Festival of Trees

We love the festival of trees. Hannah's dance class performs there each year. It's fun that her cousin Malory is in her class this year and we can watch them both perform. It seems like it kicks off the Christmas season. There are beautiful Christmas trees to look at, and it's the first time that the kids see Santa. Hannah asked him to bring her a vanity, Jonas asked for two lawn mowers, and Eli asked for a kiddie zoom camera.

(Eli is still a little scraped up from when he fell at school

running for the bus.)

YMCA Basketball for Eli

Eli participated in basketball at the YMCA this fall. There were seven boys on his team. His coach was Lonnie Pyper (he used to be Brady's neighbor when they were boys).

When I asked Eli what he liked about playing basketball he said:

"It was fun when I got the shots. I liked the passing. And I liked it when grandma watched. And I did like practicing at the very beginning and shooting baskets without anyone guarding."

Here's an action shot of Eli. He was one of the best dribblers on the team.

Veteran's Day

Brady had Veteran's Day off. The weather was beautiful in Idaho Falls that day, so he decided to put up the outside Christmas lights. I was happy that there was no snow on the roof. Eli decided that he wanted to go up on the roof too. I'm sure Brady will have the kids helping with the lights in a few years.

Halloween

Halloween is always a busy time of year. First we had our ward Halloween party (about 10 days before Halloween). There was a dinner and then trunk or treat after. Hannah and Eli both had Halloween parties at school that they got to dress up for. Hannah and Jonas both had parties in their Dance Tech classes. And then, of course, we went trick or treating on Halloween night.

Hannah dressed up as Princess Daisy, Eli was Mario, and Jonas was a fireman.

Eli saved his Mario mustache for Halloween night and then decided that he did not like it, so we penciled one on.

Here are some super cute trick or treaters that came to our house.

(Malory, Gavin, and Cooper- for those of you who can't recognize them.)

After trick or treating, we went to a super awesome Halloween House. Their decorations were amazing. They had a ring toss game where people could win prizes and a snack shack with free popcorn.

Who knew that a holiday that used to be just one evening a year could be celebrated for 10 days? We survived this year, can't wait to see what next year brings.

Las Vegas Baby

My good friend Monica, from college, got married in Las Vegas in October. We decided that we should go. Unfortunately, we didn't decide when the flights were reasonably priced, so we drove down. We got to attend the sealing in the temple, then the reception that night. Monica looked beautiful and so happy. I am glad that we were able to be there. We also got to see another one of my college roommates, Terrie, and her husband Jerome. We spent the day with them on Saturday. A highlight was a delicious buffet at Caesar's Palace.

The weekend was not all sunshine and happiness, though. Our car stayed in Vegas and we brought a new one home. Usually buying a new car is a happy occasion, but when unplanned, it's not as exciting. (Side note: now that it is December, we are used to the idea of a new car and are enjoying it more.)

State Fair and Spud Days

We went to the fair in Blackfoot again. I think the kids are starting to anticipate it each year now. We happened to be going the same time as Jarvis and Miranda's family, so we met up with them for a while. The kids had a lot of fun seeing the animals and going on rides with their cousins.

Yummy tiger's ear! Love it.

I was surprised Jonas wanted to try the roller coaster. He had a blast... so did Hannah, Eli, Malory, Gavin and the dads.

Here's a cute picture of Malory and Hannah. (Gavin and Jonas are riding in the back.)

We went to Spud Days in Shelley for the first time this year. It was okay. There were a ton of people and everything seemed overpriced (except for the free potatoes that we almost missed).

Here are Hannah and Eli sliding down an enormous slide.

Back to School

Summer is gone :( The kids were excited to start school and meet their new teachers. Hannah is in the third grade in Miss Willison's class. She is a new (young) teacher and seems very excited to be teaching.

Her classroom is in a trailer. It is right above her head in this picture.

Eli started kindergarten this year. His teacher is Mrs Dompier. On the first day of school, Mommy went with him and did a scavenger hunt around the school and his classroom to familiarize him with his new surroundings. It didn't feel like school to him, so the second day was more exciting.

The kids have been looking forward to riding the bus together for a long time. I was a little nervous, but everything worked out fine. Hannah made sure Eli was able to find his class line when they got to school.

Jonas started school this year too. Some moms in our neighborhood are combining efforts to provide a preschool for our 3 to 4 year olds. There are seven kids, so I don't have to teach very often. It's nice to have a few hours to run errands.