Thanksgiving and a little more...

 We were able to spend Thanksgiving this year in Boise. It was extra fun to have Aunt Nancy, and Ken, Janice, Mickey, and Alex come. Alexandra and Grant were best of buds. She is a few months older but Grant was the one teaching her lots of get-into-trouble tricks :)

 Our kids always look forward to getting out all the K'nex. I will never buy them because they are a special treat there and keep them busy the whole weekend.

 Andrew got to catch up on some much-needed rest.

 The weather was beautiful. It felt more like early fall. The kids had lots of fun in all the leaves.

 This was the kids' first time meeting Nancy. She was so cute with them and they really loved her...especially on Sat. night when they got to swim in her hotel pool :) She is awesome at beading and we got to make jewelry while the turkey was cooking.

 Group shot of the yummy meal.

 Andrew's parents got tickets again this year for the North Pole train ride. There was no snow this year so it was a little different but still very fun and magical.

 

 During the train ride Nancy was at the house making a special birthday cake for Hallie's missed birthday. All she asked her was her favorite color and she got an awesome doll cake!

 The kids were so fascinated by the cake that she let them make their own with fondant and many other things...yum..?

 Grant enjoyed his ice cream.

 Sat. morning we were able to visit Grandma Hufford. She is in a rehabilitation clinic right now because she fell off a curb and had to have surgery on her knee. We gave her this blanket as an early Christmas present. She looks and acts so good for 89. Poor lady hates being tied down and just wants to get out.She volunteers at different places and keep herself busy. She said her sister made a family history book years ago that she'll show us next time. I would like to get all this information from both of Andrew's parents' sides. They are from all parts of the world and I hope our kids will know about their ancestors one day.

 On our way home Sun. we stopped in Twin. It had a been a few years so we had to refresh the kids' memories of the canyon.

 My attempt at a cute Christmas card picture- man I love those little faces!

 Nov. 30th was our Mother/Daughter Activity for Activity Days. We had a nice dinner and had taught the girls ahead of time how to give pedicures.

 Then we got to give them one :)

 These pics should have actually gone first... we put up our tree the Sat. before Thanksgiving this year. I know it's breaking all the rules but we knew we wouldn't have time the next two weekends. Now it's full of gifts and we are just about ready for Christmas to come. I love this time of year and everything about it!

Halloween, Veterans Program, Misc.

Now that it's almost Thanksgiving...I'll update Halloween pictures (I'm so on top of it!). This year was a little different. The kids were able to have their 4 friends stay with us Halloween weekend while their parents were on a business trip to Washington D.C.. We started out carving pumpkins on Sun. then went trick-or-treating Mon. night. It was a wild crazy fun weekend. 

 Hallie said she wanted to be a dirtbike rider (so she could get new riding clothes... she's not dumb). Andrew ordered her some but they weren't scheduled to be delivered until that day. She wore a witch dress from last year to school but got to wear her new clothes that night.

 Janessa wanted to be a hippie and this outfit was perfect. She looked so cute.

 Ty....well to the neighbor party he was a karate kid, but decided to be a UPS man again on Halloween.

 Grant wore the never-ending giraffe costume that I think all the kids wore when they were 1, mostly because it's warm :). He only wore it a total of about 5 min. because he hated it so much.

 An attempt at a group shot...

 My friend is Ness's room mom and she sent me this picture from her class party. -She's the one all wrapped up like a mummy! I got to help with Hallie and Tyson's party but not her's so I was glad to have this pic.

 Hallie & Tyson were in the school's Veteran's Day assembly on the 11th. I can't even describe how awesome it was. My grandpa Lords served in the army in Hawaii and was able to come watch, along with about a dozen other vets. The kids did such a good job and most everyone needed a tissue by the time it was over :) -He's the short one up front, he even had a little speaking part during one of the songs.

 I especially love this picture-

 Hallie had a piano recital on the 11th also. She played 'The Entertainer' and did a great job. She's been playing for about a year and a half now.

 Janessa's basketball season has been going for a month or so and she is doing great. Her games are on Saturdays so we enjoy going to her games as a family and watching her.

 Tyson was chasing Grant and he turned to run-- right into the corner of the table! Poor baby.

 Last week was Red Ribbon week and this was Hallie's crazy hair day style. I some how didn't get a picture of Janessa's, sorry Ness.

 Tyson's class made drums, feather hats, and bead necklaces for Thanksgiving that he was able to bring home on Friday. The kids are out of school this whole week and we are headed to Boise for 4-5 days. So excited!! 

Misc. Fall/October

I tried really hard to get some cute fall pics of the kids before the weather got too bad. I'm not a great photographer but at least we have all smiles :)

 For Activity Days we were able to ride horses that were one of the other leaders. This is the first for Ty and Grant. We had to beg Ty the whole time to try it and finally at the end he rode with me and loved it. I have to admit I was a little nervous myself :)

My grandma takes us on a girl's shopping trip every year to Park City and this year was just as fun as ever. We meet at Leatherby's then go to Witches' Night Out at Gardner Village, then to the hotel for swimming and nail painting/tattoos, then shop all day Sat.. I have a lot more pictures on my phone I'll have to get off.

 Janessa is our dress girl- she got 3 dresses and some cute tops, leggings, and boots.

 Hallie had almost $200 saved up from her birthday and she came home with I think 14 shirts, 2 boots, coat, 2 dresses...she should be set for the whole year!

 Did you know Superman is also a firefighter?...

 Janessa entered a contest for her school library to make a pumpkin to look like a storybook character. She chose 'Pirates Don't Wear Pink Sunglasses'. It turned out awesome and she got a cute award for doing it.

 Grant with his favorite outside toy.

 Andrew's last riding for the year. He and Matt took pictures of each other doing this 'wall ride' they discovered this summer, then the next one is a bunch of pics he put together. He's getting to be quite the graphic artist :)