Family Pictures

I love to take pictures! I not very good at them yet, but hopefully I can take some classes to get better. I love that my family trusts me enough to take pictures of their families. I did the McCullough kids:

And Heather's family:

Thanks for letting me take your pictures guys!

BFF's

McKenzie's best friend in the whole world moved to Las Vegas about a year and a half ago. It was so hard on both of them. I am so grateful for technology! They have been able to text, FaceTime, message, call, each other. Every time they get together it's like there was never any distance at all between them. Anneka's family came up for Thanksgiving so of course the girls got together. Just before Anneka's Dad came to pick her up they decided they wanted to do a photo shoot. Here are a few of the favorites that we took.

I am so glad that they have each other. I just wish we lived closer together.

Soccer

Soccer in the rain.... enough said

I love watching him play! I love how good he has gotten. I just love this kid!

8th Grade Cheer

McKenzie was on the 8th Grade cheer squad this year. They had three competitions. And they won first place all three times! I am so proud of her and all the hard work she has had to put into it.

Halloween!

Halloween was fun this year. It was also really easy costume wise. McKenzie was a nerd, so all we needed to buy were nerd glasses and suspenders. Cameron was a blind soccer goalie, so all he needed was a goalie jersey, and a stick. Abby was Supergirl. I made a tutu out of tulle and a superman symbol out of felt and sewed it on to a t-shirt. Super easy! I dressed up as Rosie the Riveter (from WWII) and I was pleasantly surprised at how many people actually knew who I was.

Shooting

We were able to go shooting with BJ and his family out on Lake Mountain. We had a great time. The kids started out with the airsoft guns and BB guns. Then we pulled out the .22s. I know a lot of people have differing opinions on guns, I grew up with guns. I learned early on about gun safety and to ALWAYS follow the safety rules- ALWAYS!! I wanted my kids to have a understanding of guns as well. They are fun for recreational use, good for hunting, but they must also always have your respect. Well, they kids did great with following all the rules and were able to have a fun time.

Thanks BJ for coming and having an awesome family time together.

Bear Lake

For fall break this year we took a vacation up to the cabin in Bear Lake. It was so fun and relaxing to be up there with nothing that HAD to be done! I read two book while we were there! We took the four wheeler out a few times, went around the cabin, and down to the beach. I decided that we should do our family pictures while we were there too. Unfortunately it was sunny the time that we went to take them, so there are a few shadows across our faces, but for the most part I think they turned out okay.

I love the fact that my family has access to fun vacation spots like these. It definitely makes vacations a lot less stressful!

No Water!

At the end of September Eagle Mountain City had someone break into their water storage tank. It was unknown if they had contaminated the water or not, and it takes 24 hours for the tests to come back. So to be safe, they issued a "NO WATER" policy until it could be determined if the water was contaminated. And of course it happened to be the night of baths and showers. So we improvised. Luckily we had some water storage, so I got some out, and warmed it up on the stove. Then we had a washing assembly line. I was able to wash the girls hair with just 2 cups of water, and Cameron's with just one. Then they all got some soap and a washcloth and washed their bodies. I think they actually had fun doing it. And I was able to see what I would in need in case of a real emergency. It turned out that everything was fine, but it was a good learning experience.

What I have learned from this "mini emergency:"
1. I have enough water to last my family for about 3-4 days of minimal water usage. (definitely need to beef up the water storage)
2. Dry shampoo might be a good investment for my emergency storage.
3. Paper products. I only have a few leftovers from family parties. I need to have a good supply on hand for when washing dishes isn't an option.
4. Another thing I need to have a supply of is hand sanitizer. I only have the little travel ones for my purse or backpacks.
5. Baby wipes! They can clean a lot of dirty people.

A Visit From Pa Bob

We were super lucky to have Pa Bob come for a visit twice in a month! He was out for Abby and Jake's baptism, and then came out again for his 40th High School Reunion. When he got here he decided to upgrade his rental car, and come out with a Mustang convertible. He was quite the happy boy! Then while he was here my Grandma had an adults only dinner for him. It was nice to be invited to it finally ;)

I love my dad so much. I really wished that he lived closer to us so we could see him more often. Perhaps someday he will be closer.