Thanksgiving!!!

We had an awesome Thanksgiving weekend.  Everyone was home, and it was great to all be together.  Adam even made it home in time for dinner on Thanksgiving day after driving nearly non-stop from New Orleans.  I am so thankful for my family, they make my life complete!

I was trying to take a picture of our tables all set up, and Matthew decided he needed to be in the middle of it!  

 We had 20 people for dinner this year, and it worked out great.  Dad, Scott, his kids, Kenzie and Jeremy, Rick, all of our family, and Cassidy's dad and Grandma were able to join us.  It was a full house, but we loved it!  Here is a small portion of the food we had.  We ended up with about 12 pies!!

 I had my camera out, and intended to take more pictures, but we were having so much fun, I forgot.  Later that night we played a mean game of Phase 10, and Ammon (who hates playing family games) killed us all. 

On Friday, we skipped all of the Black Friday madness, and all slept in.  Michael had to work, but the rest of us went up to the Living Planet Aquarium in Salt Lake.  It was really pretty fun, even the big kids liked it.

 Some of our favorites were watching the octopus feeding, river otters, penguins, and of course the touching pool.  They had starfish, sharks, sting rays, sea urchins and anenomes we could touch.  It was pretty cool!  As you can see, everyone got in on the act.  All in all, another pretty great day!  I sure love my family!

Halloween

Jordyn has been on a pirate kick lately, so she wanted to be a pirate for halloween of course.  Here she is at her school halloween parade.  She had lots of fun trick or treating with Dad, and got "tons" of candy!  

Ammon Football

Ammon had a great year playing football this year.  He worked really hard to get a spot on the varsity team, and even though he got stuck behind a couple of seniors, he played most of every varsity game.  He also played all of every JV game.  He got a lot of experience on the field this year, and the coaches were very pleased with his performance.  His team ended the season as co-region champs, but lost in their first state play-off game.  It was a pretty exciting season, and fun to watch him play.  We can't wait to see how much more fun next year will be.

Matthew Plays Football

I guess it's time to play catch-up, there are a lot of things I've missed, so here we go:

Matthew decided that he wanted to give football a try this year.  He has neve)r been interested in football, and has stuck with soccer while most of the boys moved on to football in about 3rd grade.  The coaches were drooling over his size, but weren't counting on his gentle giant personality.  He was one of the biggest kids on the team (we grow them small in Mapleton), so he ended up playing on the line which was probably not the best choice for him.  We aren't sure if he'll play again next year, but I'm sure proud of him for trying something new and uncomfortable for him.  I think he did have some fun, and I know he learned a lot about the game.

Tender Mercies and Small Miracles

Last night, Ammon brought home a puppy.  He has wanted one for a long time, but we just can't have a puppy.  We don't have a place for one, nor do we have the time for a dog, especially a puppy.  Ammon's friend found a mama dog and 9 puppies on his land, and my sweet, tender-hearted boy fell in love and brought one home.  She was very cute and sweet, but she was a baby!!  She cried all night, and Jennifer had to tend her all day.  Jordyn was heartbroken when we told her that we needed to find the puppy a new home.  She was nearly inconsolable, just sobbing when Ammon left to take her to her new owner.

Just as we were beginning to calm her down, the doorbell rang.  It was a group of neighborhood boys playing 'bigger or better'.  The item they wanted to trade was a stuffed puppy dog that looked very much like the one we had just given away.  They told me that the reason they came to our house was that they knew Jordyn would like the dog.  It's a small thing, but a huge reminder that we have a loving Heavenly Father who is mindful of a little girl crying over a dog.  I'm so grateful for that knowledge, and for mothers who teach their little boys to be open to the promptings of the spirit, and thoughtful enough to follow through.  Jordyn loves her new puppy, and so do I!!