February Feasting!

Monday morning, Dan took the van to get it fixed up to pass inspections so that we could get it registered in Texas.  It ended up taking him all day to get it done, so I had to get the kids to and from school with just the mini.  Dropping them off wasn't a problem, since Eileen and Anna start later and I can leave them at home with David while I drop off the younger ones and then take the girls with David after.  Picking up was harder - I ended up calling my mom to see if she could come and watch the younger ones while I went to pick up the older ones from school.  Monday was also laundry day and grocery shopping.  David came with me and hung out making cute faces at everyone in the store.  He was so cute just chilling in the cart - but it made me a bit nervous...  

Tuesday morning after getting the kids to school, I went visiting teaching.  It was fun getting to know my companion and the sweet sister I get to visit teach!  Now I just gotta get the other sister to answer my calls.  :)  In the evening, we got the kids to bed, then I headed down with a bunch of others from the ward to help clean the temple.  It was such a neat experience - we worked from 10 to about 11:30 then headed home - tired but happy.  It was so neat to be able to serve that way and we carpooled, so I got to know some people in the ward a bit better too! 

The next morning, I was exhausted!  Dan was sweet and got the kids all to school so I could sleep in some.  In the evening, Aaron had cub scouts.  I went with him - I'm trying to get a better understanding of how cub scouts works since I'm now a pack master!  After, Dan and the kids met us at the church for New Beginnings.  I can't believe Anna will be joining Young Women's this year.  I can't believe how fast they are growing up. 

Thursday was the first day of February - I'm not sure where January went...  most of the day was pretty normal, school and such.  Our ward is doing what they call February Feast month - they are challenging us to read the scriptures every day this month.  We are challenging the kids to do personal scripture reading every day instead of just counting our family reading for the challenge.  I made a family chart for us (mostly so that we would have one pinned to the fridge that wouldn't get lost) It's been so awesome to watch the kids read and put star stickers on the chart and watch the charts fill up!  Even James has been getting in on it - I sit down with him and we alternate verses - his reading is improving so much!  This picture was so cute of Evie and James reading together! 

Thursday evening, I went and played volleyball again - it's been fun to play and get a bit of exercise and have fun, and get to know some more people in the area! 

Friday, the Relief Society presidency came to visit in the morning to get to know a new sister a bit more.  We got on the topic of family history and pulled out our apps to find if we were related - and sure enough - I was related to both of them distantly!  It was fun!  :)  After, I fed David, then headed down to Allen.  I dropped off Anna's glasses to get fixed, then met up with Dan for lunch.  We had some yummy Japanese food, then hit Costco for some more chicken and diapers.  Then I ran by Walmart for a couple things and got home in time to feed David and put everything away before I got the kids from school.  In the evening, we just had fun together! 

Saturday, we had some friends coming over in the evening for dinner and games, so we spent the morning doing a bit of clean up - getting the front couple rooms straightened up and the boxes all cleared out of the main rooms.  Dan took the kids for a walk and they had a fun time.  In the evening, we had Chicken Tiki Masala for dinner, then played Puerto Rico.  Dan and I got smashed - we need to play more and work on our strategies for next time....  The kids all seemed to have a great time playing together too. 

This morning, we took it easy and had a nice morning, We are trying to get the kids doing Faith in God and Personal Progress stuff in the mornings.  Dan and Eileen and I all got called to speak.  Dan and Eileen next week and me the week after.  I got together with some of the other pack leaders to plan the Blue and Gold for this month.  I'm now starting to feel a bit more like I know what's going on - though I still need to figure out Scoutbook....  Then church in the afternoon.  It was a wonderful day - the testimonies were beautiful and the lessons were wonderful.   After church, we had coffee cake and scrambled eggs for dinner before reading scriptures and putting the kids to bed. 

Birthday Boy!

Monday was just our usual run of the mill day - laundry, grocery shopping and school.  David is so helpful!

Tuesday was James' birthday - he was so excited about it and reminded us all day that it was his birthday.  He wanted a Hulk cake and a Captain America cake, so Anna and I worked hard to make him Hulk cupcakes and Captain America cupcakes - he loved them - though Anna's Captain America shield came out much better than my Hulk....  He was so excited about his presents and had a great time opening them and playing with them.  The hard part was getting him to go to bed....  

David figured out how to clap this week and he spent that entire next day clapping for everything - he was so excited by his new skill - it was so cute.  Evie and James really love to help take care of David - and while sometimes, it's a bit scary - it's also really cute.  David also finally started crawling this week - Thursday he finally started moving forward and by Friday, he was starting to be able to chase down what he wanted - though slowly.  He's still moving slowly thank goodness- and it's really cute. 

Wednesday was the usual school day for the kids - Aaron had an early cub scouts activity so they could do some hiking around the local park - then Dan picked him up from that and I took Anna and Evie to the church for Activity Days - while there, I talked to the primary presidency member over Cub Scouts and some of the Den leaders.  I'm still trying to wrap my head around this calling!! 

