Thanksgiving in South Dakota !

We all drove to South Dakota for Thanksgiving weekend and had the greatest time ! We drove in one car with Ryan & Jaimee and their kids (cozy!) and Erika and Mark drove down from Nauvoo. This is the first time all our kids have been in one place for over TWO years !! We missed Todd, who is deployed to Afghanistan, and our baby Easton. Above L to R: Ryan, Jaimee, Asher, Jack, and Jenni
We had fun just hangin' out, playing games, swimming, made a fun advent calendar craft, midnight black friday shopping with the girls, visiting Mt. Rushmore, and eating leftovers. Above L to R: Erika, Mark, Cameron, Dave, and Gay
The kids had a blast being all together for the first time ever ! Above L to R: Carter, Chase, Emelyne, Kayla, and Rylee

Veterans Day - We salute our troops!

This picture is of Todd & the guys on his deployment to Afghanistan currently. We are so proud of Todd and Jen and their little family and the sacrifice they are making to protect our country. Thanks to all our Veterans for their sacrifices that make it so that we can live free and feel safe every day !
This picture is from Todd's previous deployment to Iraq in 2010.

World War 1 Monument Rededication @ Ogden Cemetary

Dave and I are honored to serve on the Weber County Heritage Foundation Board which sponsored this event. We really do LoVe Ogden !

"Gold Star Drive Ogden City Cemetary (follow Maddison Ave. into the cemetary)
For ninety years the monument fell into gradual disrepair. Cannons disappeared, concrete monoliths decayed over time, and the individual plaques in front of the trees were damaged or missing entirely due to run-ins with lawnmowers and snowplows . . . In early 2011, The Weber County Heritage Foundation and Golden Hours Senior Center Veteran's Group began the research to restore the monuments . . . Today we honor the sacrifice of these Veterans as well as the sacrifice of all of those who serve our nation. We have not forgotten. We will never forget."

Halloween here and in South Dakota !

We enjoyed celebrating Halloween with Ryan & Jaimee a little early with a Pumpkin carving party ! We are so glad they live so close to us !!! Carter was a Vampire (wearing the cape I made for Ryan when he was little) and Rylee was a Princess Dancer, and Asher was a cute little Pumpkin ! (See their blog ryanjaimeelloyd.blogspot.com for a fun contest of "who's who" with all their little pumpkin babies !)
Then we headed to South Dakota in our motor home to be with Jen and her kids for Halloween. We had a fun time "Trunk or Treating" with Kayla, the Princess, Jack the Dragon, and Chase the Knight ! We were also able to go to Chase's school for the "Pumpkin Run" ! (They take all the kids in their costumes out onto a big grassy area and they follow the PE teacher, dressed as a Pumpkin, of course, on a "run" ! Super fun, great idea ! Then they served them all oranges when they were done !
Another highlight of the trip was the amazing fact that we got my parents to go with us ! This is a picture of them at Mt Rushmore ! We think they had a great time, despite the fact that we had to drive home in a very bad snow storm ! They loved seeing Jen and the kids and their new home and spending time with them !