Congratulations Laurin...and Casey!

As the girls have moved out and moved on, I rarely have pictures to share of them or stories to relate. Our little family has evolved and continues to change. They are both doing amazing things! Amber is studying psychology at BYU. Laurin is continuing her nursing education to convert her RN to a BSN. Good things are happening in their lives, but it is their story to tell now. However, there are moments in each of their lives that are too good to record passing up on our family blog. Laurin has had several big moments recently. She recently started a new job at the hospital. She has wanted to work in a hospital setting for quite some time. We're excited that she finally got a position there! Next, she bought a house! Yup! She is 23 years old and bought her first house. She decided to use her wedding budget as a down payment on a house. It's a cute little 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom house in Clearfield (close to Ogden). She plans to do a little renovation to the basement so she can rent it out to offset the monthly mortgage, all while building equity. Smart girl!

Now with her wedding budget gone...she gets a new last name too! As you can see from the above pictures, there happens to be a boy that keeps popping up in her life. They have been dating since last fall. At first, it was slightly casual but by Spring things became a little more serious and on Saturday, they became very serious! Casey proposed and Laurin said yes! He woke her up early to go on a little hike to see the sunrise and ask that very important question. Two of his friends were waiting on the mountain to take pictures and video of the moment. We are so excited for them! The nuptials are planned for January.

Happy birthday Jeff!

Happy 46th birthday Jeff! I love birthdays (as you well know). I love to celebrate my birthday throughout the month surrounding my birthday. Jeff, however, didn't even remember it was his birthday until I mentioned it on Tuesday (15th). He has never been one to make a big deal out of birthdays, especially his own. He doesn't like the attention. He doesn't feel the need to accept or solicit gifts. Yet, I still wanted to celebrate. I want to commemorate his birthday. I want to recognize the man who does so much for so many. I want to take time out to make the day special. Jeff is the greatest gift I have ever received. I can never repay him for the love, patience, grace, generosity, etc. he has given me, but I can make sure he has a cake and candles. Haha! In any case, on his actual birthday, Jonas and Danny gave Jeff their gift. Danny contributed to some new board shorts and Jonas gave him a gift certificate/invitation to go swimming with him at the Provo Rec Center. 

After Danny left for school, Jonas and I joined Jeff on a drive to Ephraim to look at the BelAir. It has been going through a restorative transformation that includes a new paint job. We decided to drive down Wednesday (16th) to confirm our paint choices. It was a fun morning! We didn't do anything big, but it was entertaining to watch how excited Jeff was getting about the progress of the car. Once we picked out the colors, we had lunch there before heading home.

That evening, I took Jeff out for dinner and to see the opening of a new Spiritual and Religious art exhibit at the Springville Museum of Art. It may not have been his first choice of activities, but we have enjoyed going to museums in the past...and tonight was no different. I love that it doesn't really matter what we do; we find joy in simply being together.

Finally, on Sunday (20th) the rest of the kids joined us for a birthday dinner/dessert celebration. It was fun to have all (but Dallin) the kids hanging out. Our little family has evolved over the years, but Jeff has always been the constant. He is the rock that we all depend on. He is the best father and husband we could ever ask for! Happy birthday Jeff!

Jonas finally got in on my least favorite birthday tradition - holding a plate in front of the birthday person so he/she can't blow out the candles. He thought it was the best part of the birthday!

Choir Concert

Tonight was Danny's (possibly one-and-only) choir concert. Last year, he decided to try out for choir at the end of the school year. He qualified for the top choir; however, that choir and the top orchestra meet at the same hour during school. Thus, a dilemma was presented. Danny ultimately decided to join choir and simply continue with private cello lessons. Unbeknownst to Jeff and I, Danny made that decision based on a girl. Yup! The girl he liked was in choir and that's what tipped the scales. Yet, Danny has quickly learned that "likes" can change. Since starting school, he has enjoyed singing with the choir but his ultimate love for playing the cello (and his totally awesome cello teacher!) has triumphed over the fleeting feelings of the heart. So...this will be his only choir concert this year since he will be switching back to orchestra at the beginning of the next term. All in all though, the concert was fun to watch! We have enjoyed watching Daniel's musical talents develop.

Fall Family Fun!

Ok...are you ready for a long post?! I love Fall! I didn't even realize it was a season until I moved to Utah. In AZ, there isn't much change in seasons. Sure, there were times we'd drive north to see some fall colors in the northern AZ mountains, but for the most part Fall was just an extension of summer...only with pumpkins. However, in Utah it is so much more than that! There's apple and pumpkin picking, fall colors, cool evenings and frigid mornings. As the end of September approached, I decided to create a Fall Bucket List. There were so many fun ideas and activities, but most of it was crammed into one crazy week! Nichole, Kate, Mom and Dad came up for their Fall break and we set to work checking off all the items on our list. Prior to them coming, Jeff and I (and the boys) checked off a couple items. First, Jeff and I went to a high school football game. Because I used to be in my high school's marching band, I attended all my high school football games. I loved them! It's fun to sense the excitement in the stands and on the field. I actually really enjoy watching football, but it's more fun when you can feel so close to the action (instead of in the nosebleed seats or on a TV).

It was fun to see some of Dallin's friends too. 

The Monday before everyone hit town (Sept. 30), we met up with the Tanners for a little apple picking. The apple season is always variable because it depends on the weather so we decided to play it safe and go while we knew we still could (even though we also ended up going with everyone else when they were here). The little boys loved picking...and eating... the apples. After we got home, I made up a little caramel apple bar for us to enjoy!

