Xanders Baptism

Xander chose to be baptized and become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  You get to make that choice at age 8 (or later).  We arranged with the Bishop to have him baptized during the Thanksgiving break so that our extended family could be here.  He was very excited for his day. 

 Ben & Xander ready to go.  Ben hold the Priesthood in our church, as such, he was able to perform Xander's baptism. 

 Abby was not all that cooperative. :) But we look great right?

We shared the day with a little girl so I made a cupcake tie and a cupcake dress.  They turned out delicious, I just need to work on my presentation. :)  I'm on a no cake box kick right now so the vanilla cupcakes are totally homemade (frosting too!) but the chocolate were gluten free and was a mix. 

Xander had several friends from school attend, lots of our family was there and it was a truly wonderful event.  After the baptism, our family went upstairs and had a little lunch...but the highlight was definitely playing wheelchair basketball!  Grumpy brought his spare chairs and the kids got to roll around having a GREAT time!

Thanksgiving vacation!

We had a VERY busy thanksgiving week! My 3 sisters and their kids (9 to be exact) came into town.  It started out a little rocky since we were finishing off the stomach flu but fun was had by all!

Nathan introduced us to geocaching...I had heard about it on TV but never done it!  It was a lot of fun.  There are lots of places in Folsom to search.

 We took everyone to a new candy store--it was decent.  Definitely not a homemade candy confectioner but it had some oldies that were loved by all!

I thought it'd be fun to take the kids to Folsom Lake and explore a little since the lake is SO low. (at 22% capacity to be exact).  We told them that they should have been underwater.  It was a messy and fun experience.  Here they all are, holding a spot for Ashley (my brothers daughter who couldn't come) oldest to youngest.  The oldest is almost 12! 

Xander LOVED having his boy cousins around to be crazy with. 

We had sleepovers!  I somehow ended up with 9 of the kids one morning...pancakes were had by all.  It was SO much fun!

 

 Thanksgiving dinner cooking! Great job ladies! My sisters in the kitchen:

Xander-man is 8!

 I cannot believe he is 8!  Xander begged for a Ninjago party this year.  So that's what he got.  I tried my hand at fondant for his cake...tasted good, does that count?

 I made each of the boys a ninja headband & a paper ninja star that they got to decorate:

Ben & his dad fashioned a HUGE ninja training course.  The boys did it over and over and over again.  Up and down, around, under, they were down & dirty!

Then we did ninja star throwing contests.  

Fun was had by all!

Thanksgiving Performance

The 2nd grade classes did a fabulous job at their Muffin and Music performance!  Eliza, Violet, Abby and I all got to go and watch.  So fun to watch our little pilgrim!!

Veterans Day Parade

 The kids begged & pleaded that we go to the Veterans Day Parade, it was unusually warm and we had a great time!  We even got to meet up with a high school friend of mine and her daughter!  :) So fun.  The kids loved snagging the candy.  I didn't want them to eat it all so I told them to put it in their pockets.  Abby was so proud of her pocket:

 Later that night, we had the end of the year soccer party for Eliza's Razzmatazz team.  Eliza had another great year playing with Coach Spoto and the rest of the gang!

Moving UP!

 

Our kids are growing so much! We are now a crib free home.  And here is Eliza, constantly trying to learn and grow. 

Front Yard Project...Before & After

BEFORE

AFTER:

 (From the driveway)

.  (Looking out front window so you can see the porch)

After 25 years...

MY PARENTS ARE MOVING!  It is so weird and crazy,  But I am so happy for them.  We have tried to help as much as I can but well, my kids limit me just a tad.  We did get to help on this Saturday -- watch Nana clean their new pool! And help demo the fireplace that awkwardly sits between the dining and living area.  The house is still in Folsom, but in a newer area where my Dad won't have to struggle to get in and out of his bathroom.  And we can swim all day every day.  But it's so weird--no more or the same old phone number either!  Too many changes!! :)

Xander Date

Xander earned a date with us by compiling to a bunch of rules while we watched the semi-annual LDS General Conference in October.  He was truly amazing during that 8 hour conference.  Since his birthday was also coming up, we combined it all and went to get some stuff for him and then we went out to dinner & treats at Leatherbys.  It was so much fun...we should really hang out more with our kids one on one.  :)  But then we would be perfect parents...and we are so not ready for that ;)