Thanksgiving Shooting

Craig has started a new Thanksgiving tradition this year; rather than playing football, he gathered friends and family to go shooting. I wanted to come, but I wasn't sure if it was the best idea with me being pregnant and all. So I stayed home and had a wonderfully relaxing morning while my boys drove down to the west side of Utah Lake to go play with their guns.

 

Brayden had a ton of fun using Craig's old BB gun. Last time he went, he was a little too young to understand what he was allowed to touch, but he had no problem this time. And he had Dad's and Grandma's help all morning.

Meanwhile, the rest of the adults got to play with the big guns. Here are my dad, Dean, and Tori shooting at clay pigeons. Charles and Joe are off to the left with their own little hand gun set up.

Finally it was time to come home so we could get to Craig's mom's house for Thanksgiving, but it looks like the boys were ready for the morning to end. Hopefully next year I'll be able to go with them.

Trick-or-Treating on Halloween

Yay! It's finally Halloween. Time to gather the candy! To start out our trick-or-treating, my mom met Brayden and me at South Towne mall.

Almost every store had someone out front that was dressed up and handing out candy to the kids. Brayden had a blast collecting as many Dum-Dum suckers and Tootsie Rolls as he could get his hands on.

Once we all get tired of that, we went home to meet up with Craig, Deana and Lucky. After a quick dinner, we bundled up and went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. I was surprised at the quality of candy that these neighbors passed out. I've never seen one little kid with so many full-size candy bars.

As it got later, we drove over to the Matiyasic's (where Deana stayed) and the Shane's to show off Brayden's costume. Our final stop of the night was my friend, Carissa's, in-laws. They live in a beautiful neighborhood that goes all out for Halloween. There were so many visitors, so we had to park out of the main road and walk to the house. Their entire yard was decorated and Carissa's husband and brother-in-law were in costumes on stilts. It was awesome. It was ridiculous how many people there were though. So many houses had already run out of candy before we got there. Looks like this will have to be out first stop next year.

Even though the last neighborhood was almost a complete bust, Brayden still made out like crazy. We have enough candy to keep our little family very happy for a while.

Happy Halloween!

Furse's Halloween Party

This evening was my mom's Halloween Party. It was fun to see how much thought and planning she put in to this to make it a success. This first thing we did when we got there was coloring on pumpkins grown from my mom's garden. Brayden isn't one to enjoy a mess, so he really enjoyed decorating pumpkins like this.

After, we played pin the nose on the jack-o-lantern. I was way off, but Brayden's was almost right on. Next we had a pumpkin walk (similar to musical chairs, but the number of pumpkins doesn't decrease). I guess I forgot to take pictures of that event.

Then it was time for pumpkin bowling. I think this may have been Brayden's favorite activity. He got so excited evey time he knocked a cup over.

Dean was the pumpkin bowling king! I think he got three strikes in a row. Quite impressive!

     

Then, while my mom finished prepping the Navajo Tacos for dinner, the rest of us went bobbing for apples. Most got pretty wet, but I managed to keep my hair dry. 

To finish off the evening, the kids sat down for a game of Monopoly. This party was so much fun. I'm so glad Brayden was able to be apart of his own Halloween Party.

Kira's Farewell

First off, we have had a really hard time finding out what Brayden wants to be for Halloween this year. Earlier this week, as we were walking through Harmon's, Brayden spotted an Army costume. He got so excited by it. He said that he could be a soldier just like Aunt Kira. As soon as Craig got home from work, we walked back over and bought it.

Well, today is Kira's last day to really spend with the family before we drop her off. Tomorrow she flies off to Fort Sill, Oklahoma to begin Basic Training. I couldn't help bringing Brayden over in his new costume to get a few pictures with Kira. They look so good!

I couldn't imagine leaving my husband for ten weeks. Travis has been so incredible to support and love her over the past two years that they have been married.

Everyone was pretty emotional, but my mom really seemed to have a hard time holding back tears.

Unfortunately, I was going through some really rough morning sickness today. I would have loved to be more supported and focused on her, but I was struggling today. Kira was so sweet to me. I can't wait to see her again at Christmas.

Kira was great to make sure she got a picture with everyone.

It was fun to have Grandma Furse there. I wonder how many family members she has kissed good-bye as they head off to the military. I know that my Grandpa was a war veteran for both WWII and Vietnam so my Grandma knows what it's like to wait for your soldier to come home.

All too soon it was time for Kira to leave. Most of the family went with to spend some time with her at the hotel, but Baby Ella wasn't cooperating, so we went home. I can't wait to hear from her so I can start sending her letters. Good luck, Kira! We love you.

National Guard's March for the Governor

One of the really big events that happened this summer is that my sister, Kira, joined Utah's National Guard. She leaves for Basic Training (ie. Boot Camp) in the beginning of October, gets a short break for Christmas, and then heads off to Advanced Individual Training until April. I am so impressed with her and our family will do anything to support her and Travis over these next few months.

