" with host Lindsey and recounting our memories of our time on the race and how much closer we became as a couple- haha).  Jake had to work the rest of the day, so missed going boating with the Lesters at Hyrum Dam.  We invited them over after that for a cookout at our house and beach volleyball and badminton.






I have loved how much the kids have been hanging out in our backyard with their friends since getting our new patio and hot tub.  Jake and friends especially love coming over for badminton.



The Bundy's had a fun sushi party and it was interesting to finally try it for the first time.

 Janae and I took a "tips and tricks" quilting class that included this cute lunch (the lady baked the homemade rolls in the pot!).  I learned a little, but most of the info was stuff I didn't care about.  I did learn how to sew bindings on, so as soon as I get it on a baby quilt I made this summer I'll show it off.  I'm also making a jelly roll quilt that I hope to have done by the end of the month.

 Janae and I (and three other mom's) had a fun afternoon one Saturday decorating Janae's porch for the homecoming dinner for Cam, Parker and 8 other couples.  This was Cam's first dance/date and he had a really fun time.

 I love fall in Cache Valley!  The canyons are so beautiful.  I'm so happy I've been able to get out several times to enjoy the changing leaves.  Lindsey and I hiked Crimson Trail one morning, then Mike, Cam, the Bundy's and I went to Tony Grove for a hike around the lake and a picnic one Saturday.

 The first collage are pictures from Tony Grove, and the other two are taken from the car as we were driving home.