November 2016 Update

A NEW CALLING

Jared was called to be the 2nd counselor in our ward bishopric, so his parents came down for his setting apart.  They could only stay for the weekend, but it was great to see them.  The kids really enjoyed having some sorely missed grandparent time and attention.  Audrey has been talking about their visit ever since.  "Grandma and Grandpa far away airplane zoom."

THE ZOO

We are enjoying the zoo, the park, and the outdoors now that the weather has finally cooled down.

DATE NIGHT

My sister Rachel was nice enough to watch our kids so Jared could take me to go see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them.  The movie was fun and it was great to have a night out.

TEMPLE TRIP

Our ward had a temple grounds cleaning assignment so the kids went with Jared to rake leaves and acorns while I did a family name at the temple.  I am proud of the kids learning to serve.

Audrey loved having a rake just her size.  She did a great job picking acorns up and putting them in the bucket (which is empty in the photo because it had just been dumped).

AUDREY BEAR

Audrey decided to try on Nathan's boots while he was having his gymnastics lesson.  You can tell she is really proud of herself.

This mess happened when we left Audrey unattended on the toilet for 2 minutes.  I have never potty trained any of my children this young, but we have attempted potty training with Audrey because she was showing a lot of interest.  She did pretty well for one day and then we had a horrible day after that.  She decided that she is afraid of falling in the big potty and will now only use her little potty at home.  She still likes the security of a diaper so we just help her take it off when she tells us she wants to go.  For now we are letting her take the lead with potty training until she gets older.

THANKSGIVING

Audrey loved helping to "cook" Thanksgiving dinner.  She had fun mixing flour with lemon pepper together.

The older kids were much more helpful with the cooking.  Maddy made the cranberry sauce and the sweet potatoes.  Nathan made the gravy and stuffed mushrooms.  Abby made the rolls and the mashed potatoes.

Since my sister was having Thanksgiving with her in laws, and because I didn't know anyone that would like a vegan thanksgiving dinner, we had dinner on our own.  The kids made these nice Thankful tree decorations where they put what they are thankful for on each leaf.

We woke Audrey up from her nap so she could eat Thanksgiving dinner with us.  You can tell from her face that she didn't quite know what to think of all this new food.

Audrey was a big fan of the rolls and she really liked the olives that were just the right size for her fingers.

Enjoying our Thanksgiving feast.

Abby enjoying one of the rolls she made herself.

DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS

Audrey hanging ornaments with Daddy.

Now that Jared restrung it with LED lights, our tree is beautiful and bright.  We are excited for the Christmas season to begin!