Happy Thanksgiving

 Thanksgiving was just our family this year. 

That means I had to cook a lot of stuff.

Luckily, Brian is good help in the kitchen.

This is after everyone ate so they are looking slightly happier than the picture before.

Oh no, none of us have legs.

Just the kiddos.  The day was sort of overcast so there was not enough light downstairs for pictures.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Girls on Sunday

 Pretty girls on Sunday after church.  We finally put new floors in the loft so I took the pictures upstairs, complete with foosball table in the background.

Pretty Merry with her color changing eyes.  The green dress makes them look so green. 

Merry ended her volleyball season yesterday with a win.  

She really improved a lot and we are looking forward until next season.

 Grace's soccer team won the soccer game yesterday, she scored 2 goals.

Grace and Merry also got to go the Daddy-daughter activity day girls at the stake.

They played mission impossible games and had a great time.

Eliza finally got her ears pierced, her reward for finally stopping sucking her finger.

The finger sucking ended in time for her 2 bottom teeth to fall out.

The second tooth fell out on Friday while we were at Odyssey of the Mind at Jacob's school.  I put the tooth in my pocket so we wouldn't lose it.  When we got home I had to take Grace to soccer practice so I gave Eliza her tooth to put in a zip lock bag.  On the way to practice I got a call from a crying Eliza saying she had dropped her tooth down the drain while she was trying to get it clean by brushing her tooth.   So that night we had to write a note to the tooth fairy.  Fortunately the tooth fairy responded by writing back a note that she flew down the drain and got the tooth out.

Crisis averted.  She sure looks cute without her two bottom teeth.

Halloween costumes

 Eliza as a little deer.

 She was talked into this costume because I happened to be dressing as a deer for my office costume.

 And she got to wear a twirly tutu.

What else could a girl want?

 Adam wanted to be a Lego ninjago, but a new nerf gun talked him into being a hunter.

Watch out small deer.

 Merry as a lovely fox,

 to continue our woodland theme.

 The whole foxy effect.

 Grace wanted to be Cinderella, which didn't go with our theme at all.

 I think she just wanted a poofy dress.

 Jacob as a stick man.  He requested a top hat and monocle.  Unfortunately my duct tape skills only extend so far.

 Some out takes of taking pictures.

 This is what happens if your mom tapes your choker on.

 Surprise!

Naughty fox.

 What a happy little deer.

Ready to go to the trunk or treat.

Cousins come to visit

 Bryce and Tanner came to visit for the weekend.

We went to watch Jacob play soccer but unfortunately the game was rained out.

 The kids played at the park instead.

 Eliza being her normal self.

The kids also visited an American Ninja course and decorated eyeball and brain oreos.  I just didn't take pictures.

 Bryce and Grace.

Please don't corrupt Tanner, Eliza.

Tanner celebrated his second birthday while he was here.

He did not seem overly excited about all the attention or a cake with eyeballs on it.

 Eliza and Bryce went on a frog/lizard hunt. 

Gloves were a necessity.

 They did catch 2 frogs.

Tanner seemed pretty happy to have big cousins to push him around.

Adam enjoyed being a big kid instead of a little kid.

 

September

 September sort of flew by.

Jacob had band.

 Eliza started dance.

Soccer is eternal for Grace and Jacob.

Merry has been the score keeper for volleyball for the school team.

Adam started baseball.

We were shut down for a week with hurricane Irma hitting, but other than our powering being out we fortunately didn't have any damage to our home.

Weekend soccer and the solar eclipse

 Grace played in her first competitive soccer tournament over the weekend.

 The tournament was at the ESPN Wide World of Sports so the fields were beautiful.

 The only bad thing was it was Orlando in August which meant 95 degree weather.

 Grace seemed to have an awesome time which is what soccer is all about.

 We also got to view a solar eclipse.

 The kids school district decided the eclipse was too dangerous to view, so I had to check them out of school.

 Merry was at volleyball practice during most of the eclipse

 

but she got to come out for the peek.

I made these designer eclipse glasses, complete with flower for Eliza because the others would not stay on her head.

 We also got eclipse cookies

 and smeared them all over the place.

 Nice chocolate goatee.

 The most fascinating part of the eclipse was the cool shadows

 that we had to document on everyone's arms.

 This was entertainment for a long,

 long time.

Happy eclipsing.