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October 2018
Hamilton Newsletter
FAMILY: On the 1st of October we headed to the mountains for FHE & found some gorgeous leaves! That weekend was general conference & we all enjoyed it and were amazed at all the continuing changes - including a 2-hour church block starting next year and 12 new temples! Including one in Washington County. Very exciting! And the talks were all wonderful. Saturday evening was the first time that they held the general women’s session in place of the Priesthood session (they alternate), and mom went with the girls and loved being there! On the 5th we went to New Harmony to the Foley’s farm and got our pictures taken. It was cold, but good and they turned out good :) The 8th was Columbus Day & daddy had it off work, so he & mommy got to go grocery shopping, on a walk, & talk about finances :) The weekend of the 13th was Canon’s wedding. The ceremony was held in the Ogden Temple and the luncheon & reception were in Layton. It was a beautiful, wonderful day. We’re so thankful to have gotten to see so much family and celebrate Canon & his new bride. The 16th was an exciting day - Grandma & Granpa Potts opened their mission call! They will be serving in the St. Louis, Missouri mission. Leaving December 30. We’re so excited for them - and happy they get to be here for one last Christmas :) We’re also excited for the Devenish’s as Dave finished his last round of chemo. Prayers to him for a fast recovery! The weekend of the 23rd was fall break & we stayed in the Podunk Guard Station, just outside of Bryce National Park. It was cold & rainy for a couple days, and we weren’t able to do any real hikes, but we still all had fun roasting s’mores, playing games, popping popcorn on the stove, riding daddy’s dirt bike, trying to keep the tiny stove in the cabin going, and fishing in the stream in the front of the property. All-in-all, it was a wonderful fall break! Kezia’s 9th birthday was the 26th! See her section for more details. On the 27th we headed to the Paragonah pumpkin patch and each chose a pumpkin. The girls had fun seeing the animals, too. Pumpkin carving was on the 29th, and though our kitchen was a disaster, we had fun & got lots of yummy seeds :) Halloween was fun ! We had a Circus ringmaster & her lion (Daizy), a Hermione, an Artemis (goodess of animals & hunting), a pirate, and a Repunzel :) Mom made orange pumpkins & ghost bananas for breakfast, halloween cutout quesadillas for lunch, Butterbeer for after school, and a ghost and pumpkin pizza for dinner! It was Heid’s year to take the littles out, so we went around the block for an hour and a half. Ireland went with Mahina & friends (Kezia met up with them later), and McKinley went with Micaela & friends.
Hamilton Newsletter
FAMILY: On the 1st of October we headed to the mountains for FHE & found some gorgeous leaves! That weekend was general conference & we all enjoyed it and were amazed at all the continuing changes - including a 2-hour church block starting next year and 12 new temples! Including one in Washington County. Very exciting! And the talks were all wonderful. Saturday evening was the first time that they held the general women’s session in place of the Priesthood session (they alternate), and mom went with the girls and loved being there! On the 5th we went to New Harmony to the Foley’s farm and got our pictures taken. It was cold, but good and they turned out good :) The 8th was Columbus Day & daddy had it off work, so he & mommy got to go grocery shopping, on a walk, & talk about finances :) The weekend of the 13th was Canon’s wedding. The ceremony was held in the Ogden Temple and the luncheon & reception were in Layton. It was a beautiful, wonderful day. We’re so thankful to have gotten to see so much family and celebrate Canon & his new bride. The 16th was an exciting day - Grandma & Granpa Potts opened their mission call! They will be serving in the St. Louis, Missouri mission. Leaving December 30. We’re so excited for them - and happy they get to be here for one last Christmas :) We’re also excited for the Devenish’s as Dave finished his last round of chemo. Prayers to him for a fast recovery! The weekend of the 23rd was fall break & we stayed in the Podunk Guard Station, just outside of Bryce National Park. It was cold & rainy for a couple days, and we weren’t able to do any real hikes, but we still all had fun roasting s’mores, playing games, popping popcorn on the stove, riding daddy’s dirt bike, trying to keep the tiny stove in the cabin going, and fishing in the stream in the front of the property. All-in-all, it was a wonderful fall break! Kezia’s 9th birthday was the 26th! See her section for more details. On the 27th we headed to the Paragonah pumpkin patch and each chose a pumpkin. The girls had fun seeing the animals, too. Pumpkin carving was on the 29th, and though our kitchen was a disaster, we had fun & got lots of yummy seeds :) Halloween was fun ! We had a Circus ringmaster & her lion (Daizy), a Hermione, an Artemis (goodess of animals & hunting), a pirate, and a Repunzel :) Mom made orange pumpkins & ghost bananas for breakfast, halloween cutout quesadillas for lunch, Butterbeer for after school, and a ghost and pumpkin pizza for dinner! It was Heid’s year to take the littles out, so we went around the block for an hour and a half. Ireland went with Mahina & friends (Kezia met up with them later), and McKinley went with Micaela & friends.
