Carter is 9

This may be one of the only years we have actually celebrated Carter's birthday at home on his birthday. He requested a candy cake and was super excited to get new shoes and a scooter as his presents. He also picked to go out to Raising Canes for a special birthday dinner with just mom and dad. 

Once Upon a December

December was a fun month with lots of Christmas Activities. It was kicked off at our ward Christmas Party where the boys and Kam played a big part in the program. It was really fun going to practices leading up to the night of the party. It gave us all a great chance to begin the month with a greater focus on our Savior, who is the reason for the Season.

This year, like years past, we had did different fun activities planned each day during the month and one of the activities was to go to Build a Bear to make a new friend to snuggle. Braden make Beast from Beauty and the Beast, Carter made Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon, and Riley made a puppy. This was Riley's first time at Build a Bear and she just loved it. She was so excited and has not let her puppy out of her sight since bringing her home!

We were so lucky to have not only my Mom and Gary in town to celebrate Christmas with, but Keven and Krista as well. On Christmas Eve we did our Nativity together and it was fun to have extra bodies to join in. It was special for us to share our Christmas traditions with our parents.
I din't really take any pictures on Christmas Day, only video, but it was a great day. Riley got an American Girl doll and the boys were so excited with their gift from Kam, compound bows. They even went out and shot them out at the range almost immediately after opening them!

 We got together the day after Christmas with the Ferguson Cousins and went to see the lights at Ethel M's. It was a great way to continue the fun of the Christmas season.

Thanksgiving Lice

We spent Thanksgiving week up in Utah with the fam and had a great time. I didn't take any pictures of the festivities because I was just too tired from all the laundry I did while we were there. We drove up Sunday morning and arrived just in time to change our clothes and go to church with Kam's parents but as I was combing Riley's hair discovered that she had LICE!!! Long story short we missed church and did lots of laundry and lice treatments. I even treated myself just in case since Ry and I share combs and stuff! The week was going fine and then on Friday, later that week, I was combing Ry's hair and found more bugs and we had to start all over again! This time my sister, Ashely gave me her full proof treatment protocol and we thankfully were able to nip this pesky business in the butt! However it still left me doing lots and lots of laundry and cleaning, which was so exhausting and I had to miss all the planned events with my Sister, Megan. Despite all the crazy of the week we were able to enjoy lots of time with cousins playing Cover Your Assets and ate a delicious dinner with lots of pie made by Gram!

Soccer for Three, Fall 2017

This fall each of the kids played soccer. Riley played with NYS and Braden and Carter both played with Henderson United. Riley's team was made up of kids from our ward and one of my friends was the coach, which was really nice since all our practices were in the neighborhood and felt like a ward get together once a week. Riley worked really hard at practice but when it came to playing in the games she was much more interested in looking at the sky or grass. She rarely tried to run after the ball and was usually the first to sit out because she was tired. Despite her not really getting into the game it was fun to go and watch the kids run around like little bees. 

Carter really surprised me this season. I thought he would stick with baseball but he asked to play soccer again for the season. He was really fortunate to get a great coach! Carter learned a lot and I was really impressed with his more aggressive approach to the game. Carter is normally more timid but he played aggressively and was quick to get to the ball. It was really fun to watch Carter play even though his didn't win very many of their games. They boys played really well together and moved the ball well but I guess it just wasn't their season to win.

Braden had another dynamite season with his team, the Rebels! I was so impressed with how fast he was and how well he was able to move the ball. He worked so hard all season and as usual was a a cheerleader on and off the field encouraging his teammates. At the end of the season his coach gave him the Rebel Award for being the most improved player. He really worked hard and totally deserved this great honor. They won most of their games and played really well in the playoffs but unfortunately didn't place this season. His coach is not coming back next season and we are really going to miss Coach Mike.

A Month of Halloween

We participated in many fun Halloween activities throughout October. The kids' school put on an incredibly fun harvest party and later in the month we took a trip up to Utah to enjoy the fall weather that we miss out on here in Henderson. We had so much fun up north that we actually extended our stay an extra day just to take in all of the lovely, crisp fall air! We went to 2 Trunk-or-Treat events, one with our ward and one at Gramma Bo's ward and on Halloween night we had a yummy pot luck with our friends in our neighborhood and then went on our traditional Trick-or-Treating adventure in the back of the truck.

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