Home at last!

Well, it's been a bit since we've had a post, so here is a quickie (this is Mike, by the way.)

Last week was a wonderful vacation to Bonnie's hometown, the first visit there in quite a while. Our first day was a 13 hr drive to Las Vegas, NV. We woke up extra early, only to find that snow had been falling all night, and our shortest route now required snow chains or snow tires, so we had to go to plan b. Luckily plan b allowed for a jaunt to the nearest In-N-Out burger, a mere 325 miles away, (you can tell this is a Mikey post, because I count In-N-Out burger as one of the highlights of our vacation, no offense against Bonnie's family, but it IS In-N-Out)

When we arrived in Las Vegas we found we somehow brought a cold spell with us, and the rain and cold dampened the mood a bit, but we did have fun there.

We had a wonderful dinner with Bonnie's cousins, and we also got to visit the M&M's world. The kids loved the fountain at the Belaggio, which happens to be my favorite spot in Vegas as well. Also, I visited the site of one of my favorite shows, "Pawn Stars" Unfortunately, the stars of the show don't work weekends, but it was fun to see some of the stuff from the show on their shelves, and see what the inside of the store looks like in real life.

Next we headed off to "the valley" to visit the Johnson's in Gilbert, AZ. Highlights there were the Thanksgiving day feast, geocaching (of course,) and just reconnecting with some of our favorite people. Bonnie will be posting more pics and stuff in a bigger blog later for this part of the trip.

Lastly, on the way back we visited the Jackmans in St. George, UT. We had a great time there as well, and ended up chatting into the wee hours of the night only to affirm that it has been waaaaay too long since we've seen them.

The freeway home was closed, so we extended our drive by an extra day and stayed overnight in Pocatello, ID, but we've finally made it home. More later......

October Stories

Ok, apparently being pregnant means I don't take pictures or blog or write in my baby journal very well. Sorry. I have an entire month to catch up on, so here goes!

Both of our kids had field trips this month, Lucy's first as a first-grader, and Elliott's first EVER!! Here are some pictures.

Lucy went to a local high school to meet the FFA animals and learn about dairy and stuff. She loved it.

Elliott went to the pumpkin patch for a hay ride, a pumpkin, and some information about the life cycle of pumpkins. What you don't see in this picture is Pappa and Gramma who happened to come up for his birthday and field trip. They were such troopers, it was the coldest, windiest, most miserable day EVER, but they came anyway and had a lot of fun.

Speaking of freezing, Mike entered our name in a drawing at the Honda dealership, and WE WON! We won tickets to the BSU game the very day of the windy, miserable field trip. Somehow, we made it through our first round of exposure at the field trip and decided to freeze ourselves out again, at night, in the rain, on the blue turf! Thanks Mike's Mom for making Elliott and Mike these birthday hats that just happened to be Bronco orange and very warm! Not to mention super cute!

(proof: you can actually see the wind blowing in my hair! What you can't see is the fine mist of rain or the biting cold. Thank you hat, coat, mittens and hot chocolate!)

We also had two taekwondo belt advancements in October. Elliott finally got his blue-stripe belt! He has been waiting so long and trying so hard. He was so proud.

Lucy tested for her green belt this month. Here she is kicking a board! She is amazing.

The testers all lined up after passing!!

The proud little green belt.
I still have to catch you all up on Elliott's birthday, and Halloween, so don't worry, there will be another post soon to come!