the latest

Here's a little of what's going on around here these days ...

Ben, Emery and Sam are training to run the Moab half-marathon in two weeks. They've been busy running mile after mile after mile. (Luke and I are proud members of their support team.) Emery's foods teacher at school told him that drinking pickle juice before a run is good for muscles and cramps. He's been drinking lots of pickle juice lately. The funny thing is he does seem to run better when he drinks it!

We registered Emery for high school last night. I can't believe he's old enough to go to high school. Having a harder time believing I'm old enough to have a high schooler.

We're getting excited for The Hunger Games movie coming out later this month.

Speaking of later this month, Sam turns twelve on the 21st! He received his Faith in God award at church last Sunday and he's looking forward to becoming a deacon!

The boys have all been playing Jr. Jazz basketball the past couple of months. Our last games are tomorrow, but baseball/golf/lacrosse season is right around the corner.

I started working part-time in January ... home health care (which I've never done before). I was a little nervous to go back to work after not working for 6 years, but decided it's a good time to work a little again. Since I'm only working about 8 hours a week, it doesn't interfere with family stuff too much. And believe it or not, I'm loving my job. It's actually a nice little break from laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc.! :)

dear santa

We're making our list and checking it twice ...

my favorite veteran

Since it's Veteran's Day today, I thought I'd post a photo of my favorite veteran.  So proud of my dad ... a veteran of World War II.

I'm honored to be your daughter.

halloween

We had a happy halloween around here.  Of course we carved pumpkins:

And Sam and Luke went trick-or-treating:

Emery was MIA since he's too old to trick-or-treat.  He spent the evening with friends watching scary movies.

We were so happy that my mom and dad, Ben's mom and dad, and Preston and Kambria came and hung out with us, ate chili, and played games.

And the next day Sam and Luke held their annual candy inventory and exchange:

Happy halloween!

school pictures

Yes I'm a total sucker for school pictures.  I know they aren't the best photos and they're pretty much a rip-off, but I can't help it. 

Why?  Because I love that just one look at that blue-ish gray-ish background (that has been used since I was their age) instantly tells you it's a school picture, and I love the expressions that can only be captured by a picture taken in front of their entire class.

So here they are ... school pictures 2011-2012.

halloween parade

One of the few things I remember about being in elementary school was the annual Halloween parade.  I loved dressing up, going to school, and marching through all the classrooms to show off my costume.  I remember the parents lining the halls taking pictures of all the cute and spooky costumes.  So I've been so sad that my kids have never gotten to experience this fun tradition.  Their schools have never had a halloween parade ... until this year!  I was so happy when I learned that there would indeed be a parade this year ... so off I went, camera in hand, to the elementary school parade.

Luke was a vampire.  But no need to fear ... he claims he was a nice vampire.  And Sam was a 7-11 employee.

And since they go to the same school as a couple of their cousins, we got to see them, too.  Jake and Logan were both darling clowns.

It was so fun to see all the cute kids parading in their costumes.  Plus, I got some great ideas for next year.  :)

Grandma Phyllis

Ben's grandma passed away October 12, just 4 days after her 91st birthday.  She was the cutest little pint-sized lady!  She wasn't quite 5 feet tall, but her goodness definitely made up for what she lacked in height!  Ben and I were lucky to live in her basement apartment for the first year of our marriage.  We would often come home to find that she had left us a little treat on our counter (something like a bowl of assorted nuts), or an article she had clipped out of the newspaper that she thought we would be interested in.  She was known for her interesting gift-giving ... she once gave Ben a birdcage, birdseed, and a fake bird for his birthday.  She was a little gal with a lot of personality!  She truly loved and blessed everyone she met.  In her funeral, her daughter said, "Lots of people collect things.  Some people collect stamps, some collect coins, but Phyllis collected people."  I love that because it's so true!  Phyllis loved people and they loved her.  She was one of the most compassionate and generous people I've ever known.  We will miss her!  As Grandma Phyllis would have put it, "We love your guts!"