B gets his BEAR Award

The cubmaster painted a BEAR claw on B's hand

B earned his Cub Scout Bear Award last night @ pack meeting. He also earned 1 gold, and 3 silver arrow points. He really, really enjoys Cub Scouts. He looks forward to moving on to Webelos. He likes learning new things and keeps us challenged with so many insightful questions. We're proud of his hard work and for following through with his commitments. He finished what he started, and we feel that this is very important. I appreciate the Cub Scout leaders for working with the boys and keeping them motivated as well. Now, I get to sew on more patches. Yippee!!

Bunko Fun

Last night, I hosted my Bunko group at my home. I've been in this group for 3 years, and it has been a blast. We meet once every other month, and it is something I always look forward to. It's fun to host AND now my downstairs is totally clean ... I mean, deep cleaned. Now, for my upstairs ... well, that's another story. I slid over the enormous pile of clean laundry down the hall to be out of sight. Laundry never totally goes away, huh?!! G took the boys out to McDonald's to eat & play. B has been intrigued with Bunko and how to play it. J wanted to know why all of these ladies were coming over. I explained that it was MY playdate -- and that made the most sense to him. Anyway, it was such a fun night being with the girls. I'm bummed because I had planned on getting an updated group photo, but completely forgot. We were having too much fun visiting! We even forgot to stop the game for a small dessert break. Don't worry, we chowed down on dessert at the end. I didn't win the grand prize (congrats, Keri), but I did win most points and got to choose a great prize that Camie brought. I love my Snowman plate. Several of us stayed and visited for another hour or more. I'm pretty tired today, but it was so worth it. So ... we'll have to plan on getting a group photo at the next Bunko night in January, k?

The Family Visit

The entire side of G's family together in Vegas

Grandkids @ a buffet dinner -- thanks, Grandpa!!

A handful of the kids on the trampoline

The entire side of G's family was all together for Thanksgiving. It was SO good to see everyone. The kids just picked up right where they left off from their last visit and played ... and they played hard! They really enjoy being together. They loved jumping on the trampoline together. Thanksgiving morning, the whole family went to a movie called "Mr. Magorium's Wonderful Emporium". It was pretty good. We came back to the home to have a fabulous turkey dinner (thanks, Sylvia & Randy!) Then, we sprinkled a little Christmas into our Thanksgiving celebration. The cousins did a small gift exchange, along with a talent show. N & B played a song on the piano. J did the sign language to "Search, Ponder, & Pray". It was fun to watch the kids share their talents. It was really nice to visit with each other and catch-up. We shared recipes, photos, and helped get some blogs started. One of the big highlights of our trip, though, was witnessing our nephew, Simon, being sealed to his parents in the temple. What a sweet thing that was. We are so grateful that we could be there to share in that precious ceremony. Although we're glad to be home, we sure do miss our family. After we pulled the van into the garage, J just sat in the van and cried because he missed his extended family so much. It's a good feeling to know that our boys feel so loved by other members of our family. We love them, too!!!

Las Vegas Temple

The family on the temple grounds

We took the boys up to the Las Vegas Temple grounds. N is excited to add a picture of the LV temple to his collection of the temples he's visited. It was chilly, but so nice to see. Our nephew was sealed to his parents here. It was such a sweet experience to see.

A Hike @ Lake Mead

B @ Lake Mead
N

J & T

We got to spend a morning hiking down around Lake Mead. The boys LOVED collecting sea shells and tossing rocks into the lake. Dad gave a refresher course in rock skipping. We spent about 2 hours there. T was content sitting by the lake tossing rocks in and watching the splash. We kept his pile of rocks stocked to keep him busy. The lake was very low, for sure. It was a beautiful day.

Red Rock Canyon

This was SUCH a cool place to visit! We viewed all of the cool rocks and hiked all over. We found petroglyphs, and many rocks to climb. We found a seasonal waterfall that was dry and fun to explore. B found a really old quarter, J found a petrified fossil, and T found lots of rocks to throw. N really liked seeing the petroglyphs. That was such a highlight for him. We hope to go back soon. Thanks for the idea, Sylvia!

See .... We DO Have Monkeys

T trying to figure out the pedals
J ready to go for a ride

Peek-a-boo!

Just hangin' out!

It was SUCH a beautiful day today. J, T & I spent some time this afternoon out front. The boys rode their bikes around while I blew leaves off of the porch and driveway. Then, they crawled under some bushes in front of our house for a secret fort. Then, J wanted to try to climb our tree out front. It's hard to believe that tree is strong enough now to be climbed. It was a sad little sapling when we moved in 5 years ago. He put his bike along side the tree for a step and then I helped him up the rest of the way. He loved it! I remember climbing a similar tree out in our backyard all of the time. My siblings and I would spend hours climbing up that tree. It was so much fun.

T's highlight of the day was going with Dad to his Preschool field trip to Leatherby's. They got a little tour, and then had hot dogs, fries, and ice cream. G said that T didn't want to sit with the group. He wanted to sit at a small table with just his Dad. He loved riding in Dad's car for the adventure. I'm glad that they got to spend that special time together. They both had a great time.

Fun at the Park

J with his buddies
T with "Rett" playing in the sand

N just hangin' out

B taking a short break from football

B suggested that we go to a certain park in our town and I thought that sounded like a great idea. The weather was beautiful today, and it felt so good to be outside. It really cleared my mind, and it was very refreshing. We picked up T from preschool, and then headed directly to the park. This park is my boys' favorite because it's huge, has several different play structures, many swings, and lots of sand to play in. We spent 2 hours there. Some friends arrived a little later, and it made for one grand play date. The boys were running everywhere, and were having a blast. They played some football, and B really enjoyed that. I liked seeing them run around and laugh. J hadn't seen one of his friends in a while, so he was really excited to play with him, too.

