Is it really November already???

Emma (Cinderella), Jaime (a mummy), and Taylor (we're not sure what he was!!) had fun dressing up and going to Trunk-or-Treat and then trick-or-treating around our neighborhood for Halloween! We did learn that you have to use actual cloth strips (or old sheets!) and not toilet paper for a mummy costume!! I think Megan was a mummy a few years ago, but we must have forgotten that little detail! We headed home after their candy bags were too heavy for them to carry! Of course, we're helping lighten that load every chance we get!

We now have less than 8 weeks to Tahra and Jonathan's wedding and things are getting checked off the to-do list. The most frustrating job so far has been to find the bridesmaid dresses and flower girl dresses, but those are finally crossed off!! Of course, Tahra & Jonathan have the most to do and we hope they survive the process!!

We'll be in Utah for Thanksgiving weekend, along with my parents (yea!!), so we'll get to meet Jonathan's family finally! Ian was able to get a couple tickets to the BYU vs. Utah game, so he's very excited about that!! Hope they win!

Josh and Greg now both have motorcycles, so keep them in your prayers!! I'm sure they're just trying to gray my hair even faster (thank goodness for Clairol!). They're both still working and going to school, so quite busy. Megan is surviving her senior year and still babysitting just about all weekend, every weekend - and still trying to learn the fine art of saving more than spending (she'll have to get tips from Ian on that!).

I've included video clips of Jaime, Emma and Taylor's piano recital this last Saturday, so enjoy!

Have a great week!!

Love

Susan

What a Wonderful Weekend!!

We have just had so many wonderful things happen over the last several days and we wanted to share them with you! Thursday night (very late!) Tahra and Jonathan arrived from Utah for a visit with Tahra proudly showing her newly acquired engagement ring! Jonathan proposed Wednesday and, of course, she accepted! They spent the weekend with us and we got to know and love Jonathan in a short period of time! He fits right in with our family (whew!) and wasn't scared off (double-whew!). I can't wait until January 4th!!

Then, Friday morning a miracle happened - we finally sold our house in Hull, MA!!!! This time it's final, no last-minute backouts and we could not be happier! I think I actually saw Ian floating around! It'll be nice to be down to owning one house!

Friday night we celebrated at home with chicken enchiladas dinner and shrimp (a favorite with most of the kids!).

Saturday we were planning on going up to Sandia Crest before the BYU game, but when the clouds and rain rolled in we decided to go to Old Town in Albuquerque instead. After that we went to a tailgate party for BYU fans and then off to the game.

Well, it would have been too much to ask for BYU to win after all the other fantastic things happening - but win they did!!

Sunday (today) we had all the kids together at church, where Megan also gave a talk in Sacrament meeting and did a great job (thanks Jonathan for helping her write it!), and then we took some pictures before Tahra & Jonathan left for Utah.


So, a weekend to remember and a lot to look forward to!

We love and miss you all and hope to hear about all your adventures too!!

Josh's B-day Surprise and more!

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend! Josh's 21st birthday was Sat. so we had his b-day celebration yesterday (Sunday) and Greg surprised him with a new kitten! Here are the pics and video:





Also, Megan played in her high school's Powder Puff football game Tuesday evening and here are her pics and vids:





Also on Friday afternoon, Jaime's band from Middle School walked and played in the Homecoming parade, so here are her pics:

Ian and I took Jaime, Emma, and Taylor to the State Fair Wed. after school and had a pretty good time. We did stay too long though! We made the mistake of riding the rides last and by that time (8 pm) the lines were sooooo long! Next year, we'll do the rides first then see all the other events, etc. Jaime got to see lots of horses, and we even saw a show with Grizzly bears - very fun! Of course we went on Dollar Day so parking, entrance, all the rides and some food were just $1 each, so that made it even more fun (right Ian?!). Here's a picture of Taylor on a tractor and another pic of Taylor & Emma on a ride:


















The next exciting event in our week is coming up this Thursday evening when Tahra and her unofficial fiance, Jonathan, will arrive here to visit for the weekend! We're very excited to meet him and give him the third-degree!! By the way, they met through work; he went to BYU-Provo for 2 years so far; served a mission (for the church) for 2 years in Geneva, Switz. (same mission that Ian served in!); and is now working full-time - and Tahra adores him!! I'm planning on taking some family pics while they're out here so I'll post those next week!
Have a great week!!

love ya

susan et al

Oh, almost forgot - I came across a video of Taylor at his Kindergarten graduation last year when he had a little speaking part, in case you're interested!

