Snow Glorious Snow!

The weather has been so nice this year. It hasn't felt like Christmas or winter. We finally got a little snow yesterday. Hayleigh had the flu but she begged and begged to go out and play in the snow. We get so little that I didn't have the heart to tell her no. Brian caught this tender moment as she built her mini snowman.

Duct tape fun

It was duct tape day at the school and Hayleigh took full advantage. Landon and Karli dressed Hayleigh up for the occasion. She was dressed head to foot in the stuff. She had jewelry, socks, hair bows ,clothes and even a purse made of duct tape. You could see the heads turning as she walked down the hall!

Regionals

Regionals

Hayleigh competed with her cheer team at Mesa State last Saturday. They won first place in their division. For such a little bunch of girls, they do really well. Earlier that day, Karli played a great basketball game. My girls are so different. One would rather be playing a sport and the other one wants to be cheering for it.

Landon Turns 15!

I can't believe Landon got his permit to drive yesterday. His sisters spent hours decorating the dining room for his birthday dinner. They took really good care of him on his birthday. They love their brother so much. We are so blessed to have such a smart, talented, patient and obedient son. Happy Birthday Landon. Thank you for being you.

Halloween was so weird this year. For the first time, we were not all together. A sure sign my kids are growing up. (I don't know how I feel about that, kinda sad really.) Brian and Landon went hunting. Karli went with friends trick or treating and Hayleigh and I were left alone to fend for ourselves. Hayleigh was a rock star and Karli was a Geisha girl. Karli begged me to sew her costume this year (thanks Tasha) because her friend Savannah has a homemade costume. It's been a while since I sewed a costume but kinda fun. Now she has a silky robe she can wear all year round. Think I might just make me one!

I work at the Elementary School and decided to take an old box and make it into a voting booth. This is a picture of Hayleigh voting. They were able to vote online thru our school district. The kids got to vote for President, and whether or not our town should raise the sales tax for a community center with a pool, exercise equipment etc. It was so interesting to hear the comments our class made as they came to vote.

These are a few things they said:

" Is this free? Do I have to pay to vote here?"
"I just want to vote for that lady."
" So, tell me what John McCain is going to do for us?" I told him he needed to do his homework and find those things out before he came to the polls.

It was very interesting to see that many kids voted "no" on the community center because their parents don't want more taxes. Hayleigh said, I vote "yes" because I want a swimming pool. She doesn't have to pay taxes, so it doesn't matter.

Dogsitting

Well, Hayleigh had the time of her life this weekend because she got to tend the cutest little Yorkie ever, named Sassy for some friends of ours. Landon played the endless game of fetch with her and Hayleigh got to enjoy her dream of having a pet dog. I had to show how Pickles and Saphira, our pet cats felt about the whole situation. They have excitement written all over their faces don't you think?!

A train ride to Silverton

Below are pictures from our recent trip to Durango, Colorado. Grandma and Grandpa Groll met us in Durango, we had so much fun with them. We went to the Bar D wrangler Chuckwagon dinner and rode the train to Silverton. The scenery was amazing! As you can see, it wore everybody out.

River Rafting the Snake River

In July we took a quick trip up to Jackson Hole Wyoming. We had dinner on the river and the kids experienced white water rafting for the first time. Everyone loved it! Karli and Hayleigh liked steering the raft the best. Grandma Groll was so afraid of the boat flipping but had a great time anyway. We got very wet but didn't fall out (except on purpose) thank goodness.

Landon's Paintings

These are Landon's creations. The picture of the Sacred Grove sold at a church auction for 180.00! He wishes he had more time to paint. Life gets busy when you are a freshman in High School.