2015 Family Reunion

So I just got back yesterday from my reunion.  I had so much fun.  The kids and I got to go to Indiana and see my siblings and niblings, and my dad's family and my mom's family.  Three reunions in all.  Crazy!  I didn't get pictures of everything, but here are some.

Andrew and Emmy on the plane at the beginning of our trip Sunday night.

Caelin, Andrew, and Emmy on the way to Middlebury from the Indianapolis airport in our rental car Monday morning.

A visit to the Krider Gardens in Middlebury so that Emmy could sit on the mushrooms while dressed as Alice in Wonderland.

After that we got donuts at the Essenhaus bakery and took them back to our cabin where we were staying.  Andrew had a round creme filled.

Emmy had a long john like me.  I had to cut mine in half and finish it the next day.

The next morning we went to the Essenhaus for breakfast with my sister Naomi and her kids Cooper and Chloe.

Then we went to a shopping center and got this picture outside the toy store.
That's Chloe as Thing 1, Andrew as Thing 2, and Emmy as Curious George.

That night we roasted marshmallows and had s'mores.

Wednesday we went to Bonneyville Mill park and had a picnic.

Then we went to East Park across from where I grew up.  There's my brother Samuel watching out for his little daughter with our old house in the background.

We went across the street to Memorial Park to look at the cannons.  I used to love climbing on these when I was a kid.  Here's Andrew and one of my sister Sarah's daughters.

That night we went to my cousin Susie's house.  One of her daughters found some kittens for my kids to pet.  They really liked the kittens.

Then one of the girls took my kids for a pony cart ride.  The kids would have liked to sit on the pony, but Susie said it wasn't broke enough yet.  I asked Susie's permission to photograph her daughter.

On Saturday morning we went to breakfast with my friend Janelle and her family.  After that we went shopping to find Andrew a new shirt.  That morning I discovered he was out of clean clothes.  We went to Yoder's department store to get him a Shipshewana t-shirt.  Emmy saw this hat and wanted it.  I think she looks like a pilgrim or pioneer.

After my dad's reunion on Saturday some of us went to his brother Glen's house.  We were sitting on the porch talking when all of a sudden we heard this thing come putt-putting out of a garage.  Dad just couldn't resist playing with Glen's toys.

We left for home on Monday and made it as far as Phoenix where we were too late to catch the plane to Reno.  We had to sleep in the airport for a few hours.  Here's Emmy sleeping on me.

Here's Andrew just waking up.

We finally got home 12 hours after we expected, which was fine.  Derek's mom picked us up from the airport.  We were very grateful that someone could make it on such short notice.  I didn't get picture of everything.  I didn't get pictures on Thursday or Friday.  I guess I was just too busy having fun.  Those days we did the talent show, minute to win it games, and my kids and I visited Janelle.

Beauty and the Beast

Tonight Emmy and I got to have a Girls Night Out with Aunt Michelle, Cousin Hannah, and Nana.  We went to Beauty and the Beast Jr.  All the players were kids or teenagers.  It was really cute.  Everyone did a great job, but I think Gaston and Le Fou were my favorite.  Afterwards we got to say hello to some of the cast members.  Emmy knew two of the little girls from school.  One was a napkin and other things.

One was Chip.

We also said hello to the Wardrobe, but we didn't get a picture with her.  Then Emmy got to talk to Belle.  She was very sweet.

I'm very happy we got to go.

State Project

A few weeks ago Andrew did a school project on Utah.  He made a float with Arches National Park on top and the state symbols around the side.  He had fun painting and decoupaging.

Oh, no! Her permanent teeth!

 My daughter, Emmy, was playing Marco Polo at school last Wednesday.  She was Marco and had her eyes closed and walked right into a pole and chipped both her front teeth. 

She was pretty sore, so I picked her up early from school.  She got a dentist appointment on Monday where they decided what to do.  Today she went in and they filled in the missing pieces. 

She looks so much better now and she's happy, which is what matters most.  I'm so glad we found a good dentist that could get her in so quickly.

How to Ruin Your Dinner

Step 1
Perfectly cook your pizza

Step 2
Remove pizza from oven and put second pizza in oven

Step 3
Using pizza cutter slice pizza

Step 4
Knock pizza off stove top and onto your legs and your cat

Step 5
Scream from the pain of hot sauce and cheese

Step 6
Clean off your cat with a damp rag and then pat clean your burned leg

Step 7
Cry as your husband cleans up the mess while you lather ointment on your injuries

Step 8
Hopefully don't repeat with the second pizza

The Basketball Game

 My kids got tickets from there school to a Reno Bighorns basketball game.  I'm not much of a sports fan, but I really enjoyed the game.  The kids got to see a few of their friends in our section.  The Bighorns won against the Idaho Stampede.  Both teams were good and it was very close.  I think Reno won by 3 points. 

My kids and Emmy's friend from her class at school got a picture with one of the cheerleaders. 

Here they are with Bruno the Bighorn. 

Here they are with Archie the Ace.  Ace Blob?  I don't know what he's supposed to be. 

There were also Wolves from the Wolfpack: Alphie, Luna, and another one whose name I didn't catch.  I guess all the mascots came to celebrate Bruno the Bighorn's 7th birthday today. 

After most people were gone they let some of the kids try to shoot a basket.  I didn't see any get one.

Andrew:

Emmy:

I case you are wondering, the Reno Aces are a baseball team, the Wolfpack is from UNR, and the Bighorns are of course a basketball team.

 It's that time again.  I need to show off my cute kids. 


This year Andrew decided that he wanted to be a wizard.  I thought he meant like Gandalf, but he actually meant a Hogwarts wizard.  He's dressed as Zacharias Smith from the Harry Potter books.  Here's the character in the Lego games that Andrew likes.

 I decided to put him in school robes because that is what they would normally wear at school. 

 Andrew painted the wand himself.  He's wearing a scarf in the Hufflepuff colors.


Emmy wanted to be Galadriel, from the Lord of the Rings.  We enjoy those movies.  I couldn't seem to find a better picture of Galadriel than this one.

Emmy's tiara isn't quite the same as the ones in the movies, but I'm not great at stuff like that.

The belt should be centered, but her dressed got a little askew.


I think they are happy with how the costumes turned out.

Tonight they are going to a church Trunk-or-Treat party.  Next week our church is having a Trunk-or-Treat party, their elementary school in having a Fall Festival, and of course we'll be trick-or-treating on Halloween night.  We are gonna have so much candy!