JASON : We are so proud of daddy, he had his review and exceeded all his goals - we did a hip-hip hooray for all his hard work. We are so thankful for him & all he does for us. He had a lot of fun riding his dirt bike when we went to the Podunk cabin. He did not, however, have a lot of fun getting a little chunk of wood stuck up under his cuticle when he was sawing wood :(
HEIDI: Heidi got in some longer runs this month, peaking at 10.5 miles, training for the Snow Canyon half at the beginning of November. Heidi went to the RS craft night activity and made pumpkins and fall signs. It was fun! She is still getting her feet wet with her new Young Women’s calling, but is feeling good about it. Unfortunately, she caught some kind of cold/sinus infection that has wore her down and zapped her energy but she hopes to be better soon. President Nelson challenged all the women in the church to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year & so Heidi put together a schedule, planning on reading 50 pages/week. It has been hard, but good! She’s reading in her old physical scriptures and that has been like coming home to an old friend. She got behind one week, but she’s back on track & hopes to finish by the end of the year!
McKINLEY:
-McKinley
continues to enjoy middle school & got a 4.0 for her first quarter :)
-McKinley had her orchestra concert on the 9th of October & she did great! They played lots of cool, creepy songs :)
-We were gone for one of the weeks at church. Hannah Price taught the lesson about being Christlike & asked the girls who they knew that was Christlike. Both of them said McKinley! So sweet! She truly is <3 span="">
-McKinley had her orchestra concert on the 9th of October & she did great! They played lots of cool, creepy songs :)
-We were gone for one of the weeks at church. Hannah Price taught the lesson about being Christlike & asked the girls who they knew that was Christlike. Both of them said McKinley! So sweet! She truly is <3 span="">
-McKinley
had to do a descriptive narrative, and she chose to do it on the day she got
Daizy. She wrote about how we left the temple open house, and went to Petsense
and how excited she was. It was such a wonderful, sweet paper! She also had to
write about a Utopian society - hers included no social media, no bullys,
everyone being required to own a pet, and no drugs or alcohol :) Also, she’s
had to write practice social media narratives in her class. She’s done a
practice journal entry, facebook post, Tweet, etc :)
-For
Halloween, McKinley was a Circus Ringmaster - she went to the DI & bought a
red jacket and bought a hat & gloves at Spirit Halloween store. She bought
Daizy a lion mane on Amazon and it made for awesome pictures :) She
trick-or-treated with Micaela, and 2 other people on their lunchroom table -
Maddy, and a boy Zach. They went around our neighborhood & got lots of candy!
IRELAND:
-Ireland did really good for her first quarter of middle school - just under 3.5! Way to go Ireland!
-Ireland had a sore throat for the first couple weeks of October :(
-Ireland had to do a book report and she chose to do it on the 5 Kingdoms, Rogue Knight. She drew a really cool picture of the Rogue Knight at the top and cut her poster into a shield.
-Ireland did really good for her first quarter of middle school - just under 3.5! Way to go Ireland!
-Ireland had a sore throat for the first couple weeks of October :(
-Ireland had to do a book report and she chose to do it on the 5 Kingdoms, Rogue Knight. She drew a really cool picture of the Rogue Knight at the top and cut her poster into a shield.
-Kezia
slept in Ireland’s room downstairs for 2 weeks and then Ireland got a lava lamp
and has slept alone in her own room downstairs - yay! More sleep & less
contention for everyone!
-Ireland is
doing well in gymnastics - mom came to watch one day and she had awesome form
and was getting strong. Great job Ireland!
-Ireland wasn’t sure what she wanted to be for Halloween since mom wasn’t buying a costume. She finally settled on Hermione and we had to scramble to complete the ensemble, borrowing a shirt from a boy across the street! She ended up looking awesome, though, and she had fun trick-or-treating with Mahina, Raquel, and Paloma.
