Friday Fun Day

A friend of mine has three little kids and she decided it would be fun to get together with other moms and kids a couple of Fridays a month. Part of the fun is that we don't just meet at the park, but we take little field trips. At first she organized them all herself, but now each mom gets a turn to organize a Friday Fun Day.

It was my turn recently, so I thought it would be fun to go to the local wildlife park. I had been there several times before with my other kids on field trips and thought it was interesting. So we decided to meet there at 10 am. When we got there we were really disappointed. When I had been there before they had a whole room of activities and small animals to look at, but this time the room was practically empty. Apparently they were undergoing a renovation. The kids did enjoy seeing the two animals still there, but that didn't last long. We did get to see some cool birds in the bird watching area though. Luckily, one of the things that hasn't been messed with is the nature trails. The kids enjoyed taking a walk (or run) on the trails.

After having our fill of the trails, we headed over to the playground and picnic area. This is where the kids really had fun! They have a fun play set for smaller kids. Austin and his friends really liked the slide!

It started out kind of disappointing, but ended up to be a lot of fun for the kids. We look forward to many more Friday Fun Days!

New Years fun

Last year we invited our friends to come spend New Years with us and we had tons of fun. This year they invited us to their house! We always have fun catching up with each other and the boys have a blast playing with each other. This time was no different. We played, watched movies and ate way more food than we should have - it was great!!

On New Years Eve Chad and Mark went on a bike ride while the boys played around the house. They had an awesome ride, but it took a lot longer than we thought it would. When they got home, we quickly got the boys ready and we headed out the door for lunch/dinner at Old Chicago. We really like the pizza at Old Chicago, but our friends have never been there. I think everyone liked the pizza and we were definitely full when we left. Jen and I started worrying about all the food we bought for dinner.

At one point during the night, the boys wanted to get in the spa. Chad was nice enough to go in with them. They turned on lights and had a grand time.

After relaxing for a little while the boys started feeling bold. They dareed each other to jump Into the freezing pool and then back into the spa! Well, boys will be boys, so of course they all started saying they would. Devon even wanted to try, but. Being the good Mom that I am I said no. That didn't stop him from running over to the pool with the other boys to see who was brave enough to take the plunge. When all was said and done only a couple of boys actually went in. Trevor was the first to go in (he was tricked by Spencer), then Tanner went in (he got pushed) and finally Kaden took a dive. My boys were accompanied by two of the Hancock boys.

The water was pretty cold, so they all hustled back to the spa! Awe, the joy of spas!!

It was a good thing we were planning on staying up till the wee hours of the night because we didn't really start eating dinner till around 10:30 or 11 pm. The food was great though, it gave us that extra boost to make till midnight!

To pass the time till midnight we watched movies. The kids watched Transformers downstairs, while the parents watched Leap Year upstairs. When midnight approached we called the boys upstairs to watch the ball fall. The boys all rushed up. Austin was still awake and excited, but in the end he just couldn't hold on anymore.

It is always an exciting moment when the ball falls. Everyone has their cups with sparkling cider and cheers go up in the air.

Of course, we can't forget the traditional New Years kiss! We had a wonderful weekend with our friends. We did rush home the next day to make it home in time for church, but other than that it was a nice relaxing weekend! Here's to a happy new year!!

Christmas Eve at our house

This year we hosted many of our friends for Christmas Eve. We had so much fun last year, we decided to do it again! We were a little worried that it could get a little cramped with so many people coming, but it turned out to be perfect.

Everyone brought a side dish and a treat to share. Everything was delicious and I don't think anyone went home hungry! We enjoyed talking and eating while the kids ran around and played. A couple of our friends are moving in a couple of days, so we were glad to spend one last fun night together.

No Christmas Eve party is complete without reading and acting out the Christmas story from the Bible. Anyone who wanted to participate brought their nativity costumes. It worked out perfect. We were able to fill all of the parts.

We even had a tiger! Austin wanted to do dress up, but he wanted to wear his Tigger costume, so we added a character to the story. When the program started though, the tiger was a little shy. He just watched from the sidelines. I'm pretty sure that's how it really happened anyway!!

