November wrap-up

I'm behind! The holidays seem to just make each day fly by and I don't realize how far behind I am until it's been almost a month! Here's what happened for the rest of November:

Sadly, my sweet father passed away a few days before Thanksgiving, so that week was spent with funeral arrangements, reminiscing, and spending time with family members. We didn't get many pictures, but we do have this one of the kid's first limo ride:

Although we weren't in much a celebratory mood, we had Thanksgiving:

The rest of November was a bit of blur, between prepping for the Nutcracker and getting ready for Christmas! Next up: Nutcracker, holiday concerts, and Christmas!

Milestones

These last few weeks have had some major milestones! First, Cooper had his last primary program. In April, he'll turn 12 and go into young men. Crazy to think about. Here is a pic from Sunday morning:

He did a fabulous job and I was a little teary when it was over.

The next milestone has been a long time coming: 

One year, 11 months, 2 weeks, and 1 day.

That's how long this girl had her braces on! She got them off yesterday! She was so excited, but a little sad to not see her orthodontist family regularly. While getting braces doesn't seem like a big deal, Amelia has gone through soooo much (surgeries, teeth pulling, stitches), I'm so proud of her for sticking with it! Her orthodontist gave her a bag of candy she couldn't eat while she had braces, and she signed the wall. 

Now she's just added a few thousand to her million dollar smile. 😉 Love you, Amelia!!!

Next up, Thanksgiving and the Nutcracker!

Straw Maze, Pumpkin Patch, and Trunk-or-Treat!

Next up on our October adventures was the straw maze! I love going each year, and while I still get completely lost, somehow Cooper has a sixth sense and can get out. Or it could be that he went with his class earlier in the week. 😂  It was an unseasonably warm day, and all of us were sweating by the time we found our way out. Here are some pictures:

Poor Amelia always gets attacked when I say, "funny picture".

Also, it was on this fateful day, October 20, 2018 that Cooper finally became as tall as Amelia. He was ecstatic! She was a little less so! 

Then today we had time to go to the pumpkin patch and pick out our pumpkins. We tried to take a family selfie......and you can see how they turned out: 

We did manage to get a few less than goofy pictures...kinda:

 We're planning on carving the pumpkins tomorrow, so I'll post when they are finished. Lastly, we had our ward's trunk-or-treat last night. Amelia wore her very expensive tutu, and Cooper was Percy Jackson from the Lightning Thief. Both came away with more candy then they can eat!

Cooper's last primary program next!

Ah, Autumn!

I love autumn. It's no secret. I love the cooler temperatures, the changing leaves, the thunderstorms, the pumpkin-everything, Halloween, hot cocoa, sweatshirts, raking and jumping in leaves, and walking down a leaf-strewn sidewalk. Unfortunately, autumn, October specifically, is absolutely PACKED and I don't get to enjoy those activities as much as I like. Partly because now that Amelia is in the "older" girls class, she has a lot more dances for the Nutcracker, including her solo. This translates into a lot of Saturday practices.  We still pack in fun, however!

First up, Harvest Break! We went down to Salt Lake to visit Katie, David and Linus. We were lucky enough to stay at Joey and Jojo''s condo, so we didn't have to spend a bunch of money on a hotel. Plus, the view was great! We played video games and laser tag at Boondocks.....and still can't figure out how Amelia won both games. It was so much fun to get out of town and spend time with the Utah Calls!

We also walked around Temple Square a bit, and hit the history museum.

Our view from the condo:

We also took a Friday night to head up to Herriman State Park with Andy and Desiree to listen to the elk bugle. My kiddos handled the hike in like pros.....the hike OUT, in complete darkness with nature sounds all around, was a little different. 😀

Next up: straw maze and trunk-or-treat!

September Craziness

September is always busy, it seems once the EISF begins the whole month just flies by. We had a huge weekend with Homecoming and our yearly trip to Jackson falling on the same weekend. I love having these fun traditions every year to look forward to. Here's some pictures.

Amelia wanted to hair straight for the homecoming parade so the red dye we sprayed on would show up. 25 MINUTES later, this is what it looked like:

It's adorable, but I told her we're only straightening it on special occasions! :-)

Amelia at the elk antler arches in Jackson. Glad to see those ballet lessons are paying off!

We always have to hit Yippi-I-O candy store!

This is outside a gallery just off the town square. The funnest part was watching the Asian tourists get so excited about these bronze sculptures.

As always, we head out to Mormon Row. It is getting CROWDED, let me tell you. Sadly, I think too many people are realizing what a beautiful place Teton Valley is. 

After dinner, Amelia and I went back out on the town to get souvenirs and soak up the night life. Cooper stayed behind to see if he could see us on the webcams. (He did. )

Our last stop is always a fun park with a creek flowing through it. My kiddos usually jump it over and over, but it was running high this year. Cooper still felt he could make it, so he took a running leap and cleared it! Might have something to do with those size 8 feet.......:-)

We took a different way home through Hoback Junction because we've never gone that way before. It. Was. Beautiful! The trees were changing through the canyon, the river was always on our right, and Alpine, Star Valley and Palisades were gorgeous. 

We stopped at Palisades Dam for a bit and stretched our legs. And we HAD to get a picture of the Dam Store. Mostly so I could use the word "dam" freely and in as many contexts as possible while we were there. :-)

It was a crazy, busy, FUN-filled weekend. Back to school and all the autumn activities.