Christmas is coming...time for a tree

We were able to go get a Christmas tree on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Huge storms had blasted the states of Utah and Arizona. We normally get trees at Jacob Lake but there was too much snow and they don't plow the roads. We went to Cedar mountain and there was SO MUCH POWDER! Walking proved difficult because we would sink up to our thighs.

I only took a few pictures because I could barely breath. 

Merril's brother, Justin, was with us. Justin didn't bring any snow gear. Merril only brought gaiters and snow gloves. I brought full gear for me and all the kids, luckily. I'm not sure why Merril thought there wouldn't be any snow after all the storms but he made it work. Merril, Justin, and I hiked up a hill, which would normally take no time but takes significantly longer when one sinks clear up to their hip with every step. 

Merril and I found the first one and agreed it was good enough. Bag it and tag it. Since I was in full snow gear, I helped Justin dig out the tree he picked. When I stood in the hole at the base of the tree, the powder came up to my shoulder! 

Our tree has a bare spot but no matter. It's still lovely. Merril is singing and took this picture to promote it. Yay, Christmas!

Mark lost his first tooth!

He seems pretty excited about losing his first tooth! It's been wiggly for a while but he finally pulled it out while he was in bed for the night. 

A few weeks back, we made a tooth pillow together. He was convinced it was ready to fall out. It ended up not happening quite as soon but we were ready. 

Yay!

Merril tour guiding...

Merril goes on several Japanese tour guides a year and sends me fun selfies so I can feel the love. I've included a bunch of the cool places he's been!

The wave

Some arches

The grand canyon

Bryce canyon

Sadies 2019...

Maxine tagged Nate Werrett for Sadies. You haven't heard of tagging a date? It's a super weird tradition that exists at some high schools, including Hurricane. Maxine had to buy a tag from the office, and then chase down a boy and put the tag on him. This seems really archaic to me but whatever. She did the hard thing and tagged Nate.

They went rappelling in Virgin. Merril came and helped. Maxine said it was a lot of fun!

They took some nice pictures. Maxine had hoodies made for them.

They had a hamburger dinner at a friends house. And then went to the dance!

Fall Birthdays...

My string of Fall birthdays makes for a crazy couple of weeks but here we go! I'm going to start at the end and go backwards. 

Jack's turned 14. Gross. Grandma Campbell said, "Oh Jack is turning 15 right?" Oh no. Not even. He has one more full year until he gets a learner's permit. I need another year to get myself ready for the idea. 

He's awesome but I'm not ready for him to be big. When I give him a hug, I don't hug a little boy anymore; I'm hugging a young man and that's crazy for me. 

Maxine turned 17, which is only one year away from 18. Gross. We went to dinner and Ellen came with. She wanted a birthday party out at the sand dunes, lit paper lanterns and set them off. We didn't even start any fires. Don't worry, we got permission from the Hurricane Fire Chief before we set out on this crazy idea.

Merril had a great idea to give her Hamilton tickets for her birthday. In San Francisco. Max and I will jet off over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in January.

Mark started off our Fall birthdays by turning 6. We had a small friend party. I baked a caked but totally burned it. Walmart had my back so it was fine.

My kids are getting so big but we're enjoying this stage of life so much!

Frog Hollow 2019

Merril and Jack were on teams for Frog Hollow this year. Jack rode with Ryan Rosenberg's corporate team, 'Awesome Sauce.'

Merril rode with Logan's Heroes again and turned 6 laps. This year he did some laps back to back. 

Jack turned 2 laps and was able to pull a fair time for his team.

Ryan brought some great seating.

Mikayla spent most of the day in this hammock. 

Maxine, Sheri Beatty, and I went back out for midnight pie. It was good times, see you next year!

Halloween 2019!

Ward party night! Mikayla's costume didn't get ordered in time for the party. I thought I had ordered it but didn't finish the transaction!! Luckily I realized this in enough time to finish ordering it and have Amazon deliver it on Halloween! She wore last years costume to the ward party.

 Juliet was a pineapple. She made her costume herself.

Merril and I were the Brawny Man and a roll of paper towels.

Maxine was Carol Danvers from Captain Marvel.

Jack was Jack Harkness from Dr. Who.

Mark was an army guy. This is a costume from the costume box.

And Mikayla's mermaid costume arrived the day before Halloween and was super cute!

There was so much candy! Jack and Paul Fagergren went together.

Juliet hauled in the most candy, weighing in at almost 9 pounds. She named her bag full of candy, Margaret. She said it was the same weight as a newborn baby. 

Happy Halloween!

Pianooooo....

Juliet has gotten really good at the piano lately. She plays for the Intermediate School Choir as well as taking lessons. There are a few pieces that she's brought home from school and I've thought, "I don't know if she's going to get this." Eek! But Juliet has shined. She practices, a lot, without being told! Her siblings get annoyed at how much she practices but it makes her awesome. She can memorize big pieces too! She has surpassed me. :)

Family trip to Puerto Panasco (Rocky Point)...

 Over Fall Break, we took the kids to Mexico! It was their first time and so we went to Puerto
Pañasco or Rocky Point. We went with Ryan Rosenberg and his kids. Everyone wanted to play on the beach but we spent an evening on a pirate cruise. 

It was silly and goofy but it was fun.

Mikayla and Mark were in a musical chairs contest. Mikayla tied for first and won some bubbles.

Merril was in a dancing contest and tied for first. They tried to award him with a tequila shot but he declined and gave it to another boat passenger. It was hilarious.

This was mostly a lot of time on the beach.

Sunshine and sand.

 Mikayla wore her sling like a champ and we wrapped her arm to her body with a bandana when she wanted to swim.

We ordered mangoes and pina coladas from the beach vendors.

We had a windy day that provided lots of waves for body surfing and a calm day that was perfect for lying in the water.

The weather and water were perfect! Lovely warm days.

We found a Spanish speaking ward for Sunday and then we drove home. 9 1/2 hours home. Oi. We stopped at Aunt Jody and Uncle Jim's house for dinner in Phoenix. It was a long day but a great trip.