Sledding on Boulder

Nice jumpsuit.

Mae slept almost the whole time!

We took the kids up on Boulder Mountain one afternoon for a little sledding. We only had a few good working sleds so everyone had to take turns. But Kam kept the jump nice and groomed while the kids did their tricks. It was a beautiful, sunny day---perfect for the occasion. 

Ranch Christmas

Mae hiding in the favorite hiding cabinet...

The cousin gift exchange.

I am so bad at taking pictures-----meaning no skills AND not actually getting around to take them. So this is all  I've got for Christmas this year. 

But it was a great time. The only ones missing were Derik, April and family. April was just wrapping up her last round of chemo so she wasn't up to traveling this holiday. 

There was quite a bit of snow in Grover which made it picture perfect. I didn't feel like I watched enough Christmas movies, ate enough treats or took enough naps. Oh well. There's always next year. And, by next Christmas, Montana will already be home! Weird!

The BEST Christmas present ever (at least until next year)

I didn't care about anything else but talking to these 2 missionaries yesterday. We had to Skype over at the Hale house so we could use their wifi. I was so nervous that there were going to be complications or that we wouldn't be able to Skype. But, in the end, it all worked out perfectly. We talked to Finn for 45 minutes and Montana for about an hour. It was awesome! They both seemed happy and content. It was absolutely worth every sitting in that freezing cold house!

Missionary Service Project

We got an email from Finn's mission president a few weeks ago asking us, as parents, to send a small gift to the mission for a zone gift exchange they'll be doing for Christmas. They gave a list of suggestions of things that many missionaries would like----things like shampoo, conditioner, deodorant etc. My brain started turning. I decided to get my family in on the project and collect as many of those things as we could and put them on a truck to McAllen in time for the zone conference. 

The picture above is only a sampling of the amount of supplies we gathered. We ended up with about 100 pounds worth of goods. Hopefully, not having to buy these things for a month or so will help some of the missionaries in Texas.

Thanksgiving

 I only have one picture from Thanksgiving weekend in St. George. And it's not a good picture but it's a pretty funny one.

I'm sure my sister Kaci would not be happy that I'm posting this picture. But I love Will's face. Here we are at Thanksgiving dinner at Players. Will and Ethan don't really want to have anything to do with any of the food. But Aaron is insisting that Will eat so many bites of sweet potato before he can have any pumpkin pie. So here Will is, crying his eyes out, while he gags down a few bites. I should have gotten the after pic when he was happily eating his pumpkin pie-----tears still in his eyes. 

Holidays sometimes bring out the very worst in kids….and parents. 

Zion Weekend

We had our annual Heaton Zion trip last weekend. It was really fun but way too short! The Masons decided to make the long trek from Mesa to hang out with us this year. It was really fun to have them along as you can attest by the top photo! Brian is never afraid to have a little fun….

Fun, food and friends. Oh and some hiking! Can't wait for next year. 

A little procedure

So I have had this ugly varicose vein since I was pregnant with Emerson. I have gone in to the doctor probably 2 or 3 times to see about having it removed. However, I have never actually followed through with it for one reason or another (timing, recovery, out-of-pocket cost). This year I finally did it. After Indy's major surgery, we had met all our deductible AND our out-of-pocket limits. So basically it was free.

They made about 14 tiny incisions and actually pulled the vein out. Laser therapy wouldn't have been as effective in my case. Luckily it was a surface vein which made for a pretty easy procedure. They just numbed my leg all along the vein, pulled it out and I was done in about an hour. 

Goodbye ugly vein!

Rainbow tree

How is that for some fall color? Lance Heaton found this and took the pic. I can't remember if it's actually in his yard or just in his neighborhood. Either way it's cool!

Clark's Halloween Party

Those are some pretty good costumes! It's unfortunate that my costume is hidden because I really did dress up!

Work

Eliza and Mia killing time..

This week I was in southern California with Kurt while he was shooting a commercial for work.  Our first day we had the cutest models out there-----Eliza, Avery and Mia! They were so patient and did such a great job. 

A little pizza reward at the end of the day isn't too bad!

Oh, and I guess Brett is pretty cute too! Washing up those dishes like a good dad!

I didn't realize that I would be on camera during the week as well…..

Playing around in downtown Laguna.

Just a little hair length comparison between Kurt and I.  Someone figured that I still have him beat by about half an inch even if you pull his down straight. 

I'm really lucky to be able to work with Kurt every now and again. He works with some really fun people, the hours aren't too bad and the pay is good. All that and I get to be with Kurt all day---I'll take it!

Lunch with Whitney & Holland

Whitney met up with Montana and Sister Lee for lunch today. She sent me this cute pic.

Fall Break

Our fall break this year was cut short due to many conflicting schedules! But we did get to spend a few days in St. George. The weather started out rainy and cold but got nicer each day.  The Hellewells came and stayed with us. We got in a few good razor rides.

Then, on Saturday of the break, Kurt was asked to perform a wedding for his friend Denzil and his fiance Jen. He had asked Kurt a couple months ago if he would perform the ceremony. So Kurt went online and did everything he needed to do to become a minister (?).  It went really well. The ceremony was in Zion National Park right next to the river near Weeping Rock. Kurt mostly just oversaw the entire thing. He really didn't say too much. Seeing how many weddings his dad did in his life then I guess Kurt is just following in his tradition-----just not as a judge!

Crazy hair day!

