4th week of November - Thanksgiving

 Here are some highlights from the week of Thanksgiving.  It was a fun week full of activities, especially w/ family.  I took Wednesday and Friday off, which was great!

Hudson loves to give hugs!

Steve put up the blowup bear/penguin outside.  The boys think it's pretty fun, especially at night.  

Carter won it the year before at Home Depot.

At Nyles' school they had visitors come and tell them about their jobs.

Nyles and Carter earned another stripe on their belts in martial arts for "intensity".  

They've both been working hard.

More pictures of Carter and Nyles while at martial arts.

Carter fell asleep in the car, which is very typical of him.  

Nyles started growing a bean plant at school then brought it home to continue to grow.

Hudson tried Nutella and whip cream and no surprise, loves them!  He also likes having utensils when he eats.  Before I could get him a spoon he grabbed the toy on his tray and used her as a spoon.  Too funny!  It worked though! 

Hudson using a Wild Kratts toys as a spoon for his whip cream.

Hudson learning to walk.

We put up the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving before heading to dinner.  It's always fun to decorate it!

Trying to get a quick picture at Thanksgiving.  Hudson reaching for a balloon in Carter's face.

I'm so thankful for these 3 precious boys in my life!

Having Thanksgiving dinner at Dave/Joann's place.

Nyles and Connor laughing at each other.  Chandler playing the piano while Melanie holds Hudson.  Jeff giving Steve a meatball as Stacie gives them a look.

Hudson had whip cream for dessert.  He thoroughly enjoyed it!

The next day my parents came over.  My mom stayed at our place while Steve, Nyles and my dad went fishing at Utah Lake.  Carter, my mom and I played games and did puzzles.  We had a lot of fun.  Thankfully my mom was able to figure out how to get into our bathroom w/ her wheelchair and transfer w/ one leg.  This is the 1st time since her surgery.  Now we know she can stay for a while w/ us!

Nyles catching a fish, and my dad enjoying the sunshine.  

They figured out how to catch them and caught a lot! 

That evening Pauline and Rose and their families came over for dinner.  I cooked up a ham.  

After dinner we played Blank Slate, then did our White Elephant gift exchange.

We also played Pictionary.  It was a lot of fun and great to be together again.

Steve playing Chess against Sophia, while Piper watched.  Carter got a hat and a "movie" from the gift exchange.  He was pretty excited about it.  Later Piper asleep under the tree.

On Saturday, Steve, Nyles and my dad went fishing again at the same place.  Dave met them over there as well.  Since they knew from the day before what to do, they had a lot of success and caught even more fish than the day before!

Dave, Nyles and my dad getting some lunch while fishing.  All the fish they caught in the live well of our boat.  They used the boat to get to the docks since the gate was locked to walk to it, then used the boat to store the fish.  Rob's brother's father-in-law, who is from the Philippines, gladly took all the fish they caught to eat, both days!  He also took their swans they shot earlier this month.

They had a great time!  Funny Dave and my dad had almost the same outfit on :)

Carter, my mom and Hudson stayed home again.  Carter taught my mom how to use Perler beads.  He then gave his Perler bead creation (a deer) to my dad.  My mom made a flower.  We also played guess who, and other games and puzzles.  Piper later on her bed by the main Christmas tree.

Saturday late afternoon, Steve took Nyles and Carter to a neighbor boy's birthday party at an ice skating place.  It was both of their 1st times trying it.  It was a little tricky, but they make improvements.

We're so thankful for all that we've been blessed with, for our family and friends, and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives.  We're thankful for this time of year to reflect on all we our grateful for.  Steve and I have actually been writing down every day (since March), something we're grateful for in a journal.  There is always something to be grateful for, even when at first it might not seem so.  

Here is a great quote about Gratitude.

3rd Week of November

Here are some highlights from this past week, the 3rd week of November.

Cute Carter and Hudson enjoying the swings while they wait for Nyles to get out of school.

Carter made a picture of our family at pre-school.  When he got home I asked him where Piper was, so he drew her in and colored the sky.  He then wanted to put it on his bedroom door. So cute!

Nyles and his school walked up to Alta High School to watch "SpongeBob the musical."

Hudson has discovered whip cream this week and is in LOVE!  

He begs for it every time we open the fridge.  He's a kid after my own heart :)

Steve giving Hudson some whip cream.

A deer ran out while Steve was waiting for the boys at martial arts.  Hudson likes to give hugs.

Piper chasing the laser pointer.  Hudson thought it was hilarious.

On Saturday, Nyles went to his friend Owen's birthday party.  After picking him back up we stopped at his school and played on the playground for a few minutes.  Carter has had a cold this past week, and then his tummy was hurting, so when we got home he took a nap on the couch.  Earlier though he was sitting on the couch with his feet next to his mouth (silly kid).  We have a wild flower still in bloom.  Apparently it doesn't care that winter is coming, it's still blooming and beautiful.  I love it!

Steve went duck hunting w/ Rob and a guy named Ryan and his teenage son.  It was their first time ever going.  Though they didn't get any ducks, they still had a great time.  

Steve and Rob also got their swan skulls hollowed out.  They were pretty excited to get them

Hudson is on the go.  He likes to climb the stairs, and even stand and look out.  He crawls behind the couches.  He also wanted to try on Nyles' googles he got from the birthday party.  Such a cutie!

More whip cream and trying Nutella, yumm!

Hudson got more shots (immunizations) on Friday afternoon.  He had a slight fever that evening through Sunday.  Nyles also had a nasty cough as did Carter and Steve.  We all had a rough night Saturday night, so we stayed home from church and rested.  Thankfully we were still able to make it to our tithing settlement that afternoon.  Steve was also able to bless and pass the sacrament to us at home.

