Queen of Cursive

Yesterday at school, Tessa was named the Queen of Cursive! This means her cursive was excellent this week.  (She was so proud of herself!) Way to go, Tess!

Weekend Fun

Last Friday, we bundled everyone up and headed to the Riverwoods for the annual Christmas Lighting. We got to sing, dance, see fireworks, and see Santa! The kids loved it and we always love seeing all the beautiful Christmas lights turn on all at once. It was cold, but fun!

 Caleb was not loving the whole experience. He just wanted to run. There were TONS of people there this year, so putting him down was not an option. 

Saturday, Mommy and Adam got to run away to BYU for a good chunk of the day to watch the football game. We had fun hanging out on campus before the game started. 

 Adam got up bright and early to make a sign for the game. He wanted to get on camera so bad! His sign said, "May the force be with BYU!"

 We got our favorite food to share for lunch. We can't get enough of Cupbop.

 It was freezing cold, but we had such a fun time! The game was awesome and we had fun cheering and laughing. We realized that we sound exactly the same when we scream. That had us laughing pretty hard!

While we were gone, Daddy and Tessa had some fun of their own. Daddy helped Tessa with several science projects. She got to dig for fossils and they made a volcano, which was the perfect backdrop for Tessa's toys later in the day. They waited until we got home to make the volcano erupt. The kids were so amazed! It was fun daddy/daughter day too!

Thanksgiving Countdown

This past week, we kicked off our Thanksgiving Countdown. I originally started our countdown activities to go along with our Mommy School program, but now they have just become a favorite holiday tradition and the kids always look forward to them. That makes all the work worth it. 

We had to do our Turkey Hunting. This is always a favorite. Gwen was a surprisingly good shot this year!

 We added a new game this year and I think it will have to be added to our favorites list. We had so much fun with Turkey Feather Races! This game produced many happy giggles.

 We painted pumpkins

 We made Mayflower treats and talked about the Pilgrim's and all that they endured to come to America.

I had to add this picture just for Gwen's face.

We made Pilgrim puppets and turkey handprints

 And, we made some Teepee's. 

We've got a few activities left before the big day!  We are excited to have some special family time next week and use these next couple of days to reflect on how blessed we are. Heavenly Father has been so good to us and I am grateful for this time of year when we slow down a bit and really think about our many blessings. It's overwhelming to think how blessed we are, I love our life and wouldn't trade it for anything!

November

November has been good to us. I think the kids are still on a sugar high from Halloween. We've had a busy 2 weeks, but they have been full of happy and funny moments amid the chaos of everyday life. 

We were so, so happy to have a special visit from Mamma and Bampa! Bampa was only here for one day, but Mamma has been around for a couple of weeks. We had so much fun visiting with them. We spent a wonderful afternoon at the park and then Mamma and Bampa endured a ridiculous game of Charades with us in the evening. We hate that they live so far away now, but we love when they visit us!!

 Adam decided to become an author. He started writing a book this month and has spent several evenings working on it. He said things get exciting in chapter 5!

 Mommy got to run away for a weekend and attend the Pinner's Conference. It was so fun to get a little break from everyday life and take several classes that will help me be a better person and a better mom. This weekend rejuvenates my soul and gets my creative juices flowing again. I love it! 

 While Mommy was gone, Daddy and the kids met up with Mamma and some of their cousins at Nickel City and the Zoo. The kids were so happy to see their cousins. Daddy said Caleb was amazed by everything.

 We have been soaking in all the final beautiful days of fall. Our river trail is gorgeous this time of year and we have loved spending our evenings walking through the crunchy leaves. 

 Playing Pooh Sticks

 Tessa found a T stick.

Life is never dull with Gwen around. She did her own make-up for church last week. 

 Tom the Turkey made his annual appearance last week. The kids are excited to see how many feathers he will have by Thanksgiving. 

 We met up with Ma, Pa, Aunt Katy, Uncle Ben, Uncle Matt, Aunt Gillian and Baby Gia to see the Peanuts movie. While the movie was darling, our favorite part was listening to Adam laugh through the entire movie. He has the best laugh! Tessa cried at the end because she said it was romantic.

 We had our first snowfall and Gwen couldn't have been more happy!

 She got all suited up and made snow angels. She waited all winter last year for snow so she could make a snow angel. 

 Then she ran around the backyard yelling, "This is so magical!!" I wish it had snowed more for her. She was so happy!

The other afternoon, I caught Tessa walking outside in this amazing outfit. I asked her what she was doing all dressed up and she replied, "Oh, just going outside to impress the boys." Oh my heavens! And so it begins.....

 Mommy and Tess got to have a fun Mother/Daughter Date with some shopping and dessert. We had such a fun time together and got a little crazy once we got some chocolate in us. 

 Saturday morning, Ma was nice enough to come and play with the kids so Mommy and Daddy could go to the temple. It was so nice to be in such a peaceful place and have our spirits recharged. 

 Saturday afternoon was beautiful, so we headed to the park for some fun. Caleb loves to slide!

 These boys are the best! I love watching Adam play with Caleb. He is such a good big brother and Caleb loves any and all attention he gets from Adam.