Mt. Timpanogos Competition

Saturday, October 25

I chaperoned at the last marching band competition before the state competition in St. George.

Beautiful sunset down in Pleasant Grove!

The band getting ready.

Group picture afterwards

Crazy Corn Maze

Friday, October 24

We went to a local corn maze as a family this year.  They had a map with series of trivia questions that you would answer at different points in the maze to help figure out which way to go.  It was a fun night but it was definitely very crowded (and expensive)!

That is an actual person on the left!

M&M was being quite the teenager and did not want her picture taken that night.

Trying to get a picture of M&M!

Ha ha! Gotcha!

Star Student Award

Thursday, October 23, 2014

At our new elementary school, a different character trait is picked each month and the teachers select students in the class that demonstrate that character trait and they are recognized at an awards' ceremony.  Blondie was recognized for the character trait of respect.

This is what Blondie's teacher wrote about her.

Ward Halloween Party

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Our ward had a Halloween party that our family attended - minus M&M who was in California with the marching band.  (Thankfully I have a large stock of Halloween costumes that the girls can now pick from.)  The Deacons quorum was in charge of a haunted house so DH and Luke helped out with that while I took the girls around to the different activities.  The activity also included a dinner which was different varieties of soups.

Kay being a good big sister to MJ!

Blondie decided to dress up like a sister missionary and Kitty wore a poodle skirt that I made several years ago for M&M.

Kay wore an Ariel costume and MJ wore a caterpillar costume that I found at a thrift store.

Getting faces painted

Doughnut on a string

Church callings

About 2 or 3 weeks after we moved in, DH and I were extended our first callings in the ward.  During the Sunday School hour, one of the bishopric counselors came into the Gospel Doctrine class and said that we were needed out in the hall.  The other bishopric counselor was out there and I went into a room with one of the counselors and DH went into another room with the other counselor and they extended callings to us.  We both thought that it was weird that they didn't do it together and it wasn't until we had accepted the calls that we were able to tell each other what they were...  I was called to teach primary - the Valiant 10 class which Blondie is in.  There was already another teacher so we would be team teaching and alternating weeks.  DH was extended the calling of Gospel Doctrine teacher.  Again, there was already another teacher so they would be alternating weeks for teaching.  DH was excited and a little bit nervous since we didn't know too many people in the ward and how things work yet in the ward - the whole dynamics of how everyone operates.  So the next Sunday we were sustained to our callings and we started moving forward.  Then on Tuesday of that next week I was outside working in the yard and one of the bishopric members pulled up to our house and came and talked to me and extended a second calling to me:  choir pianist.  I have to admit that I was not very excited about this calling.  I can play the piano and I can play all of the hymns in the hymnbook, but I am not a great pianist.  That was going to be a challenging calling for me.  So I finally got some music from the choir director and there were some hard songs that the choir was doing!  I was practicing any spare time that I could find and still couldn't get one of the songs down very well!

So we both operated in these callings for several weeks and we were both quite challenged.  DH had some interesting experiences teaching Gospel Doctrine class and some comments made to him about his teaching that he took quite hard.  Probably about a month later the ward executive secretary called and said that the bishop would like to meet with us in our home on a week night.  So the bishop came over and after some small talk he said that he had some releasings and callings to present to us.  He first looked at me and said that they would like to call me to be a ward organist.  There are already 2 other organists but they like to keep about 3 of them and just rotate every month so I would play for a full month of Sundays and then have the next 2 months off.  I was fine with that - I have enjoyed playing the organ when I have had that calling.  I was then expecting him to release me from one of my other callings but he quickly moved on to DH and said that they wanted to extend the call to him to serve as the 2nd counselor in the Young Men's Presidency - and with that he would be released from his Gospel Doctrine teacher calling.  This is a calling that DH has been hoping to avoid. It is definitely one that will cause him to grow and to learn a lot - and will take a lot more of his time than he is used to!

After the bishop finished extending those calls to us I asked him if I was going to be keeping my other 2 callings as well.  He then asked me to remind him what those other 2 callings were and I told him - and said that out of all of them, the choir pianist was definitely the most challenging - and time-consuming - calling for me.  He then said that he might have someone else in mind that could take over that calling for me.  So after a couple more weeks of playing the piano for choir, they extended the call to someone else so now I just fill in now and then when she is gone.

Although with the change of primary classes at the start of the new year, I was moved to a Valiant 9 class with no partner teacher, so I am teaching every week now.

Great finds

Wednesday, October 15

I have been looking for some decorations for our new house and this morning I decided to go to a local thrift store and look through what they have.  I found some great buys today that I love!

I also found this blanket holder that I have been wanting for all of our blankets in our family room.

This is the top of the wall that surrounds our living room.  I also found this believe wooden sign at the thrift store.

Last day with Mom N

Monday, October 13

For some reason I always get to the end of a visit and realize that I have hardly taken any pictures...  On Monday, Mom N wasn't leaving until later in the afternoon so we had some time to go and do a few things.  DH had taken off of work and so it was me, DH, Mom N and MJ.  We went to Tai Pan Trading (which is a store that Mom N loves to visit when she is in town) then we stopped at Gardner Village to grab some lunch and buy some fudge to share with the kids later when they got home from school.  Then we came home so Mom N could finish packing and then drove her to the airport.  I wanted to get a picture of her with DH before she left:

Rocky Mountain Invitational

Saturday, October 11

I was a chaperone for the marching band competition down at BYU and DH took Blondie and Kitty and met up with his mom down at the competition.  I was able to go and sit with them in the stands while they were performing and took these pictures. This is one of the better competitions for getting shots of the whole band and the formations.

Halloween fun

Friday, October 10

Mom N came into town around this time to spend about a week with us.  She was able to attend a get together with her cousins and then was able to go to one of M&M's marching band competitions as well as one of Luke's soccer games.  Mom N's brother and his wife invited all of us to visit them at their house and go to a couple of Halloween themed homes in their neighborhood.  The first one was all decked out in Harry Potter items and the second one had the outside decorated really cute with moving skeletons.  Afterwards we had some treats at their house and sang some Halloween songs.  It was a fun evening.

Luke having a hard time containing his excitement!