Celebrating Grandma

Aunt Crystal set up a fun get-together with all the BYU/Provo area cousins to celebrate Tina's 80th birthday. What a good-looking group!

Halloween

Happy Halloween! Jake was excited to host our annual party, and he and I added popcorn balls as well as s'mores eyeball cookies to our regular treats. There was something so sweet to me watching all these boys on the cusp of teenagehood running around playing like the little kids they were not that long ago. 

We had our quickest, easiest pumpkin carving session this year. Eli and Jake did almost everything themselves, and they turned out great.

Halloween felt different this year, for sure. Of course, Ali and Logan weren't here, which we're still getting used to; Eli went to a party, and Jake went trick-or-treating with a friend. It turned out to be an easy, quiet day for me and Jason while all the kids had fun!

Last Primary Program

Jake participated in his last primary program. And since he's our youngest, it was the last primary program in which one of our kids will participate! It's the end of another era...I feel like that's happening a lot lately!

Fishing Trips

Jason went with Eli, Eli's friend, and his dad to Wisconsin to fish for the day. Surprisingly, no one caught anything, but they enjoyed the beautiful fall weather and the company.

Eli decided they needed to go on a make-up fishing trip where he guaranteed they would catch something. They did indeed catch three catfish, including the biggest fish Eli's ever caught.

The Rains Visit

We were so lucky to have the Rains Family come visit us! We had such fun time with them here. We took them to Cantigny, of course.

We stopped by the temple on the way to one of our other adventures. I was worried the gates would be shut because it was Tuesday and it's closed on Tuesdays. I said a little prayer that the gates would be open for some reason, and sure enough, when we arrived, we could see that the gates were open, though blocked with cones because they had repaved the parking lot. We parked across the street and were able to walk in. Such a sweet tender mercy.

Eli played hooky and came downtown with us the day we went to Millenium park, the Bean, and the Museum of Science and Industry.

Jake played hooky the day they went to the Shedd Aquarium (I skipped that one).

Jason loved having people to play Axis and Allies with.

I loved having someone to puzzle with!

And we all loved having cousins around. 

Come again soon!

16!

Eli is 16! He's such a fun, confident, curious guy and we're thankful he's ours!

Thanks to Jason snagging an appointment first thing in the morning at some random town about an hour away, Eli was able to get his license on his birthday. It's so nice that he can drive himself now!

The BYU vs Notre Dame game was that night, so we went to Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate Eli's birthday, and to watch the first half of the game. 

Eli and his friends spent a couple of hours deep-cleaning the car and then, a few days later, found some good spots to take some photos. I think they're all pretty excited to have a friend with a car and a license! 

Musical Review

Jake participated in his school's Musical Review (kind of like a more organized talent show). Jake's choir teacher suggested he sing the song Mr Celophane, a song I hadn't heard before but liked, about a guy who feels invisible. Jake did a great job- his song had dynamics and emotion, and there was some acting involved too (having to call for the spotlight when he took the stage, because he was invisible, for example). He really enjoyed the experience. 

Logan's hikes

Logan has done a couple of memorable hikes during his first semester. He hiked the Y spur of the moment- in slides, with no water on a hot day. He recommended the view, but not the lack of prep.

The next hike was thankfully better planned, but also one of the hardest things he's ever done. They left at 3am to hike Provo Peak. They ended up hiking for about 10 hours, the first half at very steep inclines (often having to use hands and knees on slick ice fields). They got off the trail for the last part on the way up and realized they took a much more difficult route. The way back down was hard too because of the steep angles and the mud since it was sunnier and warmer during the second half. He said it was something cool to look back on, but not very fun in the moment! But the views were pretty great.

Ali's Fall

Ali seems to be having a great time at BYU. She has met lots of fun people, and is always off on some adventure or another. She even went to Las Vegas for a weekend! I'm so glad she's having such a great time.

Conference

I'm so thankful for General Conference, and I'm thankful we're past the stage of trying the watch with little kids!