Halloween Pictures

 Claire volunteered at Trick or Treat Street as a knight. Her friend had made this costume and let Claire borrow it. It's made out of cardboard, but so cool- even if she couldn't sit!

Camille went with friends to the Halloween party at St. Luke's

Then instead of Trick-or-Treating, Camille performed at the halftime show for the football game. She was not thrilled about this, but such is life. Probably her last ever color guard performance as she doesn't want to do it next year. The song was Ghostbusters. Unfortunately, literally only about 8 students besides the marching band were there. It was pretty sad. Hopefully the coach will never schedule a game on Halloween again!

I also got my hair done and love how  it turned out!

We only had about 20 trick or treaters (the game was a late start, so we went just for halftime and were home to hand out candy). It seems to get less every year.

6-7

 Our attempt to make 6-7 uncool again!

Littleton Haunts

 We had a fun night at Littleton Haunts! This event is put on by the Boy Scouts, and you walk around downtown Littleton and hear spooky stories. The weather was perfect, and it was really a fun evening .We learned a lot of Littleton history, including that the college by the Light rail used to be a munitions factory for WWII missiles. I had no idea.

BYU vs. Utah

 

It's easy to spot Audra due to her height, or lack thereof. This is her on Saturday practicing with the Utah band before their huge rivalry game where they performed together at halftime.

It was an intense evening, and the emotions were high. But Audra only texted us one thing the entire game:

"Benson Boone is 5 feet away from me!!!!!!"

Priorities.

She was also featured on the Swing Dance Club Instagram page!

Church History Tour: Day 5- Johnson Farm

 We drove about 45 minutes down to the Johnson Farm

It was this house where Joseph Smith was dragged from his bed, tarred and feathered, but then woke up and preached, likely from these stairs, the next morning. His son would die from the exposure to the cold.

Then we went to an Amish bakery for lunch. It was delicious! And bonus, we got to see the beautiful Amish country and see several buggies on the city streets. It was quite lovely.

The countryside was stunning throughout the entire trip. The leaves were gorgeous as they were on full display.

We were all ready to come home and sleep in our own beds, but it was a wonderful trip. This is a trip I have wanted to take the girls on for years. I wish Audra could have gone. 

Ben and Claire and Camille weren't too keen on the trip. But on the drive home, Claire said, "I know Camille and I were grumpy about this trip, but it was actually a really great trip."

I have always wanted to go visit The Sacred Grove. It was surreal to be there- to be in all of these places we have read so much about over the years.

This truly is the gospel of Jesus Christ- He is in this, and He was with the early saints. What a blessing to walk where they walked!

Church History Tour: Day 4- Kirtland

 

Driving up to the temple, all I could think was, "wow!" It's so incredible that we got to be here.

Ben and I both have a ton of legacy here. I have over 60 relatives who lived in Palmyra and Kirtland. Ben has a similar amount. This is our heritage- one of faith, sacrifice, and love for the Lord. Hopefully our kids recognize and know that as we pass this legacy on to them.

Emma and Joseph Smith House: 

The view from Emma's kitchen of the temple:

A gravestone for several Smith's, including Joseph and Emma's babies, in the cemetery:

Oliver Granger headstone:

We went to lunch at Maggie's Doughnuts and cafe, and it was a hit:

Then over to the Whitney house/store:

Where Joseph and Emma slept:

The school of the prophets, where the word of wisdom was received. The room was WAY smaller than I expected!

We saw the rebuilt ashery and sawmill:

Then we went up to the stone quarry, where the saints dug out stone for the temple.

You can still see the rivets of where the saints drilled to break out the stone:

Then we went back to our super cute hotel (Best Western Plus), where the rooms were quaint and felt like the 1800's but the beds were TINY and none of us slept either night we were there.