Oh my! It only took us 2 HOURS to comb out that rat's nest after the day was over….

That's my boy!

Screen grabs make for terrible pictures but I had to post anyway! KSL ran a special about the Mexico City MTC on Saturday between conference sessions. And there is Finn in the royal blue tie! I didn't actually see it as it was airing but McCall Christensen tweeted about it and posted this pic. It, of course, made me tear up to see him and his smile. Man, I miss that kid. 

Imagine Dragons

Pretty good seats I'd say...

Friday was Vivint's year-end party for all of its employees. Last year they threw a carnival and a Nitro Circus show. This year they had Imagine Dragons come to Energy Solutions Arena and do a private concert. I'm not a huge fan but their I'm familiar with the songs they play on the radio. But I have to say that I was impressed with the show they put on. Of course, Kurt and I were in the second row so that may have had something to do with it! I feel kind of guilty now that we didn't give up our seats to Emerson and Indy. They were still at the show but just not on the floor. I'm sure they will have plenty more chances to get good seats to a concert in this life....

Baby Emer

Those eyes!!

Last Sunday, at our family dinner, Sunne brought a whole box of pictures. She had tons of pics of all the kids when they were little. I couldn't stop staring at the above picture of Emerson. She was the most delightful baby and toddler. Oh how I miss those days....

(btw----she is also a delightful teenager!)

Tender Mercies

I'm feeling so grateful today for tender mercies. Montana has been having a hard time these past few weeks. I didn't get to chat through email with her last week because of some Google problem. So I've been stressing all week about how she has been doing. But I am amazed how prayers are answered through other people. This past week, of all weeks, so many people have called or texted to ask for her email or address. I KNOW that she will be okay and she will make it through this challenging time with the love and support of so many people. And I am so grateful for those around me who are in tune enough to hear promptings to do something-----especially something for my sweet missionary daughter. 

Puzzles

I've been on a puzzle kick lately. This isn't unusual for me but I don't normally break them out at home. I usually do them at the ranch or during a holiday break. But we took the kids to Gardner Village on Monday for FHE and bought a new Halloween puzzle. I had to get go work on it immediately. 

Tonight Kurt headed down to the ranch again to finish up some work. Normally I would be a little bugged to have no date for my Friday night. Not this time. I ordered my favorite massaman curry, got a dirty Diet Coke and settled in for another puzzle (I had finished the new Halloween puzzle by the next day.....).

First and last

How sad that this past weekend was my first trip to the ranch all summer! And probably my last-----that's if you don't count winter visits. We DID have an unusual summer but one trip only???!! 

Saturday's weather was perfect for about half of the day. Then the winds picked up and it cooled down considerably. But I was able to get some reading done out on the deck and look out over the freshly mowed fields. 

Done and done!!

Today we are finally done with braces!! Emerson was so excited to get those things off. For about 2 weeks we would catch her randomly smiling or giggling. When we would ask her what for, she would say "I get my braces off in ____ days!" Funny girl.

Kurt's new workout

Homecoming 2013

Orem's Homecoming dance was last night. Kurt got roped in to taking the pictures since Alan Bailey wasn't able to this time.... He actually didn't mind! 

Technology.....

.... a blessing and, in this case, a curse. 

Killer storm

The flood of muddy water coming down Mama Chu's hill.

The Dastrup's basement window.

Just down the street from us.

The storm rolling in.

Yesterday afternoon was a day that will be remembered for a long time! Kurt was with some of his work crew shooting some things for work up the canyon at Timpanogos Park. I was there helping him. It was about 3:30-4:00 pm and we were just finishing up. From where we were, we had a great view looking straight down the canyon. We all immediately noticed how ominous and other-wordly the clouds looked. And how fast-moving they were. Kurt commented that something big was going to happen because of those clouds. And how right he was! 

We headed straight home and the wind was already starting to howl by the time we arrived. (and it only takes us 2-3 minutes to get home from the canyon....)  Then the rain started. Then it poured, then it hailed, then it poured some more. Within a few minutes, we had a literal swimming pool along the back wall of our backyard. The water was pouring under the east-side fence with such force that it looked like a fire hose was on the other side. 

I ran downstairs to check window wells. Indy's room didn't have any standing water but water was coming in at the top of window and dripping down onto the sill. Finn's window well was filling up fast. Luckily, from all our past water problems, we had a pump that we immediately started.  Then I ran outside to the backyard staircase and the water was starting to pool down there. Once I cleared the drain it started to drain away----thank goodness. 

Within about 15-20 minutes we had our house under control but we looked across the street and there were cars and people headed to the Jones' house. We spent about 30-40 minutes emptying buckets and buckets of water from their window wells. Then, we heard that the Clark's basement was completely flooded so we headed over there for about 20 minutes. Once we saw they had plenty of help we headed home. Then we realized that our next door neighbor's basement was flooded as well. After a couple of hours moving furniture and vacuuming water and clearing tree branches and mud and debris we got their house under control as well.  Once we finally got home we realized that water had seeped into Finn's room behind the wall and under the baseboards. We had to pull back the carpet a couple of feet. But we feel so lucky that's all the damage we had!

All in all, in the 8th ward, there were about 37 homes that had water damage. Some obviously much worse than others. The 9th ward got the brunt of it I think. They cancelled all meetings but sacrament. The whole ward was helping the families that got the worst damage. It was a crazy weekend but nice to know that so many neighbors are willing to help in a time of need!