Family Dinner, Halloween Party

This is the oh 8th year I believe that we've done a halloween party. Most years it consists of just our family or our family and some close friends. This year it was just our immediate family and we had a fun time. We were sad that mom couldn't make it, long story short, bartender called in sick, no one to replace. Dad came because we were celebrating his birthday! The kids played a game as soon as everyone got there. They get a paper put on their backs stating a halloween reference. They have to guess who they are by asking yes or no questions and then they get a prize. I think I made them tooo easy this year. Greg and Melinda made Kaluah pork for dinner and it was delicious!! We had Pumpkin pie for dessert! Dad opened his gifts which consisted on cologne and cologne and cologne...lol!! I was going to get him cologne but opted out and got him a gift certificate to applebees, which he and mom frequent often. We played the Mother Hen game, it's a given every year. This year team 2 won by a fair amount!! Everyone had a good time and of course we couldn't end the evening without our annual trick-or-treating around the house. The kids ended up with an awesome amount of candy. Mom and Dad always bring the most and the kids all flock around them to get every last bit of candy!! It was a fun year!! Thanks everyone for making it a great yearly experience!!

Stealin Christmas!

Spencer found a little Christmas stash and emerged wearing these!!! His pajamas for Christmas eve...guess I'l have to find another pair of pajamas to fill in!!! He thought he was the coolest thing ever!!

We had a great time at the zoo!!! It was a beautiful day to go. We packed lunch and ate it in the car on the way out. A lot of the animals weren't in their pens, but we had fun nonetheless. It was the first time we've gone to the zoo as a whole family in years!! The new lion exhibit was cool! The kids spent the most time there! After the zoo we took the kids to see their new cousin and then went and enjoyed a delicious dinner at Chili's!!! Spencer is at the perfect age where all the animals he just loved and couldn't stop talking about them!!

Struggles

For the last couple of years our family has struggled. Struggled with finances, struggled with life, struggled with daily activities. Our most recent struggle has been with our feelings regarding church attendance . We have struggled with getting up, getting out the door, and actually staying there when we did make it. We would go for a few weeks, take 2 or 3 weeks off, go for a week or two, then not go. After a lot of talk we've decided that for our family right now, we are not going to be attending church. I know this is probably going to come as a shock to most of you. Believe me, it is kind of shocking to us too. We never thought that we would be in this situation, but here we are. It isn't just one thing that has effected our decision to not go. We haven't been offended by anyone, we have a great ward! At this time we just feel it's the right move for our family. It feels like a big weight was lifted off our shoulders once we decided to do what WE needed to do. Please do not take offense to our decision. We still like everyone in the ward, and have told the kids that they are more than welcome to go to their activities and even go to church if they would like. So far, I don't think they are interested. It is going to be a change in our family and for right now it feels like a better one! This may be a permanent change and it may not, we'll just see how it plays out! We love each and every one of you that is a part of our family. We love our families and understand that for most of them this is going to be something that is difficult for them to understand! Please just don't harp on us and look down on us! It's what we've decided and it isn't just some rash decision that we've made. We've talked and talked and feel that this is what we need to do at this time in our lives. Thanks and know that we love you all!!