I am thankful count down

I have been slacking on my OGT's (one good thing) and my I feel lucky list so why not start another one? In the spirit of giving thanks were going to do a daily I am thankful list to count down to Thanks Giving which sadly is not very far away!
Today (11/11)
We are so thankful for the Veterans, past and present! Words cannot express the deep gratitude we feel for the sacrafices that have been made for the freedom we so abundantly enjoy. I get so emotional and choked up anytime I think about it. Monday the kids had an assembly at school that they were so excited about. All four of them expressed how great it was to be a part of, and I am thankful that they realize how important the men and women that fight for our Country are. It was a funny coincidence that Monday night one of my patient's dad is serving in Iraq right now. I told him that every night our family prays for his dads safety and for blessings for their family! I told his mom to please pass on to her husband our thanks and best wishes for a speedy and safe return!

Spirit week

I'm not always a fan of Spirit Week, personally I think most of the themes are pretty lame but we always have fun with crazy hair day. It was a little more challenging with the girls this year because they both have shorter hair right now!Braydon wasn't into this year which was fine with me, one less to worry about!! Keaton is for sure a challenge because he barely has hair! I really tried to talk him into wearing a head band with a bow like babied wear but he wanted no part of it! Later that night (the night before) he said can you just shave my head like dads? Sadly, I actually considered it. I thought it would be pretty funny and I knew it would grow back fast any way! Eric said no way though. Oh well, another time maybe? He settled on this goofy headband, it was the best I could come up with on short notice!! It's always fun going against the grain.

We probably put about 15 or so pony's with a different ribbon in each one in Mal's hair!

Halloween Happenings

First of all can I just say where the heck did the month go?? Halloween came and went so fast my head is still spinning!!! With my orientation falling on the week of Halloween it made for a crazy week. Wednesday we had the ward trunk or treat which was a great turn out! We had a good chili dinner, games to play and of course trunk or treating. It was a good time with lots of friends!

Halloween day was different this year. Keaton was the only one with a class party and it was kind of nice not to have to party hop! They had the annual costume parade for Kindergarten thru 2nd grade and it was blazing hot out!! We had our annual Halloween dinner at the park and trick or treating. It was a good turn out and the kids had a great time. We managed not to lose anyone and ended up with way more candy then necessary! We missed Braydon this year, he hadn't been to Joe's in a couple weeks and opted to go over there for a visit! Kiley had a group of friends over after trick or treating and her friends stayed he night.

Kiley our slumber party girl

Mal the midnight fairy

Mal and Megan

Our "TOOTHLESS" vampire

Our little Entrepreneur

(she has this little ring with a bunch of lanyards she is working on at one time!!)

Last week I received a call from the schools, assistant principal. She left me a message saying she needed to talk to me about Malerie. Malerie really? My brain was in overdrive thinking what she could have done? She can have a temper so maybe someone just pushed her over the edge? Any way after playing phone tag for a couple hours and my anxiety level climbing I finally just went in to the office to talk to her. After sitting down the Asst. Principal tells me Malerie is not in trouble but there was an incident with her and a group of friends that they just needed to make us aware of. Apparently her and this group of friends have been taking custom orders, and making lanyards and selling them at recess. She explained that they had a whole system going. The girls had actual LINES of kids that would place an order for what colors, and length they wanted. There was an order sheet with a price list etc. These little lanyards were quite in demand!! The school wasn't to keen on them selling/taking money from other kids so they just explained to them that this wasn't allowed, but they were not in trouble. The Asst. Principal said all of the girls were in tears and border line hysterics thinking they were in big trouble. It took some serious convincing to calm down!! I talked to her teacher the next day and she was a little disappointed that there little business got the ax, she said she didn't know they were selling them but since they had all gotten involved making the lanyards she hadn't had any problems at recess or with kids not getting along!! Both the teacher and the Asst. Principal offered the suggestion the the girls could maybe have a booth at the schools Candy Cane Lane, where they would be perfectly appropriate to sell. What a good learning experience and very clever girls!

2 for 2!!!

Braydon got his Buck!!

A few thoughts from this past weekend: (this was written by the Dad)

Being the horrible journal keeper that I am, at the very least, I have started writing down thoughts and experiences from hunting trips that I have been on. This past weekend was full of "experiences" for me and more importantly, positive memories for all who were there.

