Aubrey's farewell

I know they don't call them farewell's anymore, but it's basically the idea.  I can't wait to see how she excels as a missionary in Peru.  I loved hanging out with cousins like we used to.  It only took 3 years, but things are starting to normalize again.  Cousins are 3 years older and have 3 years of experiences under their belts so there's a little bit of a getting to know you again time. Evelyn's not adjusting as quickly as the others, but I think she get there. 

This is a baby crib that Aubrey designed and built.  It's so beautiful and amazing.

They had new kittens and the kids were in heaven.

I think these three are definitely related.  I see the genes in all three.  

 

Church Trunk or Treat

Ada also went to the Mult-Stake church dance.  She was a pirate.  I loved hearing how many friends from school she came across.  I love that even though most of her immediate friends are not really members, she can still find friends anytime and is not shy of church functions.

 

YW

 

We painted pumpkins for YWs.  It was so fun to see Ada get creative again.  The timing was hard.  She had 3 tests to study for, but she wanted to finish her pumpkin first.  It's so hard watching your kids have the same tendencies that you do!  Productive Procrastination is my preferred way to work.

Misc

Ada's grown into my wedding dress.  It's fun to see your kids become grown.

Nerts with family.

Sam loves new babies and I don't blame him.... They're my favorite too.  

Evelyn's activity days did face painting last week.  Evelyn and Anna did a great job.

Evelyn's ballet lesson included wearing your costume.  I think she liked wearing a sweater while dancing.

Jack's birthday party.

The kids got their grades and we headed to Krispie Kreme's for their free good grades donuts.

Evelyn and Seth had their Primary program.  It was Evelyn's last one and they both did so great.  Sam and Ada were invited to sing one of the songs with the rest of the youth. Ada had a morning shift so she couldn't, but Sam sang nice and clear.  Seth kept mimicking the music leader and leading the music.  Evelyn kept playing with her skirt.  And I can't say how much I love seeing them all sing and baring their testimonies in front of people.

We got a toy ad in the mail.  Evelyn marked all her favorites in orange and Seth marked his in blue.  I've been coming up blank for Christmas ideas so I was looking through them.  This was my favorite Seth note. "Give me panda!"

I think this was his second insistent one.

 

Fancy Ramen

After a very long day, we decided to go out for Ramen.  Everyone liked it and asked if we could do it again.

Teaching the kids to use chopsticks.

 

Jer's pictures of past events

Symphony

Jon, Mariah, Aubrey, Grandpa, Ada, Jer, Jonathan

Sam, Evelyn

Rainy soccer game

Magic night with Uncle Seth

 

Sam Braces

Sam hates things that are change and especially in his mouth.  We weren't sure if we'd even do braces with him, but his mouth is too small and his jaw might have problems when he grows up because it's short... So here we go. He needed some reminders to relax and calm down, but now that they're on he's doing pretty good and I've NEVER seen him do such a great job with brushing and flossing.  I'm very proud of that.  Good job Sam on learning personal hygiene and doing something hard. Proud of you bud!

 

Halloween

After the age of 12, our kids pay for and put together their own costumes if they want to dress up.  Sam wanted to be a mistborn and Ada was the Witch of the Waste from Howl's Moving Castle.  Evelyn was Mabel from Gravity Falls and Seth was Link.  He told me that he was going to be a cop this year, but he decided last minute to wear Sam's old Link costume instead.  Good thing I didn't buy a new costume for him, the cop costume was a present for his birthday.

Seth and Evelyn at the school Halloween parade. Seth didn't see me, but he had fun waving at everyone. This is Evelyn's last parade. My favorite costume this year was Cuzco from Emperor's New Groove.

Ada and her friends decided to dress up as the Witch of the Waste and her henchmen.  Lucas, Jimmy and Hunter didn't end up putting together a blobmen costume, but Kooper's turned out pretty good.  The only thing he couldn't find at Saver's was a yellow vest.  Ada's costume went pretty well.

Evelyn wanted to go Trick-or-treating with her friends so we met up with Orson at 6:30 and then Ian at 7:30 before meeting up with Jack and Rose at 8:30.  That is a lot more than she's ever tolerated before.  I think her feet are doing very well.  Seth was a tad aggressive knocking on doors so I had Evelyn and her friends do that part.  Seth did have fun going with everyone though.

Evelyn was Mabel, Ian was her brother Dipper, and Kate was someone from the show too...I'm not sure who.  Orson was Ratigan from the Great Mouse Detective.

 

Sam's band concert

 

Sam's favorite thing at school is band.  The loud used to overwhelm him but he loved played the flute and has learned very quickly.  This year we threw a wrench into it.  The day before his concert, he got some braces on.  Poor kid had to reteach his lips how to blow into the flute in about 5 hours. My parents were able to make it and we love sitting with them.  

Sam is the section leader, so he stood and announced the next song.

School pictures

 

I love that they sell digital only school pictures now.  So much more affordable and I get one of these cute mugs every year.  This year they all turned out pretty cute.