Fall at the Andersons

It has been a busy couple of months.  But I really don't want to forget all the fun things we have been doing.  So I'm going to write about them and post a bunch of pictures.  So here goes...

Dallin's soccer team took 2nd place in the Rangers Soccer League.  I was really proud of all his hard work and dedication.  The first two pictures show his team and Dallin holding the team trophy they won. 
Back in the spring we got some chicks from our friend.  The kids each had one that they kind of adopted and felt like it was their own chicken.  Well, we started to notice that one of our chickens seemed to be cock-a-doodle-doing.  At first we weren't really sure, because it didn't sound like a normal rooster crowing.  But after a while it became apparent that one of our chickens was really a rooster.  Our city ordinances prohibit having roosters inside the city limits, so this was a problem for us.  Not to mention all the noise he was making.  I told the kids what I suspected and Shelby said, "I hope it's not Crown! (her special chicken)"  I told her I thought it might be and she got teary eyed and sad.  I told her I would go out the next morning to see which one it was.  Well the next morning I heard the rooster crowing and was about to get out of bed when Shelby appeared by my bed and said, "I couldn't tell which one it was."  She had been looking out the window waiting for the sound.  We went out together and watched them and sure enough, it was her Crown who was the crow.  When we saw it cock-a-doodle-do Shelby burst into tears because she knew that we had to give her chicken, well rooster, away.  She had a rough couple of days but eventually came around to the idea.  We took Crown to a friends farm who has enough land to be able to keep the rooster.  So now we are down to 3 chickens.  We told Shelby we would get her a new baby chick in the spring.  She is really excited about that.

The last couple of pictures are of Shelby playing in her very first piano recital.  She played "Colors of the Wind," from Pocahontas.  She did a really good job and seemed to enjoy it.  She has a lot of confidence and doesn't seem to get nervous when performing or speaking in front of people. 

These group of pictures above are kind of a random assortment of pictures.  I did a fun project with the kids using crayons.  We had a bunch of crayons someone had given us so we glued them to some boards in whatever pattern the kids wanted to do.  Then we took some blow dryers and melted them.  The end result was pretty cool.  The kids each made their own and have them hanging in their rooms now.  It was a fun and easy project to do with them. 

Our chickens have been laying eggs for a couple of months now.  November 9th was the day we got the first egg.  Since that time they have been laying eggs every day.  We usually get either 2 or 3 eggs each day.  Good job chickens!

The last two pictures show Shelby and her entry for the Reflections contest.  The theme for this year was "Diversity means..." I gave her the idea of using our baby pumpkins and gourds to show diversity.  I helped her get the camera ready, but she put together the arrangement and took the picture all by herself while I was making dinner.  Her entry won 1st place in her division for her school.  They called it  an "Award of Excellence" and she got a nice trophy with her name engraved on it and a folder with photography helps.  Her entry will go on to compete in the District level now.  I was super proud of her for following through and completing the entry.  I was going to not do it because I had a lot going on, but she reminded me over and over until we got it finished.  Good job Shelby!

For Fall break this year we did a couple of fun activities.  I have always wanted to ride the ski lifts at Sundance, and we figured the fall was a perfect time to do it because we could enjoy the beautiful changing leaves at the same time.  It was a fun family "mini-vacation".   When we got home Cody said, "Mom, I really liked the sunny dance!  That was a lot of fun."  We also went to Thanksgiving point and dug for fossils at their "Trilobite quarry".  We spent several hours breaking rocks open trying to find some fossils.  We found quite a few of them and had a fun time doing it.  I only included one picture of them, but we probably found 30 or so.

These pictures are a bunch I took throughout the fall.  Cody and Darcy were my good helpers when it was harvest time.  They worked really well together and had a fun time doing it.  Of course, raking leaves is a favorite for the kids.  But the best part is jumping in the piles afterwards.  And we did our annual pumpkin sale on the corner.  All the kids came out and helped.  They sold a lot of the baby pumpkins and gourds that we grew in our garden.  They love doing it, which is one of the main reasons I plant the baby pumpkins each year. 

Halloween was super fun this year.  My mom sewed a beautiful Rapunzel dress for Darcy, which gave me the idea to be "Mother Gothel".   So I made a costume for myself.  Shelby was the Queen Mother from Rapunzel.  Cody was batman and Dallin was a cowboy.  We had a fun party at Papa and Gram's house and had fun trick or treating.  The weather was really mild for the first time in several years, so it was enjoyable to walk around the neighborhood.

November is birthday month at our house.  We started off with Cody's fifth birthday on November 6th.  He had a fun birthday party with his friends from Church.  He wanted a treasure hunt and pinata.  So that's what we did and he loved it!

Shelby's birthday was on November 17th and she turned 8 years old.   Since she loves crafting, we did a craft birthday party.  She invited several friends from school and we painted snowmen and did other little crafts.  It was a great party for her and her friends.  They really had fun making the crafts.

Dallin turned 10 on November 27th.  Once our kids get baptized we stop having friend parties and do something fun as a family instead.  So for Dallin's birthday he wanted to go to Jump-on-it.  Both Cody and Dallin wanted Peanut Butter Oreo Ice Cream cakes, that is their new favorite.  The peanut butter takes it to a whole new level of enjoyment...yum...

 On December 3rd, Shelby was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It was such a special day.  She is a beautiful girl with such a sweet spirit.  She has a tender heart and seems to be able to feel the spirit.  She asked me to give a talk on Baptism and Papa Anderson to give a talk on the Holy Ghost.  She and her cousins sang a special musical number "When I am Baptized", which was beautiful.  James baptised and confirmed her and did a great job on both of them.   As I was giving the talk, I felt impressed by how much Heavenly Father loves her and how proud of her He is.  It was a special experience!  We invited everyone over to our house afterwards for food and visiting.  What a great day it was!

One of my favorite family traditions is making Gingerbread houses.  My mom is AMAZING!  She makes a house for every one of her grandchildren every year.  It is a lot of work!  The kids love making their houses and it is fun to see their creations.  I need to go over and take some pictures of the completed houses and village, but we are still waiting on some other cousins to get here and decorate their houses.  Thanks Mom for all your hard work and for carrying on this great tradition!