Great Soccer Games

B in position as defender

J attacking the ball

J chasing the ball in the game

Both B & J had great soccer games on Saturday. B's team tied 1 to 1. B does really well as defender because he's a head taller than most of the boys out there playing, and he can be quite intimidating! He has no fear of attacking the ball, no matter who is near it. He defended the goal very well today. He has improved a lot, and has really become more comfortable out there on the field each game. He really likes his coach, and is hoping to stay on this team next year. There may be a problem with that due to his birth date and the age dead lines, but the coach said he'd work with him. Keep your fingers crossed. He's bounced from team to team each season, and it's been a little hard on him.

J's team won again, making them undefeated for the season. They have just 1 more game to play. J played goalie for one quarter and made a couple of saves. He played defender and mid fielder. He is having so much fun this year with his team. He just adores his coach and assistant coaches. I could see that he was a little upset yesterday morning. Eventually, he asked me if he could be on the same team with the same coach next year. Once I told him that was the plan, he was much happier. I think he's sad to see the end of the season. J is very excited about his team party on Monday night, which I am in charge of. I just have to crank out a couple of cakes, and everything else is pretty much set. I didn't like the idea of spending $20-30 on a store-bought cake: too expensive and they aren't as good as homemade cakes. It may not look as good, but it will taste better (I hope!!)

It's been a good experience for me to be team mom for J's team. Fortunately, the parents of the boys on the team have been really easy to work with, and very supportive. Except for worrying about remembering crucial things, it's been good for me. Let's just say I almost forgot about ordering the trophies in time ... don't worry, they are here. J keeps reminding me everyday!!! He wants to see his and hold it. Nope. I let him take a glance at it while I was doing a quick inventory. It's back in the box, and it's killing him!! I'm glad that the team party is tomorrow night so that J can have his trophy, and I don't have to hear him asking me about it anymore!!! He looked over my shoulder when I was shopping for trophies, and he wanted me to order these HUGE trophies that were almost 2 feet tall. You know, those trophies that are handed out for tournaments!? Umm, no. Could you imagine?

Be Careful What You Wish For

G's find this morning. It was cracked this far open, too. He took this picture knowing that his family would really appreciate it! His pomegranate bush is loaded with bursting fruit, and he's loving it! He can't eat them fast enough. B has discovered that he likes them, too. G has wished for a fruit-bearing pomegranate bush for so long, and his wish has come true. The branches are heavy with fruit and he's got rope to help support the branches. We're lucky that there aren't any squirrels feasting on the fruit. Hopefully, we'll have some that aren't cracked to bring to family over the holidays.

As I was getting ready to run errands today, I heard the water running. I came downstairs to find T "helping" with the dishes. There was about a gallon of water on the floor, and almost all of my dish soap was gone. He had found dad's pomegranate nearby and decided that some of the seeds needed to be washed. So there was pomegranate juice drops all over. I decided to leave him there for a few minutes while I finished getting ready. I wasn't ready for the battle. I know he was trying to help, and I keep asking for help with the kitchen .... so I guess I can't complain?? I often remind myself that there are worse thing, right??

Just Another Busy Thursday

J taking a soccer game break

J with his team scrimmaging against their Dads

T with N watching the scrimmage

Today was J's last soccer practice, and his coach invited the dads to scrimmage with the boys. It was very entertaining to watch these boys buzz all around the field. They kept up with their dad's quite well. T kept trying to play soccer with them, but he would have been kicked into next week if I hadn't grabbed him! They had so much fun. Next week is B's last soccer practice, so I'll have to get a few pictures of him with his team.

Before the hectic afternoon and evening began, I was able to visit with many friends from my ward. We had a farewell luncheon for a dear friend, Lorelie, who is moving to Colorado in a couple of weeks. Great food. Great friends. It was a nice way to really start my day. Plus, Min, the hostess, always makes her delicious egg rolls along with a major spread of food. She's amazing and very generous.

Family Time

Boppi with boys @ Leatherby's

Boppi & Hamma with boys -- I have no idea why J is making that face! Ice cream overload maybe???

Cousins clogging the slide

Cousins playing in the fort

I have been pleasantly busy visiting with my parents for the last few days. My Mom called me early Thursday morning and asked me if we wanted company, and that they were basically on their way to our house for a quick visit (from out of state)! It was great to have them here, and it was a good excuse to really get that 4th room cleaned up! We had most of my siblings over at one time or another. The boys loved playing with their cousins. My mom's new name is "Hamma", courtesy of Timothy. Those darn G's are so hard to say. We had a couple of family dinners, and then last night we took my parents out to Leatherby's. That was our FHE, and we celebrated Boppi's birthday (late). I'm so glad they came. Thanks, Mom & Dad!

Happy Halloween!

We had a GREAT Halloween! We lit our Jack-o-lantern tonight, and all 6 of us went together up and down our street to Trick-or-Treat. Then, Dad stayed home to hand out candy. His ankle is still sore, so it made sense for me to go out with the boys. We met up, by chance, with some friends and we spent the rest of the evening hangin' out together. We had to go back by our house to dump off some candy. T couldn't even carry his, and the strap broke on B's plastic pumpkin! We went farther than we usually do because we were having so much fun. There were SO many people out in our neighborhood. Lots of haunted houses to see. One house had a BBQ set up and J got a hot-dog! He loves hot dogs. The boys made a haul. G said that he ran out of candy and had to dump out candy from our own candy jar at home. Good thing we had a bunch of Smarties on hand. It was fun to see the boys dressed up having so much fun. It brought back a lot of memories of when I would go trick-or-treating as a kid. I still remember going out in my grandparents' neighborhood when I was really little. Time sure flies.