Happy Thanksgiving!

 What a fun weekend to get out of the cold and go to the warmth of St. George. Since Russell had Thanksgiving off this year, we decided to go to St. George and spend it there. We had a great time seeing all of the family. The kids even made it down in time to help Grandma Morwood finish up the last of the pies and other foods. Since the weather was nice, Russell and I got up one morning and went running. I ran four miles and Russell got up to three and walked and ran the last one. Russell says I am a running machine. I don't know about that... When Thanksgiving came, we all got on our eating game and dove right in. 

As you can tell Charlotte had her fill of good food. Time out time for her. Once we had our fill of great food, it was time for pie. There was a lot of different flavors to choose from. Once we had too many pies, some of us passed out and fell asleep and others played games. 

The fun thing about going down south is we get to have two Thanksgiving dinners. We also went to Grandma and Grandpa Farnsworth's house on Friday for another Thanksgiving. It was a full house also with lots of food, family and fun times to catch up on. 

It is always good to see Great Grandparents when we are down, so the kids can see them and get to know them. Grandpa Maxwell's memory is fading and it is good for him to see the kids. These Grandparents mean the world to Russell and it is crazy to see them getting old and knowing that soon they will not be here.

 It was also fun seeing Great Grandma Morwood and helping her set up her Christmas decorations.

 While we were decorating the inside of the house, the kids went outside to help rake the leaves in the front yard. I think they had good intentions, but I think the bigger picture was they wanted to make a big pile and jump in it. That is the best thing to do with leaves. We have taught the kids well. 

Once Sunday came it was back on the road again up to Hyrum and the cold. With the long trips we like to put together bags full of different activities to help the time pass for the kids. 

Charlotte loves her new scissors she got from Grandma Morwood and cut a lot of paper from St. George to Hyrum. It was a great time spending the holiday with family.

More November Fun

As you can tell we are always moving and doing something as a family. We are either running or doing some outdoor activity. This time was a Run to Remember for Veterans. We did double duty on this run, setting up and running. Part of the course they had American flags running along the course. The Scouts and I had an opportunity to set up about 100 flags. It was an awesome sight to see.   

Tiff ran the 5K and the kids and I did the 1 mile. I am impressed with all of the kids because with every new race they do better each time.  I am especially impressed with Logan. When we first started running with him he had no endurance and cried a lot, but now he is up to a mile without stopping and loves it. It was a great race.  Tiff was kind of mad with herself at the end of this race though.  She actually ended up coming in third place overall for women but she got confused with the course markings and cut the course so her place didn't count.  At the end of the race, the runners were supposed to run down around the baseball fields and through the flags to the finish.  Well she didn't know that and neither did the few runners ahead of her so she followed the runners ahead of her and cut the course.  Instead of going around the baseball field, she just went straight across the top of it to the finish line.  She was not the only one to confuse this because there was a big arrow from the Pumpkin Run a few weeks ago pointing that way.  It was confusing but she still made a good time of 25 minutes, a PR since getting back into running.  Every finisher got an awesome medal though and we all had a great time.

Charlotte just keeps getting bigger and bigger and this month, she got rid of her baby crib and upgraded to a big girl bed! She was so excited to have a new bed with Minnie Mouse on it. 

She let everyone know she had a big girl bed. She does really well with her bed too. We were worried she would get up and down throughout the night, but she doesn't. Once she is in bed she stays in bed.

The PTA at Canyon puts on a Patriotic night for Veterans Day.  During the program, Emily and Colby sang with their choir.  It was so good!  The songs they sang were, "Stars and Stripes, and the Eagle Fly" and "God Bless the USA."

These are just some fun pictures the kids and I took of this huge buck we saw on our way home from Logan's music class.  We probably sat and watched this guy with his does for about a half an hour.  It is crazy how close to the mountains we are and all of the wildlife we see.

Speaking of wildlife... Russell gets to do some fun things while on the job. One of the jobs they do while at work is business inspections. We find the most interesting businesses around the city. One was a insect growing place.  The business owner kept all sorts of bugs and reptiles. He even had this little furry 8 legged spider. He was holding it and I made a comment that I had never held a tarantula before. He just turned to me and handed it to me. I thought what the heck why not and took it. It was way fun. Now I can say I have held a tarantula. CRAZY!!!!!

Turkey Trot

The annual Smithfield Turkey Trot is something we love to do and look forward to every year.  This year we had a few desert rats from St. George join us for the fun.  My mom and sisters decided to come up for a visit over this weekend so they participated in the run as well.

Usually the weather for the Turkey Trot is ideal.  Cool but not too bad and sunny.  This year was not so much.  We actually had our first snow of the season during the night so there was about an inch of snow on the ground when we woke up.  We were not about to let a little snow ruin our fun though.  Logan was sick the night before so he and Charlotte stayed home with Russell while the rest of us raced.  It is so funny to see how we have acclimatized to the weather up here.  Notice that the kids and I are just in hoodies while the St. George people are in their winter coats.  They kept saying how cold it was while we were thinking it was not too bad.  

We each did the one mile race this year.

Emily ran on ahead and beat us all.  Colby and I stuck together and did about a 10:30 minute mile.  My mom and sisters just walked and had a great time.  We all had fun doing our best.  

In the end, Emily and I both one first in our age groups.  Colby was 5th in his age but we are sharing the medal I got because we ran together.  Tami and Lacie were also in my age group and got 4th and 5th, and Mom got 5th in her age group.  In the raffle though, Emily won a water bottle and lucky Tami won a turkey!  My goal is to win a turkey at the Turkey Trot some day...

After the race we took a trip to Pepperidge Farm and Casper's to stock up on Goldfish and Fat Boys.  This is also a tradition to do after the race!  We all had a great time.

Hockey & Basketball

Tiff found out there was a free hockey skating day at the Eccles Ice Arena so we took the boys to see if they would like hockey. The Hockey league from the county puts on a free day for boys to come try out and have fun. They were both excited to go and try it. 

When we got there, we put on the pads, gloves, helmet and the whole suit. They gave us a free jersey shirt as well. Once the skates were on and helmets were strapped up, it was time to get out on the ice. They did a great job with what they knew about hockey. They hit around a puck and went around cones. They both had a fun time being on the ice. 

The hardest part they said was staying up right on the ice in skates.  Once they got the hang of that though and figured out how to get back up when they fell, they had a great time. The coaches were really great and took time with each boy to help them learn how to skate, use the hockey stick, and hit the puck.  When we asked the boys afterward if they liked hockey, they both said "Yes!"  We will definitely have to look into it more and save our money because it is quite an expensive sport.

During the fall, Colby started playing basketball. It was his first time he playing basketball for a league. He was way excited to play. We got the kids a basketball for Christmas a few years ago and ever since then he has been outside playing around with his friends and shooting baskets. He is always excited to show me how well he is doing with dribbling and shooting. 

The whole season was fun to watch him play. He did very well. His team won every game and had fun doing it. He told me at the end of the season, "Dad, when you come can you not talk, it makes me nervous." The things I learn as a Dad. Sorry Colby I guess I talk and cheer a little too loudly.  Tiff said that he did much better during the games I was at work... 

His first game he scored I think three shots and stole the ball away. He is a fast mover up and down the court. I think he is going to love this sport.

 Colby was the only one that played basketball this season but now that the other kids have watched him play, both Logan and Emily want to try it out next year.  We'll see how it goes. It is exciting watching the kids play and see them have so much fun.