St. George/Vegas Thanksgiving

We had a great little vacation down south for Thanksgiving~ We enjoyed being with some of our family and venturing out doing many fun things.  Thanks to Philip and Megan for the invite and for spending time with our little family. We loved being able to spend time with Jason and Jared's  families too. It was my kind of Thanksgiving. Food~ Family and Fun~

Back on the trail that took me down a year ago~ Bear Claw Poppy ~ St. George

 Hoover Dam~

 Impromptu Hokie Pokie in the Parking lot~

 Pawn Stars "As Seen on TV" on the History Channel

 Climbing Red Rocks~

 Group Hug before shopping the Mall~

 Game playing in St. George Condo~

 Pool in St. George~

 Philip and Megan's place~

 Visiting Vegas~

 Dancing around in the hotel~

 Playing at the park~ Henderson

Sneak Peak~

Family Pictures~ Only four of the over 70 taken. Can't wait to see the rest!

Halloween Piano Recital

Avery and Ada played in their Halloween Piano Recital tonight dressed in their army costumes. They did so awesome as usual.  I have video and when I figure 

out how to upload it on here, I hope to share it. 

Weekend Fun with the Jones Cousins

We were lucky to have Logan and Ellie stay with us a couple of nights while Miriam and Darin enjoyed some alone time.  Avery and Ada were excited to have a buddy to hang out with for a couple days.  We picked them up in Brigham City on Friday and when we got home, the playing began. They were non-stop going and doing.  They had so much fun together.  

Avery and Logan spent some time playing computer games while the girls played with dolls and painted their nails.

The playhouse became home to many imaginative games.. They pretended to sell sand cookies, they played "Harry Potter"and they cleaned it, making it their pretend home.

We took a break from playing and made our own pizzas.  They shaped their dough however they wanted and then piled on the toppings.  The girls took more time working on theirs with their flower and heart.  The boys were content to just put the toppings on and call it good. 

Night time by the playhouse became a hit.  They had a blast playing on the tires and making shadow puppets on the shed wall.

 The second day, I took them to lunch and a movie (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), followed by a quick trip to Old Navy to help Addison get some school pants with a coupon that I needed to use that day.  ( Me and my coupons).  Anyway, I decided that was not a good idea..... I learned not to take five kids into a busy clothing store and expect to enjoy it.  We found what we needed and headed home.  Later that night after more playing, we roasted marshmallows around the pit.  That's always a hit at our house.

After a quick shower to get the smoke smell and dirt off of the rug rats, they settled into their beds and each read.  They all love to read.  I had them tell me the page they were on so that I could see how far they could get when it was time to turn lights out.  This helped, because they all were trying to read as much as they could. When lights out time came, Avery and Logan were conked out with their books still open.  CUTE BOYS!!!  The girls were about there too!  So, much playing wore them out.  The girls settled down so good after they read for a while.  Ada finished "Twilight" finally.  She started it a while back.  It is a HUGE book. I am so impressed that she can read something so big and complex.  

We were glad to have this time with Logan and Ellie.  Our kids seem to really enjoy each other.  They have a lot of the same personality traits, which helps.

Thanks for spending a couple days with us Logan and Ellie, we love you!!

First week of school happenings

Ada was in the Founders Day parade in Wellsville for her involvement with YOUTH 2000 again this year.  She is a great leader!

 Avery joined an after school art club.  He is so creative.  He was given a tile to design.  This is his own design that he came up with all by himself.  A shield with swords and a howling wolf in the center.  I love that boy and his love to create.  He is excited to be able to do this once a week after school.

Labor-Day Weekend Camping trip up Emigration Canyon

We took our camper out for a little trip Labor Day weekend. The poor thing has been cooped up under the shed all summer long.  It has only gone out one other time this summer.  I kinda feel sorry for it.  Nobody ever plays with it much.  

We headed to Emigration Canyon with family and friends with the initial goal of picking huckleberries while we were there, but the season this year for huckleberries was not a good one.  There were none to be found.  But, we still had fun playing, visiting and being in nature.

Avery was glad to have his friend Turner around to play with.  They are good buddies.

 Addison climbed around alot , even getting his dad to climb into the pavilion and try their idea of zip lining on the wire that ran across to a tree.  They didn't succeed as they really didn't have the right things to do that ( like a zip line!  or a harness, or a glide).

 Addison also passed the time chopping away at logs.  

 It wouldn't be camping without tinfoil dinners around the fire!

 Shay and Ada are good friends and cousins.  I love how they can use their imaginations to entertain themselves.  They were making fairy homes with mud and sticks.

 Ammon decided to hop in with Cole for a bit and play with the squeaky toys.

 Night Night!  Addison crashed early, while the others always seem to take their time settling down.