Decorating the Tree

MAKE EACH DAY YOUR OWN MASTERPIECE!

It's the little things that bring happiness-like decorating the Christmas tree. It was so fun to see the excitment of these three kids as they made our tree into their masterpiece.

How many people have to use 9 foot ladders to decorate the tree? James lives by the rule, "Don't short yourself in the land of the plenty!" That goes for our Christmas tree every year!

Posing for a picture with Santa!

The best gift ever, if being together!

Bailey made the formation, and Wade was the photgrapher!

Happy Thanksgiving

Turkey, trees, shopping at two o'clock in the morning, and toys down the toilet-that was our Thanksgiving!

After we got our tree and got off the mountain, Grandma Jo had gingerbread houses for us to make. They turned out so cute and each one was very unique. Wade put the frosting on, added the candy and then ate it right off. Bailey's was perfect, and Chase just enjoyed every minute of it.

All four families went up to Joes Valley together this year to cut down our trees. We found a tall, skinny one this year. After the gigantic tree last year, I got to pick a skinny one this year. Chase took the chain saw and took the first cut, then helped his dad bring it back to the truck.

On the way up the mountain, the kids took turns riding on the sled. This is ALWAYS fun, no matter what!

This is one of Wade's favorite thing in the whole world!

Aren't they such a cute bunch!

For Thanksgiving this year we went to Elmo to celebrate with the Hansens. All of my cousins were there except for Ty. It was great to see everyone. Our family grew by 4 this year, and they were all baby boys. We had a great dinner and played some very entertaining games. The men shot through quite a few shot gun shells.

Bailey got into a very exciting card game.

Chase colored a cute cup. He really had fun playing with Kade and all the other little kids.

Wade thinks Colton is the coolest kid ever. We were really excited to see Colton walk into Thanksgiving. He is a little stiff, but moving pretty good.

Turkey Winner!

Bailey won the basketball turkey shoot. She won out of all the fourth and fifth graders. She made the most baskets out of 10 shots. Way to go! She won a frozen turkey!
She also won the Hoop Shoot at shcool. She really loves basketball!
Keep shootin' Bailey!

Herding Cows

Riding back to get the truck!

Bailey and Tylee

Oh, Oh, Oh, Stuck Like Glue-You and my baby are stuck like glue!

Me and Chase-We are best buds!

Head 'em up, move 'em out!

We love going on the desert to move cows, and this weekend turned out to be perfect! All we need is a few more horses. We love going down the river to Fuller's Bottom. Jana and Kyle had brought the cows down from the farm during the week. We took the cows from Hambrick Bottoms to the water trough near Fuller's Bottom. My kids loved every second of it. Wade was so excited that he didn't have to share his horse with anybody. Bailey was happy to run through the river and get us all wet. Chase was happy (until he got cold) and then was happy to be playing in the dirt with Kade. James was happy Chase got off so that he didn't have to ride double. I was just entirely happy to be on the desert. It is my favorite place in the entire world.

I bet I have ridden the trail down the river over 100 times. Riding that desert is my strongest and best memories of my dad. As we rode, it was funny to reminisce. I could think of a story for almost every bend in the trail, every tree, and even every bunch of tamaracks. My dad and I definitely had lots of unforgettable moments on that desert. The place where the dog ate the sandwiches, or where Jodi and I saw a porcupine. The sandy spot where Dolly would roll over every time we went through it. The place in the river where Jasa and my mom came close to drowning. The place in the river where my dad swam his horse for a mile and couldn't get out. The best spot to swim in the river, or the place where my dad packed all five girls across so that we didn't get wet. I could go on and on.

It is days like these that I really miss my dad. It was a great day, but it would have been better to hear his laugh (I won't ever forget his laugh). I really love my dad. I really love and cherish all the time that we spent together.

Haunted Corn Maze!

Wade and Chase thought sliding down the hay slides was a lot more fun than being chased by chainsaws through the corn.

Waiting to go in--when Wade and Chase still liked clowns.

This year we experienced everything Halloween in Sevier County had to offer. We did the pumpkin patch, the haunted library, the highschool carnival, and the magic show. Our favorite was the Haunted Corn Maze. It was quite a fright in the middle of the dark corn maze when all kinds of spooky people came out of the corn. Me and the boys made our way out pretty quickly; we didn't want to spend too much time in the maze with the haunts. James and Bailey were a little more brave. It was pretty funny to watch Bailey run out of the maze as fast as she could with the chain saw guy right behind her. I think she got a pretty good scare.

Arghh, Mateys!

We spent Halloween in Castle Dale this year! We started off the day with a trip to the grocery store carnival. The kids came home with all kinds of treats. Then we had a party at Jasa's house. We played games, frosted cookies, told spooky stories, and had a great time. We went to the trunk or treat and also went door to door for more treats. It was a great day!

The whole family dressed up like pirates this year. James was the deck hand. He didn't make it to full pirate status.

Grandma Jo had the best costume of all. She was a hippie. The funny thing is, she was exactly how she dressed back in the day!

Walk the Plank!

AArrggh!

Give me the treasure!

Happy Halloween!