Spiky Shoes

We have the most amazing bishop.  (For anyone who might not know, we call the leader of our local church congregation "bishop.")  Instead of scheduling tithing settlements at the church, he offered to come to every family's home if they preferred.  I know that's not possible outside of Utah, but even so, that's definitely going above and beyond.

As soon as Bishop James walked in the door, Annika, in her true quirky style, immediately asked if she could stomp on his foot.  (!)  A bit surprised, he agreed as long as she wasn't wearing spiky shoes, which led to an elaborate conversation all about spikes.

A few days later, we received the following in the mail.  In case you are wondering, he painted the shoes.

Outside of family, this is without a doubt the most tender piece of mail we have ever received.  I am so grateful for this thoughtful man who ministers to each member of our congregation individually...

...even those who are five.

November News

It's winter!  (Well, not technically, but our yard is covered in snow and we've been skiing twice.)  As such, it's high time to post these photos of fall.

Who doesn't love playing in the crunchy leaves?

For a brief spell, the colors were positively brilliant.

Pausing to build a leaf pile in front of the church.

At the beginning of November, I checked Annika out of school early so that we could visit the Tracy Aviary during their winter dollar days.  I remember when Annika was a baby, Papa Kay said that her hair reminded him of this bird's crown.

Maybe he wasn't that far off.

More presently, this is a recent photo of Annika with bedhead.

Back to the aviary, enjoy the pretty pink flamingos.

Speaking of pretty, I was jealous of the eyelashes on this hornbill.

Back at home, it was time for a game of Go Fish, accompanied by a guinea pig, of course.


Moving on to other children, here's Eli with a super cool star he learned to make at our Relief Society art night.  (He's an honorary member.)

And here's Brooklyn with her cute group of friends, celebrating a birthday at the Classic Fun Center.

Here she is again at an inspiring luncheon our council hosted for all the Girl Scouts who earned their gold, silver, and bronze awards.

Silver, bronze, and three summit awards.  I'm super proud of this girl and her commitment.  I'm equally grateful for the amazing leaders who have mentored her along the journey.  Brooklyn's silver award project involved volunteering at a local elementary school during their afterschool program.

Talia was recognized too for earning her bronze award via her Bags to Beds project where she crocheted plastic grocery bags into a sleeping mat for the homeless.


A photo with their cute Daisy sister.  Annika's got some great role models to look up to.

Talia (front center) with the Bronze Award recipients.

Brooklyn (mid-center) with the Silver awardees.

 I have a hunch that these sweet girls may be recognized again some day for going the extra mile to earn their gold.

Speaking of scouts, Eli got to wear his cub scout uniform for their school veteran's day performance.  Not quite sure why they stuck him in the back row.  (Far right.)  He said he was half-falling off of the bleacher the entire time.  Still, he performed beautifully.

Talia's sixth grade Veteran's Day performance at Wasatch was far more elaborate.  Pretty fantastic costumes!


My eyes filled with tears listening to them sing, and crinkled with smiles watching them dance.  Who knew Talia did such a mean Charleston?   Can you spot her in the front row?

Reciting poetry.

So proud of all these munchkins, both within our family and within our community.

Now if only they would stop growing up so fast.