A Real Tree!

We decided it was time to get a real Christmas tree again.  It has been years since we have had a real one and it was fun to get one and have the kids experience a real tree.  We ended up at Home Depot to find our tree.  It was fun to buy an 8 foot tree to enjoy in our large house!  The kids seriously loved getting the tree!! 

Sandra

Mhari

Even Talmage!

Look how pretty it is!

We also got some new ornaments to do a new Christmas tree theme.  It turned out really well and I love the ribbon on the tree!

My favorite photo of the kids and the tree!  I think this is the best way to enjoy a tree anyway :)

Too cute!

It is fun to be at the point where we can have a pretty tree with pretty ornaments and the kids leave it alone and jut enjoy how pretty it is.  Sometimes it's odd to have our kids getting older, but this was a fun thing to enjoy with bigger kids ;)

Advancement!

The boys had a Court of Honor.  Both of our boys had lots of things they had earned.  This ward is really into scouting and it's great for the boys to get to do some awesome things!  Talmage earned his 50 miler award which was totally cool, and takes a ton of hard work! 

Talmage also earned his ATV badge

There were also awards from the recent camporee they attended.  Grant took 5th place in the hammer throw (against hundreds of other kids).  That was super cool!

The camporee badge

The other cool award was that Grant earned his Life rank.  That means that all that stands between him and getting his Eagle is a project and a few merit badges!  It's getting so close!

Talmage also earned several merit badges. 

It is fun to see the boys accomplishing great things in Scouting. 

Real Fire!

Winter weather has arrived and we decided to brush off the old wood burning fire place and start a fire.  This was our first wood fire in a house.  We miss the convenience of gas and have gotten several quotes for running gas up to the house and running gas lines to get gas inserts.  Sometimes it surprises me how expensive some of our home projects cost.  I don't know that we will end up with gas because of that.  The kids love fire and I'm sure they don't mind building one to stay warm.  Our house does sure smell like a campfire though, which I could do without.

The kids helping Jeff.

Fire!!

Jeopardy!

Talmage recently discovered the game Jeopardy.  One Sunday he decided to make his own game to play with the kids.  There were categories like cooking, colors, animals, games etc.  The lower number point values were simpler questions for Lorna and Clark, while the higher point value was aimed at Grant and Sandra. It was cute to seem him set it up and work with all of the kids.  They had a fun time! 

I'm sure we'll see another Jeopardy game in our future :)

OK Awesome

We got invited to spend part of Thanksgiving break up in OK at our friends property.  They have a large house that the family shares so there was tons of room.  There were 5 families that came up and tons of kids from baby to 14!  It was a great balance of people so everyone had friends to hang out with.  The kids were gone all day playing outside!  They canoed, played tag, hide and go seek, jumped on the trampoline, slid down a slide, played games, etc.  It was awesome!  It was also nice that there were enough adults to hang out with also.  We did puzzles, played games, went on hikes, ATV rides, shooting, etc!  We are so grateful to be making some fun friends and get to participate in this awesome experience!

Sandra, and Mhari canoeing

Grant in the paddle boat

The slide!  Lorna and Allie ready to go down! 

Clark swinging

Weee!!! 

Jeff helping get Lorna set up to go down

Chica ready! 

Mhari's turn 

Grant!

The Mom Hike!  It was so great to have a few minutes hiking with these awesome ladies!  It was a beautiful hike that got our hearts pumping!  Shellie, Me, Cassi, and Leslie 

Another Mom Hike:  Cassi, Me, Shellie, Kristy, and Leslie!

Jeff with the little baby

Shooting time! 

The ladies are really into puzzles so they put together several puzzles while we were there.  I brought our Walking Dead puzzle, but the ladies (all but 1) aren't into zombies so Jeff and I did the puzzle by ourselves.  Cassie did end up helping for a while.  I think she felt sorry for us.  Then Leslie helped with the last few pieces.  That is one hard puzzle!

Lorna swinging! 

  

 Grant hanging out on the dock

Sandra at the end of the slide run.  They stop just before the water :)

Mhari heading back up the hill. 

 Daddy pushing Lorna

 Grant and Sandra taking the canoe out. 

Jeff on the boat at the dock 

 Fall colors 

Shooting Fun!
Jeff teaching Sandra.  She had a great time and really got comfortable shooting the 22 rifle. 

Grant

Mhari's first time shooting!

I got to teach Clark to shoot.  He's growing up so fast!

 Jeff getting to shoot

 Mhari with the handgun

 I got to shoot too!

Clark really liked the ATV

The damage to our new little target.  Lots of 22 rounds

Talmage came too, but didn't shoot.  He did help throw the skeet for the guys to shoot.  At the end of it all they got me to try skeet shooting.  It was my first time and after a few tries I started to get the hang of it.  It was great to get out and shoot again! 

 Time to clean up all of the shells... and climb the dirt wall :)

There was even a teeter totter! 

 The trampoline was broken, but that didn't stop the kids. 

The family ATV ride! 

Grant went fishing with Brother Buer

Jeff went shooting with the other dads.  Playing with the big guns!

It was a great trip!  We really enjoyed being away for a few days and having lots of awesome stuff to do!  Maybe we will get invited again :).