THANKSGIVING!!!

Okay, it's not really the turkey's butt, its where the neck goes, sicko!
Cute little Sallie!
Dad, the turkey fryer!
Gorgeous Grandma Shirley
Now, that's a dog for me (and Emily).Hunter's dream come true--Pinata!

AWW I love you Mom!

Pies Galore! The best is eating pie for breakfast the next day!

Amazing FIRE!

We had so much fun on Thanksgiving Day! It has been almost 9 years since we've been home for TG. Out of 9 of us kids, 8 were there in all our glory! I have the most entertaining siblings, so there was never a dull moment! Sallie and I helped Mom prepare Dinner. Somehow she convinced me to pose with the turkey! Dad deep fried the turkey, which was amazing!!! And. . . the very best part of Thanksgiving (my most favorite family tradition) is right after the turkey comes out of the frier, we all stand around and singe our fingers as we pick the crispy skin off and eat it!!! I have very fond memories of this as a kid, and I got to experience it again this year! I made 6 pies! They were yummy, if I do say so myself. Bliss, Jon's girlfriend, made a homemade key lime pie. It was yummy too! The kids got to do a pinata, and the grand finale was a fire show put on by my brothers Jon and Ian and Bliss. It was freezing, but so amazing to watch. James, as usual was behind the camera taking many (almost 200) photos. I can't wait to share them! Oh, I almost forgot, Sallie, Sadie, Susanna, and I went shopping in PC from midnight to 2:30 am. It was so much fun!!!

On our way home, we decided to visit Temple Square. The lights were awesome. It was really fun even though it was freeeeeezing outside and we didn't get home until after midnight! What an amazing weekend.

Our 16th Anniversary

We had so much fun on our anniversary. We had to go to Ut for a Parent's retreat, so we paid the kids to miss school and headed down. We dropped the kids off at Grandma and Grandpa's house and headed to Salt Lake. We stayed in the Little America hotel and ate dinner in the Dining Room. It was soooo yummy, and way too expensive! The next day, we did sealings in the SL temple, which is where we were married, so it was very meaningful. Our experience was also very memorable because of some very unusual things that took place. All in all, I am convinced that I am married to the best guy in the whole world. I am the luckiest girl in the world!

Family Photo Shoot

On Oct 14 th we decided to do Thanksgiving pictures. So, you find the perfect spot, pose nicely, and smile. That's it! Easy!!! Yeah, right! We almost got the perfect shot SEVERAL times. Connor, who smiled adorably in the shot with just him in the tree, could not seem to cooperate for any other picture. Oh well, he is cute anyway and we all adore him. After a while we bagged it all and decided to just have a leaf fight in stead. It turned out being a very fun family outing!!! Maybe we should have had the leaf fight first. Maybe we'll try that next year! Thanks, Mom for all your hard photography work!!!

Connor's 4

Connor's birthday finally arrived on October 20th! We told him that when it was Halloween time, it would be his birthday. He was a little confused by this. He kept saying, "it's Halloween!" And we had to keep correcting him. Then when we were getting ready for Halloween, he couldn't be convinced that it wasn't already over! The things we do to our children!

Josh and Susanna and Grandma and Grandpa and Alex all came up for the celebration. It was so fun!

Happy Halloween!

James dressed up as Gandalf for work. His fellow employee won the $25 pot. It's understandable why!

Connor as the brave KNIGHT
Emily as Sacajewea
Could that be my Hannah? After being a pirate at school and seeing all of the pretty princesses, Hannah decided to be a princess. After going to James' work party, she changed back into a pirate. I guess she just couldn't handle the prissy stuff after all.

Hunter as the Red Ranger (thanks Whitney who always plays Power Rangers with my kids).

Can you believe it's already November first??? Halloween is over and it was great. In fact, I think this was the first year ever that I wasn't totally stressed out! I didn't even yell at the kids! I was totally laid back and easy going! I didn't even freak out when Hannah decided to change her costume 3 times yesterday! I did a veggie platter and deviled eggs and rolls for dinner. I had it on the table when the kids came home from school and I just let them eat whatever they wanted. NO STRESS!!!