Halloween 2018

Halloween was great this year.  I got to volunteer in the boys’ Halloween class party.  I was assigned that task of playing pin the fangs on the vampire and Don’t Eat Peet.  It was a blast.  Derek got in his brain that he really wanted to pass out homemade root beer on the porch, so he did and the kids had fun with it and I think all the neighbors enjoyed it too.  Derek enjoyed visiting a bit with everyone that stopped by our house.  

Carter was a storm trooper this year.  One neighbor passed out full sized candy bars and they had Twix (his current favorite)—so we had to sit right down and eat it then the excitement was too much to wait to eat it at the end of the night.

  London got a chance to be a storm trooper too.  

Camden was Chewbacca. He unfortunately, lost trick or treating privileges this year due to some very inappropriate behavior at a BYU football game (hitting, kicking, biting his parents because he didn’t get his way and then had to be taken home early by his Dad—all resulting in the ultimate punishment—no trick or treating).  He got to help dad pass out the root beer though he seemed to enjoy that.    He was adorable in the school Halloween Parade.  His Chewbacca mask full covered his face, but that socialite came out excitedly waving to everyone and giving high fives to everyone he passed.  Olivia was Mal for Descendants 2 complete with purple hair.  

Derek did an amazing job making all their jack o lantern hopes and dreams come true again.   Carter wanted a storm trooper to match his costume, Camden wanted a monkey (his favorite animal), and Olivia wanted London (our dog).

Olivia's Baptism

Olivia turning 8 marked this year the year of her baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We had been focusing our family home evening lessons all year on her understanding the covenants she would make at baptism.  I am happy to report that she truly understood the covenant she was making with her Heavenly Father that day and she was excited to do it.  She had the most darling dress that she picked online herself.  She was trying to mimic her Aunt Karlee’s wedding dress as close as she could.  We had a great photoshoot a couple months before with Carly Pendleton where we got some darling pictures.  

Derek always requests a picture of just me and the kids for his office.  So we got that taken that day too.

My favorite pic of Liv was this one candid unplanned shot where Liv reached down and touched the river she was standing next too.  I felt it was very symbolic of her upcoming baptism and had it blown up onto a canvas for the special day.  

We also put up a few of the other pictures taken from that day.  The night before Olivia recited her testimony to me of the things she felt to be true and I typed it up and displayed it at the baptism.  We had a few copies of the Book of Mormon available with her testimony inside.  Tyler Thorsted made a beautiful program from us with Olivia’s picture inside.  

The day before the baptism, Dad and Lynn arrived with a whole bunch of nerf guns in tote.  Then, they left to sleep at a hotel while Mom and George slept at the house and were awakened the next morning by being shot with nerf guns.  

The morning of Kenadie’s Mom graciously agreed to braid Olivia’s hair.  

She went above and beyond and her hair was gorgeous and stayed perfectly that way throughout the whole baptismal event.  We filled the room for the baptism program with OIivia’s friends and family.  

Olivia originally asked to hair Karlee and Tanner jointly give the talk on baptism, but they found that arrangement difficult, so when pressed Olivia decided Karlee alone to give it.  The 3 kids did a marvelous job singing When I am Baptized.  

I lead all the music.  We sang as a group I am Trying to Be Like Jesus and If the Savior Stood Beside Me.  I definitely hardly held it together through Trying to be Like Jesus.  The Baptism ordinance was wonderful.  Then we came back and Olivia played I am a Child of God on the violin—she had practiced and practiced and on that day she played the very best she ever had.  

Aunt Stephanie gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and then Derek gave the most beautiful confirmation blessing.  It was a good day, a really good day. 

And I was so happy to have all Olivia’s grandparents in attendance. 

After the baptism everyone came back to the house for sub sandwiches.  Aunt Derek's Mom made Olivia a beautiful cake.

Hallie came back to house with us for a few hours, then I took all the kids over to swim at Poppi and Lynn’s hotel—lots of squirt guns were brought along.   Dad and I had to help with chicken fight after chicken fight (Camden was the reigning champion) and got squirted in the face all too much.  That evening we went to dinner with my Mom and George and Dad and Lynn at Tucanos.  Then, Dad, Lynn, Mom and I all went with the kids to see Small Foot.  Sunday morning everyone headed back home after a great family weekend.  

