SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR!

#5 - We are thankful that all of the kids get their very OWN turkey. A tradition started by grandpa Ricker and is a high light of my kids year!
#4 - We are so grateful for cousins that we love ! We look forward to playing with them when we visit. 
#3 - We are so grateful for our siblings and in-laws, and ALWAYS love to be with them! (photo taken by Livi)
#2 - We are so grateful to be parents and for the joy our kids bring into our lives.
#1 - I am so grateful for Rangi, he is the love of my life. We are so grateful for so many things that are not listed here but just to add a few more... our parents, our health, our freedom, the knowledge we have of Jesus Christ, and of course our friends. 

Rangi is Amazing!

This IS our backyard, and yes it is a rockwall that is 16 feet high. A few months ago Rangi came to me with a vision of a rockwall in our backyard. It sounded really cool and he showed me some pictures of others on the internet. I was along for the ride but I had my doubts about how to make it sturdy, safe, good for our house and blend in. I really didn't think it would happen. Time passed and nothing so I thought that was it. Little did I know that he had been constantly researching and thinking it through. The big day came and he bought all the wood, he started the job and it was not going smoothly. He admits he would have given up (maybe) but he was already in too far financially. I was definitely frustrated because it was eating all our Saturdays and free time up with few results and a BIG mess. I decided to let it be "his baby" and didn't put in too much time. Then there was a break through with a lot of success, and from there with a little help from Rhett to get the high pieces up, IT WAS FINISHED!!! YEA! And I was amazed at the final result. I am very impressed with how thorough Rangi was with the job, every kid to visit our house since has loved it and Rigdon is in heaven daily!!! Thanks to Rocky for making us a legal document (heaven forbid we ever need it). We still have to touch up, but if you are ever in the neighborhood come by for a climb! P.S. Rangi will probably post from his perspective so stay tuned... 

Life as usual...

This picture is mostly for my sister, but these are the pics I took of my kids ( I have no talent or skill, just a jack of all trades, master of none) I then blew them up really big onto thick foamboard and I have to admit I am happy with the end result. This is our family room by the way, in case you were wondering where in my house they were. 
I found my kids reading their books like this the other night, kinda funny maybe we need another kid chair?
We had my family over for a Thanksgiving dinner, I tried a lot of new recipes on the old faves and it turned out really good. We ended the night by playing CLUE, 5 and 7 are not really old enough to play yet. Rigdon was on a team with Rangi and he would say," but dad we can show them more than one card! " Needless to say I won, and I was the only person without a partner.

For some reason kids are inborn with the desire to put olives on their fingers before they eat them and Caroline is no different.
Rigdon with his first trophy!!! All of the other sports he has done have given him a medal, so this was an exciting night. Way to go RIG! 

Happy Halloween

The end of another successful Halloween, Caroline's bag was too heavy for her to carry so she had to drag it along. Now I have some great bribery for the kids for the next couple of months!!!
Rangi's costume was a hit, thanks to Beetle. 
Here is Spidey Rig with his pumpkin that he carved all by himself and his build a bear twin.
Caroline insisted on being Tinkerbell, and I must admit she was way cuter than the real thing! (I am not biased of course)
Here is Livi in her HOMEMADE Halloween costume. It was a first for me and don't let the sequined material fool you... it was a beast to sew! I also used my fair share of safety pins, but in the end it was cuter and cheaper than the Disney version with a tail. (It made for some slow trick or treating, so don't ask how we got so much candy?)

I Love Fall!

We were lucky enough to sneak in a trip to Utah and Fall is my favorite season there! We had a lot of fun.
Well here is the line-up, the final product of all our carving. We had our annual family contest which is pointless because Rangi is always the winner despite me trying to convince the kids to choose mine. Somehow the guy has a talent in everything, which I guess is a blessing for me but sometimes it would feel good to be the winner! 
Here we are carving to our favorite Halloween movie, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown". 
And of course here are the kids going to school on crazy hair day, an annual favorite at our school.