Thursday was a normal school day for the kids and David and I.  In the evening, I headed to the church to play volleyball with a bunch of people from the ward and the area.  It was a lot of fun - I'm out of shape and not very good, but it was still a lot of fun! 

Friday the kids were out of school for Teacher Inservice.  Grandma came over with Wicket to help out and hang out with the kids.  Then in the afternoon, I took the kids to the nearest library to get a library card.  The library is small, but the people are nice and they all managed to find something to read.  Even me.  :)  After, we had a quick leftover dinner with Daddy, then Dan and I headed down to the temple for Stake Temple night - we dropped David off with Sandi and Jon on the way, then went to do a session.  It was wonderful!!  It was strange being in the Dallas temple again instead of Denver, but it was so nice to be in the temple!

Saturday we kept good and busy, we got some cleaning up done around the house, we got some more unpacking done, we went to the park and then in the evening, we headed down to Sandi and Jon's for dinner and a movie.  We all had yummy pizzas, then the kids went up to watch a movie and the grown ups (and Eileen and sometimes Anna) played games down stairs.  It was a fun night. 

Evie was so sweet - she made cute papers for each family member with their name on it and a bunch of kind things about them - it was so cute and so thoughtful of her!!  I have the greatest kids! 

Sunday was nice!  We had a mostly relaxing morning - Dan made biscuits for us for a yummy breakfast, and we played games and I tried to lean a bit more about scouting....  David has been having a blast sticking his tongue out - it's the cutest thing and he does it all the time - I managed to get this adorable picture of him - now that he's crawling - he is also getting stuck places - so I snapped a picture, then got him out :)  Church was wonderful - David snuggled up to me and fell asleep during Sacrament meeting and was good but wiggly the rest of the time.  We had a great ward conference this week. 

New Callings!

On Monday, the kids had no school for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  They had a fun day off and we did some organizing and cleaning up.  Sandi came over for a bit with Taz and Kai and they all had a blast running amok :)  

Tuesday it was back to school and normal days.  David had gotten rather clingy and wants to be able to be climbing on me and holding on to me at all times, but doesn't really want to hold still....  it's sweet, but exhausting.  When Dan got home, he took David with him out to run an errand and ran me a hot bath!  It was fun getting to just relax for a bit and it was fun having a bath again.  

Wednesday was a usual school day - the kids mostly seem to be liking school - and in the evening was cub scouts for Aaron and young women's for Eileen.  I got asked by her adviser to help Eileen teach crochet for a young women's activity.  I think it's going to be fun!  

Thursday evening was a Relief Society activity, we were painting a picture together - this was how mine came out - I'm kinda excited about it - though I was not terribly happy with the cheap brushes - I think I would have liked how it came out better if I had used some better brushes.  It was lots of fun though, and I got to know some more people in the ward!  

Friday after getting the kids off for school and getting a little nap in with David, I headed down to Plano to meet my mom and Sister for lunch. We ate at La Madeline and had a great time together!

Saturday morning, we got up early to head to the church to help clean.  Then after, we headed out for donuts along with some others from the ward.  In the afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa came to take Aaron out for a birthday ice cream and had fun together.  Aaron came home with a fancy remote controlled car.

Sunday was fun - it's been kinda nice relaxing in the mornings.  We listen to conference talks, and maybe do some indexing and have fun together.  Church was wonderful - Dan and I got new callings - he is teaching the 12 year old Sunday School class and I am the cub scout pack master.  It's going to be an adventure for me - I have no experience with cub scouts - but I think it will be lots of fun!  Eileen also got a new calling - she is the new second councilor in her beehive class presidency.

Unpacking is Hard with a baby....

And that title mostly sums up my week  :)  So Monday, bright and early, we took the kids to their new schools to get them registered and settled.  Then Dan headed to work, and I headed to the house to meet my mom who had gone over to make sure someone was there to meet the movers when they arrived - it was a good thing she did since it took longer than expected to get the younger kids set up since one of Evelyn's shot records was missing - thankfully we were able to get it sent over and get her settled in before too long.  The movers spent most of the morning getting stuff moved in and into the early afternoon.  By the time they were done, mom and I sat down to a late lunch and opened a couple boxes before getting out to pick up kids from school.  Dan came home a bit early and we got things settled enough to have dinner at our house and try and get things settled to sleep there.  Our first dinner in our new home - Mac and Cheese.  I'd managed to get a few stools made - and the rest of us just stood around the counter.  :)

On Tuesday, Sandi and Kai came over in the morning to help, we got more done in the kitchen and some stuff done in the library.  We enjoyed lunch together and had a good time.  Then I picked the kids up from school and came home.  Sandi brought us a lasagne, but we had already promised the kids Enchiladas for dinner, so we made those and saved the lasagne for the next night where Aaron luckily wanted that for his birthday dinner. 

