Smile, everyone!

Last night, for FHE, we went down to Giant Springs State Park to try and get a family photo. This was our favorite. We got a bit of a late start and quickly ran out of daylight. We'd like to try again and capture more of the fall colors. If that doesn't happen this just might be our Christmas photo. :)

Progress

Sorry it's sideways again. I don't know why I did that. Anyways, I thought I saw her do this once before so I grabbed the camera, stood her up at the coffee table, and put some Cheerios on the couch. Sure enough, she let go and took a couple of steps! Way to go, Jenna!

A VERY special gift!

This is one of the BEST gifts I've ever received. My mom made me this special Halloween quilt and it arrived just today, on my birthday. Halloween is my favorite holiday, probably because I am an October baby and love anything "Fall" related. My mom, as cute as she is, CANNOT keep a secret and told me about the quilt weeks ago. I've been anxiously waiting since then. The quilt is wonderful, to say the least! The boys love it, too. I can't wait to take a nap with it tomorrow after church. That's if I can get Dustin to keep everyone quiet and happy! Anyways, thanks a million, Mom- I LOVE IT!!!!!!!

Our Autumn Hayride

The Gang

Mommy & Jenna

Henry throwing Hay at Dad, of course!

Roasting Hotdogs over the campfire.

(We got to make s'mores, too!)

Happy 30th Birthday to ME! Yep, 30! I can hardly believe it myself. For my birthday we went on a hayride into the Little Belt Mountains, about an hour from town, and had a campfire dinner at Logging Creek Campground. It was a trip put on by Outdoor Rec. on Base. We couldn't have asked for a better autumn day. The air was perfectly crisp and clear and the sun was shining on the beautiful changing leaves. It was nice to enjoy being outside for a little bit. After the hayride we roasted hotdogs and made grilled cheese sandwiches over the fire. We drank hot chocolate, which Jenna LOVES, and made s'mores. YUM, YUM! After dinner we enjoyed exploring the nearby Logging Creek and the rest of the campground. Once we got home we had cake and opened presents. This year the boys chose their own presents for me and they did a pretty good job. They both chose a new necklace and Jeff got me hand lotion and Henry chose bubble bath. They were so excited to see my open them. It was a nice day. Let's hope I'm able to fill up the next 30 years with just as many wonderful things as I have these first 30!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Today was the Canadian Thanksgiving and since one of our Elders, the one seated closest to the camera, is Canadian and since Dustin will be working a 12 hour shift on our Thanksgiving we celebrated today. Elder Melnyk is from Alberta and Elder Mulliner is from Utah. I cooked and cooked and cooked all day long today. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, greenbean casserole, Doug's delight (Jell-o salad), homemade rolls, corn on the cob, and homemade apple and pumpkin pies. Since we were in SLC yesterday I had to get it all done today. It worked out just right. We planned a turkey game to play before dinner and we made clucking turkeys out of plastic cups and learned a song for FHE. You can see one of the turkeys in the picture. I think it was a success. The boys took leftovers home and that's always a good sign. So Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Be sure to take some time to reflect on what you're thankful for- it can make any day better!

Jeff's Off To Play Group

Here is Jeff this morning, all ready for his new Preschool Play Group. A group of us are rotating hosting a play group in our homes. There are 5 boys. He was so excited to get his backpack ready with crayons, scissors, and a show-and-share item (a blue police car). Today is was at Ryan's house and they made mini pumpkin monsters with wiggly eyes and feet. He had a great time and came home talking all about his new friends. This is going to be really great for Jeff and it was nice putting Jenna down while he was gone and having a little while to get some things done.

The Future Musicians of the World!

This spectacular video was taken last Monday for FHE. I was so busy last week getting ready for our trip to Salt Lake City that I didn't get it uploaded until this morning. They LOVED getting the instruments out. I keep them put up and only bring them out every once in a while. I think they sound pretty good. :)

So, we spent the weekend in SLC. The weather held out- YEAH! We had to drive through the blowing mountain snow but nothing was sticking to the roads. Butte had snow on the ground as well. I felt bad for them. Snow just isn't my thing and I am soooooooooooooo grateful that Great Falls is actually getting an Autumn this year. My birthday is Saturday and there isn't any snow in forecast. I think that's the best gift of all. Getting back to SLC...Dustin and I had tickets to attend our church's General Conference. I've been watching conference via satellite my entire life and FINALLY I got to see it live. It was well worth it! There was such a special spirit there and to be near President Hinckley, a prophet of God, was amazing. We also got to see Grandma Pamela, Aunt Linda, Aunt Rosalie, Cousins Shannon, Pamela, Ben, Jonathan, and Mandy. We all went to the children's museum and even got to ride the TRAX train to get there. We all had a great time.