School Week 8

 We had the Ham Fam birthday dinner on Sunday. Dante cleaned his room out to paint it and had a ton of things he wanted to share with Damon and Rockwell. They've both loved playing with their new toys and activities all week.

Paul was excited for his new ice cream maker, and I'm excited to spend my Barnes & Noble gift card. :)

It's fun to celebrate with Jonah every year. He's getting so tall and so grown up!

Paul covered up our dirt patch with some new sod. It looks amazing! We're all excited to have grass there again. That was a big project for him. It sure is nice to have it level now.

Damon and I went on a bike ride. He loves to ride to the church and ride around the parking lot. The sprinklers were on and I let him run through them and get soaked in his pajamas. Plus he found a penny in the parking lot. He thought that was pretty much the best day ever! I love how easily entertained 5 year olds are!!

Paul's birthday was on Tuesday. I took some sushi over to the library for lunch.

He's got his office set up and organized and it looks great. It was fun to spend some time with him during the day.

He opened presents when he got home from school.

The kids found him some great stuff at the dollar store, and I got him a few things to use in the yard and the kitchen.

We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, and we quite enjoyed the adjustments they have made for the Rona. We could hear each other and enjoy ourselves much more with every other table empty. It was nice to go out. Paul wanted a pie and ice cream for dessert. The kids had some ice cream, but Paul and I were pretty stuffed from dinner, so we waited until the kids were in bed to eat the treats. It was fun to celebrate Paul and let him know how much we all love and appreciate him.

The next day I couldn't find Rockwell when he was supposed to be reading. I finally found him reading in the treehouse while eating the peanuts from Texas Roadhouse. The fall weather is so pleasant right now. The kids are outside all the time and I love it. We have leaves absolutely everywhere in our house and the kids' clothes and hair, which can drive me nuts at times, but it's worth it.

One day the kids were doing tricks on the trampoline, while one of them would watch from the slide and then hold up scores for their tricks. We thought that was pretty funny. I love to see what they come up with to play outside.

We did a fire last night. Paul and Rockwell roasted marshmallows, and Tessa and Damon played on the swings. I enjoyed the fire and loved spending the evening outside with the family.

We bought some pumpkins last night and painted them today. I told the kids they could each have $5 to spend on pumpkins. They loved searching for just what they wanted. We had fun painting them today, and they turned out great!

School Week 7

 Damon fits into the camo shirt that Rockwell used to wear. He put it on for school and came running down the stairs saying, "Mom! All I need is soldier pants and I can go in the army like EJ!!"

Rockwell finished up his fall season of soccer. Their team has improved so much since last year. Rockwell's a great player who really tries to implement the things that his coach and Paul teach him. He had fun playing, especially with Wyatt on his team, but is ready for a break for now.

We sat in the hot tub a few days this week. Tessa loved making hairdo's with the bubbles.

Rockwell finished his monster in art class in school. It's really cool-looking. He loved making it.

My birthday was on Tuesday, and it was another great one. Paul arranged to go into work late that morning, and made me a delicious omelet with fancy juice for breakfast.

While Damon was at school I laid on the hammock and read the whole time. Katie came over and brought lunch for Damon and me. 

She had said that she would watch Damon while I did whatever I wanted to do for the afternoon. I thought a bike ride would be fun, but once she was here I just wanted to hang out and visit with her instead. Kenzie and Damon played great, and so we had a nice afternoon just getting to talk. She brought a pumpkin chocolate chip cake, which was just as delicious as it was beautiful.

We opened presents after everyone was home from school.

Everyone gave me such thoughtful gifts. The kids all drew cards for me, and I loved that Damon wrote letters and words that he knows. :)

Rockwell was so excited that he found a huge bottle of Dr Pepper. :) Paul gave me two hummingbird shirts. I love them!! One of them said 'I just want to sit on my porch and watch the hummingbirds.' They're just perfect! He also gave me a beautiful bracelet that I mentioned a few months ago that I thought was pretty. 

We got some dinner and then went to watch Rockwell's last soccer game. Caitlyn came over and watched Tessa, Hallee, and Damon. That was so nice! We had cake when we got home. I felt very loved all day long. Thanks for a great birthday family!

Rockwell went to Boston's birthday party at Reality's Edge Space Center Friday night. He had a great time! Kenzie, Hallee, and Al hung out at our house during the party. It was a fun night.

Kyle & Paige Get Married

Tuesday was the big day for Kyle and Paige!! They were sealed in the Payson Temple and then had a ring ceremony and reception in Springville. Tessa and Hallee were the flower girls and Damon was the ring bearer. 

They both love Kyle and Paige so much, and were so excited to be a part of their wedding. 

They looked so cute!!

The ring ceremony was beautiful. Kyle seems so happy and so in love.

Damon, Tessa, and Hallee did such a great job. They were adorable!

I didn't even notice it during the ceremony, but Al sent out her pictures and apparently Garrett, the best man, covered Damon's eyes while they kissed. The pictures are so funny!! I love Damon's huge smile when he takes his hand off. :)

Kyle's former bishop flew out from Portland to perform the ring ceremony. He gave some great advice and Kyle and Paige both wrote sweet vows. They exchanged rings, Kyle kissed the bride, and the bishop officially announced The Hamford's are married. (They decided to combine their last names, Ham & Gifford, and both change their names.)

While the bride and groom took pictures, we all headed outside to find places for the reception.

There was great food and great company at the reception.

Paul had some frustrating things going on with real estate that day, and ended up spending quite a bit of time on the phone in the parking lot trying to get things sorted out. I know that was hard on him. Real estate is a real blessing in our lives, but sometimes it can be very inconvenient too.

There was corn hole and basketball that kept the kids entertained. It was a really fun party. 

Paige texted me this picture last night. They got some of their pictures back, and said this was one of their favorites. :) Their photographer was amazing! He got so many great pictures, and took so many "candid" ones.

Kyle and Paige cut the cake, and a few people gave toasts.

And then the dance party started. They met in a dance class at BYU and are both awesome dancers. They both worked so hard to make this day just what they wanted, and I loved to see them having fun and getting to enjoy all their hard work.

Paige's sister planned a flash mob dance for the wedding party. It was awesome! I loved overhearing Paige's friends talk about how cute Gary and Julie were during it. They are also both great dancers, and I loved to watch them all dancing together.

It was really sweet to see Kyle dance with Julie. It's hard to believe Kyle is old enough to be married!

Tessa and Hallee had a blast dancing. I was surprised how long it took them to get out on the dance floor though. Tessa seemed nervous about it at first. I was glad she got past that, because she had so much fun out there.

My heart melted seeing her and Paul dancing together.

Wyatt and Caleb both break danced, and it was definitely a crowd favorite!! Wyatt is the cutest little dancer ever!

Paul took the kids home after Kyle and Paige left, and I stayed and helped clean up what I could. I brought Ashley home with me, and we decided it was a great idea to get some McDonald's fries and ice cream. :) I loved that one-on-one time with Ashley! She is such a cute girl, and I loved how much time we got to talk that night.