First Sign of Winter

Today I awoke to snow falling with a bitter cold wind. We had a little snow a couple weeks ago but it only lasted a few minutes and melted just as fast.

The snow has stopped but there is a big storm coming. Maybe we will get to try out our little hill with some sledding sooner than we thought.  I'm not ready for winter but its just around the corner, ready or not.

Basketball Clinic

Aaron is crazy about basketball and he can't wait to play this winter.  The town put on a pre season clinic with the #1 high school basketball coach Bob Hurley.

 He taught the kids a bunch of drills they can do at home. Zach was a huge help to Aaron and made sure he had a chance to take his turn.

 There were about 45 kids there and Coach Hurley did a great job of talking to both the older and younger kids.

Zach went up and got to talk with Coach Hurley and thank him for his time so I snapped a quick photo which didn't turn out very well.  They both learned a lot and had fun playing at the same time.  What a great way to start the basketball season.

New Playground

The town put in a new playground at the soccer complex so with it being one of the last warm days we went to check it out.

 They had some fun toys that we had never seen before.

 Katie and Zach had a blast in these spinning seats.

 Katie lasted the longest and she couldn't stop laughing long enough to get out of the seat so she just kept spinning and spinning.

The kids were having so much fun John decided to join in and they all went spinning around.  We also took the kids bikes with us and went around the track they have.  It was a nice afternoon together spent outside having fun together.

Playing in the Leaves

One of the reasons we bought this house was because of the big tree lined backyard, but now that its fall that beautiful tree lined yard if full of leaves. On the up side it gives us lots of leaves to jump into.

Its a lot of work to get them cleaned up but with everyone's help we were able to make a big pile.

 Katie went and got her doll dressed up so they could jump in the leaves together.  Her hard work payed off and the boys couldn't wait to join in on the fun.

They even went and got out my step ladder and many hours later they were still out there playing with the leaves.  As for the rest of the yard, we bought a bagger for the lawn mower. I drove while Zach and John emptied the bags and about 3 hours later we had a leaf free yard, for the day that is.

End of our Soccer Season

We just had our last Saturday of soccer games and just in time because it was freezing out.

 Katie's game was first and she like always played so hard.  Her team only won one game this season and with it being so cold out the girls were just not into soccer.  They lost but Katie had a great season and was the top scorer for her team.

 Katie has really grown to love soccer like her brother and she is pretty good at it also so that makes it fun to watch.  After her game they had a little party and gave out trophy's. Great Job Katie!!!!

 Aaron has also improved this year and he really started to get into the game once in a while.  He loves to cheer on his team and he like to play defense so he doesn't have to run around so much.  He's really only half into soccer and is just in it for the fun and not the win.  His team only won 2 games but they always play hard.

 Aaron's team also had a little party where there were lots of yummy treats.

 Aaron got his trophy and we were ready to go get warmed up in the car. Good Job Aaron!!

 

 We had a little break to warm up and grab some lunch before Zach's game.  His team was in second place only losing one game all season.  The played that same team and if his team won they would be tied for first.  It was a great game lots of good plays and passes. The game ended with on goals being scored by either team.

Zach got his trophy and we took a team picture.  Great Job Zach way to be a team leader this year!

 

They all played hard all season.  Zach and Katie really love soccer and they are sad to have it end. Aaron on the other side can't wait for basketball to start.  Great Job Guys!!!

Halloween Night

This is the year that we are on our own for trick or treating.

 

   We don't live in a neighborhood so we had to find a different place to trick or treat.

 The kids got dressed up after dinner and we headed out to the car.

 We went out to 3 different small neighborhoods and walked through the rain but the kids had fun and some of the houses were decorated really cool. We were getting cold now that the rain was coming down pretty heavy so we called it quits and headed home.

 

We got home and the kids poured out their candy and started making trades with each other.  The kids told us that at most of the houses they got more than one piece of candy because there wasn't very many kids out so they ended up with much more candy than I thought they would.  We had a fun night and we all ate to much candy but it was a great first holiday in our new home.

Crazy Hair Day

Katie wanted to have her hair stick straight up for crazy hair day this year so I did my best and this is what we came up with.

She loved it, she is such a goofy girl and this fit her personality perfectly. 

Ward Halloween Party

Later that night we had our ward party and trunk or treating. The young women were in charge of games so the kids started off by getting their face painted and doing some pumpkin bowing.

