12/31/17 New Year's Eve at the Cousin's

This evening we went over to the Roche's house to play games. TJ and I had fun playing dominoes. It was the first time Lauren played following the board game rules.

Here is Bradley playing with Alex and Peter.

Peter and Alex are good buddies.

The grown-ups played a new game where you put a plastic thing in your mouth and your partner has to guess what you are saying. It was fun and there was hardly any crying.

12/30/17 Crafting and Coon Bluff Part 2

This morning Rebecca and Sarah and Becca B worked on painting the window decorations they got for Christmas.

Meanwhile, back at Coon Bluff, we survived the night. It was cold and the neighbors shared their music until after 2 am but we made it. The boys made camping pancakes, eggs and bacon. It was actually quite tasty. We also had hot chocolate, and other chocolate. We did not starve on this campout. After breakfast we hiked to the top of the bluff and took a look at the two bald eagles who live up there. Johnson was pretty sure that he did not want to go on a hike. Still, I was impressed that he went and made it all the way to the top. He had the option of staying down and resting. I hope that he felt it was worth the effort. It certainly was for me. In the van we listened to a Jon Bytheway talk that the Shirts family got for Christmas. Heavenly Father helped out with the timing. The talk ended just as we pulled over to drop of the first boy. It was a talk about remembering our Divine Nature.

12/29/17 Coon Bluff Camp

This morning it was cereal day. Papa took our picture just after Gram and Heidi went to the Temple.

Heidi and Gram did Initiatory for family names today.

Today we went on a special camp to Coon Bluff. Heidi asked the Shirts family if they would be willing to join David and I on a campout. Since Brother Shirts is an Assistant Scout Master it can count as an official camp towards the boy's camping merit badge. In the picture above (from left to right) are John Shirts, his boys Johnson and Rushton, Gavin, David and Ganon.

For dinner we made pizza after a method that Johnson learned from 11 year old scouts. We rolled biscuits onto the lids of number 10 cans, put on toppings and stuffed the lids in sideways. These ended up tipping over/ burning about half the time. The good news is that the parts that didn't burn/fall into the fire tasted great. Above you see Rushton with his successfully made pizza.

David took his turn to make a pizza.

Here is how they looked in the fire pit. David started the fire using the flint and steel that Papa gave us for Christmas.

The boys also had fun exploring and playing together. The Brother Shirts brought bocce ball and another game. I can't remember playing before but it was fun and pretty well matched across ages.

12/28/17 Yard Work and Other Things

This morning we drove out to Grammie and Grandpa Mangum's house. We trimmed bushes and David mowed the back lawn. This grass grows much more slowly during the Winter time. On the drive home we listened to the audio book of A Wrinkle In Time.

We made a couple of stops on the way home. Heidi took this shot at a place that specializes in making spaces more accesible. Gram has asked for hand rails in the shower.

We also check in on the pool. The vacuum is still out of whack. Heidi has been spending time on the phone with her mother thinking of potential solutions.

In the evening David was invited to his friend Paul Castleton's house for a friend party. Heidi and I got to go on a psuedo date dropping him off and picking him up. It's crazy to think that he is getting so grown up.

12/27/17 Friends and the Park

Today Rebecca's friend Maggie came by to play. They decided to work on a sewing project.

Later on Heidi took kids to the park. Here are Peter and Joseph on a spinning contraption.

David liked this other spinnging machine.

12/26/17 Art and Service

Rebecca asked me to preserve her artwork.

Here is a shot that includes the artist plus Peter the photobomber.

While David went to The Last Jedi with the Shirts family the three little boys and Rebecca went to Alex's birthday party. Heidi and Sarah and I went to see it we could help with Heather's pool.

The vacuum system seems to be broken. Heidi got the suction going again but I'm not sure how much we cleaned and how much we simply moved the dirt around. It felt good to be trying to give service.

12/25/17 Christmas Day

Here is what the tree looked like early this morning, before the kids woke up.

David wins the prize for biggest smile on his mom's face for getting her this Star Trek pizza cutter.

At lunch time we went to visit Matt and Sharon, Lucy and Alex. Lucy got this neat loom. Rebecca was happy to help her get started with it.

Joseph and Peter were stoked to be able to play with Alex.

Sarah received gardening tools and she couldn't wait to try them out.

TJ and Joseph were happy to help her.

She has been granted this little plot of land to grow what she chooses.

Joseph got this large box of Legos. Peter was ready to help him build.

For dinner Heidi cooked ham and mashed potatoes. It was a yummy feast.

Joseph also got these funny mustaches. He gave me one to try on. It was a fun day for all.

12/24/17 Christmas Eve

For dinner tonight we had barbeque pork and rice along with Hawaiian rolls. Ono!

After dinner we read Luke 2. The kids acted out the parts. Then we did our tradition of letting the kids open one present Christmas Eve. 

12/23/17 Christmas Adam

Today we went to a new park that just opened up across the street from the Mesa Temple. It's called the Pioneer Park and the kids loved it!

This train has been here since people my age were little but it has been fenced off. Now the kids can play on it.

Gram, Papa and Becca B braved the cold 40 degree temps and joined us in our exploration.

The kids loved this conveyor belt style slide. Here are TJ and David.

Joseph taking his turn.

Sarah and Rebecca, sisters staying together.

TJ Practicing meditation.

The park even has a splash pad. This will be more fun once it warms up in the Spring. For now the kids had fun pretending to control the water with their minds.

David made this hot air balloon at school. Here his is filling it up with our blow dryer.

The kids have started their own fun tradition. When someone brings home a bag of small candies, say m&ms they count them on the table and divide them up to share. We are lucky to have such loving, thoughtful children.

12/22/17 Singing and Celebrating

Today it was Joseph's turn for a Christmas Concert.

He and his class were adorable to watch. They did a great job.

After the concert I went to the Temple. I did initiatory because Joseph wanted me to come and help with his class party.

I got to help serve the kids lunch.

Then the kids got to decorate sugar cookies.

This evening it was time for the annual Empire Family Christmas Party.

The kids all took turns going down the artificial sledding hill. Here is Sarah taking her turn.

The kids had fun playing with the ground up ice aka "snow".

Here is David after much running around.

On the way home we happened to see a bright light in the sky. It seemed a little odd. Heidi looked online and discovered that what we were seeing was actually a SpaceX rocket carrying 10 satelites launching into orbit. The launch was happening over 500 miles away in California. Pretty amazing that we could see it all the way from Mesa. We felt that Heavenly Father was watching out for us. The launch lasted only a couple of minutes. If we'd been inside, like we usually would have been, we would have missed it.