16 years old

Our little Gage (not so little any more, and the tallest in the family), turned 16 this week! We had a surprise party for him on Saturday night. His friends came over for a night of ping pong, games, and just hanging out. They ate doughnuts, chips & dip, and candy and "did the teenage thing" until midnight. Man, those late nights are killing me:) Monday I took Gage out to lunch to Panda Express and Mike took him to dinner at Chuck-a-Rama then to a movie. We had mayonnaise cake and gifts afterward. Gage started playing tennis this summer and LOVES it so all he wanted was a nice tennis racket. That was easy. Today he got his drivers license and I let him take the car to school. I have to say I was a little nervous. He is such a great kid!
Happy Birthday Gage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Basketball & Temple Lights

Last week for FHE we wen to see the Christmas lights at the Temple and see the nativity while the story of the Savior's birth was retold. It was a cold, but nice night and a great way to start the Christmas season. We ended the night with hot chocolate.

Noah was one of 3 winners for the "free throw" competition for 6th graders at his school. He won this basketball and was able to participate in the area "free throw" contest last Saturday. Unfortunately he was sick that day and was not "up to par", but he went anyway and was happy to be there. Good job Noah!

2 Weekends

Thanksgiving is............................
*A semi-nice table setting (I'm not much of a decorator)
*Homemade rolls
*Good food with the family

*Pickle ball

*Maddie & mom cheering for all

*Brothers!!!!!


The weekend before......

Kenzie surprised me and came home for a short visit. She had arranged for us to go see Breaking Dawn with some friends Friday night. What an awesome surprise to see her after almost 3 months. We had a great weekend going to the movie, dinner at Olive Garden (her favorite), shopping, and a Collin Raye concert. It was a treat since she couldn't come down for Thanksgiving. We all miss her so much!

Halloween

Moo (also Madison) & Maddie

Noah, Maddie, & Moo

Noah as Greg Brady for the ward Halloween party

Maddie as a zombie for her friend's zombie birthday party

I love Halloween! I used to love taking the kids trick-or-treating, but they are old enough to go alone now. So sad. This year Gage announced he was too old for it as well. They are all growing up too fast.

Cute College Girl

Kenzie is having the time of her life at BYU Idaho! She is loving nearly everything about college life, except maybe the cold and snow. She actually had to go buy a coat a couple of weeks ago. She is living in an apartment with 5 other girls, 4 of which she did not know. She and her roommates went on a photo shoot for fun. These are a few that I downloaded from facebook. She is a darn cute college girl!

Fall Break!

Last week we had our Fall Break. We spent 3 days up in Salt Lake.
On Friday, Mike and Gage went fishing up near our cabin. Our friend Russell
went with them and took these pictures on his I-phone.

Friday night we celebrated Mike's birthday and went to dinner with our
best friends, Russell and Jenny Orchard. We had Red Lobster for dinner
and cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory for dessert (Red velvet & Godiva Chocolate---Yum!)

Saturday we took the kids to Lagoon.

We were so excited to have Kenzie come with us. We haven't
seen her for a month and miss her terribly.
front row L-R: Stockton, Noah, Maddie, Kenzie
back row L-R: Kim, Mike, Gage, Douglas

We finally got Noah to try out a new ride, The Bat. Well, it's new
to him. He is very happy riding the predictable rides, but we had to bribe him
to get on this one. Look at his face. Do you think he's scared?

Sunday morning we went downtown to the Tabernacle and enjoyed Music
& The Spoken Word. That was a great way to start our day.

Maddie & Kim at the Tabernacle.

A BIG THANK YOU to the Orchards for always letting us come stay with them!
They always make us feel welcome. It's like a home away from home:)

Are You Ready For Some Football

Noah and Mike have been practicing football for several weeks now. Their first game was 2 weeks ago. They started off the season with a win and another to follow last week. Today's game was an upset at 14-20 against Pine View. It is a ton of fun to go watch Mike coach and Noah play quarterback. Noah loves the game!

College Bound---BYU Idaho

Last week Kenzie and I took a road trip to Rexburg, Idaho where she will be attending BYU Idaho. We left Wednesday afternoon and drove to Salt Lake where we stayed with the Orchards. We had a girl's night out and Jenny came with us to see The Help. The movie was great, but the book is even better.