 Aaron got a monkey painted on his cheek he was so happy he said he wasn't going to wash his face for a year.

 Next we went outside so the kids could go trunk or treating. At first Zach didn't want to go around so he passed out the candy for us.

 

 Zach even decorated our trunk for us and he did a great job.

We had a fun night the kids got lots of candy and they had a great time playing with the other kids.

Town Trunk or Treat

Our town has a trunk or treat at the soccer field parking lot each year and since we are already there with the kids playing soccer the kids were so excited to start off the Halloween week with a little trick or treating.

 Aaron and Katie had a game before the event but Zach's game was starting right when it started so John went to watch his game and I went around with the other 2.  Aaron was a ninja this year and he was right in his element.

 Katie choose to be a lady bug and she was so excited to where her red shoes with her costume.

There were  quite a few cars passing out candy and the kids had a great time walking around and seeing how everyone decorated their cars. What a great way to the holiday week.

Making our House a Home

We have spent lots of time putting our things in the house and making changes so we can call it our own and luckily I have 3 handy men who can get it all done.

 Zach and John put in a new light over the table and they did a great job looks so much better than the one that was there before.

 With winter coming we wanted to have a place on the back deck to hold some fire wood so the boys built a wood stand.  Aaron was a big help and made sure every screw was put in the right place.

 We also needed to replace our mailbox there have been many days when I would look outside and the old mail box would be on the ground and the mailman will not deliver when its on the ground so it was a on the top of our list.

We have made some good strides in making our house a home and each time we finish a project it feels like we our home.

New Callings

Since we are in a new Ward we both received new callings.  I was called to be a Primary Teacher to the 10-12 year old girls.  I have a co teacher so I only have to teach every other week and we only have 2 girls so its a pretty easy calling, so I thought.  A couple weeks into teaching I was told that because I teach this class I also have to do the Activity Days activity twice a month.  So my easy Sunday calling now turned into a very busy one.  One good thing is Katie is an Activity Day girl so we have been working on these requirements for a while now.

John was called to the Scout Master for our Ward. This is a very busy calling.  He has never been a scout so he has lots to learn. He has lots of camp outs to plan and many Wednesday night activity's to plan.  Zach being 11 is now a scout so that helps that he was taking Zach to Church anyway so in that way it works out.  He is so busy and there is always something going on so that also takes away from us at home but we support him and help him in any way we can.  He loves being with the youth and we have many less active boys so he is really trying to do fun things to get them join in. 
We are very busy but we are happy to do our part. 

Sumo Siblings

One afternoon while I was cooking dinner I heard lots of laughing coming from the living room and when I looked around the corner I saw Zach and Katie ready for a fight.

 They had put our pillows into their shirts and were ready for some Sumo wrestling.

 They were laughing so hard they could hardly stay on their feet.

At one point Katie got Zach pinned down and then they started over again.  Its so nice to watch them play together.  It always seems like they are fighting with each other so it was was so nice watching them playing and having so much fun together.  So from now on I'm thinking that when they start to argue I just need to have them pillow up and fight it out and maybe that will end in lots of laughs again.

Last Trip to Six Flags

Now that Fall is here we made one last trip to Six Flags before they closed for the year.

 John was at work last time we went so this was the first time he came to this park and the kids couldn't wait to show him all the awesome rides they loved from last time.

 

 There are very few rides that all 3 of the kids can go on together so its really fun to watch when that does happen.

Zach has become a real lover of roller coasters and John does not like them at all so as the only other person in the family tall enough to ride I get to go with Zach.  We didn't go on as many as last time but we did try a couple new ones and like always I scream like a little girl and he laughs at me, but we had a lot of fun.  It was a nice sunny but cool day so it was nice to walk around and watch the kids on all the rides.  We had a fun summer going to Six Flags and it was fun to be able to go to a couple different parks and we are looking forward to next summer and trying out another park.

Decorating for Halloween

We are so excited for our first holiday in our new home and who doesn't love Halloween.

 I found these cool pumpkin decoration kits so we let the kids put them on right away. Aaron's is a Ghost.

 Zach turned his pumpkin into Frankenstein.

 Katie being such a girl turned hers into a princess.

 We then started on decorating the house with our window decals

 We have lots of pictures for the walls and the kids love to hang them up all over the house.

It was fun to spend the evening making our home look so festive for Halloween.  We are really enjoying our new house and look forward to many more fun times.