Taylor Fun!

It's so fun to have so many families from California (where I grew up) now living here in Utah. One of our favorite families, the Taylors, has a get together every Christmas. It's so fun to get the old gang back together for a night of fun, treats and catching up. Here we are trying to get a picture in front of the Trolley that will take us around the lights at Thanksgiving Point.

My Mom and Dad (in the trolley)

There were so many of us this year that the Taylor's had also reserved a "hayride" for anyone wanting to brave the cold. The best part was, it wasn't very cold! In fact, most of us opted for the horse drawn ride! It was so fun to be out and close to all the lights. August even managed to wake up some and find a smile while we rode through.

My brother Doug and his sweet Allie

We spent the next hour or more inside the cafe drinking hot cocoa and munching on gigantic cookies and catching up with old friends. Thanks so much Taylors for such a fun night together!

The reindeer were still there when we were leaving so we stopped by to say goodnight.

I love this picutre. Paige was soo soooo soooo tired by now that she couldn't even muster a smile for the last couple pictures. Glad we got her home soon afterwards.

When we first got there earlier that evening there was a guy and his son out carving this huge chunk of ice. By the time we left, this is what they had created. So amazing. It was so beautiful!

Merry Christmas.

Ward Christmas Party

We had our ward Christmas party Mexican style a couple weeks ago. It was so fun as always. We ate yummy tacos/burritos. I also used my new camera for the first time. It was so fun to play with. I need to learn a few things, but I thought the pictures turned out pretty good for the first try!

The Primary put on a live nativity for us all to enjoy. It was so fun to watch. Paige is in the middle, between the donkey and another sheep. How cute!

Ashley was an angel
So was Abby



After the nativity they strung up a couple pinatas for the kids to break. They were all so sooo excited. The pinatas came down in just a couple wacks, but the kids didn't seem to mind.

They enjoyed finding the goodies and games inside.

Here's Larkin helping with cleanup. They eventually pushed a table over and he stood on that.

I had no idea this was going on until a friend tapped me on the shoulder and told me to turn around. It was pretty funny to watch. Way to go Larkin!

From First Date

From First Date

To Soul Mate

and best friend EVER!

Happy 12th Larkin Weyand

Cutest Turkey, twice!

Is it not?

I love this turkey.

My mom made them and had them sitting on the plates at the "kid" table for Thanksgiving.

So so cute!

It's just a pair of dollar store mittens, one stuffed into the other with a few extras added on! How simple and darling. I guess she saw them on Studio 5. There is probably a video there you could watch if you wanted. I wish I had brought my camera so you could have seen the whole table. It was darling.

Then,

I had brought paper and stuff to have all the kids make a candy box turkey.

Here is the sample one I brought.

Again,

I wish I had brought the camera beause as you can imagine, their turkies turned out way cuter than mine, with how they each cut out the body piece and all the colored feathers they added. It was a fun pre-dinner activity!

Happy Thanksgiving

Here is Paige with a Thanksgiving song she learned in Kindergarten.

Turkey Turkey in a pen,

It's Thanksgiving time again.

Still you strut around with pride,

Soon you should take off and hide.

Big fat turkey we have a date,

I will see you on my plate.

Hope you have a happy day with people you love. I'm so excited to go to my parents and enjoy the day with my brothers and their kids and my Grandmas. What a nice afternoon we will have.

Ashley had her piano recital last Saturday. She was so nervous. When I asked what she was most nervous about she said, "Standing up and saying my name in front of everybody!" She did a great job! Here's the video.

Lindsay and Ashley

Ashley takes piano from Lindsay's mom. It's been so fun to see how much she is learning and the fun songs she can play. We are excited to have Abby start lessons in January also. Abby can't wait!

Finishing October

LOOK AT THOSE FACES!

What fun!

We were lucky to have Larkin's parents come down from Pennsylvania for a visit in October.

Grammie helped Ashley come up with an activity for FHE...decorating pumpkins. In this case, it was one and we each took a turn adding to the face. Abby started with the eyes, Ashley was the nose, Paige did the mouth, August did the shoes (on the back of the head...but it worked for him), Grammie did the ears and Grandpa the hair and Larkin and I finished with a mole and some cheeks. What a cute little pumpkin!

My kids aren't much into carving,

so this was perfect for our family!

Thanks Grammie and Grandpa!

Thekids dressed up for Halloween on the Friday before at school.

Here's Larkin in his costume. He had fun scaring his students as they entered his classroom.
Paige was a cute little witch!

So was Abby!

And, Ashley opted for the cheerleader this year. GO ASHLEY!

Here they are right before they went to school that day.

Hope your October finished well also.

And,

ready or not,

here comes NOVEMBER...

Little Man

Now that Paige is in Kindergarten, August and I have a lot of time together. He loves to talk. He talks and talks and sometimes I get to say something too. The other day we were at Home Depot and were parked right by a big manhole. Here is our conversation.

A: What's that?

M: That's a manhole.

A: Huh?

M: A manhole.

A: Huh? (This is his favorite response, I'm still trying to decide if he really knows what it means, or he just knows he can say it after we say something.)

M: It's a manhole. It covers a big hole that people can go down.

A: I want to go down there.

M: Only a man can go down there. You are too little. You have to wait until you are bigger.

A: I want to be a man...(in a wishful voice.)