Oh Christmas Tree...

Ice Skating..

Reed called last night and asked us if we would like to accompany him to the South Jordan City "Light the Night." For those of you unfamiliar with this, as were we, this is the tree lighting ceremony. We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived to find out that this was not just a boring flip the switch and we're done, but a well planned, fun filled event, which has now found its way into our "pro column." As part of the fun the city provided everyone with free ice skates to skate around the tree. We also enjoyed an appearance from Santa Claus, free hot cocoa and cookies, and free chicken sandwiches - which was awesome because we hadn't even begun to think about dinner.

The kids had so much fun that they forced us to take them again the next day with some additional friends. The skate rental is only $1 so even if you stay five minutes you feel like you have gotten your money's worth. For the record we stayed longer.
This was the kids first foray into the sport of ice skating so you can imagine that Jake spent a lot more time on his knees or bottom than he did on his skates. The second day he did much better. Torey did pretty well, only falling a couple of time, and Taylor brags that she never fell - perhaps because she traveled at the pace of cold molasses. All in all we loved every cold minute of it and would love to spend some more time there this winter!

Pinewood Derby...

Today our family got to experience our first "official" scout pinewood derby. There was a lot of anticipation, perspiration, and exhilaration that accompanied this event, and we didn't do too shabby if we do say so ourselves. Jake, Reed, and Grandpa Kerry managed to create an awesome looking spider car that performed pretty decent. We won once, and barely missed another. All in all we were satisfied with the outcome. Satisfied but not extremely thrilled - if you catch my drift.

Grandpa Simper's 90th...

Today my grandpa turned 90 years old, but if you were to ask him he feels like he is about 21 - if only he could get his legs to work. We planned an open house for him at the church across from his house and he seemed very delighted at the number of guests who came to wish him well. Two of them even beat him to his own party. We love Grandpa for a lot of reasons but perhaps the biggest reason is his optimism. He sees the good in everything and loves everything about life. He doesn't get too worked up over anything and he loves his family. We love you Grandpa!

Happy Halloween...

from a lovely Medusa...

The Riddler, a crazy villain...
and the resident Rodeo Clown.

We hope that your Halloween is loaded with sugar and fun. Thank you to Niki and Jeff for feeding us delicious soup and providing us with a neighborhood to go Trick or Treating!

Pumpkin Decorating Contest...

The kids' elementary school sponsored a pumpkin decorating contest. Torey did a fantastic Frankenstein who was reading a book about himself. Jake did a debonair spider. Sadly, neither child won, and one was rather disgusted with the results. You see, his spider lost to a pig. A PIG. What does a pig have to do with Halloween. Ridiculous.

A Thing of the Past?

Do you remember Road Shows? Well here in South Jordan you don't have to remember them because they are no longer a thing of the past.

Our stake challenged the youth in each ward to create a road show with the theme "Out of the Horses Mouth." Our leaders created one entitled "Wrighteous" with some of the songs remade from the Broadway show "Wicked." The kids did an amazing job, and our very own Taylor sung a very small solo, and was not totally against it. I think we took a very close second. The show was all about modesty with lines such as, "my pulse is rushing, my head is spinning, my face is flushing, what am I seeing, is this just a game, does it have a name, Y-e-s, Clothing, unadulterated clothing, hey your shoulder blades are showing, let's just say we'll clothe it all, every little skirt how ever small, makes my very flesh begin to crawl, wear simple pure clothing, there is a beautiful example, look he's prepping for the temple, they look pure and strong...."