This is Halloween

We had our ward party on Friday October 25th.  I threw this hippie costume together at the last minute.  When I showed up at the party I saw that my friend Jen was also a hippie so we got a picture together.

Addy after some convincing wore the Spanish dancer costume.  My dad bought it in Spain and it has been passed down through many girls in our family.

Kev was in charge of decorating our car for the trunk or treat.  I loved how it turned out.

I was able to go and help out with Hayden's class party for Halloween.  The game I was in charge of us was toilet paper mummies.

It was fun to see how much they got into it and how much toilet paper they used.  Their favorite part was when I let them bust out of the toilet paper at the end.

I took some more pictures of the kids before they went trick or treating.  Addy looks so grown up wearing that bright red lipstick. 

I talked Hayden into stuffing his belly before he went trick or treating that night.  I feel it only added to his santa look. 

Halle came up with her own costume this year.  She dressed up as a ladybug from a tv show she watches. I love how her makeup turned out.

Parker dressed up as a mountain biker this year. (so basically he dressed up as himself)

I took some pictures of him popping a wheelie.  

Kenna had a Stranger Things theme going on this year.  She dressed up as Elle.

She even had the classic blood drip coming out of her nose.  She made it with Karo Syrup and red food dye.

The obligatory mom picture before the kids went trick or treating for Halloween.  

Paige was nice to share her butterfly wings with Addy to keep her warm.  It was a very cold Halloween this year.  I'm grateful that Kev took them trick or treating instead of me.

Halle had fun trick or treating with her friends Avery, Maddie, and Rachel.

Parker hung out with his friends Bridger, Carson, and Ryker.  This was the first year he didn't go trick or treating.

Hayden brought home the most candy this year.  Which is ironic since he is on a no sugar diet. I did let him eat a few pieces. He has been great to share the rest with me and his siblings.

YW recognition award

Mckenna received her young women recognition award on Wednesday October 30th.  We are so happy and proud that she finished!

Her YW leader Jessie Demile presented her with the award.

Mckenna is letting out a sigh of relief that it is all finished.  She started her personal progress as a beehive and finished as a laurel.  She also started with the first value Faith and then worked straight through from there.  She lost some motivation the last few months.  We kept trying to encourage her since we knew that the Personal Progress program was ending in December of this year.  One Sunday night in September she told me she would work on personal progress if I made her some pumpkin cookies.  It was a deal.  I made the cookies and she finished her personal progress that night. She was so close and just had a few things left to finish up.

I invited some of her past YW leaders Justine Frost and Brekke Houpt to come that night.  I'm thankful for all the many leaders that have helped her over the years. 

Kenna and her cute friend Tessa shared their displays of what they have worked on this last year.

Halle also had a display and brought her violin to share.

It has been a privilege to watch Mckenna's growth from a twelve year old into the beautiful young woman she is today. I have enjoyed working on personal progress with her as her mom and YW leader. She learned to cook and do her own laundry.  She also learned to play the organ and read books about church history.  My favorite project was the one where she chose one of her siblings to serve and show kindness to. It brought love and happiness to our whole family.  I feel so blessed and honored to be her mom! We love you Kenna!

Addy's Birthday

Our cute Addy turned 8 years old on October 24th!  I had fun going with her to get her birthday waffle.

She chose out this giant 8 balloon for her party.

We ate pizza and crazy bread that night for her birthday dinner.

I loved this moment of Addy and Hayden playing together before her party.

Addy was happy to give hugs to her Grandma Sue.

She was so happy to have cousin Elle at her party.

Her big gift from us was new scriptures and a scripture case.

I made Addy a cake in the shape of an 8.  It took me forever to put all the sprinkles on the marshmallow flowers.  I was grateful to have Kenna's help when she came home from school.

Addy blowing out her candles and making a birthday wish.

I recorded Addy reciting some of her Halloween poems she learned at school.  It was the cutest! We are so thankful Addy is a part of our family.  She brings happiness to us all. I love her toothless grin! She is a loving and kind sister. She is blessed to have her brothers and sisters always looking out for her.  She is counting down the days until her baptism!

Fall Break

We drove to Cedar City over Fall Break for Parker's mountain bike race.

Kev took this cool video of him at the pre-ride.

Our family stayed in a condo at Brian Head Ski Resort.

It was our first time staying at an Airbnb.  My inner germaphobe was freaking out when we first got there. It looked clean but I wasn't sure if it really was.  Kev humored me and let me wash all the dishes in the kitchen before we ate on them.  I finally was able to relax and watch some TV.  It was fun that that there was a big screen in every room.  Parker and I watched the Sixth Sense.  He had never seen it before.

The next morning we woke up to all this snow.  You can also see all the dead trees from when they had a huge fire several years ago. 

We drove back to Cedar City for Parker's race.  Luckily, it had warmed up a little before his race.

They had this awesome blow up couch that the kids had fun hanging out on.

Parker did well riding on all the slick rock. 

We climbed up these rocks to get a good view of the finish line.

We always enjoy cheering Parker on as he finishes his race.  This is the last race of the biking season.

We went and ate at our favorite place, Cafe Rio, after the race. Parker had worked up an appetite.

We drove out to see some petroglyphs on our way back to the condo.

They had fun scarecrows on the main street in Parowan.  This was one of our favorites.

We went on a hike that was close to Brian Head.  It was the Hidden Falls trailhead.

The first part of the hike was easy but it got a little challenging towards the end.  We had to rock scramble and climb to get to the falls.

There was even some snow in the shady parts.

The kids had fun playing pool in the game room at the condo.

The next morning we drove over to Cedar Breaks to some of the lookouts.  It was freezing cold!

We would get out of the car, run to the lookout, and then hurry back to the car.

The view from the top of Brian Head Peak was beautiful.

We stopped at my favorite place called the Red Barn on our way home. We look forward to these apple cider donuts every year.

Some of the kids had ice cream and they even had flavored honey sticks that Hayden could eat.  It was a unique and memorable Fall break for all of us.