Birthday Celebrations

Happy Birthday Josh!!!

To celebrate 35 years of life we started the occasion by going out to eat at his favorite Mexican restaurant, Taqueria Jalisco. It is the most authentic we have found here and it reminds him of his mission. We partied with great friends and great eats!

So you may be asking yourself why is he blowing candles out that are in an ice cream carton. Well Josh dislikes cake and would much rather have ice cream or pumpkin pie.

 Gifts, gifts glorious gifts, this year he received two expansions to one of our favorite games, Dominion. If you have never heard of it or played it I highly recommend it. The kids and I got him the Seaside expansion and Robinsons gave him the Guilds expansion.

Anyone who knows Josh knows him to be and avid reader and the Dowers gave him a book to not only enjoy but devour with some heavy thinking and learning.  The book is Theory and History, a treatise on general economic theory and approach to historical study by the founder of the Austrian School of economic thought, Ludwig von Mises.

Last but not least Josh and Meagan went on a daddy-daughter date to go see a movie Josh has been waiting for Hollywood to adapt for the silver screen, Ender's Game, based on the Orson Scott Card novel! The movie has been in the process of being made since shortly after we got married.  They both came home with smiles and had a pretty good time (even if it wasn't exactly like the book, but they never are, are they?) All in all I think he had a pretty good birthday.

 - Sarah

All Hallows Eve fun

Haunted House

So this year I have been making lots of new friends and I found a kindred spirit. Nicole and I love doing crafts and really enjoy spending time together talking and playing :D

She had the brilliant idea of making some Halloween themed houses. She decided to do a more victorian themed house and I chose to make mine a haunted looking house.

 So I used glitter to craft the orange spiders on the roof and Popsicle sticks cut up all jagged like for the door and fence and windows. The ghosts in the windows are molded clay and the sign and skull are stickers. I really really love the way the door turned out.

The sides both have a spider climbing up or down the house and sparkles around the windows. The pumpkins were also made with molding clay and then painted. I really hate spiders so they are scary for me :D

The back I had trouble trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I went through many different ideas but ended up with the brooms (which were tricky to make) and the moon with bats. I am very pleased how it turned out. The roof is one of my fav's I love the spider web. Like I said spiders creep me out.

 It took us all month to finish but we had so much fun in the process. That and we had some really great talks too. She is an amazing woman and I am so lucky to have befriended her. Her two year old daughter, Cheyenne also helped me a little. We are already thinking of the next fun activity to start.....maybe a gingerbread house.....we will see.

- Sarah      

 

Of Wizards and Blockheads...

This Halloween, our children decided to dress up as some of their favorite things, not simply things that were convenient or interesting.  It required a little bit of extra preparation, but they were much more excited about it; especially since this is Meagan's last Halloween going trick-or-treating.

Jacob, being the computer game fanatic that he is, decided to dress up as the main character from his favorite game: Minecraft (linked for those who don't already know what it is - I'm helpful that way...).

We have a pixelated sword for slaying creepers (...again with the linkage)...

...and yes, that IS what amounts to a cardboard box on his head.

Meagan, on the other hand, is and has always been "my child" in her flavor of imagination.  Accordingly, I am not dissatisfied to report that she wanted to dress up as a wizard.  Thinking that her favorite wizard, Gandalf the Grey, was a bit... masculine, she opted for another popular, and brilliant wizard: Hermione Granger.

...and Hogwarts will never be the same...

For the Trunk-or-Treat that our ward put on on October 24th, there were no masks allowed, so we had to pixelize Jacob's face instead.  As usual, Sarah did an awesome job, and puts me to shame.

We used the mask as a template, and despite his consistent lack of ability to sit still, Sarah STILL managed to make it look like squares.  The picture really does not do it justice for the amount of work she put into it.  She did a fantastic job.

Wizards and Blockheads at the Trunk-Or-Treat

The Trunk-or-Treat itself was so chaotic that I did not get any pictures of them doing any of the activities because kids were bouncing off the wall everywhere.  When they finally got the actual Trunk-or-Treat started, it was already dark out.