Wednesday the Sister missionaries came over to help unpack - they helped us get the library straightened out and as done as possible with not enough shelves.  My mom also came to help out.  David really doesn't like being left alone right now - or even put down, so it can be hard to get much done during the day.  In the evening, Anna and Evie had activity days, Aaron had cub scouts, and Eileen had mutual, so we had an early dinner and birthday with Aaron with lasagna and chocolate cupcakes and then headed over to the church. 

Thursday was more of the same - I got a phone call from Eileen's teacher about a sarcastic comment she had made and a bit of an attitude that she had demonstrated.  So we talked after school about no being rude even if you are bored.  She is struggling with feeling like she is not challenged.  She wants to learn - but is ahead of most of her classmates in most subjects.  The younger kids all really seem to be enjoying school though!  Our bedroom furniture and mattress came today - we finally have a real bedroom again.  And a real bed - the guest mattress is a bit soft for my preferences. 

Friday, Sandi came over again - she finished building the kitchen chairs for us - so we now have a table and chairs to eat at instead of having to eat at the counter.  The kids had a half day, so I picked them up and came back and the kids got to play with Kai while Sandi and I worked.  Then James came in with a bleeding finger and pressure on the bleeding wasn't helping as much as it should have.  Our medical insurance hasn't started yet, so I really didn't want to have to take him to a doctor, so Sandi took him down to her brother in law who is a vet and then Dan brought him home - thankfully the bleeding stopped - though it took a lot of pressure and a lot of bandaids and a lot of telling James to stop playing with it before it stopped. 

Saturday was a fun day, we had the Hendrickson's come over - we had hamburgers and guac and chips and such for a yummy lunch and Dan and Rendell built the trampoline and Katie and I cleaned and chatted and the kids played and had fun together.  Then in the evening, we had a easy left over dinner and got some work done around the house.  Then we tried to go to bed - but David wasn't cooperating - he wasn't feeling well, so he didn't sleep well - so neither did I... 

Church was wonderful - though we are still trying to figure out this schedule, it's very odd being at church so late!  Dan and I were extended callings and we will get officially called and set apart next week.  After church, we headed home and had dinner and then it was about time to put the kids to bed.   Aaron has been so excited about getting his hour up now that he is 10 years old.  We played Clue with the older kids tonight since tomorrow is a holiday.  Now we are just hoping that David will go to sleep....

Texas Here We Come!!

Monday was our last day of packing.  We got as much done as we could plus had some last minute visits with friends.  We had to visit Dwayne and Nicole one last time and Aaron's friend Michael came over to visit for a bit.  Then we got things packed up and ready for the drive to Texas, then Tuesday morning, the kids and I headed on the road.  The trip went well - the kids were awesome - they always are - they didn't fight and were so great and so helpful.  David only got really fussy at the end - he did well the rest of the trip.  We got in late and got the kids to bed.  Dan spent Tuesday getting the last of the packing done, then on Wednesday, he made sure the truck got packed up before heading out to Texas.  The kids and I went up to the house to let the younger kids get to see it and check it out.  Then on Thursday, we headed back up to get the internet up.

Christmas, Packing and New Year's Eve

Christmas Morning was fun!  The kids were great even though Christmas was a bit smaller than usual this year since Grandpa and Grandma Cox didn't come this year and kept their presents until we get there next week.  The kids opened up their stockings and had fun - then we paused to eat breakfast before going back to presents.  It is always so fun to see what they get for each other.  They can be so sweet and thoughtful.  James knew that I would have a bath tub in our new house, so he got me a rubber duckie.  :)  Evie was sweet and got me a pretty birdie decoration.  Their presents for each other were just as sweet!  After opening presents, we cleaned up and played and got our house ready for Christmas dinner with the family.  In the evening, everyone came over and we had a nice dinner together.

Most of the rest of the week was spent packing.  The kids were so good and helpful!  We worked hard and got most of it done and ready.

Friday afternoon, we needed a break, so we all headed over to Utah pool for some fun and swimming.  We all had a great time playing together and getting out of the house together.

Sunday was wonderful - I only got teary a couple times.  :)  We did one last musical number with the choir and had fun chatting with friends after church.  In the evening, Kay and Reggie came over to celebrate New Year's Eve.  We had a fun night playing games and chatting together.  I am so glad that we have gotten to know them!!

Almost Christmas!

We've been keeping busy this week - getting ready for Christmas.  I started out the week by going with my friend to get my hair cut.  I've been thinking about this for a long time - and finally just went for it.  She cut off 18 inches of hair.  So far, I'm really enjoying having it short!  It's also been fun to watch peoples shocked faces when they notice - though James didn't even notice it when I picked him up from school - Anna was the first one to say anything about it after school.  In the evening, Anna had her volleyball banquet and then we all had our Family Home Evening.

