A Tame Party

After the craziness of last year, Xander and I decided to plan a nice, quiet, sedate party for his 11th birthday. He invited just a few of his closest pals and they spent a couple hours playing Wii, eating pizza, and watching a movie. It was fabulous! Ashur, Drew, Devon, Xander, and Noah.

Just playing a little Wii golf!

Yummy pizza! I was so glad that Xander allowed Noah to hang out with the guys!

Happy 11th, Xanderman!

Make a wish!

Might have to keep all the parties like this one.

Trunk or Treat 2015

I don't know who was more excited about this year's Trunk or Treat Activity - the kids because of the candy or David because of the soup and pie dinner. David even had several ward council members worried that the trunk or treat part would get nixed because David kept referring to the activity as Soup and Pie Night. It WAS nice to actually have some tasty dinner beforehand rather than just the usual donuts and cider. And the ward members, as always, showed up in some fabulous costumes! This year our family represented "the dead" - two vampires, a zombie, a ghost, and a skeleton.

It was so hard to decided which soup...

Time for some candy!

Xander decided to go with a different kind of candy bag this year.

Two little goofballs!

Me and my count Dracula.

The Dead Family!

A Family Visit and Awards

In the middle of October my parents came out for their annual fall visit. Not only did they get to watch the kids play soccer but during this trip my parents were able to see the kids receive several special awards. First up was the scout pack meeting - Noah earned his Bobcat and Xander received his Arrow of Light.
The pack meeting was held at Sister Jordan's house, Xander's Webelos leader. She has a beautiful home out in the middle of nowhere with lots of land and woods. It was the perfect setting for some of the younger scouts to work on some patches, like cooking a fire pit meal and setting up as well as taking down a tent. Noah and I got there around 5:00 to make sure he was able to get all these things done.

Ready to put together some tinfoil meals!

Noah with his buddies, Owen and Nathan.

The Webelos had put together an obstacle course as one of their requirements so, after the Bears and Wolves had prepared their dinners, they headed over to have some fun.

Noah loved the pogo stick though he did have a few crash landings.

The Bears and Wolves looking tough!

Time to set up the tent!

And take it down.

Enjoying that tinfoil dinner. Yummy chicken and potatoes!

Around 7:00 Xander and the rest of the family showed up for the pack meeting. Xander was so excited to have his grandparents here for his Arrow of Light ceremony!

Keeping warm by the campfire...it was a cold evening!

Noah helped Brother Mullins get the pack meeting started.

It was all set up for the Arrow of Light ceremony.

We were not supposed to take pictures during the actual ceremony but it was awesome! Xander's patch...

and his arrow!

The bridge he crossed as part of the ceremony.

His new leader, Brother Wagner, was there to greet him.

Xander is never too eager to pose for pictures but a cool new arrow will work wonders!

After the ceremony we all took a little break to warm up by the blazin' hot campfire and roast some marshmallows.

And then it was time for a few more awards. Noah had earned his Bobcat earlier in the year but David had not been able to attend any of the pack meetings so we put off him receiving his award until this pack meeting. Yay for Noah!

And Xander received his Webelos award.

Last event of the night - a skit put on by the cute little Wolves.

It was such a wonderful evening and we are so proud of our two scouts, especially Xander for earning this wonderful award.

Next up for an award was our Savannah. For the past year and a half that she has been in Young Women she has worked so hard to complete her Young Women Recognition award and she finally did it. She waited until this weekend so that her Grandma and Grandpa could be at church to see her receive her medallion. This award is comparable to a young man becoming an eagle scout so we are obviously very proud of her accomplishment.

The time always flies by when family visits and this weekend was no exception. It was so wonderful to have my mom and dad here, especially since it was a weekend filled with wonderful things.

We can't wait until their next visit!