Labor Day and Fort Collins Temple

We went up to B & M's house for Labor Day. We had all gotten tickets to go through the Fort Collins temple that morning together. It was fun to take the kids through and see it all again. It is such a beautiful place. We ended up in the same group as our good friends who used to live near us (the Egberts), so that was really cool to see them up there as well. We had a great barbecue afterwards as well with even more family. It's so nice to live close enough to visit more cousins and see the work of the Lord go forward in Colorado.

The dedication for the temple was in October and we all (except the two little girls) went to the last session which was broadcast to a building near us. President Uchtdorf spoke and I remember him really stressing the importance of everyone living the standards in the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet. It was really neat to experience the Hosanna shout together as a family. That was the kids favorite part. We swapped babysitting with some friends so they could all go to the first session that morning.

Halloween

All the kids already had their Halloween costumes picked out before we decided to do Wizard of Oz for the trunk-or-treat, so Rosie was the only one whose costume didn't change for Halloween.

Trunk or Treat

My sister came in to visit the same weekend as the Trunk-or-Treat party at church, so I called her and told her I would have a costume for her to go along with our theme. It was so fun putting these together! All are homemade except the lion and witch.

Tink B-day Party

Tink really wanted to have her friends over for a birthday party this year. She planned it all out and they had a lot of fun playing games and eating. They are a fun and good group of kids.

Then we had just family over on her birthday which is always fun. I can't believe she is already 15!

Youth Conference

We had ward youth conference this year, and it turned out really well. We had to change our original date, but because we did that, we were able to take all the youth up to the Fort Collins temple open house. It was beautiful and such a great experience for all our youth. The 12 and 13 year-olds went home after the open house, while the older youth and leaders went up to Farish.

We had an impromptu dance party that night, and then switched to the more spiritual part. I spoke to the youth about pressing forward with a steadfastness in Christ that evening. 2 Nephi 31:20 is our mutual theme this year and what the youth wanted to focus on for youth conference. I encouraged them to continue pressing forward and used the word PRESS, breaking it down and talking about how they can press forward. P--Pray, R-Read Scriptures, E-Enjoy life, S-Spirit (always have the companionship of the Holy Ghost), and S-Savior (strengthen your relationship with the Savior).  Then the bishop spoke and all then we all had a discussion on our thoughts and feelings about the temple. It was a great night.
The next day we had some team building activities and then did service at the food bank in town. Everyone was exhausted by the end of the day, but some of us went to the regional dance that night as well. Most of the boys bailed, so the girls were sad, but we still had fun. There was a lot of great bonding and growing together as a ward that weekend. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to help and participate.

Preschool

Four friends and I have been doing a preschool this year for our three-year-old girls. We have been having a blast with it. We named it The Princess Academy since it is all girls. We only meet Monday and Wednesday mornings, and we each take a week and then have the next four weeks off for the rotation. Shortcake has been loving going to school. I forgot to post her "First Day of School" picture, so here it is:

The first week I taught, I had the letter "C." We had a lot of fun with the activities, but the girls liked making their cat ears and painting their noses and whiskers on the most. They are the cutest girls!

 They also love to dress up like princesses!

We decided to have field trips on the days there is no school in our district on Mondays, that way no one ends up with a week teaching only one day instead of two. We had our first field trip the week of Labor Day. I set it up with a friend of mine to go visit her farm.

I'm so glad I have great friends and that Shortcake is learning and making great friends in school as well.

Homecoming

Tink and four of her friends decided to go to the Homecoming dance at school this year. She had a lot of fun getting dressed up and hanging out with her friends, but she wasn't too impressed with the dance itself. They all got together beforehand for pictures and then went out to eat.

Nickelodeon Worldwide Day of Play

I took the kids to the Worldwide Day of Play on base again this year. We made it early enough for the color fun run at the beginning too. We took some friends with us so that made it even more fun. They had a lot of fun. Shortcake especially loved the "bouncy castles." She really wanted to do the rock climbing wall but froze up when she was on it.

Nature

I've been having some fun with my camera. We had a crazy lightning storm on the way home from mutual a few weeks ago. By the time I got home, it had started raining so it was harder to catch the lightning, but I got one shot! It wasn't the coolest lightning we had that night but I was proud that I was able to catch one in photo form!

 Then a few days later, we had another beautiful Colorado rainbows, so I had to catch a picture of that too.

 One morning taking Tink to seminary, the moon was so pretty above the mountains.

 And within just a few minutes, it had set and was gone. Is it officially morning when the moon sets? (And yes, that is Pikes Peak. I took this from my bedroom window.)

Pizza

The day before school started, we went to Louie's Pizza so the kids could get their free lunch special. They always get a coupon through the library reading program and this has been a fun summer tradition. Rosie fell asleep on the way and was still sound asleep by the time our pizzas arrived. We had fun though and enjoyed the great food.

Old Pictures

After the Coleman reunion, my brother-in-law shared a photo album of old pictures. They were so fun to look through. Here are some of my favorites from when PC was younger:

 

And some of Tink when she was little. I love that pic of her and PC at Christmas. We were such a small family!

First day of School

Here are the obligatory first day of school pictures:

Tink was accepted into a program called S2S (Student 2 Student) where she helps new students adjust to the school. So she had to wear her purple shirt for the first day, but it definitely came with privileges and I think she looks super cute in it. I can't believe how fast they are growing! Really wishing it would slow down a little.
Here are a few of my other cuties while waiting for the carpool rides.