Fall Ends

We wrapped up our fall just before Thanksgiving. Josh performed his last Peter Pan show as one of the twin lost boys. He is animated and did an awesome job. Drew's football season ended when they lost in the playoffs; they had an 8 and 2 record. Alexis cheered for Drew's team. The picture is of a bunch of cheerleaders at the end of the season pep rally at Bingham High School; Alexis is right in the center. Dane played soccer and was always worried about if he was the fastest. It is fun to have the kids involved and nice when it comes to an end for a month or so.

Troy turned 1 November 25th and is walking all over the place and into everything. We had a nice Thanksgiving with lots of family and friends at our house. It has been so much fun living by family. Laurie's family moved here a year ago, Brandy's family moved here a couple months ago, my Dad and little sisters moved here a couple months ago also, Dave's family, Jimmy's family and Brooke & Chris have been living here. I love having family dinners, meeting for lunch or whatever. Living here in Utah, we also get more visitors because we are close to more of our family. Mark's sister Deborah flew down and Susan's family came for Thanksgiving. Good times!

HaLLOWeen

Halloween day was a full day. I helped the kids get into their costumes; I thought it would be fun to spend the day in them. Josh was a ghostbuster and received the most compliments, Drew was a grim reaper, Alexis was a black cat, Dane was the black Spiderman with big muscles, and Troy was the cutest bat ever. I took the kids to the school for the morning parade to see some of their friends since they are still off track. Then we went to Cornbelly's. Its a pumpkin patch and has lots of fun things to do. We came back to the neighborhood Halloween party that my neighbor, Jen and I organized. The kids decorated cookies and bags. I had a few games set up. They did a mummy rap at the end. We went home and ordered pizza like we do every year. Brandy's and Jimmy's families came to go trick-or-treating with us. Fun times!

Cardston

For UEA weekend, we cruised up to Tim and Sarra's in Cardston, Alberta Canada. We had so much fun being with Tim's family. Sarra is the coolest. She helped the kids make bloody fang necklaces for Halloween and sent them on a treasure hunt out in nature. We went with Tim's family to Waterton, which is sooo beautiful. We did some hiking. We found an empty lodge where we built a fire and roasted marshmallows. It was really windy and cold there. The kids had fun exploring and eating. We watched hundreds of elk interact too, which was really cool. There were several herds, and it was interesting to see the huge buck (leader) direct his herd. The leaders started at each other a couple times. We heard the mating calls. Anyway, it was neat. Our trip was fun but so short. Mark had to get back to school, but the kids are out until November 10.

I am excited to have them home for awhile. It has been fun for me. It changes with each track out, but I am enjoying this one.

HIGHLIGHTS of 2008 so far. . . .

So I am starting our blog to keep everyone updated. I stink at checking my email often, but hopefully I will keep our blog up to date and make some "computer time". Here is a brief summary of what has been going on with us. Mark is enjoying his job as assistant principal at Kearns Junior High. It is a rough school, especially for Utah. He likes the challenge. We still own one group home in Goldsboro, NC which is going well. Mark flies back there now and then. Josh is in 5th grade and always doing well in school. He tried out for Peter Pan recently and got the part of one of the twins of the lost boys. His piano teacher told us he is a "natural" and is picking it up fast. Drew or "Andrew", as everyone calls him except us, is in 3rd grade and always trying to be the class clown. He is playing tackle football, loving it most days and hating it others. It is a huge time commitment-4 days a week. The boys both love scouts. Alexis is in 1st grade. She took a break from dance and gymnastics to be a Bingham Cheerleader for Drew's team. She loves it and will show everyone in America her cheers if they let her. I am finally allowing Dane to be involved in the world. He was my baby the longest, so I kept him with me as much and as long as possible. He goes to a home preschool in our neighborhood called Mini Moroni Preschool and really likes it. He is also playing on a soccer team with his best friend and cousin, Brockie. They had their first game last night, and he ran so hard the whole game. We didn't know he had it in him. Troyboy is just sweet and attached to his mother. He will be 1 in November. He stands all the time and the kids get so excited for him. I am trying to keep up with the energetic bunch and love it most of the time. My life is full of loving, laughing, teaching, driving, disciplining, listening, nurturing, ignoring, feeding, singing, reading, praying and hugging.