Awww, aren't they a cute couple??!! Ain't love grand!! This is Tahra's boyfriend, just celebrated their one-month anniversary and very happy together! We'll be meeting him the last weekend of Sept. and look forward to it. We have all the important questions ready for him! Just kidding Tahra (not really!).

Easy Riders

Check out Greg's new bike - and Megan and I braving a ride with him!
Okay - Megan has already ridden with him a few times, so she was fine with it. I, on the other hand, was a boa constrictor! He went just 20 mph but it felt much faster!! I know, I've already told him a thousand times to "BE SAFE!!!" But, go ahead and remind him too - for me!

Oh, some interesting happenings this week. Bomb threat at Meg's high school, so they had to be evacuated to the stadium for several hours. Of course it was a prank (probably some kid that didn't want to go to school, or wanted to feel important), but still scary - especially for the parents.

Emma just got accepted into a Girl Scout troop, with a bunch of her friends, so she's very excited. I volunteered to be a third leader since they now have 13 girls. They meet every other Friday at the school, right after school, so it couldn't be easier! The funny part is that the leader wasn't going to let her in because they already had 12 girls, but when she found out that Emma was Greg Kohl's little sister, she said she just couldn't turn down Greg's little sister. Yes, the leader's older daughter was one of Greg's girlfriends in high school - and they're still friends. Funny, huh? So I told Emma she owes Greg a thank you!

Jaime will be going with the choir to Hummingbird Friday and Sat. - like a choir camp. One of my friends from church is going with her daughter and she said Jaime could stay with them, since I wouldn't let Jaime go on her own. I'm hoping to go for Saturday and come home with them Sat. night.

Well, I'm sure I've lost most of you by now - so I'll stop here!!

love & miss you guys!!

susan

Lil' Cougars

Here's the 3 of them singing the BYU fight song - very exciting, huh??!!! They practice everyday so that they'll be ready for the game coming up!!

Go Blue!

love ya

susan

Go Cougars

Okay, this is pretty much just Taylor singing. The girls were just whispering it because they were afraid neighbors would hear them!! I'll try to upload the other one with all 3 of them singing next.

love yas

more videos (this is fun!)

Hi all! I'm including 3 video clips in this one. Our family is all going to a BYU vs. UNM football game at the end of Sept. and Ian told the kids he'd get them a treat if they memorized the BYU fight song - and they did! The other clip is of Taylor playing soccer (and making a goal!). He is now addicted to soccer and can't wait to play again. I've also included 2 pics of Megan and her friends. They got some pictures taken for one of the girls birthdays and they came out so cute I had to include it!

Hope you're all well. We're fine. Josh and Greg came to church with us today and stayed for the day and that was great! Well, Greg did go visit his newest girl interest!

Tahra is planning on being here for the weekend of the BYU game also - so that we can meet her 'friend' Jonathan. She's already met his parents, hmmm... We're looking forward to seeing her again - been too long!

Have a fun Labor Day weekend! We miss our annual Labor Day campout with the Hingham Ward!!!

Okay, still having trouble getting the other videos on here, so just one video clip today!

love ya

susan

Finally, Jaime's video of lesson

Just another day in paradise

Just a quick update! Since I apparently jinxed the closing of our house in Hull last time, I won't go into details, but things are looking good at this point. Around the end of Sept., cross your fingers please!! That's all I'm going to say! Josh and Greg just started college (Josh at CNM and Greg at UNM). So far, so good! Greg did get sick last week and ended up going to the hospital for possible meningitis, but they eventually decided it wasn't, just some other nasty virus, and got sent back home to get better. Of course, he didn't call his own mother and let her know until well after the fact!! It used to be that they'd tell me every time they had any aches, pains, or stomaches - no more! Tahra is quite happy right now (yes, a boy is the reason!). We may meet him this Fall - will keep all updated! I've posted a picture of Jaime at her lesson last week. Also, a picture of Jaime and her group singing at the baseball game Friday night. Megan just finished a marathon babysitting job - extremely exhausted! She did ask me how I ever get anything done - which was nice to hear! Work is going fine for me and for Ian. He's been busy buying tickets for a lot of families in our ward to the upcoming BYU football game - and he's pretty excited about going, of course! Okay, this was longer than I thought it would be - sorry! Have a great week and send a hello my way if you have a minute!!

(having trouble uploading the video of Jaime's horse lesson - will try again later)

love ya

susan