October in a Nutshell

My Mom thought it would be a good idea to do some more family pictures since my Dad wasn't able to be at Kerry's wedding. He missed out on all the pictures that day in August. So on a cold day in October, we Rosander's got all primped and threw on the clothes we wore for the wedding reception. I haven't seen the final product of those pictures, but hopefully they turned out ok. My new brother-in-law snapped this picture while my parents and siblings posed. And the one below it is of Mase and Carter hanging out waiting for their turn.
The next two pictures were taken at Gardner Village in SLC. I had never been there before and was excited to go. After the couple of hours we spent there, I was convinced never to come back with my kids. It would be more fun as an "adult" girls afternoon. The place was decked out for Halloween and was very cute, but we had told my kids that there was a tractor ride to see a witch who told stories and did magic spells. I was told this information over the phone when I called to see if there was anything going on during the day that would be good for my kids. The lady I spoke with failed to mention that this particular activity started at 5pm nightly! The kids were mad. I was mad. After we got over our disappointment (and my mom bought everyone treats), the kids were happy to run around and do what they do best... argue and fight. I caught the only two smiles on camera the entire two hours we were there.

In all the years we have been traveling up to SLC for extended stays during the holidays, summers and track breaks, I have never taken my kids to see the historic Salt Lake Temple. Of course they have seen it, but we haven't spent time there like a typical tourist might. With Carter getting baptized, I thought that this would be a perfect time to do such a field trip.

We took the Trax downtown and spent the next five hours hangin' around temple square. Once we got settled into our tourist roles, it was great. We started by going into the assembly hall. They don't make buildings like that anymore! It was so beautiful with the wooden pues and old organ pipes. Later we even saw Pres. Eyring leading a group of graduates into the building for a ceremony.

After that, we headed into the south visitors center. The kids were able to view videos, commercials and other kinds of media that the church has made and distributed. And the best part is there were three video monitors! No fighting over what to watch. It was very cool and it kept them entertained for a good 20 minutes, until I said we needed to move on. That was the highlight of that building.

We walked around the grounds for a while, then went into the north visitors center. We went into the basement and were able to get a private screening of Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration movie. It is a 70 minute movie and my kids sat through the whole thing. I was surprised. I love this movie! It really depicts Joseph Smith well and the sacrifices he made in bringing about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Awesome movie for anyone!

After the movie, we were all so hungry, but I had to take them up to the top floor to see Thorvaldsen's Christus, a magnificent 11-foot statue of the Savior. The kids thought it was cool. And it is! Just being in the presence of this awesome piece of work brought our voices to a whisper as well as everyone around us. My eyes began to tear just thinking about my Savior and His love for me and my little family. I need to always remember that when I feel like my plate is full and I feel like I've been given the wrong trials. I can do all things with the help of my God and Savior.

It was a great day... one I will remember. I hope my kids do too.

My favorite picture of the month!

Carter's big 8th birthday party at Bounce U. He has been asking for a party threre for at least a year. Seeing as it was his 8th birthday we went ahead and had his party there and he couldn't have been more happy. I don't think he slept much the night before and when we stoped at McDonald's for a hamburger before the party, Carter told the lady taking our order to "hurry it up."

I did not realize that the cake was going to be that big when I ordered it!

Halloween. Carter was a cub scout. Mase - Bob the Builder and Kam - a waitress. There is a story behind the cub scout uniform. When Carter turned 8, he was then able to attend cub scouts with our church group. He was super excited to go to the boy scout office and buy the shirt. In fact, he wanted the entire outfit... pants, short, hat, and lots of patches. We settled on the needed shirt and a hat. I think he put on the shirt at least once a day until I insisted that we wash it after Halloween night came to a close.

That was our exciting October. Hopefully now that the kids are in school, I can get back my life a bit, get the house cleaned and get ready for the next break from school.