December

We kicked off December with a trip downtown to see the lights. Josh was a little less than thrilled to be there, but we made it through the night and even managed to get a picture. We also got out our Polar Express train and Buddy, our Elf on the Shelf. And we decorated the tree, which I made sure to get plenty of pictures of this year. And, Josh became a purple belt. He's doing great!

Barson Cousins

The week of Thanksgiving we got together with my brother and all my sisters and their families. Ryan and Heather and their boys were here from Florida so Kathie and Mike and their girls came down and we spent the whole day together. Ryan and Heather also stayed with us for a few nights. It was so good to see them and so good to be together. It was the first time we had all been together since my mom and dad announced they were getting divorced at the beginning of the summer. I haven't written about it here and won't write about it much more because it was and is too painful. But, it was really, really good to be together. After we played all day with the kids, the adults went out to dinner and then had dessert at Kristen's house. I can't say enough how much I love my own little family and my brother and sisters and their spouses and kids. And I will be forever grateful for how supportive Nate and my kids have been over the last several months, along with our extended family and friends. Time does heal wounds, but I know some things will probably always hurt.

Thanksgiving 2014

For Thanksgiving: 

I got to help with Megan's Thanksgiving Day Feast. It's one of my favorite parties of the year! Grandma Barson dropped off a Thanksgiving gift basket that included candy to make gumdrop turkeys like I used to when I was a kid. And we had Thanksgiving dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Nelson. Nate's dad plays the violin in their neighborhood Thanksgiving devotional every year, but we can't always make it so he played for us at home.

November

In November, Lia earned a medal for her reflections project (and so did her friends London and Alexa). We also got tickets from my dad to a BYU football game. It was cold, but we had a fun time and Nate didn't spare any expense getting the kids treats and hot chocolate. We took the kids to dinner and played at Grandma Nelson's too.

Halloween

Halloween Day we had parades and parties (I got to help with Lia's) and trick-or-treating. Nate usually takes the kids and I hand out candy. This year I met up with them about half way through. Never mind that the rest of our candy was all taken while I was gone, it was fun to be with the kids. Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays, but I love seeing how excited the kids get. I love watching them run down the street with capes trailing behind them holding their trick-or-treat bags. And I love the smell and feel of that time of year. The kids, in case you can't tell, are a butterfly, the headless horseman, and mimes.

Halloween Parties

As usual, we got the most out of Halloween. We started with Grandma Nelson's Halloween party, then Aunt Luann's party, and finally the Barson Halloween party (minus grandma and grandpa Barson), which we hosted. They were all fun and all included toilet paper...or mummy wrapping, rather. 

Sun Valley Continued

Sun Valley, Idaho

We took a short trip over fall break to Idaho to visit Kathie and Mike and Lauren and Katelynn. We went to lunch and dinner with them on Friday in Twin Falls and then headed to a condo in Sun Valley. We rented bikes and went on an eleven mile bike ride with the kids. It was so beautiful! Megan rode on a tag-a-long behind Nate and thought it was the greatest thing ever. We met back up with Kathie and Lauren and Katelynn later in the day to go ice skating. It was a really fun trip! It was great to see Kathie and Mike and Sun Valley was a lot of fun. Nate and I haven't been there since we were first married. And, we got some really great pictures of the kids!