Life is good

NOVEMBER
 Life is good and life is happening. I will have to look at my phone to see what pictures were taken and what we've been doing to keep busy.

 Zoe has been searching for the best hot chocolate recipe.  She decided to use one from the friend magazine.  She has so much time before school and she uses her time well.  She gets up with everyone to read scriptures and say prayer.  She quickly gets all of her homework done(she does it in the morning because it is the only time she gets the computer).  She then eats breakfast, packs her lunch and sets her stuff all through the house.  She practices piano and art.  Some days she wants to spend her time making special treats for everyone.  The hot chocolate was a hit and the mix she made only lasted a week.

 Grandma and Grandpa Phillips Came for a visit.  I know they were just here but KC is moving forward in the priesthood and they came to support.  We played games and shopped, ate out way too much, but that gave us plenty of time to visit with each other.  Grandma was always there to help the kids with homework and house projects.

 Samantha needed finger pants for a school project.  We thought it was funny and picture worthy. 

 Yeah Zoe's tether ball got put together and the girls are having a blast.  It was 28 degrees outside and look how they are dressed.  Too cold for me but I was able to bundle up and join them for some games.

I harvested 300 green tomatoes just before the freeze.  I used some to make a green pasta sauce.  It wasn't the worst my family has eaten but it didn't go over so well.  The second time I used it I mixed it with a red sauce.  It takes two jars per pasta meal to feed the family so I thought a half & half would work.  They ate it with no complaints.  I then did some research on the green tomatoes and I have been able to keep them so they are slowly turning red and we can continue to have fresh ripe tomatoes in our salads.

I have more pics but I need to spend some time on photo books.

Extra Curricular activities

 Joshlynn is in the Belle Voce Choir.  The first performance was Tuesday.  Her choir sang three pieces.  One of them being a favorite of mine Somewhere over the Rainbow.  It was beautiful.  Her Choir teacher's Grandfather attends everyone of his concerts and that song is his favorite too.  The choir did so well but some had a hard time not getting so emotional through it as the grandfather is reaching the end of his life and Mr. P(teacher) is not sure how many more he will be able to attend.  This is not the choir Joshlynn had hoped for but with our recent move this is the choir her and Mr. P thought would be the best for this year.  Joshlynn is excited to hear the Mr. P is putting together a small group to do a special Christmas number at the Winter performance and she will be in this group.  Mr P says that this piece will challenge them and give them the opportunities they are looking for.  ISN"T THAT DRESS GORGEOUS!  SO IS THE GIRL!

 Oh I think that I found myself a cheerleader!  Jami is cheering this year and loves it. She just finished the football season and is preparing for the Basketball season.  She has learned new dance routines and enjoys performing.  
Jami is in the 7th grade choir at her school and had a great performance last week.  The Music teacher at the middle school teaches all of the music classes so he does really quick performances back to back.  The performance was 15 min long and was very entertaining.  I love having singers and musically talented kids in the house.
For Jami's 13th birthday we gave her horsemanship and riding lessons.  Once a week she gets to learn how to take care of a horse and learns how to ride.  She loves it.  The horse in the picture is Jett.

 With the move and KC's lack of achievements in school last year he was not planning on doing choir this year.  The schools here have 8 classes in a schedule so KC was going to fill that with classes he needed to retake.  Over the summer KC went with Joshlynn and I to meet Mr. P(mentioned above).  Joshlynn sang and talked with Mr.P  and KC started getting excited over the conversation and after talking with Mr. P himself he sang too.  Mr. P placed him in the Acapella choir.  KC is singing all the time and at this last performance I could actually see his mouth moving and his chest rising as he sings.  Many love his voice.  Mr. P is so happy that KC joined and the church choir loves having him around.  both KC and Josh are excited to tour with their Varsity Choirs to CA in the spring.

 Samantha is a runner.  She joined the Cross Country team at Lewis & Clark Middle school.  She loved practice but it did not ire her out.  She came home from practice and went straight to the trampoline to work on her aerials.  Sami came in 5th or 6th at every race.  She raced with 6th, 7th and 8th graders.  The courses were 1.5 miles long.  She finished the season with a time of  9:26.  I love her long legs and arms.  Sami is so excited for track and field in the spring.
Sami also plays the violin.  The classes are grouped by grade so the beginning has been a repeat for her since she played at Benson Hill last year.  She is enjoying the music.

Zoe is a drawing maniac.  She always has a new picture for me.  Zoe is a great instructor too.  In our mornings together she often teaches me to draw silly characters.  Zoe just took up piano lessons and has her first concert in November.  She practices every morning and can't wait for new pieces to learn.  Zoe is also athletic but we have not been able to find much for her age yet.  She wants to play soccer and volleyball.  Yesterday she came home very excited.  So excited that she couldn't calm down to tell me why.  Finally she was able to hand me a piece of paper.  She is joining the volleyball team at her school.  Practices start next week and are two days a week.  Due to the size of the gym I will only get to see one game, but that is not a big deal.  We are just so excited for the opportunity.

Us Knights always take pictures in the fall.  The weather is just perfect for it and all the colors are beautiful.  There were no tears and everyone got ready in 15 min.  30 min later we had all the kids pictures taken. We did it all  at our house and with a camera given to me by my sweet Mom-in-law.

 Sami 11 yrs so close to 12

 Jami 13 yrs

 Joshlynn 15 1/2 yrs

 Zoe 10 yrs

 KC 16 3/4 yrs

I am so blessed to have such beautiful happy children.  Thanks kids for letting me capture it all.