Happy Thanksgiving

The night before Thanksgiving it started to snow.  It snowed all through the night and during the day.  Matt spent almost four house plowing our driveway and a few neighbors’ driveways. The boys were sweet to help Matt. I was busy in the kitchen getting things ready. The A’s came up to our house for Thanksgiving. Ardell, Charlene, Samme, Angie and Mark so the group was really small. Amy and Mike were back with Chelsy. I made the turkey, potatoes, rolls, green bean carrerole, jello salad and two pumpkin pies. Everything tasted so good! After our feast, we played dominos. We FaceTimed Mikayla in France. It was a great day! 

Sophie

We love our Sophie girl!!!  This first picture sums her up.  She loves her ball more than anything in the world.  She's beyond obsessed with it.  She's turned into such a good dog.  We love her!

Tanner and the Turkey Trot

Tanner was very excited to finally be able to participate in the Elementary Turkey Trot.  It was horrible weather outside so they moved the race to inside.  They had the kids race through the halls.  They had the kindergarten girls race first.  Then it was the boys turn.  Tanner was doing really well but then he got a little lost on the trail and turned down the wrong hall.  So he came in 6th place.  He was really disappointed.  But we were still so proud of him.  He ran so fast and tried so hard!

Savior of the World

I thought that it would be cheaper to make Tanner some white pants.  But by the time I bought the material and the pattern, I saved probably $3.00.  In my mind I thought that it would be easy but it ended up being a lot harder than I thought.  My seamstress skills are not as good as they used to be.  I didn't cut two layers so the pants looked like a two year old leggings.  I broke down and called mom and we figured out that I only cut out one layer instead of folding the fabric.  I was able to squeeze out another cut out.  I unpicked everything and started over.  I was able to make them a lot better. But still not great.  They took me almost all day but I finished them!  Tanner was very excited about them and loved wearing his white clothes.  I've wanted a new temple dress for the last several years but I can never find anything that I love.  I've had my old dress for 21 years (I've had it since I got married).  But the buttons are mismatched and they don't stay closed so it's embarrassing when they're open in the front.  I found this dress and really liked it.  At the very last minute (the day of the performance) I ended up driving down to B and I got the dress at W E.  It's exactly what I was looking for.  I wanted something very comfortable for the temple.

A high council member came over to our house in July and asked Bridger and Matt if they would be a certain character in the play "Savior of the World" in November.  (Bridger was asked to be Ezra and Matt was a minor character called Micah). Then he asked if the rest of us would be in the choir of angels.  We said "sure" not knowing how busy our fall would be.  It ended up being a lot of work!  We sacrificed a lot to make it to the practices.  But through this experience,  I was able to recognize a lot of tender mercies from the Lord.  He opened up our schedule and made it work out for us.  I grumbled through the whole experience until the performance.  And then my cold heart was melted and I felt the spirit in an overwhelming way.  It ended up being a great experience for our family!

UANA Jazz Game

The UANA had a meeting before a Jazz game started.  Chase couldn't miss basketball so we just brought Tanner and Bridger with us.  We talked to Rob to see if he had any extra tickets.  They were so sweet and worked it out for Bridger and Tanner to use two of their tickets.  As a trade, we brought Caleb and Julie.  Our boys were so excited to have their cousins come with them!!!  They sat in Rob's seats and had so much fun!  We went to C. B. before the game.  Matt had a member of the board cancel at the last minute so he offered the seats to Layne and Thomas.  I took Thomas with me and met up at half time to get everyone a treat.  There happened to be an extra seat right next to where the kids were sitting.  So we let Thomas go sit with them for the second half.  It was a fun night for everyone.

I love this picture with everyone's big smiles.  I love how Tanner has his arm around Caleb. 

Tanner's Fun Art Projects

Tanner's been able to make a lot of fun art projects in school.  He's learning so many fun things.

This past summer, Chase has been into cliff and bridge jumping.  Tanner got a doodle pad and he drew this picture of Chase cliff jumping.  It's quite accurate.  It made us laugh.

In October, Tanner's class made Frankenstiens.  At parent teacher conferences, Tanner pointed out his creation.

In November, Tanner's class learned about the pilgrims and the Indians.  Tanner drew his Indian and then spelled his names with beans.

In November, Tanner's class had a party and I was in charge of it.  There were a few other moms that helped out.  I found this cute craft idea online.  This is what we did at my station.  The kids really enjoyed it and were creative with the colored squares.

Graybee's Back

Graybee disappears for several weeks at a time and then shows back up when we least expect it.  It's silly but I love this cat!  He is so friendly and loves to cuddle.  He's so talkative.  It makes me so happy when he comes back home.  Now if only he would stick around.  (I would love to know where he goes).

Girls Weekend

We ate our leftover cheesecakes for breakfast.  What a great way to start the day.

Our Minnesota girls weekend is probably one of my top 10 favorite things to do during the year.  I love these women with all of my heart!  They are such dear friends to me.  We strengthen and lift each other to be better.  Plus we love being together and have so much fun.  This year we started our girls weekend on Thursday.  We ended it Saturday night.  Amanda left us on Saturday morning to go to Luke's football game.  Then Amber left us later in the day for a family thing.  We ate lots of yummy food!  We shopped till we dropped!  How blessed I am to have these wonderful women in my life!

Before we headed home, Tiff, Jen and I stopped at T J's again.  I decided to give peppermint Oreos for neighbor, church and friends gifts.  So I bought half the store, or at least it seemed like half the store.