Primary Program

On Sunday (10.26), we had our primary program. I don't know about you guys, but I just love this sacrament meeting so much. Seeing the kids up on the stand and hearing their sweet voices just really brings the spirit to the meeting. And it always is a great testimony builder for me. I just love it! We actually had some family come into town for the program. Sharon and my mom came in on Saturday. Sharon was only able to stay with us for a few days. And my mom is staying for a couple of weeks. Afton was so excited to have both her grandma's come to see her in the primary program. Dax and Afton were so excited to see their grandma's and I'm so glad that they were both able to make it for the program. Afton did such an awesome job. This year, the kids actually came up with their own part. The primary presidency went to each class and asked them a question and what they answered were their parts for the program. I think Afton's question was, "Why does Jesus love you?" And her answer was, "Jesus loves me because he is our Savior." And that was her part in the program. I thought that was a really neat idea for their parts. And Afton did great. Not only did she do great with her part, but she knew every song and you could definitely hear her. She really knew like every word to every song. She just loves singing so much and I guess takes it seriously. I was lucky enough to have a small part in the program as well. It was me and two other moms and then our daughters and we sang "A Child's Prayer." I'm not big on singing or getting up in front of other people and singing, but I know that Afton really enjoys it so I couldn't pass on this opportunity. Even though I really didn't want to. But I'm so glad that I did. The number went great and it was lots of fun to have that bonding experience with Afton. Not to mention, another testimony builder. Don't you love when you can totally feel the spirit? Anyway, the primary program was awesome and I'm really glad that Afton's grandma's were able to be there. She also invited her school teacher and she came with her husband. So that was pretty special for Afton.

I decided to snap a few pictures of the kids with their grandma Sharon before she left. Thanks so much for coming to visit us and see Afton in the primary program. We love you!

Pumpkin Patch again

Last Friday(10/24), we headed to a another pumpkin patch with some friends. We actually got to go into the pumpkin fields and pick the pumpkins. Jason works with some of the growers and he got permission for us to pick some pumpkins. We've been doing this the last few years and the kids love it. They love running through the fields and picking our their "special" pumpkin. And we got a lot of special pumpkins. I had to grab a few for our ward halloween party. I think we came home with like 50 pumpkins. We met our friends, The Thompson's, at the pumpkin fields, picked some pumpkins and then headed over to the corn maze. Jason did the pumpkin blaster with the kids and then we went on the scarecrow train ride. I guess they had kids from the area make scarecrows and we were suppose to pick our favorite. It was a fun night and the kids had fun hanging out with their friends and picking pumpkins. I think Logan enjoyed throwing the pumpkins the most. Dax found him a baby pumpkin and I guess he thought it was a ball.

Dax and Afton trying out the pumpkin blaster.

Having lots of fun with their friends.

Getting ready for the scarecrow ride.

Happy Birthday Dad

I'm such a bad daughter. I've been busy playing catch-up on my blog, I forgot to post about my dad's birthday. I guess he probably won't care too much since he very rarely checks out our blog. But I'll still make a birthday shout out for my dad. His birthday was last Friday, October 24th. Afton and Dax called him in the morning and sang "happy birthday" to him and talked to him for a little while on the phone. They love talking to their Grandpa Rick on the phone. Happy Birthday Dad! We hope that you had a great day and we wish we could've been there for your birthday bash. Thanks for being such a great dad and an awesome grandpa. We love you!

Welcome Home Elder Daley

Last Thursday (10/23), Jason's cousin, Jared, returned home from his mission. He served in the Kennewick, Washington Spanish speaking mission. When he left Afton was 3 1/2, Dax was almost 2 and Logan wasn't quite here. We added 4 new kids to the bunch since he's been gone. Afton and Dax were so excited to see him. We weren't able to go to the airport, the kids had school that day, so we went to Adam's soccer game and then to the Daley's house later that day. When Afton and Dax saw Jared they ran to him and gave him a big hug. It was really sweet! We're so grateful to have him back at home safe and sound.

teachers

The other day, I caught Afton and Dax teaching their Noah Ark animals songs from Afton's kindergarten class. It was the cutest thing and they were so mad at me when I snuck in on them and snapped a few pictures. I think they were a little embarrassed. Afton was teaching them some of her Alpha-friend songs and Dax joined in with her. He actually knows some of Afton's school songs because she's constantly singing them. So, lucky for me, I know them as well. I think it's great that Afton has so much fun teaching all that she learns to her brother or her animals. It helps reinforce the many different things she is learning. And it helps Dax learn a lot too. Right now, Afton's been helping Dax recognize his letters.

We stopped at the park the other day. They kids had fun playing on the playground with their new friend Curtis. He was just there hanging out by himself and was helping the kids on the swings. Afton is a pro on the swings now. I guess she loves playing on them at recess time and she can get started by herself and stop by herself.

Dax trying to climb higher than he's suppose to.

Surprise from Ecuador

Jason called me on his way home from Ecuador and told me that he had a surprise for me. He said that it's what Ecuador is famous for and asked me to guess what it was. Of course I had no idea. I didn't know what Ecuador was famous for. Am I just dumb or does anyone else know that? Anyway, he wouldn't tell me until he got home and when he did get home it was quite the surprise. He brought home 28 dozen roses! So that's what Ecuador is famous for if you didn't know. I guess they have the perfect climate for growing roses. So the client he went to visit sent Jason home with 2 huge boxes of roses. At first we thought it was only 14 dozen but realized that once you opened the packages completely there were another dozen underneath the first dozen. He flew home with 336 roses! I couldn't believe it and they got here in great condition. They are so beautiful! I'm really not a flower kind of girl. I enjoy them every now and then, but this surprise was awesome. Thanks Paulo for the beautiful roses. And thanks Jason for bringing home a great surprise. When we were opening up the boxes I was wondering to myself what am I going to do with all of these roses. But don't worry we found many great homes for them. I think I ended up keeping 5 dozen and the other 23 dozen we gave to some friends and family. Afton wanted to give some to her Kindergarten teacher and her dance teacher. Jason took some to church and had the young men give each of the young women a rose. Isn't he such a great young men's president? So we were able to place them all in good homes:) And of course I had to take pictures. They are just so beautiful I couldn't resist.

