Thanksgiving in St. Louis

Warning: Lots of pictures, but I had a blast capturing these moments with my family!  Thanksgiving Day was absolutely gorgeous!  We couldn't have asked for better weather!!  My nephew took charge and organized us into 2 teams for a 2 hour kickball match.  We had an absolute blast!  Lizzie has already put in her request for our next Family Home Evening Activity.  (She may have to wait until the spring because I'm a wimp.)

This little darling Nora captured our hearts as she roamed around the field.  I couldn't get enough of this girl!

 My sister and her family moved to a new home that located across the street from Chris's school.   He was totally in his element.

Proof that my mom's awesome!  How many other kids get to play kickball with their grandparents!?!  Even though she and my dad payed for it in aches and pains for the next 2 days, they said the fun was totally worth it.

My beautiful, talented, amazing sister...who is so cut-throat, she threw the ball at my FACE to get me out on first base.  It's a good thing I was SAFE!  So there!  It never pays to be mean!

Evan was showing off every time he ran over home plate.  I know he was dancing "Gangam style" at least once!

 Lizzie discovered that despite her self-doubt, she really could play and contribute to the team.  Yea!

 Dad strained his right quad and hamstring.  He was hurting!  After having the boys run for him, we just put him as the constant pitcher and he CRUSHED it! :) "Slow and smooth!""Baby Bouncies!"

 Carter ran his heart out!

 Braxton smacked the ball and cleared it for a homer a few times!  Steve and Ryan also did their fair share of making the women look ridiculously weak, but our talents are different, right? :)

 The gang (minus Steve) still smiling and in one piece

 After the game, it was crunch time for the ladies to finish the food, so the girls engaged Nora in girly play.

 The boys watched football.

 The three tables were set.

The food was plentiful and scrumptious!

 Is this the cutest "little kids' table" ever!?

 Can you tell what my favorite part was?

Happy Halloween!!!

 Pumpkin Carving used to be a very stressful and time-consuming, messy event.  Carving pumpkins is now one of the traditions in our lives that I enjoy doing more as the kids get older.  Number one, I am not carving every pumpkin.  The boys all carved their own this year...and no one got cut!!  Emma even carved a bit by herself.  Each child found or drew the design they wanted and then we gave it a go!  Lizzie's "Rapunzel" was shooting high for me, but she was thrilled with it.  Braxton is still obviously enthralled with the superhero movies, Evan into his BIRDS, Carter into I-anything (touch, pad, phone, mac), and Lizzie into princesses.  Emma was the surprise in choosing Charlie Brown's face.  Good grief!  Who would've guessed?  It turned out so cute, though!

 Our school is the last in 204 to still have a parade.  Carter is a black-eyed Pea. At trunk-or-treat he was a "fungi" (aka fun guy) wearing cool glasses, spiky hair, and a mushroom lei around his neck.  He really struggled coming up with costumes that we both approved of, so we got pretty creative this year.

 Emma and our neighbor were babies.

 Lizzie's wig got tons of attention--especially when worn correctly.  She is also holding our principal's hand!  I don't know if it's because she needs help staying on the path or Mrs. Guerreri just couldn't resist her cuteness. Kindergartners are so dang cute at Halloween!

Lizzie is showing off her attitude to match Merida's. 

I let Carter lead the troops down a few houses and back before dinner.  He felt so grown-up and in charge.

The loot!  Carter and Andrew went of trick-or-treating with Steve while I took the girls.  The boys stayed home, did homework, and watched Avengers.  Grandma and Grandpa handed out candy.  Carter and Andrew acquired over 8 lbs of candy each.  The girls got over 6 lbs.  Wow!!!

I had to include this picture of Emma.  She made me so proud.  See how she's organizing her candy into nice and neat piles?  Separating the chocolate from the rest?  She is totally my daughter!!!!!

Fall Fun '12

I love Fall!

But, with all the activities, it wiped me out this year.  Here are some of our highlights:

Football...Evan learned a lot this year playing for Crone Middle School's middle-weight team.  He made the middle weight by 3 lbs.  How I wish I had fed him salad and fish for those first few days of school! I worried about him the entire season being the lightest in the league.  It proved to be a big learning experience, though.  He learned what it means to earn a spot on the field.  He learned how to play defense, and he learned how to win and lose.

Evan also turned 13.  He's a great kid with a big heart.  He loves birding, drawing, music, scouts, sports, and hanging out.  He also was invited to be on an academic team that took 2nd place for the region.  Pretty impressive!

It saddens me that he doesn't have more time for his artistic abilities!  I loved this piece!

We continue to be impressed by what he plays on the cello.  Usually we catch him practicing songs from the radio and not from his orchestra class.

Braxton and I were invited to a breakfast where he was presented with the NVHS Wildcat Pride award for his commitment to excellence, involvement in school, acceptance of challenges, and positive attitude.

He is also nicknamed The Ace of Bass in his chorus class.  Even his speaking voice is LOW!  He has started taking voice lessons and is now giving the rest of the family advice when they sing. (Constantly telling us to open up!)  I'm proud of him for how well he's doing in high school. Only a few Bs and the rest A's.  Take that DIAGNOSES and Unbelieving COUNSELORS!!  He is also in World Voices and enjoying making music and making friends every week.

After a hiatus, Emma decided to play soccer again and was on a team with lots of her friends.  They won nearly every game.  She even got a few goals!

Carter's team experiences major highs and lows every season.  Even though they lose about 1/2 their games, I absolutely LOVE watching the skills that Carter is developing.  He's figured out how to use his left foot and his confidence has really grown.  

He gets to play with some really great kids!

BYU v. Notre Dame!!!!  Steve got tickets this year for he AND the boys....AND me!

What a great day!

Some friends of Steve's from the stake were tailgating, so we tagged along.  My brother-in-law even came over for the game!

These are the 2 cuties I got to sit next to...

(weird side note--my brother's brother-in-law was actually sitting next to Evan and recognized me!  "Are you an Alleman?"  I NEVER get asked that!)

Below are the 3 handsome devils cheering for our Cougars!  Too bad we lost it in the end!

TIME OUT FOR WOMEN!

Some friends of mine (Camille Pocock, Tracie Waris, Amy Thompson, and Stacy Proctor) traveled down to St. Louis to have an uplifting weekend.  I had a ball!  Not only did I get to bond with these terrific women in my ward, but I also got to hang out with my MOM and my sister!  Oh, the speakers and music were fun, too! :)

I can never put a price tag on getting to hug my beautiful nieces and nephews!  This one is so squishy!! I can't wait to go back and visit again!