The kids did a wonderful job. Tanner was the narrator this year and Trevor was a wise man. Devon and Kaden decided to sit out this year.

After the nativity everyone left to continue their family traditions at home. We quickly cleaned up and got the Christmas Eve presents out for the boys. The boys were very excited to see what their new jammies would look like!

We decided to go with different patterns this year. It is getting harder to get all of the boys matching PJ's. We also got the boys new slippers. We couldn't find any slippers for Austin, so we grabbed his current slippers and put them in his present. It was funny to watch him open his gift. When he saw his slippers he excitedly yelled, "My slippers!" We all laughed.

Carving Pumpkins with Friends

Every year we look forward to carving pumpkins for Halloween. This year we were invited over to a friends house to carve pumpkins. It was fun to be with friends!

The boys were so excited to be at a friends house that they didn't help with the pumpkins as much as usual, but we did get them intermittently. Kaden and Trevor started by cleaning out the pumpkins while I drew the designs for the faces.

We have a book of ideas, so the boys look through and tell me their favorite parts, then I make a custom face.

After the face is approved I trace it on the pumpkin for Chad to carve. This year Chad got some help from Austin!

While we were all carving pumpkins we had a special Halloween sugar cookie - made to look like candy corn. Yum!

Once the carving is all done our friends invited us to join in one of their traditions. Everyone in the house gets to write an original poem to share with the group. My friend keeps all of the poems in a binder year after year. It was fun, but a little nerve racking - I'm not the best at writing poems. Everyone was really creative and we had fun listening to all the poems. It was a really fun evening. We are thankful to be surrounded by so many wonderful people!

When we got home we put the pumpkins in their spot on the porch and lit them for all to see. I love the finished product. I'm not sure who first thought of carving pumpkins and lighting them, but what a great fun idea!

A Lovely Outdoor Reception

Shortly after returning home from our trip I was asked to do some photography. One of the young women in our ward was getting married and she asked me to be the photographer at her reception. She has been the boys babysitter many times and she is a great girl, so how could I say no!

Before the big day I took Kaden and Trevor over to the venue and took some test shots. They are always willing to help out, although they do get a little silly at times!

The reception was beautiful and they could not have asked for a better day. I had a lot of fun taking pictures. I have only shot a reception once before (for this young woman's sister), but it was indoors. I prefer shooting outside, so this time was not as stressful for me.

As with every photo shoot, I learned a lot. I'm glad I got the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful day!

A Hero Returns

A little over a year ago, our friend, Lt. Lofthouse, found out he was being deployed to Afghanistan. This is the second time he has been deployed. The first time was to Iraq. His assignment came a shock, since he was supposed to be relocating to accept a new position. We felt sad for our friends.

We feel honored that our friend would leave his family to go and defend our country. It was really neat to follow his experience and to pray for him every day. While he was gone we were able to do some service projects for the soldiers our friend worked with. It was nice to be able to give something to help the troops who are out risking their lives for us everyday.

Finally, the year is up and our friend has returned home. Austin and I were able to go to the airport to welcome him back home. It was such a great reunion! There were smiles and tears of joy all around.

I am thankful for the Lofthouses and all of the other soldiers and their families. They sacrifice so much for our country. I think sometimes we take it for granted or forget what these men and women do for us. It has been a blessing for me to see the sacrifice our friends have made. Throughout the year I watched them serve others. They wished the year would go by quickly, but they were blessed because of their sacrifice. They are wonderful examples to our family.

We can't start school without . . . ICE CREAM!!!

At the beginning of every school year our friends, the Lofthouse family, invite everyone over for an ice cream social. It's a great way to start the school year!

This year the social was held on the second day of school. The boys were very excited when they got home and found out where we were going. Trevor said, "I like going to the Lofthouse's house, they always have fun parties!"

The kids had a blast running around with their friends and the adults loved sitting down and talking. It's one of those events you hate to leave because you are having so much fun!

Sadly, next year won't be the same because our friends are moving away. We will miss them, but I'm sure they will brighten someone else's new school year with yummy ice cream!