Thanksgiving Day

I didn't take any pictures at dinner, but we had Thanksgiving at Aaron and Kaori's this year with them and Austin and Paige.  Adam and Eve did not join us for dinner but we had dessert at their house.  In the morning, we went to the park to play and it was a gorgeous day.

Thanksgiving Preschool

For Preschool this week, the kids were off school so they put together a rotation of activities for the kids.  It was very helpful and the kids had a lot of fun.  They had stations that included a bean bag toss, whack-a-mole, making paper turkeys, and learning about the First Thanksgiving. 

Time Out For Women

I gave myself a little break for a four-day weekend and went up to Utah for Time Out For Women. I have always wanted to go but just never made it happen. This year, I was going to go to the one in Arlington, but it happened on the same weekend Margrethe was visiting, so instead I bought a ticket to the one in Utah and went up there. Allison came with me. I rented a Mustang (well, I signed up for an economy car but they upgraded me for free). I visited Jordan's grave and stopped in at Village Baker for some goodies. I got together with my friends from River Rose ward--Ralina Kellis, Heather Belcher, and Rebekah Bowen. I got to see my friend Melissa Nordstrom at the TOFW. I ran into several other women there but didn't get a picture, including people from River Rose ward, pepole from my years at BYU, and people from Bingham High School. I enjoyed being in Utah and having a little break from being the mom. The meetings were wonderful and inspirational and the conversations with Allison thoughtful. It was a much needed weekend.

More Nathan

How can I resist?  This now eight-month-old is just too darn cute!

Halloween 2016

Halloween was a busy time.  This year I did not sew any costumes.  Phew!  We used mostly what we had already.  I had made a poodle skirt for Eliza during second grade for a program she was in, that I must not have taken any pictures at, so she wore that and dressed as a 50's girl.  Travis was a Jedi knight.  Westley was Darth Vader.  Caleb was Harry Potter.  Annmarie was a ballerina princess.  Jonah was a chef.  I dressed as a Greek goddess for the ward party and Nathan was a fox.  Unfortunately, on Halloween, Eliza came down with strep throat and Jonah had a stomach bug.  It was not a fun day for either of them.  Westley hosted a Halloween party at our house the weekend before with his friends.  They mostly gorged on junk food and watched a movie. 

Caleb's Birthday

This year Caleb turned twelve.  And unfortunately, even though Grandpa came out for his ordination to the Aaronic priesthood, we forgot to take any pictures.  But he had a "book cake" where I made it look like the spines of some of his favorite books.  He loves to read.  He's a really good helper around the house and just an overall fun kid to be around.

Preschool Fun

This year I am continuing to try and build a home preschool.  I only have Annmarie and her cousin Elliott in the class so far, but we are having fun.  I have themes built around the letters and also around learning the continents and countries.  We started with North America and zoned in on the United States, our state Texas, and our local communities of Wylie and Sachse.  It's been a fun time, and a little bit of a challenge, since in the past I've usually only taught kids who are four or five years old,  not three.