Veteran's Day, Volunteering, and Vacation Preparation

Valley Ridge Elementary always does an assembly in honor of Veteran's Day. This year, Arabella and Jon were performing in it so I made sure to attend. This assembly always gets to me. My emotions run high as I think of all of the millions of men and women who so bravely served and even died for our country. They deserve our every honor and respect and gratitude always. I hope that my children gain a bit of an understanding of the value of these men and women as they have the chance to participate in these assemblies. We are blessed to have veteran's in our family and I am thankful for them. 

 Okay this is no Veteran's day, volunteering, or vacation prep but we had a lovely spontaneous lunch date at a yummy restaurant. It is always a good day when I get a little extra time with this guy. 

 I was able to sign up our whole family for a volunteer opportunity through another church. We made these meal kits that are sent to poor areas around the world and areas that have been affected by natural disasters. By the time the day arrived, Joseph had a robotics competition all day and Arabella had a fever (Samantha was too young). So The four of us had a great time. That little Lily did not mess around. She took her assignment seriously. Jon was a great help too. Peter carried a whole lot of beans and rice to all of the different stations. I look forward to doing this again in the Spring. 

And for vacation prep we celebrated Thanksgiving early (Sunday) so that we could experience the traditional meal. We did not go all out - no rainbow jello or homemade rolls and we did salad instead of green bean casserole. I actually just finished using the last of the leftover frozen turkey tonight for dinner. These people are my world and I am so thankful for the life we have! We had also done a fair amount of laundry and packing to get ready for our trip, especially since I was working Sunday and Monday nights - then we left Tuesday morning once I was home and we were loaded. 

Life in all of its glory

The first Monday in November, Lily did a cartwheel and landed poorly on her right arm hurting her elbow. She was still complaining about it 2 days later so I took her to an urgent care. We were told she had a very small fracture in her elbow and told to follow up with orthopedics. I called and got an appointment for the next day. I had Graduate school orientation so Peter was the lucky guy who got to take her. He waited a ridiculous amount of time but in the end we were told that no, it was not broken. Lily was so relieved. 20ish hours in the splint was more than enough for her. 

 Jon is doing really well with his bagpipe lessons. This is a total random thing for sure but he is interested and does not complain too much about practicing. I look forward to the time when he gets to play on actual bagpipes and wears a kilt. ;)

 And finally, we needed to test out Peter's new Dutch Oven and its ability to make the pizza we had planned for our Thanksgiving camping trip. It worked so well! 

It was not too difficult to convince this guy to do a little dutch oven cooking. 

November Beginnings

As an early birthday present, I took Arabella to a bakery and then to a concert- Noteworthy- a female acappella group from BYU. It was really nice to spend the night visiting with this beautiful girl! She has so many talents and interests. She is going to change this world and be ever so kind and laughing while doing it. She sees the good around her and she helps to create so much good. 

 The first Saturday in November, we took family pictures. It was a chilly morning but I love how they turned out. That is my friend Jen Hair in the back with the boys. I cherish her friendship and her talents. 

 The girls are getting better at their skating lessons. Both have graduated to level 3 now! 

And both have requested roller skates for Christmas! 

October 2018: Halloween

The Annual Unofficial Ward Trunk or Treat did not disappoint. There was a really good turn out and there were plenty of treats for everyone. 

 We found a really good use for our crawfish pot. Our sweet little friend Peter Ostermiller humored his parents and let them dress him up as a lobster and put him in a giant pot! 

 Joseph opted to dress up as...... Peter! Nelson Jones hat, polo shirt, and he put on Peter's cowboy boots! He spent a good portion of his time helping Peter make cotton candy. 

 My 2 rockstars! 

 I made Peter do a last minute costume with me as Salt and Pepper (which works well with our initials).

 And of course a cool black cat! 

 Fall holiday party at preschool and a little silliness with pretzels. 

 We loved having Arabella's friend Lauren come over and trick or treat with us. The weather was not ideal and so there were not as many kids out and so people were very generous with their candy! 

The weather did clear up enough that Peter did make cotton candy and pulled the fire pit around to the front yard. It was a wonderful night. The boys stayed inside and watched a movie with friends. It was a fun way to end the month of October! 

October 2018: Peter turns 40!

It was a bit of a challenge figuring out how to celebrate this amazing man turning 40 so that he enjoyed the festivities and so he would know that we love him and appreciate him and want so much for him to be happy! 

 I surprised him by taking him to dinner on Saturday night at Bucca di Beppo where some of our friends met us. He was surprised that I had arranged for people to meet us. We feasted on so much delicious food and had a fantastic time. 

 Sunday, his actual birthday, we did the church thing and then had a restful day. 

Arabella had a great idea of making him a custom apron. The kids traced their hands on it and we attempted to tie dye it but the fabric (despite saying 100% cotton) did not hold the color well at all. But the thought was there and the handprints will be a treasure one day. 

He also received a new dutch oven which he was really excited about and looks forward to using on our family campout to Big Bend National Park for Thanksgiving. 

 For his birthday dinner, he chose salmon with 3 different veggie side dishes. It was so good! 

 We used our free bundlet coupons and lined them up to help hold the 40 candles which he chose to light by blowtorch! 

October 2018: A few random tidbits and Pumpkin Patch

One morning when I came home from work, I opened the garage door and found this sign waiting for me. That Peter is such a sweetheart! 

 He is also such a nut! - see below

 The girls have been taking skating lessons almost every Saturday and they are each getting so much better! Arabella and Lily have moved up in the classes from level 1 to level 3. Samantha was really timid about skating at first but she has gained so much confidence and should not be in level 1 much longer. The girls want skates for Christmas! 

There was some beautiful weather at the end of October and so we loaded the kids up and went to a corn maze/pumpkin patch. The corn maze was short but we had fun together. The kids humored me with a few pictures and then we headed out and took the kids to Sonic for some half price slushes. 

October 2018: Arabella 4th Grade Concert

The music teacher, Mrs. Moreno, put together the most amazing music program this year. It was filled with songs from movies and the kids were encouraged to dress up as movie characters. There were classic songs and some great dance moves. 

Arabella was a great little dancer and singer. 

She shone and was in her element! 

 She dressed up as Vanillope from Wreck-it Ralph. It was a bit of a last minute costume decision but we were able to put it together using things we had at home. 

 Awkward picture but most certainly no an awkward girl. 

Ella Moreno (Arabella's friend and Mrs. Moreno's daughter) and Arabella- I hope Arabella (and all of my kids) is always surrounded by good friends!