Starting with a fresh elk steak breakfast burrito and ending with a questionable Arby's sandwich (Did anyone else have "problems" on Sunday or was it just me and Braydon?) there was a lot of fun and excitement in between. It is fun to watch all of the kids (I should say young men and women) get excited about tromping through thorns, stickers, dusty, bug infested terrain just for the small chance of possibly being able to see a deer and then maybe have a chance of getting to shoot one. There aren't very many kids that want or even get a chance at having those experiences. They are spoiled and I'm happy for it! I enjoy watching the kids interact with each other and watching the friendships form which I am positive will last a lifetime. Having gone hunting a time or two in recent years, I am sure the boys would agree with me that it was a lot of fun hanging our with the girls this time. Besides the obvious "good looking factor" that they provide, it was fun to talk with and get to know them more and hear what is going on in their lives. I would hunt with them anytime! It was refreshing (we had plenty of non-fresh times on the drive home right Brent? "Guttin-a-deer!"). Brent can explain that one. Having spent the previous weekend with Kiley and Taylor, we (Braydon and myself) quickly learned that there is a time to be serious and a time just to kick back and have fun.
We did have fun! It was educational as well. I never knew I had a "wenis", and then I found out I have two. Who knew! Each time I hear the song "She'll be coming around the mountain...", I will picture myself on that hillside with Mitch, Brent, and Michael, packing Michael's deer our. Thanks Makenna!! Other things I learned; Brent still snores, always carry a rifle (that was a BIG deer Senaka!), watch out for guys in a red truck, it is easier for one guy to drag a deer 150 yds downhill in the dark knowing that the guy in the red truck will be there any minute than it is for two guys for drag one uphill 20 yds in the daytime, Senaka and Kinzie need socks for Christmas (Senaka only has short ones and Kinzie only has one pair which are knee highs!), good luck waking up Conner from a dead sleep, Braydon is camera shy, Michael likes candy before bed, Riahana and 50 Cent are good hunting music, Chalee would consider moving to Nogales, Mitch now has a better knife than me, and the list goes on.

Shooting a deer or not, it was a lot of fun. I had to keep reminding myself that I had a tag as well. Normally I would want to do anything possible to fill that tag but it didn't seem to matter on this trip. When I look at the photos that we took, I can't help but smile. These were truly "good times"!! I can only speak for myself but I am sure the others would agree. I am very pleased with the friends my children are choosing to keep and the relationships that are forming. They have a lot of positive examples to follow which is encouraging. To top it all off, Sunday morning we had one of the best primary programs I have heard in a long time and we ended the weekend with an awesome fireside at our Bishop's house with all the young men, committing them to all serve missions. It was a great weekend.
Eric

I like the number 4

I just found this tag on my friend Nicole's blog. You go to the fourth picture in the fourth file of pictures on your computer! I said if it was a pic I could share I would do it!!
This is what I found! A picture of our FOUR kids on our first ever family Disney trip in March of 2005. Good times. We had such a good time just the six of us. I remember it was perfect weather. The kids were all good ages. Keaton could ride a lot of the rides and all of the kids were just in awe and had such a blast! There really is nothing better than family trips, making new memories and having FUN!!! It wasn't THAT long ago but I can't believe how much they have changed!

Thats Our Girl!!!!

Of course being the children of a father who hunts (understatement) it gets in their blood if even if they don't want it to be!!
After Kiley turned 10 Eric signed her up for hunters ed, which she did without complaining!
Well we all know what comes after that, You start getting put in for the draw!
Kiley got drawn for cow elk up by G&G Perkins in Pine Dale, and also for deer in the Kaibab.
She and her dad had many a conversations about her shooting an elk and it kind of became a rivalry between them. Him teasing her about it and her refusing to do it!! The closer the hunt got the more Kiley started to relent (deep down I know she was really looking forward to it but she wasn't going to give dad the satisfaction of knowing that!)
Eric went out of his way to make sure this would be a fun and memorable experience for her, Kiley invited her good friend Taylor to come along, as well as her brother. I got a call about 5 pm on Friday evening "Mom I just shot my elk!!! You were right it is such an adrenaline rush!!)
Eric said it was a perfect lung shot! I think he was almost as proud as the day she was born?
According to Eric she said afterward ok I shot it now I'm done. Saturday her and Taylor hung with Grandpa P, they taught Taylor to drive the small tractor, went to Uncle Allen's and fed the goats, pigs and bunnies, and picked all the corn out of the big cornfield. Eric and Braydon went with some friends to help them find an elk.
That evening all of them processed her elk and as you can see from the evidence she did help!
I hope she wants to do it again, I thinks its a pretty cool accomplishment for an 11 year old girl!
Thanks for the meat!! ( I was really putting the pressure on her to fill up my freezer)