Kenzie says farewell to Monica and Riley. Riley will be leaving for his mission to Chile on September 21. It was so hard for everyone to say goodbye.

The Guymon family: Talia, Sara, Rachel, Amberly, Mike
Braden & Mason
We stayed with the Guymon family in Sugar City. They are friends from
when we lived in Farmington, NM.

I stayed in Rexburg Thursday night through Saturday morning to help Kenzie get settled.
As soon as we got there we unpacked and organized her room. That day we also shopped for groceries and went to lunch at Millhollow sandwich and yogurt shop. It was delicious. We went back for yogurt again on Friday and Saturday. Yummy! Friday we went to the Temple and did baptisms for the dead with Kenzie's best friend, Alexis Clark, and her mom. We also took some time that day to walk around campus and find all of Kenzie's classes.

It was bitter-sweet to leave. My baby is growing up. I am so proud of her and excited for her and the adventures that await.

On my way home, I stopped in Sandy. I spent the night with Lezlie (on the right) and Angie (on the left). Our friendships go back as far as elementary school and then on to college. We had dinner, sang karaoke, and laughed about the good old times. We didn't go to sleep until 3:00am. What a great time we had!

Back to School

It's back to school time for my kids. Actually they have
been in school now for 2 weeks. There is one in
elementary, one in intermediate school,
and one in high school. So far things have been
good, with the exception of a couple of teachers
that might be crazy, but hey, what's a school year
without a crazy teacher?!:)

Gage 10th grade

Noah 6th grade

Maddie 4th grade

50th Wedding Anniversary

Today my parents celebrate their 5oth anniversary.
They might not like that I posted these pictures of them, but I love the photos.
I am so proud of them. To be married for all those years is amazing. They have
been wonderful parents and great examples to me and my family. I wish them
many more happy years!

Independence, Missouri

My parents left 2 weeks ago for a mission to Independence, Missouri. They spent one week in the MTC and truly enjoyed the experience. They even met some friends who were going to the same mission. They left there and spent almost 1 week traveling to their destination of the mission home in Independence, all the time not knowing exactly where they would be serving. On their rode trip they were able to visit church history sites along the way. They are now in Kansas as MLS (member, leadership support). They are still in limbo without a place to live and not really knowing what to do. There wasn't a place set up for them to live so they have spent the last 3 days looking for somewhere to rent. It has proved difficult, but they are determined to make the best of things and optimistic that something will "turn up". I am so proud of them for setting the example for my family, their grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I am sure they will do an awesome job with whatever comes their way.

Midwest Church History

Last year Mike and I went on the Eastern church history tour starting in New York and ending in Kirtland, Ohio. This year we were able to go on the 2nd half starting in Independence, Missouri and ending in Winter Quarters, Nebraska. What a great experience it was to go where the early church pioneers were. I could only imagine how they felt and the trials they went through to be able to worship how they wanted. I am thankful for their determination and love of the Gospel in paving the way for all of us that came after them.

Liberty jail, Adam-Ondi-Ahman, Far West Temple site & cornerstones

Carthage Jail-notice the bullet hole still in the door. This
was one of my favorite places on the tour.

Nauvoo Temple (my favorite place), Bee House (Joseph & Hyrum's bodies were hidden under this house for a time), Smith Family Cemetery where Joseph,
Hyrum & Emma Smith are buried

Mississippi River (it's amazing this huge river froze over
so the saints could cross with wagons), Mt. Pisgah the first white settlement
where the saints stayed for a time on the journey out West,
Edward Partridge the first presiding bishop, Tharpe cemetery

Winter Quarters Temple, Bronze pioneer statues in Omaha, Nebraska

The Family Cabin: Part 3, The Final Chapter

I had to put a few more pictures of our trip to the cabin. My plan is to
make a blog book, which I haven't done, but really plan to do, so I
need to post more pictures since I take a ton. This is my last post for
this trip though.

The view from the cabin is beautiful.

Gage, Noah, and Mike cooking up some burgers. See Mike's
dad in the background. We are glad he comes up for a few
days each year.I even got in on the action of shooting the BB gun. I have
to say I was a good shot too!

Mike and Gage painted the cabin.

Making s'mores around the campfire.
Todd, Grandpa, Maddie, & Avarey

I was trying to have a nice mother-daughter picture
and when I stood by Kenzie and put my arm around
her she "tooted" on me. What a "stinker" she is:)