October 2012. Includes Halloween.

 We spent General Conference hanging out with friends while Dave was out of town.

 And sleeping in strange places like the living room floor.

 Or the kitchen floor.

 We played with cousins Hazel, Ellen and Ruby.

 ...and Maggie and Sam.

 I joined Ocean Avenue.  And bought Clara a t-shirt.

Then she lost a tooth.

 Then we decided that the kids should dress up and go beg for candy.  Except Josh, who maintained that he had absolutely no interest.

 Clara finally got her wish to be a bat after begging for two years.

 The kids were all ready for action.

 Cleopatra and the bat (both toothless)

 At the last minute Josh said, "I should bring a grocery sack in case someone wants to give me candy."  Aunt Loree put her foot down and made Josh dress up in Spencer's costume from last year.  It was awesome.

 So Bat and Mario were ready for action.

 Dave was responsible for stopping the boys from running too far ahead.

I did this and stuck a bowl of candy on the front stairs. 

Jen Again

Jen was in town for a quick trip.  So Tonya, Rachel and I met her at Z' Tejas for some fun and conversation.  We got a group picture, but I don't have it so these will have to do!

Girls Night Out in Park City

 Jen Hudgins came back to town so we drove up to Park City for dinner.  Extremely expensive and we were sitting there for about four hours.  The waitress hated us.  Probably because my friends are so gorgeous and funny. 

 Rachel...doing something funny.

Loree, me, Sally, Cynthia, Jen, Tonya, Rachel

Canning Stuff at the Cannery

Our ward (church congregation) had some time scheduled at the cannery.  So we met my friend Marcy there, donned our cool hair coverings, aprons, and gloves, and dug into macaroni, flour, dried carrots, and various other things.  It was a good learning experience for the kids and they had great fun for the first hour.  Then they got bored.  Marcy's kids were really hard workers.  I need my kids to hang out with her kids more often.

I have watched all of these kids grow up.  In fact, I held Ryan (the girl in yellow) at church when she was a baby. 

Fall Leaf Expedition

We decided one night to drive up into the canyon and do some fall leaf gathering.  We printed off a packet to learn about why leaves change and all that jazz, and then grabbed some pizza.  We had a picnic, gathered leaves, and generally had a grand old time in the mountains.

Karen Turns 70

My Aunt Karen turned 70 this year, so we had a surprise party for her.  Sean and Kristen flew in from Fargo, Jeanne and Donna flew up from Arizona.  We met at a restaurant in Orem and surprised her there.  It was hilarious, and so fun for us to all be together without kids anywhere around us until later.  Eric was conducting a stake out, but his yellow shoes were glaring.

 Kristen and Cheryl

 Erin, Donna, Sean and Evie (my mom)

 This is what happens when we all get together and try to keep from being seen.

 It gets really strange.  45 year olds start squatting.

 But it was all worth it when we saw Karen's face.  She definitely doesn't look 70!

 Kristen, Sean, Erin, Gordy, Mike, Karen

 After dinner we went back to the house for dessert, and the kids had decorated.

 Jack and Karen - no really, she is 70!

They blew out their candles (their birthdays are a day apart).

Knights of Freedom and Liberty Girls Begins 2012

 This year as part of our homeschool, we joined a Commonwealth School.  Josh goes to a group with 10 boys ages 8-11.  They read about and study the lives of statesmen.  This semester we read biographies of John Smith, Squanto, and William Bradford.  I volunteered to be one of the mentors, so I get to be on this journey with him.  The boys are amazing.  They do exhibitions and share stories, along with having book discussions.  We also do crafts and activities.  The best part is that they have time for swordplay with foam swords.  We meet at my friend's house who has a lot of space to roam, so the boys have all sorts of adventures.

 Lady Rebecca is our fearless leader.

 The boys have a motto that they recite, poetry to memorize, and we say the Pledge of Allegiance and open every meeting with a prayer. 

 We also voted at the beginning of the semester on a King, a Prince, and a Lord Chancellor to run the show.  The boys had the opportunity to give a speech on why they thought they should be elected.  Josh wasn't interested, being one of the younger boys.

 Red faced from swordplay, but kicking back and enjoying the show.

 My cute friend Paige, who oddly enough was my friend who started the charter school that my kids went to for a few years, is the leader of Clara's Liberty Girls group.  The Liberty Girls read American Girl Doll books and have activities centered around what girls would do during that time period.  This semester we read the Kaya series.  Josh really loved the books as well.  We had a good time reading them together and talking about what it would be like to be a Native American in the 1700s.  Between Kaya and the biographies, I have learned a great deal!

 One fun Saturday the Liberty Girls families met at a lake and went fishing and had a picnic. 

 Josh also started as a Bear this year.  He turned 9 in September.  He is such a funny kid.  We are looking at braces early in 2013, but I'll take those blue eyes and freckles and that dimple.

I am so blessed to have my two kiddos.  We aren't a big family, but we have a lot of love for each other.  My kids don't have a crafty mom, but they get 100s of kisses a day!