Christmas Piano Recital

Jerrod, Allison and Emma had their Christmas Piano recital. All the kids got to come in their pjs and we had donuts and hot chocolate for a treat. They all did a great job. Jerrod played Old King Wenseslas, Allison played What Child Is This? and Emma played the 12 days of Christmas.

Ava Loses her First Tooth

Ava lost her first tooth. It got so wiggly that she finally let Derek pull it out. I have to admit I got a little teary eyed when she told me she had a loose tooth. It just means she is growing up!!

Finals Week

I made it through my last semester of nursing school. It has been the funnest, hardest and most rewarding thing I have done for myself. I couldn't have done it without lots of support. This picture was taken on the morning of our last final. These girls are only some of the hopefully lifelong friends I have made along the way and thankfully we all made it through!

Liz B., Kristin, Kyla and Jen.

Thanksgiving

This year we had a great Thanksgiving. Claudia and Ira were in town so we had them over. We played a game where we went through the alphabet and had to say something we are thankful for for all the different letters. We are so grateful to have made such great friends that have been our family for the past 3 and a half years. I am so sad to think that life will take us in all different directions in the next 6 months.

Watch Dogs

The girls' elementary school started a new program this year in an attempt to get dads more involved. It is called watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students). Derek had the month of November off so he signed up to help out one day. He got to help in all 3 classes and have lunch with all 3 girls. He even got to sing a solo in music class!

Caramel Apples with the Ewells

Since Halloween fell on a Sunday and since the kids had scored enough candy at the trunk or treat, we decided to not go trick or treating. We met up at the Ewell's house to make Caramel Apples. They tasted pretty good!!

Amy decided to take advantage of Jerrod's bald head and made him into a pumpkin.

Shark Reef

Derek took Ava to the Shark Reef the day before Halloween. They have free admission for kids in costume. The girls were all going to go but the older girls were having a little trouble getting along. Ava rubbed it in all day that she got to go by herself.



They had coloring pages and a shadow puppet show for the kids after they went through the reef.




Since we never got pumpkins carved I found a small craft pumpkin at Michaels for Ava to carve last minute.

Trunk or Treat

Our ward had a trunk or treat this year again. Ava went as a Barbie Mermaid, Emma was a Hippie, Allison was Little Red Riding Hood and Jerrod made quite the commitment for his costume as an old man.




He was a really good sport and let Derek shave his head. The next day we shaved it all off for church and there was a little boy in sacrament meeting who said "Mom, look, Jerrod is bald!!"

The Thomson Family's caterpillar ride is always a huge hit with the kids.

Halloween Parade

The kids had a Costume parade at the school. It was a lot of fun to see everyone dressed up. I could not get Ava to smile at me once. This was the best face I got. One where she stuck her tongue out at me.

Ava's Kindergarten Class

Harvest Festival

Schorr Elementary had their annual harvest festival. I was so excited that Derek was able to go with us for the first time since we have moved here. We had yummy BBQ sandwiches, caramel apples and the kids played lots of games. I got a few pics before my camera died.

He's Home!!!

Derek finally got home from Michigan!! He surprised us and left a couple of days sooner than expected. I decided I wouldn't tell the kids. Our rental is for sale which has been hard. We have had to get ready for the house to be shown at short notice. I decided to tell them that someone needed to come see the house. They were so mad since it was a Sunday. When Derek got here he rang the doorbell and Ava answered the door. She just looked at him and said "Dad!". Then she just started giggling and tears started rolling down her cheeks. She said, "my eyes are watering". We all shed some tears. We missed him so much!! I think he was a little overwhelmed by all the attention. First thing they wanted to do was show him the new trampoline!!

All Hail The Chief!

Allison decided to run for Student Body President and won! She was so excited and I was really proud of her for having the courage to give speeches in front of the school.

Springs Preserve

The Springs Preserve had free admission so my friend Kiley and I decided to take the kids for a fun day. It was so HOT! We didn't get to see most of it because we didn't want to be outside. The exhibits were fun. We got to watch a movie on how the Las Vegas Valley was formed, learn about animals indigenous to our valley and learn about flash floods.

September 11

To honor our veterans, our ward put together a service project on September 11th. We met at 5:30 AM to help clean the grounds around the veteran's cemetery in Boulder City before all the visitors came. We raked up pine needles and picked up countless pinecones. I was so proud of how hard the kids worked!