You're Never Too Old

 You're never too old for jumping in the leaves!

What a fun evening!

And just when we thought this day couldn't get more fun, the ice cream truck showed up! In October. What?? 

Thanksgiving 2025

This year Thanksgiving looked a little different but it was so fun! 

We started it off with a fun Charlie Brown Thanksgiving with Ainsley and Jacob. Then we had a mini Thanksgiving dinner that night.

Afterwards we took a walk around the temple. I love it so much when all my kids are together! Sadly, Ainsley and Jacob went to Jacob's parents' house for actual Thanksgiving. I've never been that good at sharing, I'd rather keep my kids all to myself, but we are fortunate that Jacob's family only lives 45 minutes away so it's not too much of an inconvenience.

While Ainsley and Jacob were with Jacob's family we headed up to Idaho Falls to spend Thanksgiving with Nathan's sister Melinda. It was so nice to see them and Rob and see their beautiful house. 

My kids have grown up with very little relationship with most of their cousins on Nathan's side so it's always fun for them to get to know them a little better. The girls and I sat at a table with Melinda's girls Marie and Laura. I told them how my grandpa Johnson used to call my brother Sterling's ninja turtles, "injured turtles". They thought that was so funny!

On the way home we got to see the most beautiful sunset from beginning to end. It was a wonderful way to end a wonderful couple of days!

Fall Birthdays

 We get four of the seven birthdays done around here in the space of about 5 weeks. It makes for a busy but fun time!

Aftyn was first! I can't believe she's 20 now! 

Next came Gavin! He reached a milestone birthday this year and officially became an adult. I don't like that. :(

And last but not least, Ainsley-girl came home for the weekend before her birthday. She's 23 now and the one that makes me feel truly old.

And while their birthdays may be close together, their taste in cakes couldn't be more different! Aftyn always gets yellow cake with chocolate frosting, Gavin always chooses pumpkin pie, and Ainsley loves root beer float cake. All good choices!

Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and have these three be little again. Time goes by so fast! BUT I am so proud of these grown-up kids and I can't wait to see all they accomplish!

Happy Birthday, Aftyn, Gavin, and Ainsley! I love you!

RAT

 

When your child is logged in to your account and sees you are catching up on blogging and wants to help. Thank you Breah for this most informative and helpful update. ;)

That One Time

 

That one time I thought taking a picture of Teddy after our evening walk when she was panting because I thought it would look like she was smiling.

I was wrong. Yikes.

Who's Taller?

 

Gavin has been slowly gaining on his dad. We finally had to break out the level to see who was taller. Turns out Nathan is still taller but just barely. It's so weird having Gavin be so tall now. I don't like that I have to reach up to hug him. ;)

Back to School 2025

 Before we were ready, summer was over and it was time to go back to school!

Brody started middle school this year and got to go the day before everyone else along with all the other 7th graders so they could get the lay of the land. Right before the end of the day, Brody was walking down the stairs and tripped and fell. He was pretty banged up and very embarrassed but thankfully only ended up with a sprained wrist. He's adjusted to 7th grade so well and really likes his drama and choir classes. :)

Breah went and grew up on me this year and started high school. Although she doesn't particularly enjoy how big or how crowded the school is, she does like that she has friends in so many classes. She's made some fun new friends this year in her Spanish class and loves her Seminary teacher!

Gavin is a big ol' senior this year. I'm not sure how that happened! He decided this year that he didn't want to physically be at the school any longer than he had to and opted to take all of his elective credits that he had left online through Utah Online School. He gets it all done super quickly and ends up playing video games for the rest of the time the kids are at school. We keep joking that he started school in KG going only half a day and he's finishing it that way as well.

I think Gavin's back to school sign says it all. The boy is ready to be done! ;)

And the big girls are well into their second years at college. They are doing so well! I don't have pictures from their first day but here's a picture of the three girls last year at the Nintendo event we went to. Funny, since Breah is a sophomore this year she's the same as her sisters who are also considered sophomores at their schools! Three sophomores!

Have a great school year everyone!

Oregon Coast Day 4 and 5

On our last full day in Oregon we drove to the Cape Meares lighthouse. It's super short but it's the only one you can actually walk inside and take a little tour of. We we paired up with a family that also happened to be from Utah. Small world! Also at the Cape Meares lighthouse we saw the "Octopus Tree" which was this crazy tree that split into multiple trunks. It was very foggy that day so there's not many ocean pictures. We'll have to imagine what it looked like.:)

After driving a scenic byway we went back to Tillamook to tour the Tillamook Air Museum. Nathan was in heaven with so many cool airplanes. It's not my cup of tea but I love him so I humored him. I especially loved the groovy airplane they had from the 60's. I decided if I had to move to the Oregon Coast I'd live in Tillamook. It's the perfect mix of farmy and coastal. And just think of all the ice cream we could eat!

Plus, if we lived in Tillamook Breah and Gavin could be the Cheesemakers at their high school. Tempting!

That evening Nathan and I walked back out to the beach by our condo and just sat and breathed in the beautiful salty air. It was still foggy and we couldn't see anything but the sounds of the waves crashing on the beach were so soothing. Nathan ran back to get my sunglasses and while I was waiting I collected seashell fragments and made a little message in the sand. It's crazy to think we've already hit 26 years of marriage!

On the day we went home we drove up the coast to Astoria where they have the most epic bridge over the Columbia River. Also the Columbia River is HUGE! It made the rivers we have here in Utah look like little streams. We also toured the Lewis and Clark museum and found it to be so interesting! I discovered I didn't really know a lot about them. Now I know a whole lot more!

On our 2nd anniversary a looooong time ago, Nathan and I drove to the Oregon Coast from our home in Washington. And now here we are 24 years later celebrating our 26th wedding anniversary. It's been such a chill week (pun intended), escaping the heat and life a little bit, and just enjoying each other. Nathan, I thought I loved you after two years of marriage, but with every passing year, I find I love you infinitely more. Thank you for making me so blessedly happy. 

The Oregon Coast Day 3

On the third day in Oregon we took a little hike to go see Munson Creek Falls. It was just a narrow little trail with a narrow little waterfall but it was so pretty! I never get tired of all the green and mossy trees in the Pacific Northwest.:)

Later that morning we drove to Tillamook and toured the Tillamook cheese factory. It was a self-guided tour and there were about a million people there. Seriously SO many people. But we had a good time and we discovered that Tillamook ice cream is so tasty!

Later we took a coastal train ride in Girabaldi on a historic train. We got to see the home of the corndog (ha ha!) and so much beautiful scenery! 

 

And finally we went on a nature trail which may or may not have had someone living at the head of it in a travel trailer. They had a barbecue  so you be the judge. Anyway, we walked on it for a bit and it had the most beautiful flowers and foliage. All the green did my heart good!