October 2015

October 2015:

Eric had the Young Men over one Tuesday evening

Love this picture!  Captures the cute, authentic Ava

Grandma Janet came up to our place for a weekend.  She tended for Eric and I so we could go out.  She slept over, went to church with us, and then stayed for Sunday dinner.  The Luke family came over as well so we could celebrate Eric and my mom's birthday.  It was fun to have her with us.

Hangin' on the bed while Eric's young men were here

More pics of the young men in our basement

Another cute picture Eric captured.  This face is one Andi often gives to Eric.  It's the, "I'm gonna' get you" look.

quality time with Grandma

At our house for Mom and Eric's birthday party.
Lydia, Lori, Leslie, and Abbey

Grandma Luke and Millie

When we have family parties, Harry's no dummie--he stations himself underneath the dining room table.  

My cute nephew Bo on our deck

My nephew Carter

My brother-in-law, Scott.  He may look serious, but he's really just being funny as he lifts his cup to the camera. :)

Awww....sisters.  Eric was kind to take all of these fun pictures.

Abbey and my niece Chloe

Such a good one.  I can see some of Millie's good looks in these two.

Luke cousins

It may not show, but she's getting used to Grandpa and is quite comfortable around him these days.  So fun to see.

Grandma and her grandkids during her birthday party

I was asked to do a presentation on table decor for one of our ward's Relief Society gatherings.  (Yeah, I know.  Table decor.  Pretty funny.) These are the handouts I made for it.  

The table runner I made for my presentation.  A good idea for creating table decor that involves family and kids.  There's a handprint of each of my mom's grandkids on it and I gave it to her for her birthday.  Each handprint was made into a turkey.  It was a fun idea I credit to the power of Pinterest.

I also taught the ladies about flower arranging.  Here are some of my demos.  I liked this part.  

Two important people in my life

More pics of my flower arrangements.  Who said I couldn't be crafty...?

One morning after I fed her.  I love this expression.

She was so close to crawling at this point.

More crawling experimentation.

Watching conference and cooking with Harry.  Loved this General Conference so much.  Perhaps I was just in need of the spiritual nourishment, but it seems that almost each talk was a needed message for me.

Ava got to go to the Farmington Fire Department for a field trip one day!  Here she is with her friend Mary Jane.

9 months and growing.  Love this unique little munchkin.

I took the girls to Farmington Pond one Sunday night in October.  The golden hour, as they say.

Abbey made this tree for her doll house.  It was a craft she did using felt and she earned the supplies for it with her earnings chart.  Love this lady.  She loves being creative.

I made the girls use their conference packets that the primary presidency gave to them.  They did great and filled them out well!  A fun and memorable weekend.

Another bulletin board I put up at the school.  This one was for Andi's class.  Eric drew the tree.  I could have done a better job, but I figure with a baby and a busy schedule, I think it'll pass the test.  Millie sure was a good helper.

At a U. game

Millie and Andi and I went to an Allen family baby blessing one Sunday.  Here we are in a backyard, chillin'.

This was the house that the Allen family gathered at.  (The parent's of a girl that Michael's cousin married.)   It was a beautiful home.

Andi on the "beach" by that house we were at.  She's growing so much.

When Fall Break arrived, we geared up for our schedule trip down to St. George.  The week before departure, Harry became very ill and was diagnosed with diabetes.  I didn't feel like I could leave him in that state with anyone else while we went down to St. George, so I decided to have Eric take the girls down there himself.  It turned out to be a good bonding experience for the him and the girls and a needed break for me.  

Here are some pictures from their adventures down south:

As you can see, they got in some good time at the pool, they were able to visit the Sand Dunes with friends, and Eric even took them up to Zions National Park and they were able to do a few hikes.  So proud of them!

This is one of the things I did while they were in St. George.  --Pushed Millie on her new swing.

The little collage I put on Facebook in honor of Eric's birthday.  Some of my favorite pics of him this last year.

This was taken at the beginning of October at a daddy-daughter party for Abbey's Activity Days group. I love this picture so much! Their expressions are legitimately them.  I love them so much. 

Andi, Abbey, and Ava with their carpooling buddies--Jonny and Ezra.  Abbey was holding the cake she brought to school that was in the shape of  Utah.  We had to make that for one of her school projects.

As you can see, the cake has edible geographical features.  :)

Kind of a fun shot I got one afternoon as Harry and I were on our way to pick up Abbey from piano.  I love the sight of a dog enjoying the sights and smells out of a car window.

Another little picture I got while Eric and the girls were in St. George.  Mommy and Millie time.

A picture of Grandma Luke (on her birthday) with her all her grandchildren except one.

A frequent sight at our house these days--sick little Harry.  It was  a hard few months trying to get his insulin regulated and his body back to health.  I know it's dumb, but I love this little guy.

One afternoon while the girls were at school, I got to have a moment of fun while my mom and sisters and I went to lunch.  Lydia even came, along with Bo and Millie--the two babies of the family now.

My little baby socializing with all the rest of us.

She knows how to cheese for the camera.

Here's Millie being my buddy during my semi-annual affair of revamping each of the girl's wardrobes--I  made lists, gave a bunch of clothes to DI, passed some on to younger sibilings, and put clothes in bins.  Mostly, though, I got organized!
This little lady here kept me company while I worked at it for two days.
She was a good fashion model...Especially for hats.

More lunchtime fun

Andi and her buddies while on a field trip to the Farmington Pond.  Love going on field trips with the ladies and I love being at the school with them.  I wish I had more time to do so.

Again, so very close to crawling.

Abbey's Halloween piano recital:  (She did great!)

Halloween:

At the Farmington Elementary school costume parade....

Ava's teacher

The principal

Andi and her friend Macey

In second grade, they have a singing program for parents.  Andi's right there on the front row.

Grandma and Grandpa Luke came to see the parade (along with my nephew Bo whom they were tending.)

Abbey and her friend Anna

The outfit Millie wore to the school's Halloween parade

Andi's dance class during the week of Halloween

Her costume debut at Grandma Luke's.  A round little strawberry.  :)

On the day of Halloween, Grandma Cathi had us over for her annual Halloween party.  Uncle Isaac was also there as the life of the party.  It was such a sweet time for all of us, but mostly me as I took it all in.  

Uncle Isaac was hilarious and played with the kids so well

Cupcakes and crafts

My little Halloween cowboy had to be leashed while he helped me greet trick-or-treaters

The tradition of gathering at Grandma Luke's before trick-or-treating.  My sisters have a way of coming up with killer costumes for their kiddos.  Always makes me laugh.  Love these people.

Carving pumpkins with Eric a few days before Halloween:

Costume fun:

I swear she knows when she's being cute.

All cute but one.
His costume is his own rendition of Ava Lily Klein, in case you're wondering.  :)

If you look closely, you will see that they each have some teacups they're drinking from.  They earned these little teacups and then painted them.  Here they are sharing a little "tea time" with their stuffed animals.
Love them.

Ski Swap came to town and we kept them in business this year.  Abbey and Andi got their own ski equipment.  So excited to hit the slopes!