Daughters of a King

The activity day girls at church had a night to show their talents and tell about some of the things that they have been working on this year. It was a really special night and we were so proud of Victoria and her friends for the good things they are doing. The theme was daughters of a King and was really neat. 

Some of the things on the table are her scriptures, a medal from a race she ran, clothing that she designed for the "Modest is Hottest fashion show", a flute, her newest instrument, jelly beans to stand for  a choice and accountability activity that they had earlier in the year, an egg to remember when they "egged" the Arbuckles house at easter time and more.

The girls sang a song as a group.

They each presented individually too. Victoria really likes developing new talents. Sometimes, we wish that she would just pick something and stick with it, but we admire her efforts to be be well rounded too. She really is a confident kid. That makes me so glad!

I really hope she always remembers that she is a princess. A daughter of our Heavenly Father, who loves her so much!

Quin, V, Macey, Lorien, Katie, Cadence, and Rachel

Victoria and Cadence invited a friend from school too. We were glad that Kayla could come with us. She is a really sweet girl. Glad that V has found some good friends here.

Her leaders, Sis. Todd and Sis. Potter, are awesome! We are so thankful for the time, effort, and love that they put into serving these girls and putting nights like these together.

Crazy, cute, climber!

Have I mentioned that this adorable baby is all over the place? She is! She can climb up chairs onto the counter. She can move a stool from the bathroom, climb onto the trashcan, onto the counter and onto the top counter. She can climb on the outside of our stairs (on the outside of our banister). She can climb rock walls at playgrounds. She climbs in playplaces like Chick-fil-A all by herself. She can climb up ladders. She is crazy. I can't leave her unattended! I love her so much though and although I have to ask her to get down all day, I am proud of her climbing abilities too.

Q is for Queen Day at preschool

I love the backwards Q. Oops! He didn't notice until after he was finished.

Review Bingo was fun too!

Another Activity Day project

Victoria did an awesome job on this goal! It was a no sew fleece blanket. She cut and tied with exactness and precision. She is a much better crafter than her mom. I love her blanket. It is so stylish, cuddly and warm.

Marvelous Meal Helper

Victoria had an idea to plan and prepare dinner for the missionaries the other night. This fulfilled one of her goals for activity day girls and she thought it would be fun. So she pinned this recipe on pinterest, wrote a shopping list, and did it all herself.   She even set the table and cleaned downstairs, so she could get the whole feel of dinner prep for guests. She made garlic bread pizzas and olive garden salad. She made brownies for dessert. She did a good job and we enjoyed it.

Grandma and Grandpa's farm

My parents bought a new property in Powhatan, VA. It has an old house on it that is going to take a lot of work. They have been scrubbing and painting a lot already! They tore out old carpet and laid new flooring in some rooms already. They have had plumbers and electricians working on it and a family friend is redoing the kitchen and bathrooms. A lot of work, but it is going to be really cool! It will be fun for my mom to decorate. She is an expert bargain hunter and is awesome at finding good antique furniture at auctions. I just know she will make it look 100 times better than they found it. The property also has a chicken coop, a cabin (my mom thinks it is disgusting, but I think the kids will love sleeping in it once we (family project maybe?) clean it up a bit and add mattresses to the built-in bunks), and a couple of barns and storage structures.  My parents plan on planting an orchard and gardening and likely adding chickens and honey. Did you know that my dad had a bee-keeping hobby once? I didn't take many pictures, but  I am sure I will over time. The house isn't in the picture, but the picture at the bottom shows a dog that likes to play on the property. It is a really nice dog and the kids called her "Goldie." I think my nieces named it. She likes to run with the kids and play chase. We look forward to visiting again soon and seeing all of the progress!

Christian's Air and Space Museum field trip

I love going on field trips with Christian. He is such a fun kid. He had so much energy on this trip and ran from place to place. In a way, I felt hurt that it seemed like it didn't matter that I was there. But, one day he will look back and remember that I tried my best to be there for things like this and he will know how much I love him.  I love his excitement for science, and learning in general. He is a great thinker and a great student.  It was cool to see him with his friends. We spent a lot of time with his friend, Nick. We learned about simple machines first. The kids need to have those down for the SOLS. We also watched a I-max movie about Monarch butterflies in 3D. It was comical to watch the kids try to catch the butterflies. One of the highlights of our free time there was meeting a museum worker whose group was late. He asked us if he could teach us a bit about electricity. He did such a great job talking to our little group and the boys got a lot out of it! Oh, also, there is a picture of the napkin that V put in C's lunch. What a sweet sister. We write napkin notes most days. Usually I write them, but sometimes V and C write on each others. Fun tradition. My mom wrote on our napkins, so I learned it from her.

Fall soccer

Another fun season. Danny coached Grant's team, the Rockstars, again. They were undefeated, so that was fun! Christian played for the Mustangs again. Danny was an assistant coach with Coach Angela. A lot of the same kids were on the team and they had fun. Both boys seem to prefer defense. Grant especially does not want anyone to bring the ball anywhere near his goal. His age group does not have goalies, but he frequently stands in front of the goal and has accidentally grabbed it with his hands a couple times. Christian and Grant both seem to enjoy it. It seems that the things they like most are spending time with dad and having fun with friends. Those are important things.

We picked out a tree!

We had a good time picking out a tree as a family this year! 

Halloween Fun!

We went to a fun pumpkin patch this year and cut our own pumpkins off the vine! Much more fun to do it that way. I need to add those pics.

I probably have a lot more to fill in too, but I am just going to say that Halloween was a fun time. The kids dressed up as a princess, a knight, a dragon, and a princess. They had a good time going to the ward party and trick or treating with some friends and neighbors in the neighborhood.