Tuesday,  in the evening, we had the Christmas Carol Sing along at Grandpa's.  I did a couple solos and we all had fun singing and being together.  

Wednesday evening, Aaron had an orthodontist appointment where he got his retainer and then Cub Scouts after. Dan and I mostly spent our evenings making cookies or with me working on the stockings or the doll clothes for my friend's daughter.  I spent a little time finishing up the Christmas shopping and we watched some fun movies with Eileen.  Dan tried to get her to watch Lord of the Rings - but despite seeming to enjoy it - she seemed determined to not be interested in it...  Any time I came back from running an errand, it was to this smiley face!  

Thursday, we took cookies to friends and neighbors and were mostly successful.  We got all the plates out - but some were left on doorsteps.  Dan and I realized that we were given some of the chattiest people in the ward to visit and home teach!  :)  But they are truly some of the sweetest most amazing people!  Thursday was also the kids last day of school - and a half day.  The kids had a ton of fun at their discovery class and James loved his fun short day.  After school, Eileen's friends Maddy and Melanie came over to play and crochet.  

Friday, Anna had a dentist appointment in the morning that took nearly two hours - for just a basic cleaning...  I need to remember to not schedule appointments around the holidays again....  In the afternoon, we let the kids each invite a few friends over to play again before we move.  The kids all seemed to have a good time.  We let them decorate cookies and then Dan pulled out the balloons and made balloon animals and swords and such.  

Saturday was a wonderful day!  We left Eileen in charge of most of the kids - dropped David off with Newell and Becky and headed up to the Fort Collins Temple for Kay and Reggie's sealing!  She was so cute and so excited and so beautiful!  It was so sweet to see them so excited about this beautiful ordinance!  So wonderful to know what it means to her and her family!  I got to help her out in the Brides room and it was just wonderful!!!  After, we picked up the kids and met up at Maggiano's for a luncheon - all the food was wonderful and the kids fairly well behaved.  It was a fun afternoon!  After, none of us was really hungry for dinner since lunch was late and filling, so we played at home and then put the kids to bed and watched Fantastic Beasts with Eileen.  

This morning was our Ward Christmas program.  It went a bit long - so the last number was cut off - but I figure we will use it for the musical number next week.  :)  The program was wonderful - all the talks and music was wonderful!  After, we went home since there was no full 3 hour block today.  We had an easy rest of the morning and afternoon, playing games and reading books and such.  Then we packed up and headed to Frank and Tina's for Bagna Cauda and singing and fun with family.  It was a wonderful evening.  After, we got home and read in Luke 2 for scripture time and said prayers before letting the kids open their Christmas Eve presents, then sending them to bed.

Now, it's the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature is stirring - not even daddy.  The stockings are stuffed to their brims, the gifts beneath the tree.  Now to bed to await the arrival of Christmas Morning! 

Cookies!!!!

We've been keeping busy this week.  Even when there isn't any thing scheduled on the calendar, it always seems like there are errands to run and stuff to do.  This week was a busy one for Anna especially.  She had the State competition for her Robotics team on Saturday, so the week before was full of preparations for that.  Plus on Monday, she had the volleyball finals.  Her team didn't win their match, so they didn't get to go to the championship - but it was probably just as well since she probably couldn't have made it anyway.  

Tuesday was Band for Eileen and Robotics for Anna.  Otherwise it was a fairly normal day.  Wednesday morning, Dan went in to have a procedure to check out his esophagus after his choking ordeal - bright and early - so after dropping the kids off at school, I went to pick him up, then I watched a friends daughter for a bit - I also took David to the doctors - he had been fussy and not wanting to sleep, so I took him in and he had an ear infection.  So we grabbed his medicine and headed home for some lunch before dropping my friends daughter off and picking up the kids from school.  Wednesday evening was full of the usual church activities, but since I didn't have Choir, James and David and I just hung out at home while everyone else partied at the church!  

Thursday I went to Becca's - they had been out of town for our normal Tuesday day, so we moved to Thursday.  After getting the kids from school, Aaron had drum lessons and then in the evening, Evie had her music night at the school - she did great and had a blast - then we met up with the rest of the family at Dan's work for a little family party that they put on.  The kids had a blast playing with all the other kids and they had a bouncy house.  

Friday was busy - I went to visit my friend in the morning to chat and hang out and drop off some presents for her kids.  After school, Anna and Dan had robotics and then Dan came home to grab me and take me to the Company Christmas Party - we had a great time eating yummy food and chatting with great people.  Then we headed out to pick up Anna from Robotics and head home.  Then she had an early morning the next day. 

Saturday, Dan and Anna headed out bright and early for the State Robotics Competition.  Their team did well and got First in Robot Design - Strategy and Innovation.  Anna had fun - but she and Dan both came home tired.  Partly because they didn't get to go home - they left the competition and met up with the rest of us at the ward Christmas party.  The kids and I spent our morning doing their last flute and piano lessons here in Colorado - the kids will really miss their teachers - they have been great teachers and the kids just love them. 

