Cousins!

If we get to spend Thanksgiving break snuggling with baby Evan, we will be in Heaven!

The Dresser

17 years ago I moved to Denver- not knowing a single person, and not having a penny to my name. I would soon be starting a job at Bear Creek High School making $28,000/year. But, my first paycheck wouldn't come until September 31st, and it was only July 15th. I had to take out a $2000 loan from my future paychecks just to get by for those first several weeks.

All of my belongings fit in the back of a Toyota Corolla.

I slept on the floor for about a month. Finally, I was able to buy a used dresser, nightstand, and bed for $150. That was a lot of money!

Audra is in the process of moving to a bedroom downstairs because she wants her own room. With all of the moving, we are purging and reorganizing. We moved Camille into Claire's room.

And that left us with an extra dresser- the used dresser I bought when I first moved here.

We decided to take it to Goodwill. It was sad, but necessary. Goodwill, however, wouldn't take it. That's how bad of shape it is in. It's been through a lot! So, we took it to Arc, and they barely accepted it- but they did.

It's fun thinking of that time when I first moved here- to see where the trajectory of my life has taken me. That was a lonely and difficult, and exhilarating and incredible time of my life. I have come a long way from this dresser and sleeping on the floor. It has been a wonderful ride.

Be About Bliss

I volunteer with an organization called Be About Bliss. A woman in my ward started it, and we provide winter food kids to children in need over winter break. It's a great organization, and I'm happy to be a part of it.

So, I dragged the kids to our local grocery store to help collect food. They are AWESOME at this!

I told them if they got 50 "noes" then I would buy them smoothies from Jamba Juice. They were VERY motivated! They were so cute, and at the end of two hours they earned 99 "noes." Of course, in the process, they also got a ton of "yes'". In fact, the head of Be About Bliss said they are the BEST at this and will gladly give them whatever they want to come back and do it again.

Audra even got a $100 bill from somebody! She thought he was joking, and then he gave it to her. It was pretty incredible.

My major role in this is to collect 9,000 granola bars! Yikes- that is A LOT of granola bars in case you didn't know!

We hope to make 1,500 food kids for kids in need. It is always really awesome how it all comes together.

Baby Evan

Yay for a new baby cousin! The girls were making up songs for him and dancing all over in excitement. It's definitely pretty awesome and we are so excited to have a new family member!

He loves the Broncos blanket that Audra made for him;)

Tuesday Night Lights

For Audra's final game we had to drive out to Timbuktu. It was the third time the game was rescheduled, and I hoped it would be canceled, but it was  not.

It was at a field with lights- something new for her, so that was fun.

Unfortunately, even though I told her she needed to win to make the drive worth it, they did not win.

But, it was still a great season.

Because her teams kept disbanding and her teams were always terrible, we decided to try a new league called "Rec-Plus." It is still non competitive with no try-outs or tournaments, but they are a step above recreation. They have a paid coach at one practice a week. Admittedly, I wasn't very impressed with the paid coach. At least at the practice I saw, all they did was play various types of tag- they never touched the ball. But, at least they didn't lose every game, and the games they lost were all very close (except the last one in Timbuktu where it was a total blow-out). So, it was a much better season than in years past.

Sadly, even though this team ha been together for several years, I don't know if they will stick together next year again or not. I feel like we have finally found the right league for her, so I'm hoping she can stay on it. Time will tell.

At least the harvest moon was beautiful- the picture obviously does not do it justice.

Thanksgiving Tree

The Thanksgiving Tree has become quite the annual tradition- one we really enjoy. Claire made the tree this year ("it's tradition" as she would say). It's nice as they get older and come up with more insightful things to be grateful for- it is really sweet to see what they have to say.

Here's some of my favorites:

-DCSD Security guards (Audra)
-Disneyland memories (Ben)
-Hanging upside down (Claire)
-Books to open my mind (Claire)
-Jazz band (Audra)
-Eternal families (Camille)
-Cousins at Bear Lake (me)
-The ocean (me)
-Friends who help me when I need it (Claire)
-Joy and hope (Camille)
-Napkins (Camille- this was fitting. She uses A LOT of napkins! I have to buy a lot of napkins for her!)

The Season That Never Ends...

The soccer season that never ends (thanks to bad weather and the continued cancellation of games) finally ended for Claire.

She had to switch to a new team this year. She was on a great team that had stuck together for a number of years- we loved the team. But, the coach and his wife divorced, and that disbanded the team as well. If only they had stayed together for the team!

At any rate, this year she joined the Mermaids. Her first comment when she  found out was, "We always beat them." Sure enough, The Mermaids, despite their name, are not the fiercest team ever created. They tied their first game, won their final game, and lost every game in between.

But, they did have fun. The coach is great, and Claire did improve. At some point we will likely switch her up to the same league that Audra is playing in, which is a step above rec but still not competitive. Until then we will ride this team out and see what happens.