The kids had two days off from school and so we stayed one night at Chula Vista, a waterpark resort in the Wisconsin Dells. Besides spending time at the indoor waterpark, we also took a hike behind the hotel. Just look at how beautiful it was! Then on our way home we stopped at a restaurant called Buffalo Phils where they deliver your food on a train. Keegan was in heaven! Here are some pictures of the fun time we had.
Although Keegan isn't quite four yet we celebrated his birthday with friends last Saturday. One of his Sunbeam friends, Christian, is having a birthday this month too, so his mom and I coordinated so that we could have a birthday party for the both of them and invite all of their other little Sunbeam friends to it.
We had the party at Christian's house and the theme was Candyland. Christian's mom had most of the party supplies already. I was in charge of making the cake and gingerbread men to decorate. I also made felt peanuts for one of the games. Alyson, Kourtney and Christian's brother and sisters helped with the games which included pin the stripe on the candy cane, bowling for peanuts, a lollipop walk, and keep the balloon of the floor game. They also decorated gingerbread cookies. Keegan had so much fun with his friends and looks forward to his real birthday as well. How much fun is it to celebrate your birthday over a two week period when you are a kid? Lucky little guy!
Here are some random pictures of before and during the party.
We went to a women's volleyball game Wednesday night to see the Badgers take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers. We parked on Monroe Street, a cutesy little road with a variety of shops and restaurants. We ate at a Mexican place called and then walked to the field house. Keegan and Ellary were most excited about seeing Bucky Badger. You can see the admiration in Keegan's eyes as he peers at Bucky in one of the pictures. The big girls seemed to enjoy watching the game and Kris enjoyed taking a little time with the family before having to go back to work in order to be ready for our trip to Chula Vista the next day. Joel did really really well considering it was well passed his bedtime and he was limited as far as his mobility was concerned. We watched 3 sets with the Badgers ahead and left because it was almost 9 o'clock and we knew the next day was going to be a busy one.
We look forward to attending more university events in the future including the Wisconsin Badgers football team taking on the Brigham Young University Cougars on November 9th.
The last 4 years that we lived in East Lansing, Michigan we held a Trunk or Treat at our home. This year we decided to continue with that tradition and try it out at our new home in Wisconsin. We invited friends from our ward, school, neighborhood, and work then prayed it would be a success.
Although the majority of our friends arrived about a half an hour late which had us afraid that the party would be a bust, we think it turned out to be a success! We had an upwards of 35 children and most parents attend. The weather was relatively mild and people seem to have fun.
One interesting note is that the Phillips family has attended all of our Trunk or Treats except for last year's because they had already moved to Wisconsin.
Quick reminder to us as we plan for the Halloween trunk or treat next year: includ in the invitation that we will have refreshments before the Trunk or Treat and provide some healthy options; schedule the Trunk or Treat a little later in the evening maybe 6:15 or so.
We celebrated Kris' birthdau by starting with a family outing to P.F. Chang's. Then we returned home and Kris opened his presents (Wisconsin bleacher padded seats, a new memory foam pillow with cooling gel, a UW coat, a UW beanie, and a manly bracelet Koco bought at an art show). Kris also received a care box before work for his office full of snacks and goodies. Following presents we ate an icecream cake from Dairy Queen, Kris' favorite. What a great day. What a fun way to celebrate Kris' birthday too!
We love you, Kris. Thank you for all you do for our family. I really hope you know we are very grateful for you and how you love us and take care of us so well. I hope that life will slow down just a bit soon so you can have time to really relax and enjoy things you love to do outside of work and the normal grind. You are wonderful. May this coming year be a wonderful one for you!
Kris attended the annual BYU Accounting Conference last weekend. He's attended every year since graduating from BYU with the exception of last year because I was due with Joel the week before. Returning to where he first truly blead white and blue is something that he looks forward to. He enjoyed visiting with old friends and taking my niece and two nephews in SLC to a BYU football game. In addition to the normal stuff he does there Kris also ran by the hospital Alyson was born at and found a little bit of extra time to drive by the last apartment we lived in. It's been almost ten years since we moved to the four plex in Orem and it still looks the same!
Some memories I recall in that apartment include taking Easter pictures of Alyson on the front lawn when she was one year old, inviting our parents plus my sister Renee and her family to eat with us so we could play charades in order to tell them that we were pregnant with Kourtney, Alyson climbing through the kitchen cupboards to follow our cat J.R., and pulling into the carport from work or class to find Kris feeding Alyson yogurt in the swing at lunch time. No wonder they have such a great bond. Kris had the opportunity to spend a lot time with Alyson while we lived there.
I have so many more memories that come flooding back when I look at the pictures Kris sent me, very special memories that remind me every once and a while that I think I left a piece of my heart in Provo. Question is, will I ever get it back again? If I never do I hope that one if not all our kids will someday find it for me.