In the evening, we all met up at the ward Christmas party - the kids got a picture with Santa and we got to enjoy a yummy dinner with a wonderful music and narration program.  

Church today was wonderful.  There were some wonderful talks and a beautiful musical number.  The Sunday School and Relief Society lessons were wonderful too.  After church, we had lunch then got started on making the cookies.  Then we went to choir and had a great practice - I feel like we are ready for the Christmas program next week!  After, we headed home and began the cookie decorating!!  Kay and Reggie came, Newell and Becky and family came and Becca and Jeremiah came with baby Laura.  It was such a fun evening!  We had a great time decorating and chatting and making yummy cookies!  

We finally got the kids to bed and then had a nice time chatting with Dan's parents - it's so neat to hear the amazing experiences that they have as they serve in the temple presidency.  We are officially in the countdown - one week until Christmas!!!! 

Holiday Crazies

This week has been kinda nuts.  Monday was laundry day, plus I went over to my friends house to help finish up sewing some dresses.  Then after school, Eileen had a dentist appointment.  Anna had volleyball practice after school and we had a little FHE in the evening.  Then in the evening, we did the grocery shopping and folding laundry before heading to bed.  

Tuesday morning, I headed over to Becca's house and we had fun making doll chairs to go with our desks.  They came out so cute!  After school, Eileen had band practice and Anna had a volleyball game.  We all needed to be out of the house for a bit for a final walk through before closing, so we went to the library for a bit then headed home for a quick dinner while Dan went to Anna's volleyball game - then we all met up at Skate City for some fun.  

Wednesday morning, I picked Aaron up from school to take him to an orthodontist appointment - he got his braces off and got a temporary retainer until his permanent one comes in in a couple weeks.  He's making a kinda funny face to show off his teeth, but here he is!  

We closed on our house Wednesday and hopefully we will be closing on our house in Texas next week!  It's kinda crazy that it's really happening!  After school, Anna had volleyball practice as usual and then in the evening, was mutual, cub scouts and choir - my last rehearsal with the Colorado Mormon Chorale.  

Thursday I was supposed to go to my friends house again, but she had to cancel, so I ran a couple errands.  After school, Eileen had band and Anna had volleyball, then Aaron had drum lessons and I had my Chorale Concert, and Anna had a school band concert.  Eileen came with me to my concert and Grandpa came too, so after we went to his place to chat and have some hot cocoa.  

Friday I my friends car had a flat, so I gave her a ride to run an errand in the morning, then Bonnie came over so we could practice a song that I was going to be singing in Relief Society on Sunday.  then after school, Anna had volleyball and robotics and I had my last concert with the Chorale - I hardly managed to sing the last couple songs because I was crying....  sigh...  Uncle Frank came and Eileen came too, she got to see her friend who's mom is in the chorale too and had a great time.  

Saturday ended up being a rather long day - a little cutie wasn't feeling so good, so he was up half the night.  Dan took Anna to Robotics early, then went to help some one move, then went back to help with the Robotics team.  I took all the kids and dropped Eileen off at Flute lessons, then came back for Piano lessons.  Dan and Anna got home in time for dinner and bed time.  

Sunday morning came very early since David still wasn't sleeping well, but church was wonderful.  Some wonderful talks were given in Sacrament meeting along with a gorgeous musical number!  Gospel Doctrine lesson was about finding and creating Zion and was great!  I helped play piano in primary during 3rd hour (which I love to do) and then went back at the end to sing a musical number for the closing song.  After, we headed home for lunch and then back to church for ward choir, then home for dinner, and after, we went out caroling with some people in the ward.  It was a fun night, but David is still not feeling great.  :(  hopefully he gets feeling better soon.  Our friend Heather stopped by for a bit - it's so strange to think of all the changes that are going to happen with this move and all the people here that we will miss. 

Texas

Monday morning, I headed over to my friends house to help her with some sewing - I had a great time sewing and chatting with her!  Then I went to pick kids up from school.  Anna had volleyball after school, then in the evening, she and Dan had Robotics - they had it every night this week to get ready for the competition.  We did a quick FHE before they left and decorated our Christmas Tree! 

On Tuesday, Evie had a field trip, she was very excited about it and had a great time!  I went over to Becca's house and we had fun making peg boards and little push pins for the boards.  Then after school, Anna had volleyball and Eileen had band and then in the evening, Anna had robotics again.  Then in the evening, I had Institute class!

Wednesday was rather busy.  I went over to my friends house in the morning again to finish up the doll dresses we had started on Monday.  I got all but one doll dress done.  Then after getting the kids from school, we headed home.  Then I went to Anna's volleyball game (with Evie) and Dan picked up Tina from the light rail station.  Then after Anna's team won their game, I took her home and stopped in long enough to say hi, then head out to choir practice.  Dan and the kids had their usual busyness, so it was really nice that Tina could get there a bit early.  

