Hello Winter!

We have really had a nice Fall. So nice in fact that most of the leaves are still on our trees and the kids haven't even been able to play in them. Well, we woke up this morning to snow on the ground. So much for raking. Hopefully what few were on the ground blew away with the wind over the last 2 days. I do love sitting in a nice warm house looking out at the snow. It also means that the holidays are one step closer and with a few more flakes there may even be a snowman in a yard soon. Now we have to find the boots, gloves, and coats---that may take a while.

Tyler has Advanced!

Tyler and his friend have been working hard to earn their Webelos badge in 2010 so they could get the special commemorative patch. Well with a lot of work at den meetings, Tyler finally received his badge last week. He's thrilled he now has all 4 badges on his shirt and now wants to earn all the pins.
You gotta love the pinning of the moms. Games after the pack meeting to keep busy scouts occupied. Next on track is the arrow of light.

Happy Birthday Emily--Again!

Emily has been planning her friend party since Megan's birthday in July. She wanted to surprise her friends also with something fun. We weren't up to a camping trip, but settled for a sleepover. They started by making pizzas.

Then decorating cupcakes Disneyland-style---Mickey shaped bowls and lots of frosting and sprinkles.

Emily's favorite part of the party was opening presents.

The girls love to pose.

And then for the big surprise. Emily wanted to see Disney on Ice and take her friends. On the way to Salt Lake we kept telling the girls we were going to a basketball game. They just couldn't figure out how that could be the best party ever as Emily had told them. When we got to the doors finally, the ticket taker asked if the girls were ready for the monster truck show. They all groaned, but of course then saw all the Disney goods.

The party waiting for the show to begin.

The girls loved the show, but from the look on Tyler's face, I don't think he was as excited to be there. I don't know if it was the 5 girls or the show itself.

All smiles.

After getting back home, the girls spent the rest of the night playing Just Dance and watching movies. Emily thought she had the best party ever and from a Mom's point of view it was one of the easier ones.

Breakfast the next morning and the end of the partying. Happy Birthday Emily!

Whew!

Just so you know I am officially caught up with the blog. I do not have any pictures that need to be downloaded. The impossible actually is possible with a few cold days and forgetting about the house and laundry. Who needs clean clothes and dinner made anyway?

Happy Birthday Emily!

Emily has been counting down the days until her Birthday for about 2 weeks now. She couldn't wait for a puppy party. The big day finally came and Emily and Grandma helped make puppy paw cupcakes.

Then we ate her favorite dinner of pioneer pot pie.

She wanted a yorkie cake and this was the best we could come up with. I tried to make it look like a girl yorkie.

She then had cousins and aunts and uncles over for cake and ice cream and presents, the most important part for Emily.

Megan made her a puppy paw blanket.

The only thing lacking at the puppy party was a real puppy. Emily has said that as soon as she gets her own house she is buying a dog no matter what. We just love Emily and her enthusiasm for everything. She is a cute girl who is a good example to us all. We're glad we have Emily in our family.

And this is her loot. Not bad for a 7-year-old. Bring on the friend party.

Happy Halloween 2010!

We started the day with a costumes on to show Grandmas and to pick up Chenelle.

We then went to Scary Hill to golf and do the other activities.

Tyler and Megan are pretty good golfers. Emily even improved over the course.

Tyler made me keep score so we could see who won. Of course, Wendell won us all.

After golfing the kids ran through a haymaze. They could see over the top so I'm not sure it was really that challenging.

They then tried their hands at batting.

Maybe with enough practice Megan will try for the school team again.

Tyler was actually pretty good batting right-handed considering he is a lefty. The kids finished their activities just in time for a rain storm.

The rain stopped at our house long enough to prepare for the big parade in our neighborhood.

Even with the heavy clouds many came to march in the parade.

After the parade there were doughnuts and juice for all at the park. By the way, Emily was supposed to be a witch and changed her mind the morning of Halloween. Luckily, we have a bin of costumes waiting for the chance to be used again.

The kids then ran home to eat before getting their haul. Nothing says Halloween more than a pumpkin shaped pizza.

It rained a little and was quite cold, but that didn't deter these kids from getting all the candy they could.

Megan with her first haul.

Emily with her goods. I prefer my tradition of passing out candy and watching a movie with Grandma and Mammy. I think I get the best deal. Wendell had to trudge through the rain and cold.

Emily was exhausted after collecting for almost 2 hours. That is a record for her. I severely underestimated her love of candy. I thought she would be back in 30 minutes.

Megan ended up with 7 pounds of candy. Way too much for Wendell's liking. After they made their haul they all came home and watched a movie on the projector and fell asleep. You have to love a holiday that celebrates chocolate.

All Fired Up!

And a week later our painting turned out great! Here is Megan's fired dish. Tyler's skull turned out better than we imagined looking at the paint before the firing.
And Emily was very happy with her shiny cupcake. It really was a fun thing to do and then see the results.