These are the boxes that they were shipped in.

My beautiful bouquet of 2 dozen red roses! I could barely get them all to fit in this vase.

Some lovely pink and yellow ones. He brought home red, yellow and pink. Well, we think they're yellow. At first we thought they were yellow and then we thought they were white and now I still think they're yellow. A very light yellow.

I had fun experimenting with my camera in these up-close pictures. I love the pink one!

We have so many beautiful vases of roses around our home and they smell really good too. The kids love all of the pretty flowers. I'll be very sad when they start dying.

Last Week

A Baptism

Our friends in the ward baptized their son a week ago. His name is Billy and the kids just love him. He's always playing with them and chasing them around. So they were really excited to get to go to his baptism. Afton and Dax and I sat on the front row because the room was crowded and those were the only seats open. Jason had Logan duty which meant chasing him around the church. It turned out to be a good place to sit. The kids could see the baptism really well and they showed a short slide show of Billy. They had church music playing along with the video and when the song "I am a Child of God" started playing Dax burst out his musical talent for all to hear. He was singing it so loud. It was pretty funny! That kid loves to sing. He especially enjoys making up his own songs. As I am typing this he's singing, "Halloween is here. Halloween is here. Halloween is coming, duh ta duh ta duh." He was singing it to the tune of "Farmer in the Dell." I guess he's pretty excited for Halloween!

Having fun afterwards in the cultural hall.

Logan and Billy

She's trying!

We've been trying to work with Afton on learning how to ride her bike. We've had the training wheels off for quite a while now, but still no luck. We were outside the other day and I caught her trying to do it herself. So at least she is trying! I think she gets frustrated when Jason or I are trying to help her so I guess she's taking it on herself. Good Luck girl! By the way, any tips on helping her ride her bike please pass them this way.

A climber

Logan has recently started to climb on everything. He loves this stool in our living room and pulls everything off of it and starts climbing. Oh and by the way, he's cutting like 5 teeth right now and 4 of them are molars. It had been awhile since his last tooth and now they're all coming at once.

Boo Plates!

Our friends, the Fallentine's, invited the kids and I over for Family Home Evening last Monday while Jason was in Ecuador (those pics soon to come). They have a tradition each year at Halloween time to deliver plates of goodies to friends. They leave the treats with a "Boo" note telling them to pass this along to others, and ring the doorbell and run. The kids were really excited to go "doorbell ditching." We had dinner and then decorated cupcakes and then delivered the treats. We would give the kids a head start before we rang the doorbell and then we'd run for the getaway vehicle. Afton and Dax thought it was the greatest thing in the world. They loved it!

Friends

Afton went to morning Kindergarten last Wednesday so after she got home I told her and Dax they'd could invite a friend over. They invited their friends Rylan and Avery. They had a great time with them. Rylan brought over his book about Bald Eagles and was telling Afton all about them. It was so cute! They played dress up, pretended to be dogs and drove the jeep around in the backyard. They had tons of fun! Dax and Avery are so cute together. I know I've posted stuff about them before, but they just love each other so much. When they see each other at church their eyes light up and they just can't contain their excitement. Daxon always asks if he can walk Avery to nursery. And they take off down the hallway holding hands.

They were playing upstairs and Dax got stuck behind the couch. I guess he slid behind there to hide from Rylan and then he couldn't get out. It was pretty hilarious! So Avery tried to help him out and then I had to come to the rescue.

Playing on the Jeep

Being goofballs.

Avery and Dax

Dinner for the Priests

I don't know if I've blogged about this or not, but I thought I should since it's something that I've been doing for the past three years. Every third Sunday the youth in our ward have a Bishop's youth discussion. Before Jason was the Young Men's president the previous leaders started the tradition of having dinner with the priests before the discussion. They would alternate between one another's homes. So that tradition has continued and every three months I "get" to make dinner for 20 young men. Well not quite 20. I think there's about 15 in his quorum, but usually only ten show up for dinner. Plus the other leader and his family and the Bishop and his family. Last night was our turn. Just in time for Jason to be back from his trip to Ecuador. So I made Taco soup, rolls and salad. Something simple and easy. And it all turned out ok. I get a little stressed the night before, but it always turns out fine. I think I'm afraid I might run out of food. Man, 16- and 17-year old boys sure can eat. I think there were like three boys who had 4 servings each. And I still have leftovers. So I made way too much food, but better too much then not enough. Afton and Dax always enjoy having the boys over. They get way too hyper though. I think this is a great tradition for these young men. They seem to really enjoy it and it gives Jason more opportunity to bond with them. (Sorry no pictures. I forgot to take some)

Shape Monsters and Dodgeball

The other day I taught an art lesson in Afton's class. It was their shape lesson and we made shape monsters. They had to tear pieces of paper and make a monster with those torn pieces. It was lots of fun and the kids made the cutest monsters. Afton made a one-eyed blue monster. She said she was trying to make it like Mike on "Monster's Inc." Afterwards, her class went outside to play dodgeball with the other kindergarten class. So I stayed to watch and snap a few pictures. Her teacher encouraged us to stay because she said it's hilarious to watch them play for the first time. And it was. Afton loved it and her favorite part was being in the middle.