KEZIA:
-Kezia is doing great in 3rd grade and got full marks last quarter :)
-Mom’s laptop was getting fixed, so we weren’t able to print out our conference bingo like usual. Kezia to the rescue! She made lots of bingo charts & did a fantastic job :)
-Kezia’s is progressing well with piano and she just started practicing Christmas songs - yay!
-Grandma & Grandpa Potts took Kezia to the grandparents breakfast & they had a great time.
-Ireland wasn’t sure what she wanted to be for Halloween since mom wasn’t buying a costume. She finally settled on Hermione and we had to scramble to complete the ensemble, borrowing a shirt from a boy across the street! She ended up looking awesome, though, and she had fun trick-or-treating with Mahina, Raquel, and Paloma.
KEZIA:
-Kezia is doing great in 3rd grade and got full marks last quarter :)
-Mom’s laptop was getting fixed, so we weren’t able to print out our conference bingo like usual. Kezia to the rescue! She made lots of bingo charts & did a fantastic job :)
-Kezia’s is progressing well with piano and she just started practicing Christmas songs - yay!
-Grandma & Grandpa Potts took Kezia to the grandparents breakfast & they had a great time.
-HAPPY 9th
BIRTHDAY KEZIA!! She got Krave for breakfast, daddy took her to IHOP for lunch,
and mom made spaghetti bread for dinner. We got to have cake & ice cream
for dinner & for movie night she picked Hotel Transylvania 3. From mom and
dad she got a canvas print of her & her grandmas, a Canary Island license
plate, a lot of gel pens, her own lava lamp, and $25 for her pet fund :)
Grandma & Grandpa Devenish came to her school & surprised her by
picking her up and taking her to Walmart where she chose a dress. Grandma &
Grandpa Potts got her a gift card to Walmart (their original gift of a mini
sewing machine didn’t work). She got candy from her sisters and lots of calls
& texts from family wishing her a special day. We love you Kezia!!
-While mom
& dad were gone on a date, Kezia made a treasure hunt for us! The clues
were so creative & cute! And we got a box of candy at the end - yay!
-Kezia had a hard time deciding about what to be for Halloween, but ended up choosing Artemis, the goddess of animals & hunting. She looked awesome in her costume, complete with bow & arrows. Mom and Dad & the littles went to see her costume parade at her school & it was a lot of fun. That night, she scored loads of candy!
-Kezia had a hard time deciding about what to be for Halloween, but ended up choosing Artemis, the goddess of animals & hunting. She looked awesome in her costume, complete with bow & arrows. Mom and Dad & the littles went to see her costume parade at her school & it was a lot of fun. That night, she scored loads of candy!
LINK:
October 15th was the annual Wave of Light remembrance. It was chilly, as usual, but we felt warm thinking of & sharing about our beautiful boy. We love you SO much Link!!
NOELLE:
-Noelle likes to say “in years” a lot, as in “But we haven’t watched that in YEARS!”
-We were driving home from preschool & Noelle said she liked James’ car better than our car. Mom asked why. She said “because it’s so specific!”
-One time Noelle was cuddled up next to daddy. He said something to her and she exclaimed “Your breath smells like dog food!”
-One time mom looked over to see Noelle coloring all over the back of Oaklyn. She had a marker & had colored all over the back of her shirt & neck!
-Mom was blow-drying her hair when Noelle walked in, put her hands on her hips & yelled “Mom! James’ grandma is totally here!”
-Another
time in the van as mom was taking the littles back from preschool, Noelle
announced loudly “And Mom! James isn’t even annoying anymore!” (James was
sitting right there)
-Noelle keeps telling us she’s going to marry a dog when she grows up!
-Noelle told mom “Watch my secret speed!” and ran down the hallway
-Noelle has so much fun at gym daycare and preschool! At gym daycare they make crafts almost every time, and one time a fire truck came and Noelle & Oaklyn got to go inside. So fun! They also had Halloween festivities.
-One time mom was saying her prayers in the early morning - about 5:30am - when she hears Noelle’s door open and she peeks her head out and yells “goodnight, goodnight, goodnight! See you in the morning!”
-Noelle keeps telling us she’s going to marry a dog when she grows up!
