Fall Break FUN!

Derek took work off for one of the days of Fall break and we headed up to Salt Lake to hang out as a family.  It was very much needed and the kids just ate it all up!  First stop was the big sports store Scheels.  We went there because we knew there was a ferris wheel inside and Erik LOVES ferris wheels! I don't think he ever stopped smiling!  Zak was pretty excited too!  Before he got to go on, Bria and I went and every time we came around, Zak screamed.  He either really wanted me or he wanted to get on the ride!

 There was a really fun screen that you could play sports on.  The kids really liked that!  I think Derek liked it even more though:)

 Love this picture.

 We then went to Temple Square to walk around.  The mirror pond is always a big hit.

 We also went to City Creek and walked around.  The fountains were so much fun to watch!

 Then Bria and Derek went to see a 3D movie in the Planetarium while me and the boys explored.  We had so much fun and I think the boys liked it so much that when they share a room in the future, we will deck it out in space stuff!  Zak just ran from one thing to the next yelling gibberish and Erik was mesmerized!

Boy on the moon!

I had the best time spending the entire day with my family.  Being with my husband and children make me more happy than anything in this world and I couldn't be more blessed!

The Zoo

Grandma's Halloween Party

This year was our first year not going to Grandma Jenson's house for a Halloween party, but luckily she just came to ours!  My mom threw her own and we had so much fun!  The cousins had so much fun playing together and they all looked so cute (and scary) in their costumes:)  Zak didn't last more than this picture, but I don't blame him!  It was kind of hot!

 Grandma had a really fun fish pond and the kids just kept on catching more and more prizes!

 Zak was kind of a stinker and kept throwing his prizes on the floor.  Sorry Mom!

My mom also made yummy caramel apples, but she really regretted it!  There was sticky caramel everywhere by the time everyone left.  We tried to get it all, but she will probably be stepping on sticky spots for a few days:)

 Later, my dad broke out the 3D glasses and we watched some movie previews in 3D!  We were deciding which movie we would watch the next time we came to visit.  The kids had a really hard time giving up their glasses!  I thought this was way too cute of my mom and Bria.

Erik update

Erik keeps us laughing ALL the time!  He says so many funny things in a day that we can't even keep track anymore!  He is definitely our comedian! Erik is so tender hearted and so sweet.  Erik has made some big strides this year and we are so proud of him!  

Erik has been struggling with change and it has really been hard on him.  We have been really worried about him, but we are seeing that he is coming out of his shell and we are so happy for him!  Last Sunday was the Primary Program and we were bribing him to just go sit up on the stand.  If he did just that, he would get what he wanted so badly: A jack-in-the-box.  Funny, I know, but for some reason he really wanted one.  We were just hoping and praying that he would just go sit up on the stand and we were not even expecting him to say his part, but he did a lot more than we ever imagined he would!  First of all, he walked right up there without a worry in the world!  I was so happy at that point: Mission accomplished, but we didn't realize he was going to keep surprising us.  During the songs, he stood up straight with a smile on his face and sang EVERY word of every song!  Derek and I just couldn't believe it and then his class went up to say their parts and he stood in line with so much confidence.  Derek and I just sat there with tears filling up our eyes as Erik got up and yelled his part into the microphone.  It was an incredible moment!  We were so proud and so happy for Erik's big breakthrough!  

Erik's interest in music is growing more and more each day.  He will go sit on the piano and play as if he knows what he is doing.  He has been able to pick out Mary had a Little lamb and whenever Bria practices, he hovers over her to watch everything she does!  Erik's ability to feel music is quite remarkable.  Watching him dance is always a treat!  It is almost as if he feels the music so powerfully that he just doesn't even know what to do with himself!  His face expresses it best though.  I love watching him dance especially when he breaks out moves that look as though he has been trained!

Erik has been such a blessing in our home.  I constantly want to just squeeze him and cuddle with him!  He is so giggly and so funny.  He constantly is saying outrageous things that make us laugh so hard!  We don't know what we do without our Erik!  We love him so much!

Update on Bria

Oh there is way too much to say about our Bria!  She has grown up these last several months and we cannot believe how much she has learned and grown.  Bria is in First grade and loving it!  Her favorite things to do are writing, reading, drawing and of course playing with friends.  It has been so fun watching her progress in school.  Bria loves to go above and beyond in everything she does.  She loves to be ahead and is extremely competitive.

Bria really wanted to try dance again and so we put her in ballet and we are wondering if she is in the right place.  A couple weeks ago, Derek went to pick her up.  He watched the last 10 minutes and said that two girls were supposed to skip together at a time across the room.  Bria got excited thinking it was a race, and bolted across the room leaving the other girl in the dust!  I think track might be her sport:)  But she keeps telling me ballet is where she wants to be.  If anything it will train her to be coordinated for sports.  Bria is so athletic and coordinated that she will be good at anything she tries.  She has been teaching herself to dribble a basketball and has even gotten down running while dribbling and can almost do a layup!  She is also very fast.  She tells me she is the fastest runner in her class and I believe her!  I can never catch her when she is running from me!

Bria has been really keeping me on my toes with her questions.  Almost every night, she wants to talk about the Gospel and always has questions that stump me!  Bria is already has such a strong testimony and is such a good example to me.  Last Sunday was our primary program and she had such a difficult part, but was able to memorize it so easily and got up there with so much confidence, and said her part perfectly!  Everyone laughed because it was so difficult!  She has so much passion for the Gospel and I am so proud of her.

Bria is really funny and is always teasing.  She does get in trouble for it though because sometimes she is disruptive and sometimes I ask her to just calm down a bit and she says, "I just want to have fun."  She makes sure there is fun at ALL times!

Bria is so much fun and always has so much energy that we at times don't know how to contain her!  But I am so glad because she knows how to make everyone feel included and loved.  Bria is our little starburst and we just love her so much!

Conference Weekend

Conference weekend was absolutely wonderful!  Conference is one of my favorite things because we get a whole weekend to be together as a family and we get to stay in our pajamas on Sunday!  That was Erik's favorite part!  Bria was so into Conference, she even took notes!  I couldn't believe it.  She sat there, for three talks writing down as much as she could and we were so impressed!  That kid is going to be the next General Relief Society President one day!  She is just a straight arrow and wants to always do what is right.  Very sweet.  

Zak loved playing a fun game he made up and Grandpa was willing to play along!  They would put stickers on each others' noses and just laugh and laugh!  It was a very sweet moment!

Of course Derek loves to go all out cooking and we had the best food!  He made cinnamon knots and apple pie.  Zak just loves looking in the oven to watch the cinnamon knots bake.  

Of course the most exciting part of the whole weekend was the announcement of the missionaries being able to leave at the age of 18 and the sisters at the age of 19.  There was so much excitement feeling the room and even tears.  It was just amazing to hear the prophet tell us such wonderful news!  I just couldn't imagine the excitement in other homes of Seniors in high school with that news!  

Grandmas are so much fun:)

Grandma Carolyn always knows how to make the kids happy!  She whipped out her cotton candy machine and created lots of giggles and jumping up and down!  

 After our heavenly treat, we went to watch the fountains in Farmington.  The kids loved it!  Zak kept trying to jump in!