On Halloween proper, we opted to go out again so that Jacob could wear his mask.  We invited some friends of ours to go along.  Their daughter, Cheyenne, went as one of the most adorable fairies I have ever seen.

She absolutely adores Meagan and Sarah.  They are two of her all-time favorite people.  Once we went out trick-or-treating, she stole the show, slaying everyone that answered the door with her overpowering cuteness.

So, at least for Hermione, it was a good Halloween in that she got to double her candy acquisitions this year.  She went out with a bang.  We'll see what next year holds for the Blockhead and his amazing pixelated self.

- Josh

Meagan's First Choir Recital

Meagan has been working really hard at her first "official" music class in school.   She opted for Choir over Insturnments and I really think I'm glad she did.  Her voice is starting to develop VERY nicely.  She sings around the house a lot and it's such a delight to listen to.  Anyway, on October 8, she had her first recital.  What follows is something that made us feel very blessed to be her parents.  (Her group did extremely well...).

Do YOU remember the dance?

I honestly felt like I was watching Aristocats...

Her talent is developing so beautifully and we are so very pleased with the progress she is making.  What's more, she is gaining confidence as a musician and is learning to truly love music.  I am very grateful.

We love you, Meagan and the beautiful sounds you bring to our lives.

- Josh

Summer Awards

Yesterday, Jacob had his first Cub Scout pack meeting after the summer.  He worked so hard this summer and got a ton of awards.  We are so proud of him and all he's accomplished.  He got his wolf badge, 3 yellow beads, 3 silver arrow points, and a gold arrow point.  This is a picture of Jacob getting his awards from the Cub Scout Committee Chairman.

He is now a Bear Scout and like usually happens when one gets older, the work gets harder.  Although we found it interesting that quite a few of the requirements were the same or very similar.  At least he'll have a good start.  Hopefully he won't procrastinate this time around since he's gotten a taste of advancement now.

Good job buddy!  We love you.

- Josh                    

Birthday Party

Happy early Birthday Jacob!

Now I know it isn't the 25th yet, so technically he is still eight but his best friend Ben is moving and he wanted to celebrate before he left. We invited his friends that were in town to our house, and started the festivities off by flying nerf rockets outside.

You had to jump on the pump as hard as you could to make the rocket fly as high as it could.

Here is Olivia, Ben's little sister. She mustered up some big strength and made the rocket soar. We only lost one rocket to the roof (I was kind of impressed we didn't lose more). 

Afterwards we headed back inside for cake, ice cream, and presents.

I was a little disappointed this picture turned out the way it did. Oh well live and learn.

Jacob was so excited to get this game. He has been wanting it for a while. If you can't tell, it is Bejeweled card game. He also got legos and more legos and a new 3DS game, Donkey Kong.

Next was cake. Mmmmmm cake. He wanted a minecraft cake but the only store who sold one was very pricey and I am just not good enough to make one on my own (I need my Jamey!!!).

After everyone scarfed their faces with sweets we let them play Minecraft on the PC. They were ecstatic and dove straight in. We had to literally pry them away when their parents came to pick them up.

I think all in all it turned out great. I was one tired mama afterwards and was reminded why I do not like hosting birthday parties (kids have to much energy). :P

Here are Ben and Jacob showing us their true personalities. They are a bunch of goofballs. Ben will be missed, but always remembered. 

Happy Birthday Jacob you are a special and wonderful addition to our family. We love you so much and are so pleased with the young man you are becoming.

-Sarah

Bike riding pt. 1

No more training wheels!

Finally we were able to get a bigger bike for Jacob so he could learn how to ride on two wheels. He was very excited to learn and very impatient with waiting.

We packed the car with their bikes and headed to the middle school so we would have plenty of space and no cars to worry about. 

Josh is going over the basics of what to do and how to do it as well as giving him a physics lesson (you've got to love the nerd in him). It started off rocky, but Jacob was determined to learn.

He was getting there when he had an accident and hit the curb and the bike landed on him twisting his ankle in the process. Jacob was not happy and refused to get back on, so we quit for the day. Jacob says he will never get back on again, but we will see. I am going to take him back out next week and have him try again. I know he can do it.

Meagan loves her bike, but will need to have a bigger bike next year. She is growing up too fast.

-Sarah