Disneyland

We surprised the kids with a trip to Disneyland in November. We stopped by Vegas and stayed

the night on the way down. We went to the M&M Factory and the Hershey Factory. 

We stayed at the Springhill Suites Hotel a few blocks from Disneyland. It had a pool on the roof and the kids loved it! We had a fantastic time together!

Halloween 2015

 It seems I am always 3 months behind. Fall is my favorite time of year and just looking at these pictures  makes me happy. We had a pretty good pumpkin harvest. We sold the pumpkins we didn't use and the kids made about 25$ to go to Hang Time, which is their favorite trampoline park.

We went bowling with our homeschool co-op. 

This is Gib. He lives next door (but will be moving within a few weeks. BUMMER)
They are a homeschooling family as well and we have loved having them as neighbors.
The Ninja Turtle outfits were purely coincidental. ;-)

We went to Jackie and Gary's neighborhood to trick or treat
and then the girls ended up going out with friends, which is new
to me and nerve wracking. They were with moms though so as
long as I don't have to be the mom to do it then I love this new idea!
Me and the boys stayed home and watched Ichabod Crane; a family tradition
that I think is fantastic. LOVE Ichabod!

Happy 10th Birthday Ava!

Gracie's birthday is just around the corner so I decided to get first things first. Ava celebrated her 10th birthday on October 15th. I thought I'd share a handful of pictures of her before I get to her birthday celebration. 

Edible cheeks. YUM!

She LOVED her binky and didn't give it up til her 4th birthday. Yikes!

Possibly choking Zuka?! :)

First day of preschool!

Halloween. My baby is shining!

Discovery Museum

Ava and several of her friends,  including Gracie, went swimming at the Orem Rec and then came back for cake, root beer floats, and present opening. I can't believe my baby is 10! 

Some things to know about Ava:

1. She is such a funny girl. She has a great personality. Some of the stuff she comes up with is so random and funny! 

2. She loves Harry Potter and super hero movies like Avengers etc.

3. She has a fun hip hop style when she dances. No ballerina moves for her.

4. She has a compassionate heart.

5. She is a daddy's girl!

6. She is very strong and always gets compliments on her firm handshake at church.

7. She can be violent when cornered....ha ha...Ava you know it's true.

8. Her favorite colors are turquoise, yellow, coral, gray, mint.

9. Her favorite food is "sunshine potatoes" aka funeral potatoes.

10. She wants to learn how to play the electric guitar.

 I love my little girl and I'm so grateful the Lord gave her to us!

This is a fun idea I found off Pinterest and Ava was sweet enough to give it a go. 

Random

I've got a bunch of pictures on my phone that I thought I'd just randomly share. I'm not in the mood to tackle a Christmas post so I thought this would suffice. :) 

This is Tegan feeding baby Jonathan a bottle before heading off to scouts. We watch Jonathan every Tuesday for a friend and my kids think that he is just fantastic! Side note: Yes I send boys to scouts with ripped pants. No big deal! 

Just cute. Enough said.

I noticed Tegan's backpack was very heavy right before Christmas break so I decided to dump out the contents during break. Yes there are two big rocks right in the middle of the pile. This hoarder must be stopped. I randomly clean out drawers in his room and cubbies on his bed where he has stuffed little "trinkets." He thinks everything is a treasure.

My little guy helped make mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner for me.
 He washed, peeled, and chopped the potatoes and was very proud of his work.

Ryan came home from Mongolia for good on December 18th. The kids and I made him
this sign and bought donuts and soda for the occasion. We are THRILLED he is home!!
The kids are playing board games and watching movies with him like it's going out of style.
They are making up for lost time and loving it. 

This funny little guy bought a balloon pump and balloons with some money he had.
Joe Cool made himself a sword and thinks he is really somethin.

Below: At the request of Jackie, Tegan drew a family picture for an empty frame she had in her house. Her boys, Gavin and Oakley, couldn't agree on who would draw it so Tegan got the job! Cute little guy is very proud. 

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