Thanksgiving

It was another crazy week for us.  I had to work on Thanksgiving so my parents, sister Jennifer, Kyle, and the boys held Thanksgiving dinner until I got off work.  So we ate at 6:30 pm.  It was a good dinner and the boys both seemed to really enjoy the evening.  Kyle had circled a few items in the Walmart add so I headed to Walmart at 9:40 pm.  I got to the store and seriously considered turning around.  The entire Walmart parking lot was full and so was most of the JCPenny parking lot across the street.  Mom called about that time and Dad came out and parked my car while I walked inside.  Once inside I was pretty sure I had lost my mind for purposely putting myself in this insanity.  I found my Mom in the back of the store and we succeeded in getting some pajamas for the boys.  We then got the present for Kyle that I came to get.  We tried to find the Wii that Mom was looking for and failed miserably.  In fact, Mom and Dad were not able to get any of the things that they came for.  The trampoline was sold out even before 10 when the sale was supposed to start.  I got quite a few toys for the boys and felt it was a productive evening for me.  Mom and Dad went to Twin after Walmart while I went home.  I got home a little after 11 and went directly to bed since I had to work at 7 am the next morning.  On Friday, I got off work a little early and headed directly to Boise.  Kyle's neice, Lydia, was going to be baptised early the next morning.  We got in to Emmett around 8 that night.  The next morning we got up and got ready to go to Eagle for the baptism.  Lydia was baptised and Wesley kept asking me who was going to be baptised next.  With both Stephen and Lydia getting baptised this month he felt we should keep going.  We went bowling that night with all of the cousins.  Wesley and Jonathen had a really good time.  I even managed to beat one of my nephews.  I am usually one of the worst bowlers so that was kind of a suprise.  Jonathen even got second place in the younger kids group.  On Sunday we had an ordination to attend.  Daric, Lydia's older brother, was being ordained to the office of a teacher.  It was quite a busy weekend and we headed home after the ordination.  After getting back, we headed over to my parents since my sister Caitlin was in town.  We ended staying and playing games with Caitlin and Scott.  It was a fun night. 

Baptism Time



The boys at the airport in Salt Lake City





Wes and Jon at Monticello



 

My family standing with Thomas Jefferson



From left to right: Jack, Amelia, Stephen, and Matt

My nephew Stephen turned eight this year so we planned on making a trip out east (Richmond, VA) to be there for his baptism.  My brother and his wife, Amelia, were very kind to plan Stephen's baptism for a time when my family and my mother would be able to come out.  Stephen's birthday was in October, but they planned the big day for November 12, 2011 so we could come out.  My mother gave one of the talks and I got to lead the music.  Amelia's mom even got to come out for the big day so she gave the other talk.  It was a great day and wonderful to see Stephen baptised.  The next day Matt took us out sightseeing since we were going to be in town just for the weekend.  We went to Monticello since it was somewhere I wanted to go see.  I have never been back east and was somewhere I really wanted to go.  It was great to see Thomas Jefferson's home.  It is a very interesting place.  We headed back home the next day.  So we flew out on Friday, spent Saturday at Stephen's football game and baptism, Sunday at Monticello, and Monday flying home.  It was a crazy fast trip, but great to see my brother and his family and celebrate Stephen's baptism with them.  Matt and Kyle even got to watch the Boise State game together.  My brother and husband act the same during football games.  They both yell at the TV as if the players can actually hear them.  I have always found it funny to see grown men yelling at the TV screen and jumping up and down.  The boys did really well on the plane.  In fact, Jonathen fell asleep during take-off every single time.  Wesley slept on the second leg of each trip and did pretty well.  He was a little grumpy upon waking.  We were extrememly tired when we got home on Monday.  Jonathen will tell anyone who asks that he got to fly on a plane like Batman.  It is really funny.  He really enjoyed the plane even though he had to sit on someone's lap the whole time and wasn't allowed to go anywhere.  The last plane trip from Dallas to Salt Lake was extremely full.  The entire 1st class section was filled with leaders of the church.  While waiting to get to our seats Wesley got to shake hands with Elder Christofferson and talk to him.  He also got to talk to the pilot about the plane.  We had quite a wait and it was good for Wesley to be able to talk to people while waiting.  When asked about talking to one of the twelve apostles he usually tells people that Elder Christofferson's name is silly.  Kyle and I thought it was really neat and I hope Wesley will remember some of that experience.   

Halloween

 Halloween this year was the year of the superhero.  Wesley was very insistent that he was going to be Superman this year.  He even picked out his dad's costume this year.  We went shopping early so we could make sure we got the superhero outfits that were being required by our children.  Jonathen did not know which superhero he wanted to be, but was sure he wanted to be a superhero.  He finally decided that he wanted to be Spiderman.  Wesley's outfit had to be altered since his outfit was a bit too large.  He does make a very cute Superman though.  Jonathen was so funny.  He loved having the mask over his face.  They both had muscles on their outfits that made me want to giggle.  At the last second I decided to put an outfit on since I always dress up for Halloween.  I went and put a skirt and some fairy wings on for my costume.  Wesley came in and saw my outfit and informed me that I could not possibly be a fairy without a crown.  So I had to quickly put a crown on since my costume was not believable as it was.  Daddy got to wear his Batman shirt and say he was Batman.  We went to a few houses and got more candy than my children needed.  Our neighbors tend to let each child have more than one piece of candy so Wesley took 3-4 pieces at every place we stopped.  Jonathen was not very sure of the whole process at first, but got much better at it by the end of the night.  They even got to go show Poppa and Grandma their outfits and get some PlayDoh from Grandma.  Wesley ran from the car to each house saying he was "faster than a speeding bullet."  I kept telling him he was the slowest Superman I had ever met.  Sometimes Wesley walks very slowly.  We had a very good night and by the end of the night the boys were very tired and ready for bed.