Badger Mt on Thanksgiving

Got to get our Thanksgiving Hike in before the big feast!  We have been hearing about the hike on Badger - Brayden and Becky hike it all the time...so we were excited to finally get a chance to go and hike the infamous mountain!!!  It was a beautiful day - perfect for a hike!  We enjoyed the sunshine, company, and views!

   

Matchy Matchy Beige Squared

We matched for church....so of course we had to take a picture!!!  With 2 less kids, Laura thought the picture would be easier to take...nope.  It still took a few takes to get it right....and just when we finally thought we got it...Laura's head was cut off!!!  Haha.  Matchy Matchy Beige squared!!! And We look good!

Flying Solo

The boys are heading to Colorado!!!!  They are going to see their buddies Chandler and Jackson Hickman who moved from Clovis to Colorado about the same time we moved to Washington. They have been dying to see their friends.   So the boys packed their bags and got ready for an adventure...flying on an airplane SOLO!  They did awesome and even tackled the Denver Airport unaccompanied to the baggage claim...if you are familiar with the Denver airport you will know what a big deal that is - navigating through terminals, riding on trams, reading signs and getting to the baggage claim where the Hickmans were waiting for them!!  Fun Weekend Ahead!

Kissably Cute

Pucker up...Buttercup...

Detric wants a kiss - WATCH OUT!

Detric just loves his little sister to death!! Sometimes it is just too much love for a little woman to handle and she just has to pull her hat down and say I'm done!!!  But, not before Detric was able to coax a kiss out of her!  Best Buddies! 

Papa and Nana Visit

We love it when Papa and Nana come up for a visit!  Who doesn't love 2 extra adults in the house to help entertain kids, clean, talk to, shop with, play games, watch movies, eat Cafe Rio, etc.  Come as often as you can - WE LOVE IT! 

BYU vs Gonzaga

When we heard there was a BYU vs. Gonzaga Girls volleyball game we said...YES PLEASE!!  When BYU comes to town...we show our pride and our crazy Cougar comes out!  We Love to support us a little BYU!  We got all decked out and facepainted for the occasion!  Laura, CJ and Preston braved the crowd and cheered on the cougars while Aparri, Detric and Erica had a playnight at the Terry's house!  It was a fun night out with the big boys as Laura taught the boys what it means to be a BYU fan!!!  CJ was a good sport with the facepaint and humored Laura with a full face Y, Preston took the more conservative route and painted cougar colors under his eyes!  They were both good sports - and we all enjoyed us a little Baskin Robbins treat on the way home!  Go COUGARS!!

Christmas Trees, Eggnog & Cookies

IT's November AND snowing...that means it's time to bring out Christmas right? To Laura...a definite NO!!!!  But, according to Clay and the kids...a definite YES!  So we compromised...Laura allowed just the tree and tree lights to go up - but no ornaments and no decorations until after Thanksgiving.  It ended up being a good deal for everyone.  Laura does love to enjoy the quiet evenings of sitting with a warm blanket with all the lights off except the tree lights feel the magic of Christmas, and there just doesn't seem to be enough time in 1 month to fully enjoy the tree, so Laura was grateful for the extra time ... CJ helped Erica put the tree topper on the tree this year - he is the tallest in the house!

  And Detric screamed with glee in the store when he saw his  true love...Eggnog appear on the shelf again.  Laura just couldn't say no to just a squeal of pure and utter delight.  And..she has been buying weekly ever since!  Detric has had a steady diet of Eggnog the whole month of November and December and he never got sick of it!  Hopefully it will hold him over until next year!

Our Very own Little Baker

A very good Cookie Maker

Erica loves to be in the kitchen with Laura!  She loves to be "up" and see everything!  A stool does ok, but up on the counter is even better!  Erica loves to roll, stir, and definitely taste everything we make!!!  Laura loves the company and "help"

First Snow

Laura's been a little apprehensive about getting any snow ....everyone reassured Laura...oh don't worry, we won't get snow until after Thanksgiving!!  WRONG!  It was just barely Halloween and there is white stuff on the ground!  The kids sure didn't share Laura's apprehension...they were thrilled and prayed for MORE SNOW!!!  They are in snow heaven having a great time building snowman, sliding down the street, and playing with neighbors.

Happy Halloween

Punkin' Carving

Laura didn't even think about pumpkin carving...it's just not one of her favorite traditions... But the boys thought differently.  At the beginning of the month, Preston had taken a mini pumpkin and carved it - perfect.  Carving complete.. Oh no, Laura wasn't off the hook that easy!!! On October 30th, the eve of Halloween, CJ was acting bummed about something...when Laura finally got it out of him... IT was brought to her attention that we hadn't carved a pumpkin yet and this needed to be done! (forget about carving...we hadn't even bought a pumpkin large enough to be worthy of proper carving) So Laura and CJ quickly rectified the situation...they ran to walmart, bought a perfect plump carving worthy pumpkin and CJ carved it!!  It may not be Laura's favorite, but sometimes she needs those reminders that she is raising boys...and any excuse to carve, use knives, and create a masterpiece - are their favorites!  Good job boys...thanks for keeping the tradition alive!!! ( We enjoyed Preston's carved pumpkin on the kitchen counter all month, until we discovered that by Halloween Preston's poor pumpkin was saturated in mold .. yikes.

Primary Program Sunday

The kids all looked so good for the primary program... Laura just had to take a picture!!! (CJ's not in primary anymore...but he was a good sport and agreed to be in the picture.

Leaves = a new bad word

I used to think that I loved fall leaves (like last week)....they are beautiful to look at, fun to play in, Laura even purposely went on more walks to just enjoy the beautiful tree lined streets...she was in awe and loved the place they live.  Well fast forward a few days and the beautiful leaves are now falling from their trees...and Laura is singing a different tune....yes, they are still beautiful to look at, and yes, they are still fun to play in,   BUT BOY ARE THEY A PAIN in the ...  TO RAKE.  Oh I don't mind a bag here or there...but seriously it was RIDICULOUS the amount of leaves the trees in our yard shed... we bagged up...  I kid you not...I bet we raked and bagged over 40 garbage bags of leaves...they just wouldn't stop.  Hours and hours of raking, bagging, raking and bagging...our dear neighbor and hometeachers Jared and Michael Nelson had pity on Laura since Clay was gone and came and helped rake up some of the leaves.  Oh boy...leaves....I think that is now a new BAD word in this house.  Watch out!