Dan's Engagment Party

In November I got the opportunity to go to Seattle by myself for my little brothers engagement party. He is marrying a very cute girl whose family is from Viet Nam, so they had a traditional Viet Nam engagement party where our family came to her families home in a procession bringing the traditional gifts of different fruits, teas, cakes, Erik and Ron (my two older brothers)won't forget, a big pig (they got the honor of carrying it). At the ceremony the parents each welcome the bride and groom into their family and they talk about how we become as one family when a marriage takes place. I loved the family unity they talked about and all that it represented. Afterwards we went to a restaurant for a 10 course meal which was all delicious. I had a great time spending a few days, without kids, with my family.

The procession with Ron and Erik and the pig
The parents standing with Dan (my niece Ashley to his left) waiting for Jeanette (his fiance) to arrive


Jeanette arriving and being welcomed


Jeanette

Erik, Ron, Jeanette, Dan and myself (Gwen was in Cuba, she'll be there for the wedding)

Aiden's Creativity

One day aiden showed me a picture that he drew. He said "Mom, look at my 'OH NO' picture" There was a monster threatening to eat a little stick guy and in a word bubble it said "OH NO!" He ended up drawing several more of these "OH NO" pictures and here they are...

Putting the garden to sleep

At the end of the gardening season, we pull all the dead plants out and cover the beds with leaves. This year we got to the leaves before the landscapers did and had the kids and their friends help us gather the leaves from the front. As you can tell the kids had fun as well using the boxes as sleds and playing in the water! As you can see we had a great tomato crop this year. The last picture is what we picked AFTER the first frost.

Emma and her friend Savannah "sleding"


The kids playing in the water

Our left over tomatoes and Gwen's head

Volcanos

In October I orginized a family science fair for our homeschool group. My kids had a great time learning about volcanic rock. We even when rock hounding with Aaron's Aunt Mary and Uncle Jim to find some great volcanic rock (easy to find in Utah if you know where to go). Aaron did this project with the kids and I think he got into it more than the kids did :) Everyone else had a great time as well.

Halloween

Here we are on Halloween. Emma is a ballerina princess, Aiden is either Anikin or Luke (depending on the moment), Robyn is Little Red Riding Hood, and Gwen is a princess. I had a great time making their capes! We went to a fun homeschool park day where they had a costume parade and played games.

Emma, Aiden, Robyn (upset about something) and Gwen in the front

Here was the beginning of the costume parade

Aiden with his buddies


Aiden wooing the girls. He gets them while their young!



The kids with their friends

Gwen with her friend Thalia

Emma and Gwen, my princesses

Liberty Girls: Kaya

Here are some more pictures of our Liberty Girls group. This semester they are reading the books about Kaya (a Nez Pierce girl) Horses were a big part of their life so we had one of our members big sister talk to us about caring for a horse. The girls got to help groom the horse and watch her be trained. It was a great time!

Gwen the spinner

Here's a little video of Gwen spinning. It seems to be her favorite pass time and she even takes her dolls for a spin. As for the safety of her dolls there's no seat belt so it's a risky ride for them (if you look in the back ground, some other doll had quite a thrill). I love that she gets dizzy and stumbles around a little after shes done :)