The boys built a fort Sunday afternoon with tables and blankets.  They thought it was pretty fun!

Great quotes.

2nd Week of November

 Here are some highlights from the 2nd week of November.

Carter and Nyles earned another stripe on their belts at martial arts.

We went and saw Santa at Cabela's.  The boys had to check out the fish afterwards as well.

Hudson found our bathroom cabinet, so now we have a lock on it.  He's so cute, even when he sleeps.

I took Thursday and Friday off work.  Originally Steve was supposed to go swan hunting during this time, but since they got their swans the Saturday before they didn't need to go.  We were able to go do sealings at the Draper Temple Thursday morning.  Joann was kind enough to come sit w/ Hudson while he slept then after he woke up.  When we got back she also went w/ Steve to pick up Carter from pre-school.  He was surprised to see her!  Amazingly we have more Mums in bloom and a wild flower.

We were planning to go to the cabin Friday after Nyles got out of school, but Hudson wasn't feeling well (had a slight fever).  The boys were so excited to go up, so I decided to stay home w/ Hudson, and Steve went up w/ Nyles and Carter.  Rob went up w/ them as well, along w/ Dave and Joann.  

Friday night Steve, Nyles and Rob went out fishing in our boat.

When they got back, they had dinner (I made taco soup that they took up) and they had fun playing a game Totally Gross and watched a movie "Elf".

It was a little cold over night.  There was frost on the deck and motor.

After it warmed up a little bit, they went out fishing again at Strawberry Reservoir.  

Nyles caught a few fish and then Dave caught a crawdad trap :)

They had a good time and came home after lunch.  

Carter fell asleep on the way home, all snuggled up in his blankets.

Carter loves to give Piper snuggles.  

On Sunday Pauline and her family came over for a little bit.  They dropped off their van to our neighbor Ron, who is a mechanic, to work on it.  Hudson thought it was fun to have Lincoln over to play with.

Sunday we also had our Primary Program.  It went well thankfully.  For our closing song we had the Young Men and Young Women join us to sing "Risen."  It's a beautiful song.  You can listen to it here.

Great quotes and reminders.

1st Week of November.

 Here are some highlights from the 1st week of November.

Steve ordered a cover for the boat.  It fit perfectly, even w/ extra stuff inside.  He's pretty happy w/ it.

Hudson tried fruit snacks for the first time and loved them!  

Hudson helping Steve drive the car into the garage.

Hudson likes to swing while waiting for Nyles to get out from school.  

We also had a bird in our  pine tree that Steve though was pretty cool.

I love the beautiful fall colors in our yard.  We have a pink Mum in bloom, our bush turned red and our Honey Locust tree leaves have turned yellow/orange.  Our other Mum also is blooming yellow again.

The boys playing on the trampoline w/ their stuffed animals and blankets.

Steve also helped Rob and Rob's dad lay sod in Rob's yard.

Carter had a Western Day at preschool so he got to dress up.  

Hudson has been a little tricky w/ his naps, so he's calmed down better in his car-seat. 

Carter and his friend Colin at preschool (on Western day).  

Our neighbor's son Ethan, is also in Carter's class, which is fun.

Pretending to roast marshmallows over the fire, mixing food, and learning at preschool

Cute Carter at Scheels, and Carter enjoying some of his Halloween candy :)

Nyles and Carter have been learning how to use num-chuks and even how to break a board in their martial arts classes.  They're also learning discipline and working towards goals.  They're both really enjoying their classes and are now working towards earning their black belts.

They were brave and received their 1st dose of the Covid vaccine this week, just a couple days after it was officially approved by the CDC for kids ages 5-11.  We're proud of them for doing this and doing their part to lessen the spread of Covid.

Carter and Hudson playing on the trampoline together and down the slide.

Carter and Hudson going down the slide.

Carter playing w/ Hudson on the trampoline.

Carter and Hudson bouncing on the trampoline.

We took our own passport photos at home, as part of the passport application, but when we got to the post office the employee (who was super grumpy), told us we shouldn't have our teeth showing.  So we had to redo all of them except Hudson's photo.  Thankfully after taking the pictures he turned us over to someone else who was much happier and polite and got our applications processed pretty quickly.

My mom and dad came down from Idaho on Friday and had dinner w/ us.  I put a Costco frozen lasagna in the oven while working that afternoon, then we had it that evening for dinner.  They stayed for just a little while, then headed over to a wedding reception.

Saturday morning we met up again for Ezra's baptism.  After his baptism we had brunch together at another church.  The boys were happy to see Grandma and Grandpa again and play w/ cousins.  

Hudson saying hi to Grandma and Grandpa again.  Piper being silly, hiding behind Steve's leg.

Group picture of everyone who came to Ezra's baptism.  Just our side of the family.  

And the "UP" house near Pauline's house in Herriman.

After we got back, Steve loaded up his gear, picked up Rob, and went to Farmington Bay to hunt swans w/ Mark Gasper (from Idaho).  They heard the swans were in, so they hurried to go find them. Thankfully they were all able to get their swans pretty quickly, then they hunted ducks while they were out there until sunset when shooting light was over.

Steve w/ a Redhead duck he shot.  Steve, Mark and Rob w/ their swans.

Sunday we went up to Melanie/Brandon's house in Midway for our family dinner.  We sang to the October (Stacie, Dave and Diane) and November (Steve and Cameron) birthdays.  Dave decorated cute little turkeys for their birthday cake.  Hudson liked the M&Ms most.

Hudson wearing Steve's sunglasses, and catching a ride on LuDean's walker w/ Aunt Diane.  

After dinner and dessert we had our honoree night for Olivia this time.

Great quotes.