MY FAMILY- an extra long update!

The past month has been filled with FAMILY. We've had family come to visit and I've gone visiting. It seemed that just as soon as someone would finish their visit and go home the next visitors would arrive. It didn't allow for any downtime or post vacation blues and I LOVED it!!! We truely have been blessed with a wonderful, amazing and fun family! We have some fun stories to explain how we are all related, a little "Deep South"ish, if you will, but no matter how we are related, we are ALL related, we all MISS eachother when we're apart and we all LOVE eachother all the time! From SISTERS, to BROTHERS, to PARENTS, to IN LAWS, to COUSINS, to AUNTS, to UNCLES, to GRANDPARENTS, to NIECES, to NEPHEWS, to CHILDREN, FRIENDS WHO ARE FAMILY TO US, we have been so blessed with people who we love and who love us back!
Here are a few reasons we LOVE our FAMILY!

1. I laugh harder with my family than I do with anyone else. Jokes, funny stories and just plain fun is what causes the laughter. Laughter is food for the soul, especially when you are with your family.
2. No matter how long its been since we've seen eachother, it seems like no time has passed between us.
3. They take you "as is"! Despite bad hair days, bad outfits eras, craziness phases, they still love you!
4. If you ever NEED anything, they are the FIRST people you want to call.
5. When we're apart we long to be together, when we're together we never want to be apart!
6. Just being around them I know the Lord loves me because he sent them to me (or me to them, which ever came first :-)
7. Because I am the person I am today because of my FAMILY! Every single one of them!

So, without further adieu, here is my family, in pictures, the end of September, through October and into November!!!
OUCH!!!

One night in September we were at Spencer's Football Practice. There is a great park right next to the field and my younger kids loved to play while Spencer practiced. About half way through the practice, Garett game over to my crying the saddest "owie" cry ever. He said he bonked his ear. I looked for a red mark but didn't see anything. We snuggled for a long while and then he went on his way. Fast forward a week and a half to Sunday at Church. While overseeing my crew of kids I looked down the bench at Garett. He had his head turned to show Annie a picture he had drawn and I noticed a dark spot on the back of his ear lobe. My first thought was he had pencil on his fingers and had touched his ear. After the meeting was over I called him over to clean off his ear (yes I used my spit and my fingers--gross I know but what mom doesn't do that?) As I went in for the "Pencil mark rub off Garett wails, "OUCH". I quickly recognized that the dark spot wasn't smudged pencil, it was a huge bruise. I asked him how he got it and he said at the park the day he bonked. Poor little guy, he really did bonk! The bruise took another week to disappear!
YELLOW BELT FOR G-MAN

Garett started Tae Kwon Do this year and within a few weeks had earned his first belt. He loves it and is so fun to watch!

WEBELO AND ARROW OF LIGHT

Spencer earned his Webelo and Arrow of Light in September. We're so proud of all his hard work! He finished all the requirements with 2 months to go til his 11th birthday! Good job Spencer!
Spencer, Brady (his brother from another mother) and his friend Zach. All Arrow of Light recipients
ANNIE FLYING SOLO

The end of September marked a GIANT event in my life as a mother. For the first time ever, I sent one of my children off on an airplane all by themselves. Annie was the lucky one who got to fly solo on her way to her cousin Tyler's baptism. From Denver to SLC, where she met up with Auntie Julie and cousins Jack and Reese and then on to Orange County. From there everyone met up with Nana and Granddad and another cousin Marin and drove to Fresno to surprise Tyler. She had a blast with all of her cousins and especially loved the new "Emergency Phone" I bought so she could have a way to contact me in case of, what else, an Emergency. I bawled when she got on the plane but once I heard her little voice after she landed in SLC and met up with Julie, I was so proud of her bravery and courage!

LOGAN'S 4th BIRTHDAY
My baby is 4 years old! Where has the time gone? He reminds me daily that

"Mom, I'm NOT your baby". Oh but my dear little Logan, you are! You are my baby! :-)

Logan with his HOT WHEELS car case he got for his birthday!

Go Speedracer Go!
A big Smoochie for mommy!
The note Annie wrote Logan for his Birthday!

NANA AND GRANDDAD

Conference weekend Nana and Granddad came to visit. It was tons of fun to be with them, especially when President Monson announced that a new temple was going to be built in Calgary! My mom and I instantly started screaming and crying, both grabbing our phones to call Adam and my dad, who were on their way home from the Golf Course for an early pre conference round. I used to ride horses on the land that is now the site for the new Temple. Back then we would wonder if the day would ever come that the Temple would be built on that spot. We're so excited.

On Sunday we decided to go for a drive between sessions and found ourselves walking around the beautiful Garden of the Gods. It was a gorgeous fall day and a great memory for the kids to have with their Nana and Granddad!

The kids with Nana and Granddad at the Garden of the Gods
Time for a shoulder ride!
Our Family!
Nana and Granddad! Looking as good as ever!!

PAPA AND GRANDMA VISIT AND CANADIAN THANKSGIVING

The day after my parents left, Adam's parents came in. It's so funny that we have months each year that no one comes and then BAM! everyone comes! We just soak it all in and try to make it last as long as possible.

