Happy Halloween

As usual, Halloween was much more than a single day! Plenty of events and fun were had this year. Jake and I went to Spirit Halloween and loved seeing all the crazy decorations.

Jake had a group of friends over for our annual Halloween party. I love that he helps me make all the treats beforehand.

We all went to the ward Halloween party.

Eli and one of his best church friends both dressed up as Napoleon- by accident!

Jason took Jake to his school's trunk or treat:

Eli and Jake carved pumpkins (Eli had about 2 minutes to spend and still managed to make a great face!)

Last Elementary School costume parade! Jake's class was the very first one, lucky me!

These three went trick-or-treating (Ali and Eli with different friend groups, and Jake with his dad). Logan went to a friend's house and watched a scary movie.

Ali put her halo on her dog:)

Jason and I even attended a costume party together. It was a murder mystery party;  I played the part of a singer, and Jason borrowed Eli's costume (and won best dressed guy as a result!).

 

Impressive

Logan saw Jason flex for some reason and was suitably impressed, and then made a huge deal about it:) It made me chuckle.

Jake outings

There are some things our teenagers just really don't want to do anymore, and I've learned that rather than making everyone go anyway or always catering to things they like, sometimes I should just take Jake and do the thing on our own. And we always have a great time! I took Jake to a pumpkin patch and he loved every single activity they had available!

There was a stake picnic over the summer that was another Jake-only outing (well, Jason came to this one with us!). He was great company, as always, and enjoyed chatting with the firefighters who came.

A post about ME!

I had a few pictures I wanted to keep that I took that were just about me:) I helped serve a missionary lunch with some friends.

And I've been enjoying my walks again this year, walking over 400 miles so far.

Jason felt inspired to do something for the refugees in our area, found a place that collects snacks for an after-school program for refugees, and organized a food drive with our youth and the neighborhoods near our church building. He put in a lot of time organizing it, and I got to help the youth carry it out and then dropped off all the food.

Workshop

Eli has set up a workshop in our basement where he paints his miniatures and the things he prints from his 3D printer. He's quite the artist!

Working Kids

I've been so impressed with these two working kids. This school year, they have balanced working (sometimes getting home close to midnight on a school night) with school and homework, extracurricular activities, seminary, church and youth night, and social lives. They amaze me!

Sometimes people we know see Ali at work, and sometimes they send me pictures!

Logan has officially worked for Crumbl for a year, and he got a pin for his hat to commemorate the milestone:)

Happy Birthdays!

Some of the best people have birthdays in October 😉 We were happy to celebrate our creative, outgoing, passionate fifteen-year-old. 

And because he's 15 now, he got his permit! He's doing Driver's Ed twice a week for two hours a session, so he's keeping us extra busy, as a teenager should. 

I also had my birthday! I got to celebrate with some of my favorite people, went to one of my favorite places (the temple), and got to hear from lots of people I love. It was a good day.

Activity Days Barbecue

Jake's Activity Day leader has the boys cook a barbecue for a guest every year, and Jake has offered to host it a couple of times. He does like to invite people over!

Senior Things

The first day of school, there is a tradition for Seniors to gather early to watch the sunrise (they gather at the end of the year to watch the sunset 🥹), and Ali went (Logan slept!). 

You can sign up (ahem, donate) to have the school display these signs in your Senior's yard. We had them up for three days, and I thought it was descriptive of their busy schedules that we almost didn't get a picture because the two of them are never home at the same time!

Ali and Logan (and Jason and I) spent tons of time on the essays for their BYU applications. My favorite part of the process, by FAR, was the hour or so we spent with each of them discussing what their essays could be about. It was unexpectedly tender to think back on the last four years and think about all the things they have accomplished and the ways they have grown.

We were all thrilled when they finally pushed the submit buttons!

They both submitted over the weekend, and within hours of the workday beginning on Monday, they were both informed that they had been accepted into BYU-I. Ali also applied to and was accepted into Utah State. We will find out about BYU Provo in February, but this is sure getting real. 

Homecoming

We had three kids go to homecoming this year! Logan and a friend from work decided to go together and he spent HOURS making a sign for her.

Her name is Lot (such a clever sign!), and they had a great time together.

Ali went with her normal group of friends. They looked lovely.

Eli was excited to go to his first dance with a group of guys, some he's known since kindergarten, some from Junior High and some new friends from High School!

After helping Ali with her hair and makeup (how am I the pro at those things between the two of us?!), I ran around like crazy to three different spots to get pictures of all of them and their groups! I was grateful I could be there for each of them, and thankful for moms who sent me more that they took after I had to run off to the next one!