Out With November and In With December

Winter weather is definitely settling in. I have to get used to getting up a bit earlier so the car can warm up and I can scrape the windows when the little ones and I go pick up the girls from seminary.
We had a very enjoyable couple of days off with Thanksgiving.
We set up the tree Thanksgiving evening and decorated it the following morning. We've been watching some Christmas movies together each night. What fun that is!

 

 

 

Rhaevyn had her violin recital. She played an Irish tune called Erin's Fancy.
She did a great job. As usual, I was so focused on getting everyone out the door on time that I forgot the camera. Rhaevyn was very happy about this.
She also played last Sunday with the choir. She did a fabulous job. So pleased that she is stretching out of her comfort zone.
Aeva is loving her Japanese class and often speaks Japanese to us. Friday we sat and watched a Japanese film with her. No subtitles. While she could pick up some things, the rest of us had no clue what was going on. But is was really a lot of fun just to sit and enjoy something because it was something Aeva liked.
We've heard some noise coming from Myles's room lately. He has been building tools out of Legos and making noises for them.............hammer, jack hammer, nail gun, etc. When asked what he was doing he said he was playing This Old House. I love that he loves to sit and watch the show with me. He built a lego house in the remodel stage and sent it along with an email to This Old House.

 

 

 The other night I had the cutest conversation with Myles. While we were driving in the car he says to me, "Mom, when I'm grown up and married I'm going to give my wife some money so she can go out and have dinner at Red Robin." The girls and I were thinking that was so sweet. Then he says, " And then you can come over and watch a movie with me and my kids and spend time with us, or I can just have my wife take the kids out too and it can just be you and I watching a movie together." The girls and I were giggling so much we had tears! I love my little guy.
We've had a couple of good wind storms here. On one of our blustery days Myles made a faux kite with some yarn and a plastic bag. Pretty soon the neighbor kids each had one. It was such a cute sight.

 

 
 
 
 Here is my sweet guy feeding himself and Meg lunch so that I could eat my lunch before it got cold.

 

Everyone has had haircuts, except Meg and me. Rhaevyn traded a babysitting job for a free haircut with our favorite gal in the ward who cuts hair. Elsa got at least six inches cut. I was hoping I could talk her out of it. I love doing her hair, but she insisted that it was her hair and she was tired of the knots and having it in her face. It is really cute short.
 Before................one of my favorite braids to do for her.
 

 

After.......................Rhaevyn curled it a bit for these pictures.
 
 These are my wrestlers. I just about busted a gut when they came out in these outfits. It reminded me of those Pro Mexican Wrestlers that wear the masks.

 

 

Lastly, here is sweet little Meg. She will be one in two weeks, and I can hardly believe it. I don't know where that time has gone. She sure is such a joy to have in our family. Not sure there has ever been a more loved baby. She'll be walking before I know it, as all her siblings are helping her to get on the ball with it.

 

 And that is all.................

It was Halloween with Princesses, Superheros and Dr. Who.....

The last couple of weeks of October this is what we've been doing....

Myles and Elsa had some fun painting leaves and making ghosts.
We turned them over and rubbed the paint onto some Halloween scrapbook paper and made
a ghost in the pumpking patch.

 

 

 


 

 

Our sweet friend grows pumpkins in her manure pile up at her horse barn, and she invited us to come get pumpkins. It was one of those tender mercies.
Rhaevyn earned some money while we were up there. She cleaned out the horse stalls. She said it was like riding a bicycle, and it made her miss the Fridays we would go up and she would clean the stalls. It was great to visit with our friend. Her son took Myles and Elsa for a slow ride on the quad. They really enjoyed that.

 
Myles brought carrots for his BFF, Harvey, who is such a sweet horse.

Things got kind of crazy around these parts, and I ended up Wednesday afternoon having everyone go outside and carve their pumpkins. Unfortunately, Rhaevyn did not get to finish hers. She needed a bit of help from Chris, and the wasps were out flying around her. The remainder of the week just snowballed, so poor Rheavyn only got to do half of hers. :(

Poor Meg did not like being left out of the pumpkin carving that was going on outside.

Rhaevyn went to the Freshman football game Thursday evening and got to be down on the field. It's nice to know one of the coaches, my best friend's husband, Bryan. She sat by our neighbors for the last half of the game, as their son was playing. Friday, she wanted to go to the last varsity football game of the season. Bryan dropped off his coach card and she got in for free. Yay! She helped hold signs for him, and then sat by her friend who was taping the game.

Friday before the game, the girls went to a Seminary pizza party and then came home to trick-or-treat for an hour. Normally we have the cut off at the age of 13, but our neighbors wanted to know if the girls wanted to go with the big kids, and so we relented. They had a blast, although, Myles really missed having them walk with us.
I took the little ones out this year. Chris normally does, but they wanted me to go this time. I kept hearing how this was the best year ever. Apparently I do things different. I go hard core :) I had to, I needed some chocolate :)

Rhaevyn made just about all the costumes for our kids this year. She worked hard to make little candies for her costume that went in her hair.

She went as Vanellope from Wreck It Ralph.

Aeva was Robin.

Myles was Dr. Who (The Matt Smith version)

 

 

 Elsa was Elsa.
It was so funny..... while we were out collecting candy, kids and adults would say "It's Elsa!" or "Hi Elsa",or "You have such a pretty costume, Elsa." Elsa would promptly say "They must know me" or "How do they know it's me?"

Meg was a princess.

And now it is November! The weather is turning cold, the sky is darkening, and it's time to light candles and get out the Christmas music, snuggle into warm blankets, and sip some hot cider and cocoa.