On the Sunday they were here MarJane and I decided since we are both Canadian and Canadian Thanksgiving was on Monday that we would celebrate with a Turkey dinner. It was a wonderful day! Especially when Adam's cousin and her family, who are from Canada but now live an hour north of us, joined us for dinner! It's so fun to have family close. Kyle and Stephanie and their three cute girls!
Cute little Cousins!
Since Annie's birthday was just around the corner, Papa and Grandma let her open her present! Webkinz! Exactly what she wanted!

HAIR CUT FOR G-MAN

I insisted it, demanded it, no questions asked it and voila! He did it, unhappy about it as he was, he didn't put up a fight and even chose his own new hairstyle out of a hairstyle book (which BTW had a picture of my nephew Heath in it as one of the models!!)

Before the cut!

After the cut- a Faux Hawk

ANNIE AND HER HSM3 BIRTHDAY PARTY

The count down for Annie's Birthday Party began back in June or something, the day she found out the release date for High School Musical 3: Senior Year. It seemed like the day would never come. We talked about it weekly, at least one time. We planned and replanned the party, the guests, the cake and the decorations, and finally...after what seemed like an eternity to an 8 turning 9 year old, the day came! And it was well worth the wait!

First Annie and I made "Wildcat" t-shirts with each of the girls favorite number on the front and their name on the back! As the girls arrived we handed out the shirts so they could wear them all night long!

Second we made a stop at Panda Express for dinner where the girls chowed down some tastey Orange Chicken (Annie's favortie).

Next we made our way to the theater and arrived an hour early. The timing was perfect and we ended up getting great seats. The girls were a bit bored as we waited an entire hour! They were loud and roudy and girlie and with matching red shirts were quite the hit with all their fellow party goers!
A line up of "Troy" fans!
Some VERY happy girls after the show!
Finally we came back to the house for some cake and presents. Of course the cake had to be HSM3! What else would you expect?
THe cake was a "pull a part" cake. It's basically made up of cupcakes but decorated like a cake! No cutting, only pulling! Fabulous idea!

LOGAN AND THE STOMACH FLU

Most people who know me know that my family is notorious for getting the Stomach Flu at Thanksgiving. This year a prayed it would hit us all early enough before Christmas that there would be no risk of us bringing it on our Thanksgiving Vacation and spreading it to all the cousins! My prayer was answered in the bathroom stall of Walmart when Logan was hit with it first! Poor little guy! He threw up all the way home in the car (into a large, empty, and old backpack) and then fell asleep on the couch for 3 hours! Slowly but surely he got better and after 5 or so hours, the virus was gone! The picture above is Logan making sure his barf bucket doesn' leave him! He fell asleep with it tucked under his chin and I had to take a picture!
HALLOWEEN

The warmest Halloween of my entire life (except when we lived in California, of course). In all the years we've lived in CO, this was the nicest, warmest and busiest of all! The kids had a blast, especially when Richard and Mahalia (our friends from Utah) showed up!
Logan as a Red Power Ranger walking in his school parade!
Indiana Jones, Power Ranger, Pro Golfer and BYU Soccer player!

Our fun, custom carved pumpkins. From Right to left: Spencers skull and cross bones, Annie's smiley face, Dad and Logan BYU face and Garett and Mom's Spider web (it fell in).

FALL SPORTS

What is fall without Annie and soccer! Another great season for her scoring and assisting lots of goals. She even played goalie a few times and loved it!
And of course we have Spencer's Warriors football. He played full back and back up QB this year!

BYU FOOTBALL vs CSU
With Richard and Mahalia in town we headed up to Fort Collins for the BYU CSU football game! It was the most intense, back and forth game I've ever been to. Thankfully the Cougs came out on top!

My favorite Cougar, my "Cougar Crush" if you will, Austin Collie! He's such a great athlete and I've LOVED watching him since before his mission!

The Birds and us after the sweet win!
Max Hall (BYU QB), or Dennis Pitta's (BYU Tight End) mom with the cheerleaders. COuldn't tell who belonged to her cause she had a jersey on with both numbers and names. She was adorable though!
The final score!
SEAN AND KATELYN'S WEDDING
My youngest brother Sean got married the 2nd weekend of November in the Carston Alberta Temple! I love visiting that temple and will always have a special place in my heart for it! It's so beautiful and so was the day for the wedding! No wind and no cold! It was perfect!

Katelyn and Sean
Beautiful Bride!
The Fraser/Miller side of the Family
Mom and Dad with the Bride and Groom
My nephew Harris all dressed in his Scottish formal wear!
My cousin's daughter Cameron and My nephew Euan.
Uncle Ian and Dad!
Reecie Roo!!! So pretty!
Me and my niece Campbell
Reecie with her classic look!
I snagged this Photo from my sister Julie M. She's a beautiful photographer! This one is the guys being goofballs in their kilts. Check out the air Devaugn got!

Me and my baby sisters! A girl couldn't ask for more amazing sisters! We had such a fun weekend together. Staying up way too late, laughing ourselves silly and of course lots of yummy food! Love you sisters!

Stan Olsen. We were friends in High School. In college he joined the church and is still totally active! He came to town for the wedding and it was so fun to see him! Such a good guy!