-Noelle told mom “Watch my secret speed!” and ran down the hallway
-Noelle has so much fun at gym daycare and preschool! At gym daycare they make crafts almost every time, and one time a fire truck came and Noelle & Oaklyn got to go inside. So fun! They also had Halloween festivities.
-One time mom was saying her prayers in the early morning - about 5:30am - when she hears Noelle’s door open and she peeks her head out and yells “goodnight, goodnight, goodnight! See you in the morning!”
-Noelle
made a super-cute pirate with that attitude of hers. She even walked around
saying “arrrgh!” She did pretty good with trick-or-treating, but a little over
an hour into it and she didn’t want to knock on anymore doors. She said she was
tired. Apparently she was also worried about cavities because she said “Mom,
how big are sugar bugs teeth? How do they eat my teeth?” :)
OAKLYN:
-Oaklyn has been saying “no!” a lot!
-Oaklyn
LOVES pockets! She almost always wants mom to put on a jacket so she can put
her hands in her pockets. It’s super cute! - until she’s running with her hands
in her pockets and falls down on her face :(
-One day Oaklyn opened up a section of the ottoman, grabbed a book, opened it, closed it, and said “THE END!” and picked up the next book & did the same thing until she had “read” all the books :)
-BIG DAY for Oaklyn! We finally took down the crib! Since the one side was gone anyway and she slept with Noelle on the bed, we decided to just go for it one night. We took down the crib, moved the dresser by the door (after taking off the door of the dresser), and moved in the white bookshelf. The room is so much nicer & open & the girls have tons of books to read now! And, of course, now they like to jump from the bookshelf to the floor or the bed, again and again!! Oaklyn has done great with the transition and is so big!
-One day Oaklyn opened up a section of the ottoman, grabbed a book, opened it, closed it, and said “THE END!” and picked up the next book & did the same thing until she had “read” all the books :)
-BIG DAY for Oaklyn! We finally took down the crib! Since the one side was gone anyway and she slept with Noelle on the bed, we decided to just go for it one night. We took down the crib, moved the dresser by the door (after taking off the door of the dresser), and moved in the white bookshelf. The room is so much nicer & open & the girls have tons of books to read now! And, of course, now they like to jump from the bookshelf to the floor or the bed, again and again!! Oaklyn has done great with the transition and is so big!
-Oaklyn
says “Oaklyn needs to go potty” a lot! Sometimes she goes, sometimes she
doesn’t, but she definitely likes to go! Unfortunately, with #2, she usually
says it AFTER she’s done her business AND taken off her pull-up! :(
-Oaklyn likes to say “I DID IT!!” whenever she does something herself. It’s SO SO SO cute!
-One time mom was getting ready in her bathroom & on the phone when Oaklyn walks in with a 2 lb block of cheese, just munching away at it!
-At Judd Pumpkin Patch, we tried to get Oaklyn to pet the goat and she was TERRIFIED! She screamed & screamed! She liked to see the animals from a distance, but she did NOT want to get close. She pretty much only wanted to play in their sand pile all night long :)
-One time we were saying evening family prayer when we hear Oaklyn’s voice saying “Woooo! Pumpkin” and hear the pumpkin going down, down, down the stairs. The spirit was pretty much gone after that as we all broke into giggles. Thankfully the pumpkin survived!
-Oaklyn likes to say “I DID IT!!” whenever she does something herself. It’s SO SO SO cute!
-One time mom was getting ready in her bathroom & on the phone when Oaklyn walks in with a 2 lb block of cheese, just munching away at it!
-At Judd Pumpkin Patch, we tried to get Oaklyn to pet the goat and she was TERRIFIED! She screamed & screamed! She liked to see the animals from a distance, but she did NOT want to get close. She pretty much only wanted to play in their sand pile all night long :)
-One time we were saying evening family prayer when we hear Oaklyn’s voice saying “Woooo! Pumpkin” and hear the pumpkin going down, down, down the stairs. The spirit was pretty much gone after that as we all broke into giggles. Thankfully the pumpkin survived!
-Oaklyn
made the cutest Repunzel! She didn’t really care for the little pan or hair
extenstions, or chameleon that mom had as props for her costume, and her dress
was about 3 inches too long, but she had fun! She really got the easy road with
trick or treating as she hardly ever even got out of the wagon. But the few times
she did, she was really cute with saying “trick or treat!” The only problem was
that she did NOT want to put the candy in the bucket. She wanted to hold it all
in her fists :)