Our first chance to really show that was to come watch her march for the governor today. I don't think you can tell, but she is in the last row, second person in. She did such a great job. I admit that I started crying a little bit as I watched her walk by.

After all of the soldiers had finished their march, a group of helicopters flew overhead. Before the marching started, two ginormous jets - the kind that refuel other jets - did a fly-by. It was almost uncomfortable to watch them fly so low and slow over the crowd. It was amazing! I love jets. Brayden, on the other hand, was obsessed with the helicopters.

Once Kira was free to join us, we all wandered around to check out the numerous booths that were set up. Brayden's first stop was a booth that gave you the chance to fire a fully automatic air soft gun.

He did a really good job! He hit the little guy in the middle twelve times with only a little bit of help from my dad. 

Brayden's next stop was a Fireman's Obstacle Course. After getting all setup in the right coat and helmet, he started off on the course.

Step 1: Climb through a metal box with different things blocking his way.

Step 2: Crawl through a relatively small and long black tube.

Step 3: Drag a fire hose for so many feet.

Step 4: (With the help of Grandpa) Drag a limp mannequin to safety.

Besides the zip line that Brayden was too small for, the last activity that was offered was a blown up obstacle course similar to the ones over at Bouncin' Off the Walls. I think Brayden would have stayed there all day if we would have let him.

Now it was time for Kira to get back to some of her training, but as we walked her back to her building, we found a tank that you could climb into. The soldier inside was awesome to explain to us how it work and what some of the different levers and buttons did.

Brayden even got to climb on top and sit on top of the barrel next to his Daddy and Grandpa. What a priceless picture!

At this point, everyone else in our party, besides my dad, had left to get back to their other obligations, but we couldn't leave without showing Brayden the helicopters. The soldiers at the medical helicopter were really friendly. They let Brayden climb right on in while they were cleaning things up.

They even let Brayden sit in the pilot's seat!

Our last stop was the fighting helicopter. It just looks mean, doesn't it?

Brayden wasn't allowed in the pilot's seat on this one because it was too dangerous, but we were allowed to sit him on the side. Brayden wasn't a fan of this at all, but he enjoyed looking at it from the ground and find all of it's guns.

Today really was a great day. I'm glad we could come out to support Kira. I was planning on coming when I thought we'd be really bored just watching her march. I had no idea how much fun we'd have!

Thanksgiving with the Furse's

My parents invited us over to their place for Thanksgiving dinner this year. Dinner was absolutely amazing, as usual. My parents are pretty incredible cooks when cooking for large groups. They included some of the traditional favorites like my mom's homemade strawberry jam and her spinach salad, but they added candied yams this year. I've never found a recipe for yams that I like, but this one was incredible. I'll have to remember to get the recipe!

While everyone cleaned up/goofed around after dinner, Brayden played with my parents' Marble Works set. Kira and I used to play with this when we were younger. It's fun to watch my son enjoy one of my favorite toys.

And for the best part of Thanksgiving...dessert! I've found that people become very nice to you when you are the person holding the pie and ice cream. We had a lot of fun playing with my family. And I can't wait to celebrate the holidays when there are a few more grandchildren running around. In the meantime, here are the people that were there.

Craig (and obviously Brayden and me)

Dean and Travis

Mom, Dad and Kira

We really missed Haylie this year. Happy Thanksgiving!

Trunk-or-Treating

I'm pretty sure we live in one of the best neighborhoods ever! They plan so many fun activities for families. This evening we were invited to a neighborhood chili cook off and trunk-or-treat.

I invited my mom to join us. Brayden absolutely adores her and I wanted her to see him in his Superman costume. We all had a lot of fun and dinner was delicious! I am a new fan of trunk-or-treats. It's so safe and convenient for little kids. I loved how creative people got in decorating the trunks of their cars.

Playing at Grandma's

Brayden was hanging out at my mom's house this afternoon. He loves helping her in the kitchen, but when he got bored he moved on to playing in the dryer. Oh, to be a kid again!

Labor Day with the Furse's

My parents invited us over for a BBQ to celebrate Labor Day.

Kira was swamped with homework, as usual. Stupid nursing program. Brayden did his best to help/distract.

While my parents were finishing up the prep for dinner, I ran around and took pictures. This is the best brother in the entire world. He's so happy you can't even see his eyes anymore.

My dad took care of the grill. The hamburgers were delicious!

My grandma (dad's mom) was nice enough to join us for dinner.

Brayden can't stand sitting for one place for too long when we are at my parents. We made up a plate for him, but he still wandered around eating everyone else's food. I guess it tastes better like that.

After dinner, we went in the frontyard to play with Brayden. I love watching them play.