A SpOOktacular Halloween!

I truly love our neighborhood! We had such a fun time this year trick-or-treating with the kids. It is always so much fun to see the cute kids in our neighborhood in their costumes (and even some of the parents). We have some amazing families in our area. Our kids really made a haul this year as far and goodies. We stopped up at Grandma Houston's to begin our evening. She had made some special Grandpa Clark fudge (peanut butter fudge) for all the grandkids. It was a special touch. I have to admit...I snuck into Tyson's and had a little myself.

John went around to a couple of houses with me until Tyson had enough, and then him and Tyson went back to the house to pass out candy. Taylor has ditched us the last couple of years to be with his friends, and came home with a pillow case half full. Haley and Abbey started out with us, but soon got tired of waiting, so they went on ahead of us. I ended up taking Trevor around with his little buddy Stu and my good friend (Stu's Mom) Jen. Those two boys had a lot of fun together. They were not very speedy, but they had a great time.

Trevor had a trunk or treat at his preschool on Thursday. They were all a little somber...I think they didn't know what to expect.

We started out friday by watching the anual parade at Abbey's School. I stayed after to help with Abbey's class party. I was in charge of the treat. We made a fun "Witches Brew" and Ding-Dong Spiders. I think the kids in her class all had a lot of fun!

As we were getting ready friday afternoon to head out for trick or treating, a strange "man" walked into our house, and gave us all a "fright"! John's sister Sandra had dressed up as a guy she works with. I totally did not recognize her, and it took me a few moments to figure out who it was in my house. John had dressed up like a "tourist" for his work luncheon, so we had to get a picture of them together.

Here are pictures of our kids. Taylor was a nerd, Haley a scarecrow, Abbey a vampire, Trevor a ninja (or as he would say "A sword guy"), and Tyson a monkey. John was a tourist, and I was for a very short time a spider witch.

A Sad Goodbye!

Yesterday was a pretty tough day for me. I was released from serving as the Primary President for almost 3 years. I can say that I truly loved this calling and I love the children in this ward. I didn't think it would be as hard as it was. The primary has been a part of my life is some way the entire time we have lived in this area. I had many children come up and give me hugs yesterday, even some that I was shocked would do so. I hope they know how special they are and how much I truly do love them. I told them I felt like a mom sending her child off on a mission, only I was sending 110 of them at once. I think John is happy to have someone to go to Sunday School with and to help with Tyson now (even though he will be able to go into the nursery in 2 weeks...Great timing!). I told John that I feel like a little lost puppy. Hopefully I will be able to adjust and enjoy my next calling (who knows what that will be) half as much as I have enjoyed this one.

Crazy Hair Day!

This is always a highlight for Abbey. She came home with a headache, but she said it was worth it. Isn't she such a cutie!

A Wonderful Weekend!

We spent UEA weekend up at our Ranch. This is probably our most favorite place to be whenever we can get away. We had an amazing time. Spending 4 days up there, you would think we would be ready to come home, but we were not. Here are just a few of our highlights from our weekend...

1. Lots and lots of rides in the Gator! Yes, our whole family fit!
2. Family hikes!
3. Swinging, and Swinging, and Swinging some more!
4. Yummy Food....Yes including Junk Food Galore!
5. Salamander Pond. Yucky!
6. Deer Hunting....Yes, the deer hunt started on Saturday!
7. Relaxing!
8. Riding the Tractor with Daddy!
9. Lot's of cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and Grandma to spend a couple of days with!
10. Hunting for Fossils of shells and shark teeth! Yes, we found some thanks to Uncle Thayne and Uncle Billy!
11. Watching our kids having so much fun!

New Family Picture

We finally got a new family picture taken. The last picture we had professionally done as a family was when Abbey was Tyson's age. A little past due I know!