Fun with Grandparents Days

Pony rides, a hot dog and nacho lunch, and a little reading with Grandpa. Let's just say these last few days have been named "Fun with Grandparents Days". Yesterday was the last day of school for the week, so Grandma Barker had a little something in store for Luke and Ava....a sleepover and tickets to Tangled! They were so excited. Jeremy and I were able to go to the Temple and dinner and Harry Potter!:) My mom and dad got tickets for us, Sarah and Scott. We got into the last movie of the night, an 8:00 showing? Weirdly nothing was busy last night, I think it was because of the "storm of the decade" warnings. :) Hardly anyone was at the temple and no wait at the restaurant. It was really fun. Tonight Ava and I made a cheese ball together. I love to cook with that little girl. :) Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Fun while it lasted.

Last night while we slept a blanket of snow quietly covered the ground outside. And just like that our beautiful Fall came to an end. Luckily our leaves did get raked up and tilled into the garden. I think there's something really satisfying about getting ready for winter. Things get trimmed back, cleaned up, and everything gets safely stored away. As we worked Friday evening the sky suddenly lit up with a strange orange glow. Everything around us looked orange. It was really cool. Luke ran around in awe, yelling, "This is the best day eeever!" :) He cracks me up. By the time we were finished cleaning up, Jeremy had a nice fire going in the backyard. We enjoyed a wienie roast under the bare walnut tree and then just sat around the fire relaxing in its warmness. We burnt up a ton of our old "important" papers and our old tattered American flag. While it burned we said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the National Anthem (because Luke learned them in school). I'm not sure if that's how you're supposed to do it??? but it was kind of neat for us. It got me thinking about how grateful I am for this free country we live in. Thankful for those Pilgrims who endured so many hardships to come here to have freedom. And thankful for brave soldiers who keep us free. It was a really nice evening.

Oh, and I got a new table this week! We traded up from our Kmart special to this nice KSL find. $125 bucks! I love it. Merry Christmas to me.:) Here's to many fun family dinners with it.

Not my back door, but it's so cute I had to put it on here to remember what I want my back door to someday look like.:)

I think I'm gonna pull an Ava and stick this picture on Jeremy's side of the bed so he can take his pick of what he wants to get me for Christmas...I know I already got the table but I need a little up date for my sad wardrobe...I don't want it all, just one thing...but not just socks.

Video of the kids riding their bikes into the pile of leaves. Farewell fall, we will miss you.

Out With The Boys

Scott and Jeremy went up the canyon to sight in some guns. Luke got to tag along and even got to blast Uncle Scotty's AK47. He loved every minute of it. Thanks for the video Scott. I just had to put it on here for my dad.

The Hint

I found this toy catalog carefully placed on my bed the other night. Pretty much everything in it was circled. I'm thinking it was a hint from a certain little girl. The Christmas Story,"you'll shoot your eye out" movie, came to mind. When Ralphy sticks the picture of the Red Rider BB gun into his mom's magazine and places it carefully on her bed. Kids are so smart. I'm afraid mine might be just a little greedy. :)

The leaves in our backyard are never actually gonna make it into a garbage bag. They're just way too much fun.

Scott sent me this video he took of Ava dancing to "All the Single Ladies" at Isaac's wedding reception. hahaha

Thankful

It's no secret I love photographs. They are my thing. In my mind a picture is worth a thousand words. So when it actually comes to writing...well writing is just NOT my thing. A little more personal maybe. Or it's probably because I struggle to get what's in my head out into words. But as I sat here struggling to share my thoughts on the past few weeks, I remembered seeing a stack of mail sticking out of the mail box when I pulled into the driveway after picking up Luke. So I stopped what I was doing to grab the mail. Then set it down next to me at the computer and tried to type again. A large manila envelope at the bottom of the stack caught my eye. So I opened it. It was from the State Office of Education. Inside was a letter to Jeremy informing him that he had received a scholarship that would be more than enough to cover the rest of his schooling. School has been a little more expensive then we planned on and we have been praying that this scholarship would miraculously work out. I couldn't help but cry as stared down at the letter. It's been a rough couple weeks for us. Two Sundays ago I had a miscarriage at sixteen weeks along. Scary, shocking, heartbreaking, but weirdly I think when life gets rough we suddenly realize how loved and blessed we really are. I don't think I have ever loved Jeremy more. (And not just because he caught me when I fainted, even though I do love him for that.:)) He is my rock. Everything is going to be okay when he's around. Then there's our families...what would we do without them. We love you all so much. Thank you for EVERYTHING. Sweet friends and neighbors who have been so thoughtful and caring. My little Luke and Ava. I'm so lucky to get to be their mom. I can't help kissing and hugging them just a little more than before. Most of all I'm thankful for prayer. Thankful that I can feel the love of our Savior all the time. He loves us and knows what's best for us. I've felt his love these past few weeks and again today as I opened the letter that was an answer to our prayers. Life has its ups and downs. We learn and grow and hopefully become stronger from it all.

Five + one = six!

Happy Birthday Mr. Bones! (Good thing we didn't nickname you Lashes.) We love you! Couldn't ask for a sweeter boy.

Trying on the Mr. Bones apron Domma Barkers made for him.

Opening presents with his little "helper".

While I was blowing up balloons earlier that day Ava was busy coloring. I noticed she would go over to a bag that had one of Luke's presents in it. I remember telling her to stop getting into stuff. That night when Luke looked into the bag he pulled out a couple of drawings little Ava a carefully crammed down into it. I felt bad I got mad at her earlier. All she was trying to do was make a little surprise for her "Rukie". I love how much they love each other.

Thanks for all the fun Star Wars decorations Em. And thanks for dinner Rice King.

For his cake year Luke was very specific. He wanted a dinosaur.....red velvet cake. It just makes me laugh. What 6 year old boy says he wants a red velvet cake? :) Thanks Sarah for helping us with the last minute plastic dinosaur decorating. He just loooved it.

Dinosaurs, Yoda, army guys, Iron Man, Bakugans, lots of family and of course red velvet cake make this little 6 year old pretty darn happy!

Happy Halloween

This year we had a little Indiana Jones and a Mini Mouse/Unicorn (because Halloween night was a little chilly and the warm unicorn costume won out.:)) Jeremy went as a cowboy and I was a pirate. We had fun. Eating nachos and popcorn. Relaxing in the warm house together watching Harry Potter while the storm pounded on the windows outside. It was the perfect spooky Halloween night. When the storm passed we ventured out for some trick-or-treating.

Sarah threw an awesome pirate night party
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Carving pumpkins with friends at the Oktoberfest/bratwurst eating party next door.
Our little house completely packed full of neighbor friends that came for Luke and Ava's Spooky Halloween Movie Night Party.

I got this very cool life size diagram of the skeletal system for a buck at a yard sale this past summer. The guy I bought it from asked if I was a teacher. I answered, no but it's gonna make one great Halloween decoration. He just laughed at me. Happy Halloween!

Birthday Girl

I have a hard time believing that it has already been four years! Happy Birthday little Ava. That smile of yours just lights up our lives. We love you so much.

Notice the press on nails. hahaha :)