Houston with Daddy

Mid-October Paul needed to go to Houston for some work stuff.  Glenn and I got to go with him!  We chose another book on CD--Charlie and the Chocolate Factory--Paul got a rental car and off we went!

When we had come back from our trip to South Carolina, I saw a giant squirrel on the side of the road but didn't have the camera ready to take a picture.  My sister-in-law Lena loves squirrels and had  see a picture of it online somehow.  When we went to Utah I told her we had seen it but hadn't take a picture, she told me to get a picture with it the next time we drove past.

So this was our chance!  

The squirrel is a mascot for the Berdoll Pecan Candy & Gift Company.

Thinkery and In-n-Out

We had a family move in recently to our ward with three boys.  The oldest just left on his mission, the next is Glenn's age and then the youngest is 1.  They also do homeschool-hooray!  We wanted to invite them to come to the Thinkery with us each month on our pass.  We figured it was a great way to learn and have fun.

More Frozen Birthday Parties

This year Glenn has gone to 7 birthday parties and 5 of them have been Frozen-themed.  Two of these happened two day apart from each other the second week of October.

The first one was for Paige Marcella.

General Conference

The first weekend in October is General Conference.

We traveled down to San Antonio to spend the weekend with Mark and Bonnye.

Paul and I had gone to the temple Friday night before it closed for the month to be deep-cleaned.  The next morning we got breakfast tacos from Bill Miller's.  Then we started Conference.

Holiday Blocks

Last December, my ward had a craft day.  I signed up to make some holiday blocks.  I started the process there--painting and adhering some paper to the blocks--but I didn't have time to finish there.  So I brought them home to finish.  I brought them out a couple of times here and there, but I hadn't wanted to finish because I didn't really like how they looked.  The paper had been slightly larger than the block, and I hadn't realized it while I was there...and I just didn't like how they were looking.  I debated what to do about it until one day, I ripped off the papers--off of all 20 double-sided blocks. Either I was making a big mistake, or I was going to make it look much better.

Well almost an entire year went by and I still hadn't fixed them.  October was fast approaching and I wanted to be able to display the blocks I had made for that.  So I gave myself a deadline and I am happy to say that I did it!

September Extras

Just a few more pictures from September.

One day when Glenn and I were with my parents in Utah, we played a game called Carcassonne with my mom.  She has a really big set--so lots of tiles.  It was a lot of fun!  And Glenn beat us!  

He got 197!  Mom and I didn't get that much...:D

Another Indian Festival

The Saturday after coming home from Utah, my friend Rashmi was hosting another Indian Festival.  The Friday before I went over to help with some food preparations.

Kangaroo Zoo

Saturday September 6th, my sisters Kirsta and Sirie came up from Provo to my parents' house.  I had gone grocery shopping before and gathered all the things needed to make some freezer meals with them.  I had felt terrible being in Texas and not able to do much for my family when times were hard.  I had the idea to make freezer meals for them--that way on days that were difficult they could pull out one of those meals and not have to worry about it.  That way it's like I was there to make them a meal when they need it.

So they came up to Layton and we got going on some meal preparation.  I didn't take any pictures of that because, well, I was busy chopping vegetables and such.  But we had a great time as we did it.  

After the meals were done, we made our way south a bit to go to Kangaroo Zoo.  Glenn had remembered it from his birthday a couple years ago and wanted to go again, Devin's birthday was later this month, and Mackenzie's was next month.  So we decided to go there to celebrate all of their birthdays together.

Logan, Utah

Wednesday September 3rd Glenn and I took a drive to northern Utah to spend some time with our best friends the Jardines.  They had recently moved to Logan and we were excited to see them!

On our drive, we took a short stop in Brigham City to see the new temple there.

Labor Day

Labor Day we had a fun time planned.  My sister Kirsta got tickets for her family, my parents and I to Disney Live! Mickey's Musical Festival.

Dinosaur National Monument

Sunday after going to church in Colorado Springs, we headed back home to Utah.  When we drove to Colorado we took the route through Wyoming.  On our way back, we took the route through the mountains of Colorado.  

August Extras

Finally we have come to the end of August.  One more post to showcase those extra pictures and videos.

I love looking at little children when they sleep!  There is just something so peaceful and wonderful about them!

Priscilla and Spencer Malona Wedding

August 30th was the day of the wedding.  I was so excited and happy for my friend, Priscilla!  We had been best friends when we were in high school.  And funny story about the groom--Spencer.  One day when she and I were sophomores, we were standing in the hallway at school talking.  This freshman kid came up to us, turned to Priscilla and asked, "Would you go out with me?"  She was surprised and said, "I don't even know you."  He walked away and we, stunned that that just happened, laughed.  We soon forgot all about that...until...they worked together at a restaurant after high school, then met up again later in life.  When she told me who she was marrying--and that he had gone to high school with us--I couldn't put a face to the name.  She reminded me of that time back in high school, and we laughed and laughed that it was the same kid!  

Pike's Peak, Colorado

Remember that one of the reasons why Glenn and I went out to Utah was because one of my best friends was getting married?  She was getting married in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  I didn't want to make that trip alone and since I hadn't really been there since I was a teenager, my parents came too.   Plus my friend was more than happy to have my parents come to her wedding as well.  I was glad to have them come along.  My dad drove the entire time, we listened to more books on CD--Wizard of Oz, 101 Dalmatians, and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland--and we got a little mini vacation with my parents!

We left Thursday around 11am and arrived late in Colorado Springs that same night.  The next morning we decided to go to the top of Pike's Peak--the famous mountain in that area.  When I was a teenager we drove up as a family, and my dad has hiked it with my brother.  He had mentioned going to the top by way of the Cog Railway.  I was always hesitant of it because I envisioned a really steep train track going up the face of the mountain...and that did not appeal to me at all.  But I figured that it would be fun to try it and to show Glenn the very top of a very tall mountain.  

So up we went.  

LDS Ogden Utah Temple Open House

While in Utah, we had the awesome opportunity to tour the newly re-dedicated Ogden Temple.  We went on Tuesday August 26th.  This was a great time for Glenn to see inside the temple.  I was really glad that we were there for that and that my Mom could come with us.

Fun with Cousins in Utah

A few days after getting back from our trip to South Carolina, I felt like I needed to be in Utah to be a support for my sister whose family was going through some tough times.  I also had a friend getting married in Colorado, so I thought it would be a good time to head to that part of the country.  So Sunday August 24th, Glenn and I flew to Utah!

We flew there so we would have time to visit with my brother's family.  They were heading to Russia and would be there basically the same time that we were going to be in Utah.  Monday, we headed over to visit with Jasper and Freya.  Glenn was so excited to see them again!

On the Way Home

Sadly our time in South Carolina had come to an end.  We attended Sacrament meeting with Holley's family, then went home to change and start on our way home.  We wanted to go a different route home--into Florida--so we needed a few extra hours to travel.

Arik and Natasha's Wedding

Saturday August 16th, Arik and Natasha were married and sealed in the Columbia, South Carolina Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Day Four in South Carolina: Patriot's Point

Our last day of sight-seeing in South Carolina was on August 15th.  That day we went out just as our little family.  We went out to Patriot's Point to tour the 3 boats there: the USS Laffey, the USS Yorktown, and the USS Clamagore.

Day Three in South Carolina: Lake and Beach

Our third day in South Carolina was spent near the water.  Holley and her friends were going to the nearby lake for the day.  They had boats and were going to have a picnic and just enjoy the water.

Once we were all there, we piled in the boats and went to this little beach area.