The Pierce Family: October 2012

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Trunk or Treat

Thank goodness for the Trunk or Treat at church, especially as Hurricane Sandy approaches and we don't know if there will be regular trick or treating on Halloween! The weather was absolutely beautiful this year, unlike last year when everyone was so bundled up to survive the freezing cold temperatures that a person couldn't even tell what everybody was dressed up as. David and I fell short on the brilliant costume ideas this year so last second I threw on my Utah Ute shirt and paired it with my devil wig and horns. I figured since all the BYU fans in our ward think we're heathens anyway I would play up that angle. Upon pulling my devil wig out of our costume bin I happened across a BYU hat. Who knows why we would have such a thing in our house but it ended up being perfect - David wore it and was the sweet, angelic BYU guy and I was the devilish Ute. People in the ward got a kick out of it!

Savannah's friend from school came along for the fun and they had a great time collecting candy!

Xander was the Phantom of Death though he didn't like wearing the hood on his robe. Although he did collect some candy he had more fun hanging out with David at the car and handing out the treats to all the kids.

This year Noah chose to be a knight and asked multiple times a day to go look at his costume which I kept in my closet so it wouldn't be ruined before he could wear it for actual trick or treating. He sure looked cute!

The great candy swap! Every year the kids divide up their candy and trade the kinds they don't want in hopes of getting something more to their taste. It cracks us up.

Once again we had another fun time at the annual trunk or treat. Not only is it fun to hang out with friends and get candy but I love seeing all the fabulous costumes that people come up with! We had the wicked witch of the west, Charlie Chaplin and the orphan, and our bishop was the chef guy from the Muppets but the best came from the Blood family once again who got their inspiration from the opening sequence of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Jon was Indiana Jones, Megan was the huge boulder Indy runs from in the cave, their little boy Seth was a native, and their little girl Catherine was the golden idol Indy was after. I wish I had gotten a picture! Can't wait to get the creative juices flowing for next year!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Family Fun

We were so lucky to have both sets of grandparents as well as the Clarks here to witness Xander's special baptism day. As always, we have so much fun together! The kids absolutely love having their cousins here and come up with all kinds of fun things to do to keep themselves entertained.
Noah and Kellan love to dress up, play Star Wars, and run around togeher.

The girls had a blast doing "un-makeup"; one girl is blindfolded and then applies makeup to another girl. The results were just as one would expect in an activity like this one.

Too funny!

And of course there's soccer! We all woke up bright and early for Xander's game and had to bundle up because it was quite the cold morning.
All his fans!

Xander had a great game, scoring a goal, and celebrating another win with his team.

We were a little warmer at Savannah's afternoon game which just happened to be one of the most exciting games of the season. The game remained close until about the middle of the second half when Savannah's team started to break away, scoring 3 goals, one by Savannah right at the end, to deliver her team the decided victory!

We definitely cherish these special times we get to spend together.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Xander's Big Day

"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." John 3:5

Xander has been preparing himself for the past eight years to participate in the sacred ordinance of baptism and this past Sunday he entered into a covenant with his Heavenly Father as he entered the waters of baptism. What a special day for our Xander! We are so proud of him for making this wonderful decision.

We were so blessed to have family there to support him on his big day. Both sets of grandparents came as well as the Clarks.

So many members from our ward came as well, filling the room, leaving no empty seats. The talks given by Xander's Grandpa Schaeffer and his primary teacher Deb Coleman were wonderful and when his cousins sang their special musical number everyone was touched. David's blessing to Xander to receive the Holy Ghost was powerful and I hope that Xander remembers the words of that beautiful prayer and stays close to the Lord all his life. What a wonderful day!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Mother and Sons Activity

Recently the boys and I attended a fun Mother/Sons Activity at the Stake Center for our church. The theme of the evening was "Choose the Right".

The boys visited several different stations where they had to first answer a situational question about choosing the right and then got to do a fun activity. These activities included knocking soda cans off a table, surfing, throwing bean bags, tossing rings onto a cactus tree, and racing marbles on a track. The boys loved it!

For answering questions correctly and doing well in the activities the boys received tickets that they were able to turn in at the end of the evening for prizes.

To top off our night there were yummy treats.

I loved having a fun evening with my cute boys!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Eight is Great!

My little Xanderman is growing up! It's hard to believe but he turned eight this year and I am so proud of the young man he is becoming. Eight fun things about Xander are:

He is still as goofy as they come. One day he got off the school bus and started dancing in the street (envision Elaine from Seinfeld and you might have an image of what Xander looked like) which got a good laugh out of all the parents. He's always doing silly stuff like that.

2. Xander LOVES babies! Every day when he gets off the bus he goes over to my friend's little girl who is about 9 months old and gives her kisses and holds her hands. While we were in Cincinnati he loved holding Ciara whenever he got the chance. He's such a sweetie with them.

3. Xander loves to read and he's become quite good at it. For one who really struggled in kindergarten even knowing what sounds the letters make he has really come a long way. His favorite books are about ninjas, pirates, super heroes, and he even enjoys reading the scriptures on his own. I love this picture that I got of him in Cincinnati!

4. Xander loves music and will head down to the basement whenever he gets a chance to blast some tunes.

5. Xander is such a great helper. Whether it's helping Grandpa mow the lawn or peeling potatoes for Grandma or helping me cook dinner, he is a hard worker.

6. Xander has made the wonderful decision to be baptized and he is extremely excited for the big day! Doesn't he look so handsome in his new suit?

7. Xander loves playing as well as watching sports. Just in the past few weeks, since football started, he has taken an active interest in which team is playing and has asked every night if he can watch a game on TV. David is in heaven having one of his sons to hang out with and watch sports. Xander also loves playing soccer, basketball, and baseball.

8. Xander has BIG feet. Here is a picture of his foot next to mine; I can't believe my 8 year old son has the same size foot as me! (The third little foot is Noah's; he hated to be excluded from the foot comparison shot.)