Fall is Here

Fall has arrived and I swear the beginning of Fall is some of the best weather we get all year.  It's still nice and warm 70s/80s during the day, but cools off to a nice comfortable temperature in the evenings.  It's the perfect time of year for evening strolls.  The kids fall is filled to the brim with after school activities of course.  Last minute the boys (meaning I had to pay a $20 late fee) the boys decided they did want to play soccer.  The happen to be in the 8 and under league and seem to be the youngest kids on the team which means they themselves score less goals but the games themselves are so much less painful to watch and they are learning a lot from the older boys.  They are on the same team and Brinton Rosenthal and Aiden Davis, so we have been carpooling to soccer practice each week and it's fun to have their families on the side lines with us at the games.  Liv held strong in her decision not to play this year which I am grateful for.  Two sets of soccer practices and games each week is killer.  She has been enjoying cheering the boys on from the sidelines with Derek and I.

 The boys are starting to learn to play the piano in their second year of Let's play music and have been good about practicing each day after school and getting their 5 practices in every week, so they earn their prize at class.  Then, there is Liv.  She is taking a combo dance class at Christina's Corner Dance Studio and seems to finally be enjoying dance.  She is also taking voice lessons with Marcie Yachtman at Hale Center Theater Orem.  She is loving that and loves learning and practicing new songs and any change she gets to perform them.  She is still doing the Limited Edition Vocal Company at Center Stage.  She continues violin lessons and is also doing a piano Bridge course associated with Let's Play Music.  Not sure how we will keep up with all the practicing for all of this, but so far she has been managing it all real well.   Every Saturday I make out a chore list for each kid with as many chores as their age (the boys 5 each, Liv now 8).  Derek and I bribe them with various activities for finishing every Saturday.  One Saturday, we took the kids and Chase, who had come over to help with some weeding at our house that morning, to J. dawgs and then bowling. 

We bought a couple tickets for the whole family to BYU football games this fall.  The kids enjoyed getting the free stuff at the tailgate before the games and taking pictures by their photo ops. 


Liv's book club seems to be dying down...the last one only she and Hallie attended, but that didn't keep them from having fun.  They read Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus.


 Conference was great as always---all of us are looking forward to 2 hour church in January.  Liv got to attend women's conference with me for the first time which was neat.  This was a pic of all the kids filling the table with puzzles during one of the sessions which seems to be our conference tradition.

2nd Grade Pizza Party

So far every year of elementary school Olivia has thrown a party where she invites all the girls in her class over.  As soon as school started this year she reminded me that we needed to have one.  It’s a fun tradition that she loves.  This year we decided to throw a pizza making party.  We ended up have 7 litter girls from her class over. 

I gave them each a ball of pizza dough to roll out and top as desired.  Then, we baked them up and enjoyed.  

After everyone had eaten, we played Halloween bingo until their parents all came to pick them up. 

It’s a fun way to sort of get to know all the girls in her class.  The boys keep asking me when they get to have a party with all the boys in their class, but for some reason a house full of little boys sounds way more chaotic and destructive and a house full of girls.

Last Day at Cherry Tree

Sadly, Dr. Preston whom I have worked for at his Family Practice office for 9 years got diagnosed with ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease this year.  It’s been so hard to watch his health deteriorate.  Because of his declining health, he sold his practice this year to another Family Practice group in town.  They took over Cherry Tree Family Practice on October 1^st of this year.  And without much warning they left me know on my last day of work when it was over that it would be my last day.  I understood why they wouldn’t want to keep a silly girl like me working just one half day a week, but I was still sad to say goodbye to office staff and patients that I had worked with for almost a decade.  Dr. Preston arranged and paid for all the Cherry tree staff and providers to have one last farewell dinner together at Brick Oven Pizza.  

It was nice to have a proper night to visit and say goodbye to everyone.  

I miss working in family practice and all the people.  And now, with the boys in kindergarten and me not working in family practice, I found myself with Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday AMs home without the kids.  People keep asking me if I am going to pick up more surgery shifts with the extra free days I have, but I think I will wait until the boys are in 1^st grade and gone the whole day rather than just half the day.  It was daunting at first to have 3 mornings alone in the house without the kids, but I have managed to fill and even over fill the time.  Tuesday mornings I usually go on a hike with Annie and other neighborhood ladies, Wednesday morning I often hit the temple, and Thursday mornings I volunteer in the boys classroom.  And, I am more free and available to go on school field trips and help with classroom parties which has been fun.