I just had to put up a few more photos from the Bobby Lawrence Karate Tournament.

Our studio ended up doing really well. We got 2nd place overall, and only lost by about 20 points. We also only had about 60 participants and the team in first place had closer to 100. I think that is pretty impressive!

I loved watching all the events, but the most memorable part for me was watching Ian sparring. He really came alive at the tournament and sparred better than I had ever seen him in class. Being able to kick really helped him, but I think just being at the tournament helped too. He was REALLY into it. It was cute to watch! I wanted to put up a few more pictures of him.

This afternoon was like any other crazy afternoon for us. I picked the kids up to school and the mad rush of the afternoon started. We stopped by the house to get a snack and karate clothes and then headed to the karate studio. Nora had her class first, but she started crying saying her belly hurt and she didn’t want to go. Tonight I decided not to force the issue and I let her stay home. We went to run an errand instead and then dropped Nora off at home with Scott and went back for Ian’s karate class. I waited with Emma until it was her class time, then I sat there and Ian and I watched Emma’s class. Are you keeping up with me?

We got home about 6:45pm and Scott had made the entire dinner. He planned a little birthday dinner for me so we could celebrate with the kids before we head to Vegas for the weekend. He even called and invited my dad to come over. Isn’t that sweet? He made spaghetti and biscuits and bought my favorite kind of pie–razzle berry. (I don’t like cake, so I never have birthday cake for my birthdays) He had a present and cards and everything. I had no idea he had anything planned and that made it all the more special. He made me feel very loved.

I’m really looking forward to spending a few days alone with Scott in Vegas. We will be celebrating my birthday just the two of us. Scott has been working so much and he really deserves a vacation. It will be great to spend a few days together.

Vegas baby!

This was our Sunday project!

Scott has wanted to have a backyard ice rink ever since I have known him. This year he finally got his wish. A woman on his hockey team was selling kits this year and he decided to finally do it. We spent the whole day today getting it all set up. Now we just need to wait for some freezing weather to make the ice. This might be the first winter that Scott is actually excited about!

We had an early snowstorm this year! It turned out to be more snow that I was expecting. Usually the first storm of the year is just a dusting and the snow is usually gone by afternoon. This year we got a few inches and they stuck around.

Emma and Nora were home from school and Ian was at hockey practice with Scott. Emma asked if they could go out and play in the snow. We dug out all the snow clothes and headed outside. I little while later Emma called me to show me what they had made and to ask for a carrot. I remembered that we had a snowman kit that I had bought years ago. I dug it out and we decorated the snowman. They were so proud of their work!

This year it was more like Halloween weekend, since Halloween fell on a Sunday. In Utah, when a holiday falls on a Sunday many people celebrate it on Saturday. Others still celebrate on the official day. So we had trick-or-treaters on both Saturday and Sunday. For us, this was the best of both worlds. We got to answer the door on Saturday and then trick-or-treat on Sunday.

We spent the whole day at home on Halloween–a rarity for us lately. We made sugar cookies shaped like ghosts, and pumpkins, and tombstones. Then the kids spent forever painting them with sugar cookie icing. They turned out really cute, but it took us almost all day! I have tons of respect for all of you kitchen goddesses. Baking fancy cookies is just not my forte. I always have these ideas in my mind of how beautiful they will turn out, but they never end up looking like I pictured.

On Halloween night we invited our friends over to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood. We had six adorable little trick-or-treaters. We started about 5:00pm since most of them were little. It was perfect. The weather was perfect. It was a clear night and not too cold. The littles lasted about an hour and a half before they had enough. They got so much candy they could hardly carry their bags. It was a perfect amount of time and a perfect night.

It has been about 4 1/2 years now since we put our Rottweiler, Damien, to sleep. Since then, we have had another child and have been traveling tons. We were just too busy to have another dog.

The last few months I have been thinking it was time to add another dog to our family. I thought about getting a miniature dog. I thought that it might be easier to take care of. But then I started thinking about our lifestyle. We are so active–always hiking and biking and camping. A tiny dog just couldn’t do those things. I wanted our new dog to be a part of our family that we would want to take with us wherever we go. I pictured us taking him in the motor home with us and camping and biking. I ruled out the little dog, but didn’t really decide on anything.

Then, a few weeks ago we went to the Soldier Hollow Sheepdog Classic. This was my 7th year attending! We strolled around and looked at all the booths. There was a booth from Utah Animal Adoption Center. The kids wanted to look at the dogs. There was one in particular that just tugged at my heart strings. His name was “Oso” and I loved his eyes! The kids weren’t very interested in him, but I just stayed by his kennel for a bit and petted him. He was a perfect size for our family and I have always had a soft spot for Australian Shepherds. We kept on walking, but I couldn’t get that dog off my mind.

Scott was away on his annual boys trip to Catalina, but I sent him a message that night telling him I thought I found the dog I wanted. I wasn’t sure if he would even be available, but I thought we should go look at him on Monday when he got back.

Early Monday morning I called Soldier Hollow and got a nice volunteer to go over to the booth and ask the people from Utah Animal Adoption Center to call me. They did and the dog I was wishing for was still there! I asked them to hold him and told them we would be there later to see him…..and the rest is history.

“Rex” is a one year old Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix. It has been about 7 weeks now since we adopted him and he has been such a great addition to our family! He is such a smart dog and really wants to please us. We have been taking him to obedience training and we are teaching him how to follow us when we mountain bike. The kids are loving him and I have enjoyed how much more active he has made me. I’ve been really enjoying our fall weather and lots of hikes with Rex. He has been on two camping trips in the motor home. I am so glad that we decided to adopt him. It is so nice to have a dog who is truly a member of our family. He spends his days in the house with us and his nights sleeping on our bedroom floor. He gets lots of walks and lots of playtime. They said he was a stray before and I think he is really happy to be with us. We are just as happy to have him!

Look what we had in our backyard last week!

For the past 4 years Emma has been taking dance at Park City Dance. She really wanted to be on the Academy Team. Last year she tried out, but she didn’t make it. She danced all year last year and then took a bunch of summer camps this summer. She tried out for academy again this past summer, and this time she made it. The summer dance camps were intense! They were long days and hard work. At the end of the summer Emma came to me and told me that she didn’t want to dance any more. I didn’t want to just let her quit. Academy is a big commitment. They dance 5-7 hours per week and travel to multiple competitions. We had a few talks about it, and finally decided that she had put in a lot of effort at dance. She didn’t give up. She made the academy team, but then decided that it just wasn’t what she wanted to dedicate herself to this year.

Emma has been watching Ian do karate for the past 2 years, and she decided that she wanted to try that. She took her two introductory lessons with Mr. Klekas and decided that she wanted to do karate this year. I think she will be really good at it, and it will be a lot of fun for her!

Yesterday Heidi delivered my family photos. I have had so much fun going through them! They turned out amazing and I just love them. I can’t wait to see a huge canvas of one of them hanging over my fireplace! Heidi was so sweet to edit all of them for me and to let me play with them too. These are a mixture of her edits and mine.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Last week my good friend Heidi came up and took our family photos. Today I got to see a sneak peek on her blog.

They turned out AMAZING! I love them and I can’t wait to see the rest.

Check out Heidi’s website to see our sneak peek:

When I get the images from her I’ll post a few here.

Thanks again Heidi, you are the best!!!