Thanksgiving

We went to Utah for Thanksgiving with Scott's family. We stayed at his sister, Sarah's house in Sandy. She took such good care of us and her husband Cory made the best breakfasts and smoothies! All of Scott's siblings and their families were there. We had such a great time. We miss seeing all of the cousins. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins and everyone got along so well. We had Thanksgiving dinner at a church and the kids played basketball and did crafts. The little girl cousins put on a singing/dancing performance after dinner that was organized by McKenzie and Hannah. We have a few young divas in the family. Of course we all went to a movie after dinner and spent the evening together. The next morning I went with my sister-in-laws shopping way too early in the morning. We went and visited Grandma Beverly later that day and got to watch her Christmas tree "descend from above". On Saturday we had family pictures taken - all the cousins and grandma, everyone and then individual families. They were taken outside and I froze but they turned out great and we were happy. We love all of Scott's family they are such good examples and friends.

Grandpa Homer

My Grandpa Homer passed away on October 13. We went to Orem for his funeral the next Saturday. He had moved a couple years ago to Orem with his wife Beverly from Reno, NV where he had spent the previous 80+ years. I have several good memories of Grandpa Homer. When I was a kid our family would drive from Boulder City to Reno for Thanksgiving. I loved spending time at their house. Grandpa always had the best stuff in his basement. We would play store, chess, or ping pong. I don't think I ever beat grandpa at ping pong or chess. He would always call us over to show us a scripture and a thought about the scripture. I have never seen him angry or upset. He always had a smile and was the most positive person I know. When I went to college at UNR I lived at his house. He would make the best pancakes. When ever he went out he took Book of Mormons to pass out and was a great missionary. I loved staying with him and Beverly, I got to know and love them so much. I am so thankful to have such a good example for a grandfather. Everyone who knew him loved him. I am so thankful to have a testimony of the plan of salvation. This was the first funeral my kids remember and it was good to talk about life after death. Death is just another step, and I know Grandpa is happy and we will see him again. We have always talked to our kids about the spirit leaving the body until the resurrection. They know they will see Scott's dad again and he is working on the other side. What a great reunion Grandpa Homer had with his family that has passed on. It was great to see family at the funeral and we love Grandma Beverly for taking care of us.

Hot Air Balloons

One of our favorite weekends in Page is the first weekend in November with the hot air balloons. The balloons lift off on Friday, Sat. and Sun. mornings around 8 am from the old golf course. On Friday Esther and I walked along the rim trail behind our house to watch them lift off. We sat at the golf course for a while then walked back toward our house as the balloons were floating by. Saturday morning the boys, Esther and I did the same thing. Hannah had dance class and only watched coming home from dance out the car window. It is so amazing to watch the balloons against the Vermillion Cliffs. We counted over 50 balloons this year. Every day at least 5 land close by our house and we love watching them. Sunday morning before church there was a balloon about 20 feet off the ground in our cul-de-sac but it landed in the next one. It was great warm weather. Saturday night they close our main street to have a balloon glow. Some of the balloons anchor down in the street and they turn on their fires and in the dark the balloons glow. This year we didn't make it to the glow because our adult session of stake conference was at the same time. But we usually go and it is incredible to see. If you want to visit Page this would be a great weekend!

Halloween Trick or Treat

Each year we trick or treat with our friends the Demangones and any other friends that want to come along. In Page trick-or-treating is from 4-7 pm. I love the early time because it is light out and you can see where the kids are. I also love that everyone goes around the bureau home streets. On Date street homeowners sit in chairs outside to pass out candy. We see all our friends and neighbors. It is like a big block party. Hannah was a witch, Jonah a mad scientist, Noah a hockey masked murderer and Ezra was a skeleton. Ezra's face was very scary. When our friends came over to our house to start trick-or-treating, Esther took one look at Michael's mask and screamed. She ran over to Scott and would not go trick-or-treating with us. We left and Scott drove Esther to a couple of houses. After trick-or-treating we go over to our friends, the Mallavia's for chili. When Michael came over Esther told him she did not want him ever wearing his mask again.

Esther's Halloween Fun

Esther was going to be Belle for Halloween. Then she wanted to be a vampire princess. So we had a vampire cape to go around her Belle dress and vampire teeth and makeup. The day before Halloween the kids were going through the costume box and Esther found this Simba costume that Hannah wore when she was three. Esther loved it. She wanted to be a lion. She got to dress up for preschool on Halloween and have a party.

Carving Pumpkins

We had 5 pumpkins to carve. Everyone got their own and picked their own design. It takes at least 3 hours to do 5 large pumpkins. Luckily all the kids except for Esther could clean out the seeds by themselves. Esther wanted a cat. Noah started carving three ghosts and after and hour he turned the pumpkin around and carved a scary face. Hannah wanted to do something original and came up with her own idea - Vote 4 McCain. Too bad it didn't translate into more votes! We baked pumpkin seeds. Jonah's small pumpkin he is holding he carved at school. This was the first year the school didn't get pumpkins donated for the kids to carve for the Pumpkin Festival. Jonah's teacher got someone to donate money for her class to each have a pumpkin. We always light the pumpkins the first night and then usually forget the next few nights until Halloween.

100% Celebration

Each quarter at Lake View Elementary the students who bring in their homework 100% of the time or have 100% attendance get a fun day. This quarter they went to the park to have lunch and play games. I went to help out. Ezra and I played catch with a football and then he wanted to do the parachute. Noah and Jonah only wanted to play a baseball game so I just watched. The kids love a day out of the classroom. Thier faces are so happy and excited it is fun to see. Next quarter the reward is a Winter Carnival in the gym that I used to make and hand out cotton candy until last year when our state passed a law banning foods with too much sugar. So last year we passed out granola bars. Not as fun for the kids.