Really early on Thursday, Eileen, David, Dan and I headed to the airport to fly to Texas.  We got in and my mom picked us up from the air port.  We had enough time to drop off our stuff, feed David and eat some lunch at In N Out burger before heading out to Anna to check out our house!  We got to spend some time looking around, then had the official walk through with the builder to check for any little fixes that needed to be made.  We love the house and are so excited!!  Then we headed back to my parents house for a yummy dinner of brisket sandwiches!   Here's David on his first air plane flight!  

The next day Dan went to meet with Jon and get some stuff done and plan.  Eileen and David and I mostly took it easy that morning.  Then at lunch, we met up with Sandi and Kai and Jon and Dan.  We had a nice lunch together, then headed home.  Dan finished up with Jon then joined us back at mom and dad's house.  We had some yummy Thai food for dinner, then headed to a nativity display in Allen where Sandi was singing with her ladies barbershop group.  It was a lot of fun - the nativity display was beautiful and it was a lot of fun getting to listen to Sandi sing!  We also got to see Taz and Kai and Some of Jon's family too!  Then we headed back to my parents house and Dan went to go pick up my Dad from the airport.  Eileen and I took a walk around my parents neighborhood to look at all the pretty Christmas lights.  

Saturday morning (really early again) we got on a plane to head back to Colorado.  We got back to the house in time to drop off Dan and then Eileen and I headed to the Relief Society activity - we had lots of fun eating breakfast and making hot coca ornaments and doing a cookie exchange.  Then we went home and rested and napped a bit, then watched Captain America before Tina came back with the kids.  Except Anna who was down at her Robotics competition in Grand Junction.  Her team did awesome - taking the championship trophy and getting to go to state in a couple weeks!  David has started rolling over from back to front now too.  Then in the evening, I had my first Christmas Concert of the season.  I took Eileen and it went really well!  After, we got dessert at Chili's and then headed home. 

Sunday was church - testimony meeting was wonderful - we truly are blessed to be in this ward!  After church was ward choir - we are getting ready for Christmas and it's been a lot of fun - I love Christmas music and our ward has so much talent! 

Thanksgiving

Well the kids had school on Monday and Tuesday - then the rest of the week they had off for Thanksgiving break.  Monday we had laundry to do and grocery shopping to get done.  We had a great little family home evening lesson given by Aaron on the 5th Article of Faith.  Anna loves to play with baby David - it is so cute watching her play with him!  

Tuesday was the last day of school for the week with the kids - they had fun, but David and I were both rather sick - I could hardly talk and he was coughing a bunch.  It was enough that I took him to the doctor to see if there was anything we should be doing - but mostly it was just the usual.  I grabbed some baby cough syrup and we tried a humidifier in his room.  I had choir that night - but could hardly sing.  It's kinda crazy to think that our Christmas concerts are next week!

The kids were home on Wednesday and we mostly spend the day taking it easy and such.  I tried to get some cooking done for Thanksgiving - but David was mostly un-cooperative.  I managed to make the spinach dip, but nothing else got done.  In the evening, Dan made the rolls and Eileen made a cheese cake.  I was finally able to get the pumpkin chiffon pie done thankfully - and that was it for us for Thanksgiving!  Anna had robotics in the afternoon - they are getting close to the competition, so they are in the final push to get everything ready!

Thursday was mostly just having a fun time together.  Then in the evening, we got dressed up (well some of us did) and then we headed to Stuart and Rebecca's for Thanksgiving dinner.  The meal was WONDERFUL as always!  It was wonderful to get to see family and chat over yummy food!

Friday morning, Becca came over - we had planned a day for me to teach her how to make Angel Food Cake and Creme Brulee.  We had a fun time and made lots of yummy sweets.  Then I sent a bunch of them home with her since we still had some pie and cheese cake.  We put our angel food cake upside down to cool, and this happened!  I've never had that happen before!  It was so funny - but it still tastes really yummy!

After lunch, and Anna's Robotics meeting in the morning, Dan and Becca and I took Eileen to see the "Justice League" movie.  We all enjoyed it - Eileen was bouncing in her seat.  :)  Sister Cottrell also came over to hang out with us, then watch the littles while we went to the movie - and Anna took charge of watching Becca's little one - Laura.  She does such a good job with little kids!  

Saturday, Anna had Robotics again - and they came home with Lego trophies to build - so they have been working on those for the last two days.  Eileen had flute lessons and the kids had piano lessons.  Then in the evening, we all went to Home Depot to get our Christmas tree!  The tree area was not heavily populated and we had to track down someone to help us - but I think we got a good tree! Eileen was less than thrilled with her overly energetic younger siblings. :) 

Sunday was great!  We had choir before church to prepare to perform in Sacrament Meeting.  It went well in spite of me messing up and not getting the musical number on the program.  After church, we went home for lunch, then walked back to the church for tithing settlement - the weather was so beautiful!  Then the kids and I had some fun jumping on the trampoline, and I set Eileen up with a blog for her doll.  I thought she would have a fun time with is - so we will see how it goes!  After dinner and getting the younger kids to bed, Eileen and Dan and I played a couple games.

