Happy Halloween 2012

Happy Halloween 2012!  We had a good Halloween full of fun things.  We went on a big trip last weekend so we are still getting caught up on things.  We'll post more about our trip and Halloween soon.

Grandpa Utah & The Mullins

The following weekend we got visits from the Mullins and Grandpa Utah.  The Mullins flew in and out of Las Vegas to attend Dave's sisters wedding in St. George.  Grandpa Utah wanted to catch them while they were in town, and came down a few days early so he could be at another football and soccer game and the kids Church Primary Program.  We love having him here and getting to have him at these special things.  Kai and Rori did great at the Primary Program.  Both of them had their parts memorized and spoke right in to the microphone.  Kai was super cute as you could see him mouthing his part to himself leading up to his turn.  We had been a bit nervous about Rori's part which was "Consequences happen because of our choices".  Consequences is a hard word for the average 4 year old, but super daunting to a hearing impaired kid.  She practiced hard though and said it very well.  We were very proud of them and so was Grandpa.

 

*Kai finally lost his other top front tooth at dinner one night.  Hooray!  He has a perfect Halloween smile.

 

 

It was also so much fun to have the Mullins in town.  Our kids are in heaven playing with their cousins the whole time and we love getting caught up too.  It was nice to visit and get to celebrate an early birthday with Kirsten.  Our time with them always goes by so fast.  We can't wait until the next time.  We hated seeing grandpa and them go when the time came. 

Getting Caught Up

We've gotten behind in our blog journal'ing.  Lance did his trip up to Salt Lake and then the next week flew to Seattle for work.  He was able to stay with the Mullins and enjoy some Seattle Conveyor Belt Sushi with them.  Lance actually saw Dave 3 weeks in a row in 3 different states.  More on that to come.

While he was on his adventures the kids and I were enjoying lots of quality time and running around from school, practices, games, etc.  It was busy!

Both Kai and Rori are loving their respective sports so that is lots of fun.  Kai's team has been doing great and has only lost 2 games all season (to the same team).  We love how you can really see how the kids are learning and improving.  We have been very impressed with the coaches.  They have 1 more season game and then will have playoffs.

Rori has also really improved a lot with soccer.  She is understanding the basics of the game so much better now and is actually really fun to watch because she enjoys it so much and isn't afraid to get in to the mix of it all one bit.  One game she got reprimanded for pulling on her boy opponents shirt- "he was doing it so I thought we could" was her honest response.  You can tell she has an older brother and isn't afraid of some contact.  Last game she kicked the ball the correct direction the entire game which was really huge since there are very few on her team that have yet to pick that up. 

The hardest hue to hold

Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.  (RF)

 

 I traveled to Utah the first weekend of October to spend time with my Dad, brother, brother-in-law and other family members and friends.

Dad, Tyler and I tried a restaurant we hadn't been to before - Flemings.

Friday morning I fulfilled a longtime desire to play golf in Autumn at Wasatch Mountain State Park.  Thanks to Matt Wirthlin and Walt Romney for making it enjoyable and thanks to Dave Cook for joining us at Tarajumara for lunch after.

The first trip over Guardman's Pass took me to my cousin Curtis Rodriquez's wedding at the Wasatch club at Brighton Ski Resort.

 Thanks to Aunt Tracy for making Mom's chocolate oblivion cake, a process that literally takes days.

The second trip over Guardsman's Pass took my dad and me to BYU's football game against Utah State.

The next day we watched and attended General Conference. I appreciated this talk.
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/because-i-live-ye-shall-live-also?lang=eng

I also liked President Uchtdorf's warning about the dangers of excessive social media. I was live-tweeting it.  #irony  #calltorepentance

Finally, I did a little work on our house there.  #goodmemories

It just occurred to me that Frost's poem is about spring and dawn. Odd. I always thought it was about Autumn and dusk.  Oh well; still works.