it happened like this…

This month we’ve enjoyed several local family get-togethers and are so grateful to be close to family!  We’ve also enjoyed some fun fall activities here in beautiful Utah: a trip to Wheeler Farm complete with tractor ride, pumpkin patch, and corn maze; a trip to Scary (normally Cherry) Hill with mini-golf, hay maze, climbing wall, etc; a drive and hike up in the mountains to take a family picture and see the beautiful fall leaves;

 and lots of fun Halloween parties and activies.  We even did a fund-raising Atrial Fibrillation Awareness 5K run for Derek’s lab as a family.  The girls rode their bikes, Faith relaxed in the backpack, and the rest of us walked/ran.  The proceeds go to an endowment for heart research–well worth the time and money.

Derek
1. Took a trip to Austin, TX to present some research at a conference there. Enjoyed visiting with his sister and her family, and his brother as well.
2. Is reviewing applications to hire a post doc. He’s considering a research associate from UAB b/c she’s so familiar with his area of research, but since she’s a Chinese national, the legal paperwork may be too big of a headache.
3. Is slowly getting the equipment in his lab set up so he can really get going on his research. Meanwhile he works with others on their experiments.
4. Has taken the boys on a couple of scout camp outs, their favorite being some hot springs with several warm/hot pools and a waterslide.

Aly
1. Has enjoyed lunches and crops with some local scrapbooking friends. It’s so nice to be close!
2. Finally finished decorating the scrap room. Creating Keepsakes magazine is going to feature the room in an upcoming special issue.  Now on to the rest of the house…
3. Loves Faith, but needs to get her sleeping in her own bed all night.  She likes to kick and squirm and that keeps Mom awake. =)
4. Spoke in sacrament meeting about temporal preparedness, and Derek spoke about spiritual preparedness.  Having researched the topic extensively, and with our new large custom-shelved food storage room I have no excuse not to get my rear in gear. =)
5. Enjoyed taking the girls to a huge Halloween carnival at the local rec center while the boys and Derek were camping.

James
1. The band director decided to move him up to advanced band next semester since they only have 1 french horn currently, and he’s first chair. He may be the only 7th grader?
2. Claims he “isn’t a social” when neighborhood teens come knocking and ask the boys to hang out or play night games. We push him out the door anyway, and he always has a good time.
3. Led the kids in creating bats and ghosts to decorate the house for Halloween. It took us 2 family home evening nights, but it looks so fun! 
4. Dressed up as a Nazgul (from Lord of the Rings) for Halloween.  Enjoyed the mutual Halloween party, the school band Halloween party, and trick or treating (as did Jeffrey).
5. Played wonderfully with the intermediate band in his first band concert.  His favorite piece was Band Rocks.

Jeffrey

1. Had a great time at the band family pot luck, where the jazz band got to perform for the first time. They had only practiced together a few times before this. Pretty good, huh?

2. Is doing better making friends and participating in social interactions–even with girls. Sometimes I wonder if me encouraging this is a good idea?
3. Dressed up as Boromir (also from Lord of the Rings) for Halloween.  We even used a template I cut out and spray painted the white tree of Gondor on his shirt.  Enjoyed attending the Davis County Symphony Halloween Concert (his teacher plays trombone with them).  He loved the music–Hall of the Mountain King, and Phantom of the Opera were his favorite songs–but especially enjoyed the trick-or-treating after the concert (as did all the kids).
4. Played wonderfully with the Jazz Band, and the intermediate band in the band concert.  His favorite piece was If I Only Had a Brain.

Ashley

1. Dressed as a genie for Halloween.
2. Loved going to the Daddy-Daughter dinner with Little Grandpa (as did Lexie). Grandpa dressed as Aladdin, which completed her genie look.

 3. Struggled with her multiplication homework for a while, but worked really hard and got a 100% on her math test.
4. Had her friend, Hannah, from school over to play.

Lexie

1. Dressed as a ninja for Halloween.

 2. Loved attending her first activity day–the Daddy-Daughter Halloween party.
3. Is doing so well in her 2nd/3rd grade split class.  A lot of the work they do is 3rd grade work, and she’s keeping up very well.
4. Finished reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, and is now trying to finish up Harry Potter, and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Faith

1. Cut both top front teeth. No wonder she wasn’t sleeping well.
2. Got very sick with a respiratory virus. Ended up on steroids and breathing treatments. No wonder she wasn’t sleeping well.
3. New favorite phrases: maa-ooo (for “meow” when she sees our Hello Kitty towels) cack cack (when we ask her what a duck says), day-go (“there you go”), uh-oh (when she drops her pacie or sippy cup), buh-bee (for “baby”when she sees herself), bappy (for “backy” when we clean up toys) no no no no no!
4. Is addicted to the Muppets Classic Theater video, which is great when I need to get something done.
5. Loves to climb on the table, sit on top of it, and play with the candle set.  Just look at that guilty face!

6. Dressed as a yellow M&M for Halloween.

Well, that’s all from us for now.