Almost Thanksgiving!

We've had a fairly typical busy week, with a couple exceptions.  Monday we had laundry to wash and fold, grocery shopping to do, Family Home Evening, plus Evie had her dentist appointment after school.  David has been hit or miss when it comes to sleeping through the night, so when he doesn't, I'm grateful for the chance to get in a bit of a nap before the kids get out of school!  We had a fun little family home evening lesson on the 4th Article of Faith. 

Tuesday was Stake Temple night, and the ward youth temple trip, so Eileen and Dan headed to the temple right after school for baptisms, then Dan and I met and switched off the baby so I could go do a session with Kay and Reggie.  It was a wonderful evening!  In the morning, I went over to Becca's, but she was so tired, that after a bit I headed out to let her get a nap and go run some errands. 

Wednesday was a normal Wednesday - Anna had a volleyball game that Dan and I went to watch before heading out to Choir for me and then Dan had a work dinner in the evening.  Choir went well and we had a great time!  Then as I was leaving chorale, I got a phone call from Dan's phone - but it was his friend Kris calling to let me know that Dan was ok - but that he had choked on some food and the ambulance had been called and he was being taken to the hospital.  So I met up with him and Kris there and we sat with him while the doctors tried to get the piece of food to move out of his esophagus and into his stomach.  We finally got out of the hospital a bit after midnight, then dropped Kris off and headed home. 

After an adventurous night, I told Dan that he couldn't go to work and that he had to stay home and rest.  And David and I were a bit tired too - so we all took it a bit easy.  After school, Eileen had a doctor's appointment and Aaron had drum lessons and Anna had volleyball.  

Friday was an easy going day mostly too, I had planned on going over to Becca's but she was feeling sick and I was exhausted, so we both stayed home and rested instead.  Anna had Volleyball and Robotics, then for the evening, we just took it easy.  

Saturday morning, Anna had a game bright and early - I got to go watch some of it before I had to switch off with Dan so he could take Eileen to flute lessons and I could stay with the younger kids for piano lessons.  After that, we got a quick lunch before Dan took Anna to Robotics and Evie to a birthday party.  Then they came home and we got a quick dinner for the kids before Dwayne and Nicole dropped their kids off for Eileen to babysit and the grown ups all went out for dinner - we met up with Jeremiah and Becca and Nate and Ally too - it was a fun night and great food and I came home STUFFED!  

Sunday we got to church early to get ready for the choir to perform in Sacrament meeting.  Eileen also had a talk to give.  Eileen did a great job on her talk despite being really nervous and hating public speaking.  The choir sounded great and it was a wonderful Sacrament meeting!  After, Kay stole David and so Dan and I went to enjoy Gospel Doctrine.  The lessons was wonderful - we talked about the analogy of putting on the whole armor of God and looked at how much we can learn from that analogy - it's amazing - all things truly denote that there is a God!!  After church, we went home for lunch and some nap time.  Then Dan made bread to take to all the families that he home teaches.  We finished our evening by watching the Face to Face with Elder Nelson and Elder Oaks.  It was wonderful!  Then we sent the kids to bed and Eileen and Dan and I played Killer Bunnies.  

House Hunting and Such

We had a fun week this week.  Monday was our usual laundry day.  After school, Anna didn't have Volleyball, so we all loaded into the car and headed to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS) to meet up with Julia and Doug.  We had lots of fun with them checking out the new exhibits and watching a 3D Imax movie on flight.  It was lots of fun to hang out with Julia and Doug and the kids had a great time.  After, we headed home for a family home evening lesson and then laundry folding and grocery shopping.  

Tuesday, I got to head over to Becca's and we finished up our desks (well she finished hers and I got mostly done with mine) Then I went to pick up the kids from school and we had the usual after school stuff - piano practicing, band, volley ball practice and then dinner and bed.

Wednesday was a fun day, David and I took it a bit easy in the morning.  After school was the usual, then in the evening, I had Chorale practice - which was longer than usual because it was our tech rehearsal before our concerts this weekend.  Eileen and Dan had their youth activities.  Anna had a volley ball game and then she and Evie had Activity Day Girls activity.  Aaron had cub scouts and then we could finally call it a night.  At lunch time, Dan and I had our real estate agent take us on a video walk through of a house that we are interested in.  We had seen the floor plan and really liked it and wanted to see the interior.  Then we had Sandi drive around the neighborhood for us.  Then the next day, we put an offer on the house.  We will still go look at it when we go out at the end of the month, but this secures it for us with minimal cost if we change our mind. 

