Christmas activities

It has been so much fun to participate in all of the fun activities this year. We have a great neighborhood and we've been able to make some great memories.

Carson's kindergarten class got together with a 4th grade buddy and made gingerbread houses at the school. He had a great time and it was so cute to watch.

Wearing his "gingerbread man" hat


Working with his buddy


The final product

Carson and his cute teacher (whom he adores)

On Saturday we waited at the bus stop for Santa to drop by. Our volunteer fire department offers to help Santa make stops in the township so his reindeer don't have to work so hard. Nice huh? So they came by with Santa perched up on top and the firemen gave the boys each a big lolly pop from Santa. It was great! Then our friends Becky and Coleman invited us to lunch at the mall where we had a great visit. The boys rode on the cute little train inside the mall and had a fun time.

The gang

Here they come!

There's Santa up on top (I bet he was frozen)!

The boys have been begging to make the annual cookie trains, so tonight we went for it. Carson put the trains together while Connor filled them with candy. Tomorrow we will deliver them so hopefully they can last through the night without little fingers attacking them! :)

SNOW (again)!

I know, all of you snow veterans are probably laughing your heads off at us, but I just can't help but take a million pictures each time it snows. It is so beautiful!
This time it actually snowed enough to delay school, so we decided to bundle up and go play. The boys got out the sled (provided by great neighbors) and had a blast down our little hill. Carson had fun with the snowball maker and then started an igloo with the snow bricker. Then they even built a tiny little snowman before we headed in. Connor was "hundry" so we called it a morning and after 10 minutes of undressing all the winter stuff, we had lunch. Fun times!

So beautiful!


Look out, Connor!


"I can't put my arms down!"



Cute little guy

I'm Thankful for...

Thanksgiving: a great reminder to take time and be grateful! We have so much to be thankful for in our family. We have a healthy, happy, beautiful family. We live in a fabulous place with wonderful friends as neighbors. We have the best families and in-laws (both of us) :0) We have the knowledge of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have food to eat and a warm bed (I'm much more grateful for that now then I ever have been). We have the blessing of an education. We have cars to drive and places to go in them. We have family less than 5 hours away in three directions. Carson is grateful that "we have snow!" Connor is grateful for a "snack." We have so much. In addition, we have all of you who are reading this. Thank you for blessing our lives! Happy Thanksgiving!

The Family and the Feast


The snowball fight (can you see the tiny snowball about to hit Kevin's back?)


Our fantastic neighborhood friends gave us this sled full of winter goodies including a snowball maker, a snow block maker (for the igloos the boys will live in if they are naughty), snowman mugs, hot chocolate and marshmallows, etc. All the good stuff we will need for a cozy winter!


Carson was a Native American for his Kindergarten's First Thanksgiving feast. They did a little presentation and then sat down to a great dinner!

Halloween and SNOW!

I forgot to upload pictures from Halloween so here are my cute little guys. We went to Heather's again for her annual Halloween party and we had a great time. Then we all went trick-or-treating and the boys loaded up on candy. Carson even had Heather hold his candy in his costume (which he ditched after 5 minutes) so he could refill at the last few stops! Even Connor held out like a trooper through each house (it was free candy, afterall).

We woke up yesterday to go to church and it was snowing! It didn't stick on the ground at all but it was fluttering beautifully all day. Then at about 3:00 it started sticking on the ground and just kept piling up! Carson and Connor called Grandma to tell her all about the exciting event! It is so beautiful and still so weird to know that it snows at our house! I keep thinking we are at the cabin or something. It will sink in once I start trying to drive in it...

Fall Funtivities

October has been such a fun month! The boys enjoyed a visit from Grandma Ellsworth who brought lots of pumpkins and yummy Honeycrisp apples.

While she was here we went to Simmon's Farm and picked out pumpkins and Indian corn, pet the animals and played on the 100 ft. sack slides with friends from the neighborhood.

Carson also had his first field trip to the environmental education center and learned all about trees there.

We had the biggest pile of leaves yet (although the backyard is still yet to be raked- so stay tuned) and the boys were big helpers. In fact, our home teachers asked us to pick one Christ-like quality to improve on as a family and we picked service. Carson decided that since we were raking our leaves, it would be so nice if we did the neighbor's leaves too. So even though my hands were already blistered, we surprised the next door neighbors and raked their leaves too. I think initially the motive wasn't really to help, but to get a bigger pile of leaves... but in the end he decided it was nice to serve too!

We had "Stravaganza" night at Carson's school- which is like a fall carnival. It is the biggest fundraiser of the year, and so it was a big deal and we had a blast with the boys. Carson even won the game tower in the raffle drawing (when Mommy buys enough tickets, you inevitably will win something... but shhh, don't tell Carson) :0)

Today the family got a fun delivery: a popcorn and goody can! Of course the boys had torn into it before I was even done taking pictures, but it was a hit! Thanks Grandpa & Grandma!

Tonight for FHE we carved pumpkins and the boys had a great time getting gooey and making the jack-o-lanterns. Carson wanted some help with the ghost template, so we did that together and then Connor and Mommy made the face and Carson did his jack-o-lantern all by himself! I was so proud of his effort in cutting the stem, removing the goo and creating his face. It was fantastic! The for dessert, we made a graveyard cake and the boys would say "oooh, scary" each time they took a bite. Fun times!

Philadelphia Fun

We had a great time at Aunt Heather and Uncle Jayson's house last weekend. Grandma Kuzdas and Aunt Kristy were also able to be there, so it was extra fun! The boys had a blast with their cousins and doing crafts with Grandma and all of the big girls had an uplifting time at "Time Out for Women." Although the word of the day was "ah-tu-gon," (the answer to "what shape is a stop sign?"-- and every other question) we had a great time and can't wait to go there again soon! Also, here's a shout-out to Jayson for supplying the fantastic pictures. Thanks again, everyone!

The cute boys at the nearby farm/orchard:


Carson's new favorite game:


Picking apples:


Hiding from unsuspecting victims:


No post is complete without a picture of Connor eating...although these apple cider doughnuts were pretty tasty!


Crafts with Grandma:


The finished product:


Connor's new favorite friends: Madyson...


and Mackenzy:

Our first fall

It is officially fall when the boys can jump into a pile of leaves taller than they are! We are loving the beautiful sights that come with the cooler weather and although we are freezing at 70 degrees, it is a fun change!

Before the big jump- don't be fooled; the pile was really HUGE! It is just at a bad angle in this shot.


Connor's Action shot:


Carson's action shot:


It must be exhausting jumping in the leaves all day (way more tired than mommy, who raked all of the leaves each time)