Tyler's Baptism

Today, November 27, 2010, Tyler was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am so proud of him for making this decision. He is such a wonderful example to me.

We held a special baptism because we had most of our family members up for Thanksgiving. Mark's brother Joe and his daughter Cami were the only ones unable to attend. Tyler is so lucky to have such a strong family of cheerleaders to help him stay strong in the gospel. I am thankful for the closeness of the family and have enjoy having them be willing to spend their day with Tyler.

Happy Birthday Tyler!!!

Tyler had his 8th birthday today (Nov. 11). I can hardly believe that my little boy is growing up so quickly. He had a few friends over for a Harry Potter themed birthday party. They played a version of Quidditch, decorated wands (pretzels covered in caramel and chocolate), and had a candy bag of galleons, every flavor jelly beans, licorice wands, and a few other candies. To top off the party they had cupcakes with Butter Beer (cream soda)! Overall the kids seemed to have a great time, with Quidditch being the highlight of the games.

For his birthday cake I attempted to make the Hogwarts castle. I had a great time learning and the camera is kind and hiding a lot of the mistakes I made.

I am so thankful to Heavenly Father for blessing me with Tyler. He is a joy to have in our family. Tyler is such a loving brother to Maleina and strives to be a good example to her daily. He is a wonderful son and I love him so much!

Halloween 2010

"Mom, I want to go trick-or-treating with Conner this year instead of you or dad," said Tyler (almost 8). I felt like I hit a brick wall. Gone are the days of hanging out with us on Halloween. Thank heavens for Maleina still thinking it's fun to go with Mark and me.

We had a great time celebrating Halloween. During the day I took the kids downtown to trick or treat at the Merchants participating. Grandma, Justin, Emily, and Braxton came with us. The kids had a lot of fun until it started to rain on us. I also took them to the grocery store to trick or treat. They had a haunted house through there back storage area. Maleina refused to go in because she afraid of the dark. So Tyler and I went in. Just as we were leaving a guy hiding in a coffin popped out and scared Tyler. He screamed so loud! Then for the evening, our ward had a trunk or treat that showed the dedication of our ward members being willing to go in the pouring rain!

Afterwards, Maleina and I went home and Mark chaperoned Tyler and Conner while they went trick-or-treating door to door in Conner's neighborhood. Tyler had a blast and thought it was awesome to go with his friend. Mark was content following them in his truck with heated seats.

Tyler's 3rd Piano Recital

Tyler played in his third piano recital on October 21. It was a Halloween recital so he was able to dress up for this recital. He dressed up as Iron man.

All my students did great. I am so proud of all the time and effort they dedicate to learning their instruments.

American West Heritage Center

On Wednesday, Tyler's class had a field trip the the American West Heritage Center. I was one of the lucky mom's that got to chaperon the kids. We started the field trip in the year 2010 and traveled back in time to the year 1917. It was a blast watching them milk a cow, husk corn, and play an old version of baseball. The volunteers that work there did a great job getting the kids involved.

Fall Break

For fall break this year I took the kids to Ephraim, UT where my sister, Mikaela lives with her husband, Joe. We went swimming and walked around the Snow College Campus. Mikaela bought a haunted house kit and the she had the kids help her build it. We stayed in Ephraim until Friday morning and then traveled on down to Las Vegas to see Chris and Shae. It was a short vacation but was a lot of fun. Tyler pushed me into Chris' pool and ended up starting a trend and everyone got into the pool.

Wagon Fun!

The kids were playing together the other day. Tyler was pulling Maleina in the red wagon for a bit. Then she decided to be like Tyler and had to pull a wagon of her own. Thanks to my Grandma Jensen, we have a little wagon I use for decoration on the porch that is just Maleina's size. They had a blast chasing each other! So fun to watch.