Thursday was a quiet morning.  After school, I got the younger kids and we went in to the book fair at the kids school to look around.  I told the kids we weren't buying anything, but I figured I could get some Christmas ideas for them.  After we headed home for the normal piano and homework and such.  I just loved this cute picture of Evie reading to David though!

Friday we had a pretty normal day to start with.  I had a nice time chatting with an old friend from Texas and getting excited about singing with her again.  The more people I talk to about this, the more real it seems.  The kids had school and Anna had volleyball and robotics.  Then I had a concert in the evening.  We did our Veteran's Day concert which was at Buckley Air Force Base.  The concert went really well - it was packed and the whole concert was just wonderful.  Dan took a video of my solo in the concert, but the video is too big to upload here.  

Saturday was another rather busy day.  In the morning, Eileen had flute lessons, The kids had piano lessons, Dan took Anna out running and then to the church to practice some volley ball.  In the afternoon, I took Eileen, Evie, James and David and went down to Colorado Springs for my concert.  I also gave a ride to another gal in my ward who sings with the Chorale.  She was so sweet and listened to me chatter for most of the hour and a half drive.  The kids were great and had a fun time hanging out with Sister Cottrell while I sang for the sound check and the concert.  Once again the concert was wonderful - it was amazing to have so many veterans and active military service people there!  

Sunday was church.  There was a wonderful talk from a recently returned sister missionary.  Her spirit was just wonderful and her words were just what I needed to hear!  Then she and her sisters did a beautiful musical number!  All of church was really wonderful!  After, the kids and I headed home for lunch, then Eileen and Anna and I headed back to the church for choir!  Week 2 of no crocheting at church for Eileen went a bit better than last week -  Eileen was still really grumpy about it, but not quite as bad as last week :)  

Evie is so funny - she LOVES to help out with David - she doesn't always remember that he is a baby and not a doll - but she is so eager to help.  Tonight she REALLY wanted to feed David, so we let her try it out and she did a great job!  She was so cute!  We finished our day with some game time with Eileen, now we just need to get David to sleep!  

Halloween

Monday was nice.  David and I tried to take it easy and since he napped most of the morning, I got to make up on some of the sleep I had been missing most of last week.  I got the laundry washed mostly - but David would not let me put him down long enough to fold it.  After school, and an early dinner, I took the kids to go pick up our glasses.  We all look great!  :)  On the way home, I took the kids to Cold Stone for a Family Home Evening activity.  

Tuesday was Halloween - the kids got to wear their costumes to school - but some how Aaron managed to lose his costume....  So he didn't have it to wear for the trunk or treat.  I went to Becca's in the morning and we worked on a desk for the dolls.  Then Dan got home in the afternoon.  There was band for Eileen and Volleyball practice for Anna, then we had dinner and headed over to the church for the trunk or treat.  We all had a great time - though the turn out wasn't as big as it usually is.  Aaron went "as himself" since he had lost his costume.  

Wednesday was the usual insanity.  School in the morning, piano practicing in the afternoon and choir, young women's, young men's, cub scouts in the evening.  Sister Cottrell stopped by to chat and hang out.  She had dinner with us and helped watch the kids while Dan was with the young men.  She is such a sweet lady!  

Thursday was a big day.  On Thursday, I became the mother of a teenager.  She is such an amazing young woman!  She had a flash cake and a wonder woman cake.  She blew out all the candles on the first try - no problem.  She was excited about her presents - a craft bag, kindle cover and some e-books from mom and dad, a really cute dress from grandma and grandpa Jones and a mermaid tail from grandma and grandpa Cox.  After we put the younger kids to bed, Dan and I watched the first Iron Man with Eileen - we are taking her through the Marvel movies one by one.  :)   

Friday was back to school and such as usual.  We watched The Incredible Hulk with Eileen at night.  She's been enjoying the movies so far! 

Saturday was crazy.  Eileen had flute.  The kids had piano lessons, Anna had Robotics, then in the afternoon, we all had to be out of the house for about 4 hours for a home inspection.  Dan and Anna were at Robotics.  I took the kids with my to get my fixed glasses, then we headed to the Zoo - Eileen went to the library instead.  We had a fun time running around and playing and David mostly cooperated. 

Sunday was great.  Dan and I talked to Eileen about not bringing her crochet bag to church as a way to try and get her to stop isolating herself from everyone else.  She was REALLY not happy with us, but it seemed to work.  She read scriptures during Sacrament meeting, and actually participated a bit more in Young Womens.  Choir was awesome this week - we had a great turn out and I'm getting really excited about how everything is sounding!  After, we headed to Doug's house to visit.  Julia is in town and Grandpa was back from Washington DC and getting his medal for his participation in the Philippine Scouts after WWII.  It was really neat to hear him talk about it and learn about what happened there.  He has done so much to try and share the stories so that those who fought can receive the recognition that they deserve. 

After we got home and had some dinner, Anna and David had fun playing with a balloon and David was just cracking up!!! So funny!