Special Time With Family

Turning 12 is a big occasion - Xander was ordained a deacon and received the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday, October 9, 2016. Brian Washburn, Jason King, Grandpa Pierce, David, Xander, Grandpa Schaeffer, and Mike Archbold.

It was extra special because both his grandpas were in the circle.

We love when family visits because we get to include them in all our fun activities. We all cheered Savannah on in her game against North Harford...

her biggest fans!

And on Saturday it was time to support Xander and his Buccaneers!

Xander had a great game, making some good moves and keeping the other team in check!

This game was on my birthday and there was that moment when Devin's dad, Marvin, kicked off the crowd in singing Happy Birthday to me while David led. That's a first for me, being sung to by a crowd; it was a tad embarrassing. But the good thing was our boys got the win!

All smiles after the game...and a bit sweaty!

It was definitely a birthday treat to have my parents here. We all went out to eat and spent the evening watching football.

Our visits are always filled with those special little moments, like reading books together;

playing games;

and just laughing about silly things.

All too soon it was time to say goodbye. We love these visits and look forward to the next one!

X Turns 12!

Happy Birthday to this cute kid! Hard to believe he's 12!!!

Birthday wishes from the siblings.

Xander's birthday fell on the first day of General Conference so we spent some time lounging around and enjoying the talks. We did find time to open presents, of course!

Some of his favorites included these Magic cards, a game he found out about at scout camp...

video games, of course...

a new character book along with a journal for all his notes...

and of course, Legos!!

Turning 12 means Xander is now a deacon and was able to attend his first General Priesthood Session with David. The original plan was to attend in Utah but due to events happening at David's work the two of them stayed home. Dinner and an ice cream social at the ward before the session were still a good start to this new Father/Son tradition.

Sunday night we had his birthday dinner - potstickers and a liter of Dr. Pepper all to himself (no, he didn't drink the whole bottle in one sitting although I'm sure he was tempted).

A tasty strawberry pie for dessert.

I hope all your wishes come true!

Xander's Favorites at 12:
 Color: Purple
 Food: Meat, Chinese
 Movie: Sherlock Holmes, X-Men, and Batman
 TV Show: Phineaus and Ferb
 Book: John Flanagan books
 Toy: Legos
 Animal: Crocodile
 Thing to Do: Play Sports
 Favorite Sport to Watch: Football, baseball
 Favorite Sport to Play: Football
 Favorite Team: Denver Broncos, O's
 Favorite Athlete: Peyton Manning
 Fruit: Strawberries
 Vegetable: Onion
 Singer: Neil Diamond
 Holiday: Christmas
 Candy: M&M's
 Dessert: Mom's Strawberry Pie
 Season: Fall
 Restaurant: Sakura
 Temple: Salt Lake
 Scripture Hero: Moroni
 Place to Go: The VI
 Want to Be: A CIA agent, NFL player, businessman
 Best Friends: Devin, Calvin, Evan

Young Women Activity Fun!

The young women had some really fun activities in the fall. I think everyone's favorite was Cupcake Wars! We divided the girls into teams:

set out a bunch of different ingredients for them to choose from,

and let them loose to get creative in the kitchen!

We only had one little mishap with heating something in the microwave...which caused some smoke...no biggee.

And what were the leaders doing while the girls were baking? Why, we were enjoying the extra candy for the cupcakes, of course!

We had Brother Washburn do the judging and the winners were Savannah, Carolyn, and Bekah!

One evening we had a lesson on self defense. The girls REALLY got into it!

For one of her Personal Progress projects Emma planned a fashion show. One of the activities she had us do before the big show was a night learning about fashion and modesty. The girls got to team up and create their own "gown" out of black trash bags. They had a lot of fun with their designs.

Rebekah, our little fashion diva, taught Nichole how to pose with flair!

Savannah is pretty good at striking a pose as well.

Our cute girls in their homemade gowns...

and then the next week at the real fashion show where they walked the runway in different modest outfits they had put together.