2016-2017

2016-2017 School Year

Our big bad Jr. Higher

Smack dab in the middle 3rd grader

Can't believe I have NO kids at home 1st grader.

Halloween Weekend 2016

Friday right after school was Miriam's first school dance (first that she attended).

She was so nervous but ended up having such a good time she says she will go to them all from now on.

On our way to ballroom and martial arts classes we met up with Craig and Lisa at Smokin' Bones.  Fantastic BBQ with the best possible people.  

Saturday we had our Ray Girls Witches Lunch/baby shower for Alicia. So fun to be with family, laughing and enjoying each other...plus meeting some of Alicia's friends.  The food was wonderful thanks to Kneaders and Cheryl, who treated us all.  I took photos for Alicia, but didn't snap any on my phone...so no photo documentation until that evening when we went to our favorite Indian restaurant. Too much laughter....too much good food but never enough time.

The boys, as per tradition went out to eat but also stopped by the Farmington Bay bird refuge. 

Sunday the above crew gathered again to finish off all of the left overs from the shower then everyone had to head back to real life.

Except for us, we needed to stay home to get Halloween taken care of!

We needed to carve pumpkins, alter Aunt Julia's genie costume for Miriam (my mom made it for her when she was in middle school), and although Soren had decided to go as Dracula (my brother Erik's childhood costume...again made by my mom) Byron hadn't even decided what he wanted to be!

Sunday, Halloween eve and we are still deciding what to be....now that is an old fashioned Halloween.

After an earlier Target run, Craig and Emily surprised Soren with some vampire makeup, blood and teeth.  I think that may have swayed the vote and eventually B decided to be a vampire as well.  That meant a bazillion safety pins on an adult cape, but easy peasy other than that. I am not going to lie though...all three of them cried at one point or another that day over costume or pumpkin crisis.  I almost called off Halloween...but then there would be no candy for me to sneak so we forged ahead.

Shazam...Jack-O-Lanterns finished!

I spent Halloween day dressed up as a crossing guard, but really actually being a crossing guard for a corporate trick-or-treat party. It was hard not to be helping my kiddos get ready, but I love working these parties.

Darin took over getting the boys vamped out and started them Trick-or-Treating around our hood.

They looked fantastic! I think they loved those capes more than anything...and the blood! 

One quick shoe change....

Perfection. 

Byron makes one happy blood sucker.

Miriam's friend's big sister stepped in to get M ready for the night (a little above Darin's skill level). The girls went trick-or-treating for half the night and then went to a party for the tail end.  

The haul!

Except for M's...when she got home it was straight to bed...no sorting or trading till Tuesday after school.

And man oh man that Tuesday was rough. None of us wanted to go back to school or work but, look at us...all doing hard things and pushing though it. Thank heavens it's a short week!

Fall Break

I started my new job last week.  Thats right...a J O B - job, something I haven't had for 12 almost 13 years.  Not to be confused with the "gigs" I have had over the years - story time lady gig, Lego camp teacher gig, make sure Robin Thick has a humidifier in his green room gig - but this is an every day (school day) set hours bonafied  job. 

I am now a TA in the functional skills classroom at my kids school for half the day. The whole thing just kind of fell into my lap and happened so fast! From the time I inquired about the job, to the time the job was offered was about a day and a half. I just kind of went with my gut and said yes. Thats par for the course for me, go with the gut, say yes, and then figure it all out later.
My first full week starts the Monday after Fall Break, I guess thats when I will really know what I have gotten myself into.

As for Fall Break we stuck around here. Thursday the kids and I went to piano but stopped to pick out Halloween pumpkins before hand. Of course Soren wanted to come, so he and I hung out at the library during the lesson...luckily the Marmalade Coffee and Chocolate Society was holding a FREE coffee and chocolate lesson and tasting.  Soren and I had a full plate of cheese and crackers as well as award winning chocolates to ourselves! We brought the left overs home and gave Miriam, Byron and Darin a lesson in the nuance and delicacy of fine chocolate.

Friday Darin and I re-stained the front doors.  We used the stain left from the former owners, I do have dreams of painting the doors, shutters, pillars and flower basket but haven't finalized a color scheme.  Until then, we needed to protect the wood from sun damage. I love to get things like that off my to do list. The doors are so beautiful I don't want them to get ruined during my indecision.

The kids took some friends on an exploration in the hills for the afternoon.  They had so much fun I felt bad breaking up the party, but this was one of our last chances to hit Lagoon during Frightmares. My kids lessons were still on that evening, so we only had 2 hours, but luckily it was before the scary people came out and during the trick or treating.

Saturday we totally slept in and lounged around! We had to rush to get the boys ready for a 10 am birthday party...how is that for a lazy morning? Miriam and I picked the boys up and then went to "Farnival" which is a carnival put on by the family of one of my cute students.  Their whole neighborhood gets together to put on this amazing carnival and all proceeds go to Primary Children's Hospital.

Can you tell we were scrambling for costumes....haven't quite got that far yet.
Soren is a pirate, but totally un-costumed because of the heat, Byron has a stormtrooper on his shirt, and M is Minnie Mouse....in a clogging skirt.

The whole rest of the afternoon and most of Sunday was apple-palooza! Our neighbor had given us 3 bushels of apples (actually 5, but I gave 2 to Mirissa).  I got about 7 ziplock quarts in the freezer and a whole bowl of applesauce in the fridge.  The boys and I have been loving applesauce on toast.

That evening my niece Madison was crowned Miss Carbon County!! So we celebrated before bed! It will be fun to watch her compete in Miss Utah this summer.

Sunday was Sunday....church, finished up the applesauce mess. Around 3 I decided to take the kids for a hike up to Mecca. We got brave and climbed up high to get great views.

Soren found his "thoughtful spot" where he could bash rocks.

I had to tear the boys away from the stream to go back home but Monday morning just comes too early.  Sunday evenings are hard, thats why we have deemed them Ray Family Survivor Night.  A little dose of reality tv helps with the weekend let down.

Family Exploration

Alpine Loop...a first for us.  

Deer Creek Overlook and...

homemade pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, really can you get more "Fall" about things?

Then Cascade Springs, which was a last minute decision we are so glad we made.

Easy, not at all strenuous but lovely and interesting. 

We hit the tail end of the foliage change, when there are patches of bright yellow aspens on the mountain side.  It would be fun to go back in the Spring and earlier in the Fall.

We stopped by Bridal Veil on the home stretch of the loop.

Kind people gave the kids fish food for the impressive trout.

A little mini-adventure pre-fall break weekend. Nice to beat the crowds.

Great Salt Lake

Well...it's not a Pacific Island, but we quite enjoy trips to the Salt Lake.  

You just have to know how to do it, and this being our 3rd time, we now know the tricks.  Bring bug spray, and at least a $1 worth of quarters per person for a warm cleansing shower, wear shoes to walk out to the water even though it's hard to wear shoes in the sandy part...you will want shoes! Also, it smells bad...but you get use to that.

The super, extra salty water has it's perks.  The floating is effortless and fun, and there is no better place to skip rocks. The shore has fun foam bubbles, the sand is sandy and the mud is delightfully squishy.  We didn't see the brine shrimp this time, we must be too late in the season.

We did see lots a buffalo and antelope right up close as we drove home.

This is turning into one of our Fall traditions!