Welcoming the Angel Moroni

We heard some rumors this week that the Angel Moroni statue would be placed on top of the Payson Temple. No one would confirm this, not even the visitor center missionaries. They were not officially releasing any specific date because they were worried about the crowds. I was really hoping I would get to take my kids to see this happen, so I was thrilled when my neighbor sent me a text this morning, saying that her sister who lives near the temple had spotted the Angel Moroni! Within 3 minutes of me reading this text, we were in the car and on the road! We were so excited to be able to see the statue get placed on the temple!

 We made it down there with about 30 minutes to spare....

 You could barely see Moroni over the fence. He was all hooked up to the crane and ready to go!

 This is Gwen's new excited face. I love it!

 Tessa was too busy making new friends to be in the picture. 

 First, several construction workers went up in a box with one crane....

 Then Moroni followed! He went so high up, it was a little nerve wracking to watch. They pulled him up and then swung him around to the other side before setting him down inside the steeple. Thankfully, the rain held off while we were there, but the stormy weather sure made a beautiful sky!

 Gwen clapped, cheered and jumped all over the place once he was down and secure...as did the rest of the crowd (minus the jumping).

 We are so excited for our temple and so happy we were able to be there today!

Johnny Appleseed Week

Last week we finally had some fun around here again. I told the kids at the beginning of last week that we would be doing some Johnny Appleseed activities. Adam exclaimed, "Finally!!" Guess life has been too boring around here for him. 

 Wednesday we read some of our Johnny Appleseed books and made some apple art with pencil erasers. 

 Thursday we made our very own Johnny Appleseed pot hats. I loved how they turned out...especially Gwen's. 

 Friday we had a fun BYU party while we watched the game and finished off our Johnny Appleseed week by enjoying a delicious Apple Cake. Tessa only wanted to help make the caramel sauce. 

 Over the weekend, we enjoyed a wonderful General Conference. The kids had fun with all of their different activities and we ate tons of yummy food. Adam sat and really listened to several sessions and I was very proud of him for that! Here, he and Tessa are building their marshmallow temples out of marshmallows, toothpicks and glue. 

Now it's time to get ready for our Halloween countdown!!

Tessa's Photo Shoot

Last Tuesday, Tessa was invited to one of her besties birthday parties. These girls are all so girly, so it seemed very fitting that Elle had a Glamour Party with all of her little friends. Elle's mom works at a photo studio, so they had a nice set up. The girls were told to wear their best "Glam Outfit" and come ready for a fun evening. They all got Happy Meals and then had their hair and make-up done before they got their pictures taken. Each girl brought home a disk with their pictures and we have had so much fun looking at all of Tessa's pictures. Here are some of our favorites!

 Tessa and Elle

 Elle's grandma loved Tessa and told Elle's mom that she wanted to take Tessa home with her. 

 The first row of girls are all of Tessa's little buddies. We love having so many good friends for her to play with and they all have so much fun together!

Taylor, Tessa, Elle, Kate, Penny and Camdyn

More September Randomness....

I have not been very good at taking pictures or documenting our life this month. Thankfully, September always feels a bit slower around here and maybe that's a good thing. Here are some pictures of a few things that have been going on this month.

We celebrated the first day of fall with our traditional acorn doughnuts.

Adam and Tessa had fun making them and we all had fun eating them!

Oh, this girl! She is like a tornado! She loves playing out in the backyard and especially in the tomato plants.

Adam and Mommy had a photo shoot.

Tessa is little miss social! She has friends over constantly to play! I can't even tell you how many tea parties we have a week. Last week she went to her friend, Elle's birthday party. They went to a photo studio and had a photo shoot. Tessa wore her most glamorous outfit and had a ball with all of her friends!

When she isn't watching her new favorite show, "The Emperor's New Groove" (go figure, I know) we find her hiding with a toy she knows she shouldn't be playing with....

I couldn't get the pictures to rotate. One night for dinner, Gwen insisted on eating only cold cereal and only with a fork. We thought Tessa was stubborn....

Eric and I got to go to the BYU/Utah game with some cousins and had tons of fun-despite the outcome of the game. We still love our Cougars!

We entered into the red zone to go say hi to Jake and Angel. This rivalry goes deep!

A couple of weekends ago, I was lucky to have a break from life and go spend some time at the temple. It fed my soul and lifted my spirits! I am so thankful for this beautiful place!

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Overall, everyone is well and happy. We are on the countdown for school to be over for Eric. He won't be done until June, but we feel like it will be here before we know it! Adam is loving school and reading on a fourth, almost 5th grade level. He plays football constantly right now and you can often find him exploring Mt. Everest on Google Earth. Tessa is doing great at Kindergarten and has been working so hard on writing her name well. Her practice has paid off because her penmanship has improved so much since she started school. She comes home everyday and reports on who was naughty that day and how many new friends she has made. Gwen will finally let us put her hair up without immediately ripping it out. She is growing up so much and doesn't seem like much of a baby anymore. 

We are loving the cooler weather and these kids are getting excited for Halloween. Costume making is underway and we are excited for the holidays to be right around the corner. We are grateful to have each other and to be so blessed!

Primary Talks

Recently, both Adam and Tessa have been asked to give talks in Primary. Tessa gave her 2nd talk on he last Sunday in August and Adam was able to give a talk today. This is his first talk since he was a Sunbeam. He asks me almost every week when he will get another turn and was thrilled that his turn finally came!

I will put their talks in their journals, but Adam asked me if I would put them on the blog as well. Both kids helped write their talks and both had really good ideas of things they wanted to say. Tessa came up with her talk idea all on her own. 

Both of them received many compliments on how well their talks were written and presented. 

Adams Talk-given on September 29, 2013

In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin teaches his people about the importance of serving others. He teaches that serving others is to help others and when we help others, we are really helping Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We have been taught to serve with all of our heart, might, mind and strength. 

We can serve others with all of our hearts by showing love and kindness to others. When I am playing at school, I always invite others to play with me. It makes me feel bad when other kids don't include me in their games, so I try and make my friends feel happy when they ask to play.

We can serve others with our mind by thinking of ways to help other people.

We serve others with our might and strength by working hard. Especially  when we are doing things that are hard for others to do themselves.

I know that when we serve  others, we are really serving Heavenly Father and Jesus. When I serve others, I always feel happy and good inside. 

I hope we can all try to serve others with our heart, might, mind and strength.

Tessa's Talk-given August 25, 2013

I know Heavenly Father loves me because He hears and answers my prayers. Last year, I got to take a dance class. One night before my class, I couldn't find my dance clothes. My mommy and I looked in all of my drawers and all over my room. We couldn't find them anywhere. 

My brother, Adam, reminded us to say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to help us find my dance clothes. After we said a prayer, asking Heavenly Father for help, my mommy and I had an idea to look inside my backpack. We opened my backpack and there were my dance clothes! (I forgot I had put them in there.)

I know Heavenly Father will help us when  ask Him. I am thankful I can always pray to Heavenly Father.