Fleming Family Production

Brought to you by the letter F and the number 4. We were all asked to speak in church. Nicole was asked first. A week later, the adult speakers canceled so Keith and I were asked next. Then, the other youth speaker canceled, so Zack got the call. It is very unusual for an entire family to be speaking together in Sacrament Meeting. At the same time, it was neat to all be up there together with the same focus.

He was the model for some test shots.

Christmas Greetings

 MERRY CHRISTMAS

Most of our presents fit into our stockings this year.

Nicole is the elf and starts sorting out gifts.

Powder helps flatten the tissue paper.

Powder gets frisky with the paper

Hiding out

Opening presents at 10:00 is too early for some :)

Traditional cheese fondue dinner. YUM!!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

...and in the Fleming's house, the VanHorns were over and we had no mouse! :)

Last year's Christmas was incredibly stressful. Julie was sick, we had some craziness pop up every day revolving around the sale of our house, we were packing to move, finding a place to live, bringing boxes to storage, dealing with new leaks, and on Christmas Eve, we had a mouse in our house. It was not fun. Our goal this year was to have a calm, peaceful Christmas.

We were blessed to have our good friends, the VanHorns share Christmas Eve with us. We had homemade pizza, salad, chocolates, good conversation, fun with the kids, Christmas messages, and presents. They can come back any time. :)

 THE FOOD

Viola Pizza a la Pizzeria Limone

Margherita Pizza a la Pizzeria Limone

homemade chocolates a la Julie :)

 THE FRIENDS

 

THE MESSAGE

 

 THE GIFTS

Personalized autographed Will Johnson picture. Priceless! :)

Then, the children went home to get nestled and snug in their beds.  Meanwhile, Flemings opened the traditional 1 gift and read the Christmas Story before bed.

Sounds of the Season

A friend of Julie's had 2 tickets to see Kurt Bestor's opening night Christmas concert and was unable to use them. So, Julie took Nicole and they had a wonderful time. It was a great peaceful escape and magical way to really welcome the Christmas season. I have always wanted to see one of his Christmas concernts.

The Halls are Decked

The stockings are hung by the chimney for the first time ever in our family.

One of These Things

 One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn't belong. Can you tell me which thing is not like the other...

Powder is snuggling with her furry friends. She is camouflaged and difficult to find.

Peek a boo!

Another Rock in the Wall

Our rock retaining walls are finally in and they look fabulous. Sorry to disappoint those who were hoping to use our back yard as a sledding hill in the winter months. :)

Bummer for Zack

It has been a good Thanksgiving but for Zack it has been a bit of a bummer. Since his last visit with the dentist, he has had a tooth bothering him. This vacation it got really bad and the dentist said that it sounded like an abscess tooth. He is on antibiotics now and will be going in for a root canal next week. Never fun. :(

We're There for RSL :)

The second leg of Real Salt Lake vs. LA Galaxy playoff  was at home last Thursday. LA is a team that has proven difficult to beat in the post season. We came into the game down 1-0. Zack and Nicole came with us to the game. The atmosphere with the crowd was electric. RSL played an amazing game, some of their best play all season, and tied it up 1-1 forcing overtime. RSL won 2-1 with a goal scored in the overtime. They shut down the Landon Donovan/Robbie Keane scoring duo. Woo hoo! It was awesome!! We are so thrilled to knock out LA. Now, they move on to beat Portland. #Believe

No More Pounce

You can see it in his eyes :(

Pounce had been living with kidney failure since early June. We had been feeding him prescription cat food, kidney medicine twice a day, anti-nausea medicine once a day, and giving him a daily dose of IV fluids. He had bounced back and was doing great until the week before Halloween. There was a quick and steady decline in his behavior. He was eating very little, not wanting to be around us, and very labored in his movements. After the doctor confirmed his levels had tripled, we decided it was time to put him out of his misery. The day before Halloween, Keith and Zack took him to the vet one last time. It was a difficult few days before and after. We still miss him. 

Powder and Pouncer snuggle one last time.

Pounce's beloved Ghoul-friend seemed more like the Grim Reaper in the end.

Halloween Math Facts

For Halloween, the 3rd Grade teachers decided to dress up as flashcards. It was fun. I think my students will now remember what 9 x 7 equals :).

Halloween Night

Since we were trying to sell our old house last year, we were unable to truly decorate and enjoy Halloween. This year, Keith and the kids made up for it. We had our grave stones and window pictures, but they added additional items. There was a large sound activated spider which dropped in the doorway. A rubber rat on the front stoop. A hand reaching up from a grave and a skeleton hanging in the window. There was a ghost "flying" back and forth inside the house in the entry way arch.

The graveyard

The ghost which "flew" back and forth.

They used Gordon's garbage can with the popping up zombie head. They built a scary box. Inside the box, there was a motor which caused the box to shake and make noise. Out of the bottom were legs. Then, they painted the outside with words like radioactive, do not open, etc.The final part on the box was the glow in the dark paint they used to paint additional words and a skull with crossbones.
They took turns watching for trick or treaters to approach and pushed the buttons making the box shake and garbage can pop at just the right time. They were kind to the little ones and would not push the buttons.


garbage can & shaking box

Box lit up with the black light.

Nicole doing homework and controlling the buttons.