Hello Again...

Hi. Hello. Howdy ya'll!

Really what do you say when your last post was more than a full year ago? It was tempting to bag it and call it quits but I love keeping up with the fam and peeking in on what's going on in your lives through blogs, so here is my attempt at getting back in the saddle. I thought about playing catchup with all of last years events but that thought was a bit overwhelming so we are just picking up from right here - in the gloomy depths of January! It has been SO stinkin' cold here! As you can see, we even got a little snow! I'm not sure where our warmer Texas winter is but I'm ready to stuff my cheeks and go hibernate till this passes!

U of U vs. TCU game

The U of U game was this last weekend and since that's Ryan's alma mater we decided to take the whole family out to Fort Worth in support of the Utes. Boy did we stick out like a sore thumb. The game was sold out and they set a record for attendance at about 50,000. There were less than 1,000 there in red so you can imagine the looks we got. Good thing we had such cute kids with us to keep them from saying too much!

Daddy with his Emma before leaving for the game. You'll notice that she is wearing the U of U cheerleading outfit she has had since she was like 4. She was determined to make it work!

Such a happy family! Love Erin's face in this one!

And look how quickly it can change to a smile. She really is our Jeckly & Hyde.

We went with the Gillespie's and Cisneros. So funny to think that so many years ago we were all there together and even in the same ward if even just for a short time. We set next to some die hard fans that traveled from Salt Lake to cheer them on. They lent us one of their flags. If you happened to be watching the game you may have seen our little group on tv. Of course, that's only if you hadn't turned off the game yet because it was so bad...at least for the Utes!

Even though we didn't win the kids all had a blast being silly, cheering, and of course eating!

Emily and Erin cheering on the U....maybe next time they'll win.

Cousins

After Halloween Mandy, Eden and Fox were able to spend and extra week here with Laura and I. It was so fun to have them here. I agree with Laura...I have the best sisters ever! Just wish Julie could have stuck around a little longer. I was enjoying the visit so much that I failed to get many pictures. But I did get some yummy new recipes! Eden and Erin loved playing dress up too. They were always in a leotard, princess dress or my favorite would be Eden in an old witch costume that she dubbed as Malificent from Sleeping Beauty!

WELCOME FALL!

I absolutely love the fall! I only wish that it lasted longer in Texas! The high today is 57! Burr! Maybe that is nice for you Utah folks but it is chilly especially considering last week we were enjoying temperatures in the upper 70's. Before the weather turned cold we spent a weekend completely redoing the flower beds. Ryan didn't like what was here so he ripped them right out when we moved in and they have been empty till now. It was a great day spent working together!

See how hard they worked while I took the pictures!

Halloween

We were so blessed to have Mandy, Andrew, Eden and Fox join us for Halloween. What a fun holiday it was to have all of the cousins together and grandma & grandpa came to join in the fun! Here the kids are as Max (Eden), a Bat (Fox), Bumblebee (Emma), Ladybug (Erin) and Seth & his friend Connor went as Dallas Cowboy fans. Seth didn't really want to dress up at all, he just wanted the candy. So this was the only cool thing he could think of since he's 11 ya know. And NO he doesn't even care for the Cowboys that's why he considered it a costume.

Lots and lots of bumblebees and ladybugs this year! They looked like a true "swarm of bees" as we trick-or-treated at the outlets.

Fox was the cutest bat ever! His costume was made out of an umbrella! You should have seen him running from behind. Mandy is so clever!

Erin and aunt Julie with all of her spoils. After the outlets we came home and enjoyed dinner with all of the Burtons and then hit our neighborhood for more treats! It was a fun night!

My little gymnast

Don't mind the horrible lighting of this picture or her undies hanging out....but Erin did a little gymnastics class through the rec center and just loved it! She was quick to make new friends and become the teachers pet. Everyday she asked, "is it Friday yet?" and regardless put her leotard on everyday!

New School Year

Remember how behind I am right? So these were taken on the first day of school....so we are talking back in August! I'm so behind! The only reason I am posting these things is for my own benefit. Last year I took my blog and compiled all of the years highlights in a groovy book. I'm hoping to do the same this year. The kids started a new school this year - Chandler. They have done great even though it was so difficult to leave all of their Story friends and teachers. They still compare everything but are making new friends and learning the ropes.