Beginning Dance

Carter tried out Beginning Dance this year in high school. At first he wanted to get out of the class but I'm glad he stayed. They did a fun hip hop routine and it was fun watching him shine on stage. 

The best part though was this smile of accomplishment and pride after his performance. He was so happy. It made me happy. 

He had some hard times in this class with a girl and he was able to set that problem aside and still have a great performance. 

And it was fun watching his other friends perform in their dance classes. I WISH I would have known better and signed him up for social dance. But now we know for next year. 

 

Spokane Part 2

To please the squirmy teens, we got out of the house one evening to see some Christmas lights and play at some parks. It was chilly! But oh so fun filled with belly aching laughter!

This toy may or may not have caused a few of us to loose our bladder!

One day the guys got up early, thanks to Mindy's planning, and took the kids to do baptisms at the temple. It was special for them and they even had some silly moments in the temple when they came across the last name of Tata in the temple. Silly kids!

The next day was black Friday and we couldn't help but go see what was happening at the mall. Maycie had to work so we went to see how she was doing. We also ran into Santa so we had to make a quick stop for Rylee. 

Poor Maycie was slammed and had a rough black friday but I doubt there are many pleasant retail jobs on BF!

That evening we went to a parade in Coeur D'Alene that was super cool but super packed with people! It was insane! Then after the parade were some cool fireworks. It was a fun atmosphere to be in. 

This is a google image but shows a cool view of where we were at and what was going on. 

We also got some playing time in at the gym with basketball, pickleball, gaga ball others. 

Sunday was Emma's homecoming talk. We were so glad we could be there and are grateful for her example and  her testimony. Sadly this is the day we had to head for home and so we had silly moments along with tears right up until we left. Its always hard to leave this crowd because we love them so much and we don't always know when we will see them again!

Carter got to drive a good chunk of the way home all through Montana where not much was happening. He did really well and learned some too!

And as always, you know it was a great trip when the ride home is silent because of this. 

Happy Thanksgiving! We are so grateful for all of our blessings. Even when hard things happen, there is always something to be grateful for! We are especially grateful this year for our Hymas family and the awesome bonds we have. Family is everything!
 

A very thankful Thanksgiving Part 1

When we learned Emma would be returning from her mission the week before Thanksgiving, we knew we needed to go! We loaded up the car and headed to Clyde and Evelyns to stay the first night, then off through Montana. We have heard about this candy store so we made sure to stop. It was a great pit stop and we all loaded up on all the candy you could imagine. 

What Mollie's heaven looks like. 

I found pickle taffy and I had Clyde and Evelyn grab me some more on their way through because I only bought 1 piece to try and I really liked it!

Montana is just beautiful! The snow and low laying clouds made it just feel mystical. 

We arrived late afternoon and the silly shenanigans started right away! We made pizza and played silly games and just enjoyed being together finally!

On Thanksgiving Day, everyone pitched in and Brielle loved making rolls with the girls. 

The teens peeled potatoes. 

Artsy Maycie made the best veggie tray!

And the chickens....oh the chickens! Mindy bought a bunch of finger flingin chickens and the wars continued all weekend! They loved sticking them to the ceiling too and seeing how long they would last. 

The girls were in heaven with letting cousins do their hair!

Chet and Gavin took care of the turkey, it was delicious! 

Again, more silly shenanigans at the table!

Seeing if a chicken would stick to Chad's head!!! HAH!

Mindy bought us all matching shirts. Here's the guys!

Being silly guys. 

Love when our families are together. There is never a shortage of laughs! I'm surprised we could get a nice picture because we were all laughing so much!

Pretty pretty girls! 

And adorable littles. 

And I'm so thankful for this sis in law of mine! I've learned so much from her example and am grateful for her openness and love to me and my family!

Just love ALLLLL these kids. I want them to stay this age forever and stay close and stay in touch! They had so much fun together and I'm so glad for their realtionships!