Everything Else in November

November came and went so quickly, it seemed.  We had fun days and fun moments throughout the month.  Here's a sample of what we did!

Happy Mo-vember.  I think that's what it was called at least.  For some reason November was mustache month and several of Paul's friends were growing a mustache.  Paul had just gotten started when he had to shave it off.  Why?  He was called into the Bishopric in our ward and can't have facial hair.  So his mustache didn't last long...

And here's a snapshot of the new Bishopric of our ward.

Mark Christenson. Bishop Aldridge. Paul.

Fun with Neighbors

We really are grateful for our wonderful neighbors all around us in our apartment complex.  There really are great people everywhere!

We've recently met another neighbor and he and Glenn have become fast friends.  Caleb is an only child as well, is 6 and is similar to Glenn.  They play so well together and have such fun!  One day they were outside having adventures, collecting treasures and having a blast.  It was one of our chilly days we've had here and I had them come in and enjoy some hot chocolate. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year for Thanksgiving we spent with several friends from our ward.  We all signed up to bring different dishes, so it was a fun combination of traditional dishes from each of our families.

Our friends the Denson's hosted the event.  We also had the Fairbanks, the Breinholt's, Uncle Bob (of the Denson's), and Paul's co-worker and his friend.  So 11 adults and 5 kids.  

A New Car!

Paul and I had been thinking about buying another car for a while...But we didn't really put a lot of thought or work into it until the last month or so.  We decided that we wanted another car that was bigger than our Civic, especially in the storage area.  That wasn't hard to do because our hybrid Civic has only 12 cubic feet of storage.  So...we then decided that we wanted a small SUV.

We test drove many different models but ultimately we liked the Honda CR-V the best and felt most comfortable in it.  After doing research into the price and the year and all that, we decided that the one we test drove was the one we wanted.  We went back to the dealership the next morning--the first customers in the door--and asked for the guy who helped us the previous night-Justin.  He wasn't in yet, but Aaron was willing and able to help us.  We started walking toward the desk where they keep all the keys and we were telling him about the car we drove--the make and year and I even remembered part of the stock number!  As I was saying it, another guy was walking away from the desk and started saying it with me--because he was taking the car out right now for a test drive.  Wait what?!  He had gotten a request to drive it last night but the guy had to postpone it to the next morning.  So he was about to take it out.  

Our hearts sank.

We were definitely nervous, but Aaron said not to worry.  He had a good feeling for us.  We wanted to believe him, but we weren't sure.  We didn't want to go through the entire process all over again.  Not that it was the only car in the world for us, but it was nice that it was what we wanted at a good price and here in Austin.  So we got started with paperwork and getting into the system and all that.  It seemed like the others were gone a long time, but I'm sure they weren't.  When they returned, Aaron got the keys from them and was not going to let anyone else have them.

It was going to be ours!

So we sighed a huge sigh and finished all the paperwork.  Then I wrote the biggest check I've ever written--but it sure felt good to pay with cash!  And it was ours!  We finally had another car!

Happy Halloween

I can't believe how quickly the month of October passed.  It seemed to come and go so fast!

It also was a pretty warm month.  I am used to Utah weather--so it's definitely not summer anymore and it's autumn.  Not so much in Texas.  It was still so warm that some of our window clings melted!

October Extras

October was a fun-filled month!  We had a good time watching Joanie while daddy helped their family move to a new apartment.

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.