Finally, family started rolling into town. My parents came in first. They drove up on Saturday, October 5th. It was General Conference weekend and they were pretty tired from the drive so we didn't do much Saturday evening or Sunday. We did enjoy the beautiful fall weather with a walk around the loop and a little apple picking from our own trees. My parents also really like to sit on our deck...even though blankets were required.

Monday started the fun, crazy, fall-bucket-list week. After we picked up Jonas from preschool, Mom, Dad, Jonas and I headed up Hobble Creek Canyon for a picnic and to enjoy the fall colors. The trees were just starting to burst with brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows. It was beautiful. It's like a painted landscape. I love that the colors last awhile because they start in the mountains and work their way down into the valley until the all disappear. 

That evening, Nichole and Kate (along with Kate's cousin from Ryan's side, Izzy) flew into town. All the adults met up with all the Tarwater adults for dinner that night. I love these cousins! They have always been an extension of my family. We were super close growing up and have remained close as adults. It was a fun evening to catch up with everyone.

Tuesday (8th) was a marathon day! We started by going to a local U-pick farm for more apple (and pumpkin) picking. This farm was way more fun! The boys got to ride in a little wagon and climb ladders to pick the fruit from the top...and of course, we had more caramel apples afterward.

Nolan was at school while we were apple picking, but once we met up, we enjoyed our caramel apples and went to Jakers! We love Jakers! It knocked out a lot of our bucket list - hay rides, corn maze, pumpkins, and so much more. We lucked out tonight & also got to see several emergency vehicles. It was a night to honor our local heroes. Jonas loved climbing in, out & around the fire truck, army jeep, SWAT vehicle, etc.

We ended our day at our ward Chili Cook-off! Now how much more "fall" could we get? Jonas even got to "bob" for apples and eat a donut on a string. It was a busy day but a fun one!

Wednesday (Oct. 9th) was definitely more chill. Today we only packed in one fall activity - WitchFest at Gardner Village. I love this little activity! I love all the creative, silly witches. We had lunch there then grabbed our scavenger hunt papers and searched for all the witches. 

After we found all the witches, we headed back to Krystle's house. I had plenty of errands to run in preparation for the party hitting my house, but Jonas wanted to stay so my parents volunteered to bring him home with them later. He loves hanging out with his cousins! Even though it was cold, they ventured out to show Papa a park that had a Navy field before coming home.

Thursday (10th) was our first really cold day of Fall. The highs were only in the 40s so they Arizona people didn't really want to venture out. Mom and Dad decided to spend the day with Uncle Rick and Aunt Barb. Ryan flew into town that morning. Nichole picked him up then watched the Tanner boys while Krystle went with Camden on his preschool field trip. Nichole then packed up her stuff and came our way for the rest of the week. Her in-laws, Melissa, Torben, and their family were also driving up from AZ for a bit of the Fall fun. That evening, after everyone settled in, we went to Red Barn for some yummy apple cider and apple cider donuts.

Friday (11th) we picked up the pace again. Jonas went to preschool in the morning, but we let Danny skip school. He went with Ryan and Torben (and the rest of the kids) to Phat Axe for axe throwing and a smash room. He had a blast smashing all the bottles and broken electronics!

Later that afternoon, everyone met up again for a Cemetery Scavenger hunt. This may sounds creepy but it was actually pretty fun! I found one online and added a few things to it. Basically, the kids had to look for things like: longest last name, oldest birth date, someone born in a foreign country, etc. We went to Lehi Cemetery. It is a beautiful old cemetery! I even enjoyed helping them out.

Finally, we headed to SLC for Pumpkin Nights. This is a fun event I saw last year but didn't get to go. They transform the State Fair Grounds into a Jack-o-lantern wonderland. They had different themed spaces to walk through along with certain pumpkins we were supposed to search for. It was a very interactive event. I think it may be a repeated activity for next year!

The weekend slowed down again. We had checked off most things on our list. Saturday (12th) we spent the day celebrating Nolan's birthday. We started it off by attending Nolan's first basketball game. It was so cute! He actually did really well. He scored 4 baskets and actually understood the concept of the game. There were other players that didn't really know what they were doing. Haha!

After the game, we kept the basketball theme going with a basketball birthday party! Krystle planned a fun party! She had pin the number on the jersey, hot ball pass (hot potato), a basketball pinata and more! Jonas loved all of it!

By Sunday, Mom and Dad had headed back to AZ and so did Melissa, Torben and their family. Ryan even flew back. It was just Kate and Nichole helping us to finalize our bucket list. Sunday we decided to make pumpkin cookies and jump in piles of leaves! I didn't really jump. I just kind of fell back, but the boys jumped! There were definitely leaves everywhere once we changed into our pajamas that night. To end the day, we set a fire in our fire pit and made S'mores.

Monday (October 14th) Nichole and Kate flew home. Our fall family fun week had come to a close...but not before one last activity! We went to the Scarecrow Festival at Ashton Gardens. I've gone to this for a few years and always enjoy the creativity displayed. The little boys loved running from scarecrow to scarecrow. We enjoyed a picnic in the gardens before finally saying goodbye. We did it! We checked off all the items on our list. The only thing I have left to do on my list is to carve a pumpkin, which we're saving for closer to Halloween. It was an awesome week! I love my family. I love traditions. I love Fall!