The Headless Santa

Our (in)famous drumming Santa has met its end:

(2 Santa related posts in one day, must be some kind of record)

Meeting Santa

Storm Damage

I got a phone call and text yesterday morning as I was about to go out the door that the freeway was closed and that our office building was damaged and being evacuated, so I was to stay home for the day.  We had barely any damage here in Clearfield, but this is how things looked around my office in Centerville this morning after things calmed down:

Even after being severely damaged by hurricane force winds, the golden arches are still as recognizable as ever:

We went to Farmington for lunch, there was a lot of damage to the area around the train station:

....and the apartments that were going up next to it:

There were only a few trees left around our building, but by the end of the day, they'd cut down and hauled off all of the trees, including, for some reason, the last few that weren't damaged by the wind:

This used to be a 6' tall x 9" thick granite sign:

The 7-11's canopy is pretty messed up, but the soda fountain inside still works fine:

Thanksgiving

November flew by in our house.  First, we made sure to do our American duty of voting for the new Clearfield City Council.  We took a bit of interest in this small town election since we decided to take our condo off the market and stay here for a while longer.  Tori being called as the new Young Women's President helped make our decision.  

Thanksgiving this year was with the Lloyd's.  We started our day off at "Feast with the Beast" at the Zoo with the Miller's and the Griffin's.

 Wesley adored the elephants.  He is really interested in most animals, but the elephant is especially fascinating to him. 

 I really love the zoo, but to watch the little ones' eyes light up as they saw animal they mostly only read in books is quite enjoyable.  Rachel and Corbin led us around the zoo with their maps.

 Rachel really liked the monkey and giraffes.  

 We love these kids to pieces!  

 Later, we went to Tyler's parent's house for the feast, bingo, and board games.  It was a relaxing day to enjoy family and reflect on ALL of our blessings!

Superkid

And She Turns 5 Years Old

How did this happen? My baby girl is now my little lady. She is really growing into a smart, spunky, and talented gal. We celebrated with a handful of friends and a party with a Princess theme (of course) despite the fact that ALL of the guests were boys. She may not mind that a few years down the road.
We decorated royal crowns and had a "Jester" for a mini magic show.

What is a princess party without slaying a dragon?

Later that evening, we went to Black Island Harvest Festival. The Mathesons and Griffins came too. It was a blast! It took a bit for Rachel to warm up to the slides, but Wesley left me behind. He could have stayed on the slides all night.

Tyler had a little fun too!

The mini hay rides was a hit for everyone.

The corn maze wasn't to hard this year. Ben was our leader. He did a great job navigating our way through the maze.

Wesley could care less about the maze and just walk in the mud all day.

Blue Men Group

The projector was malfunctioning during the Priesthood Session of General Conference on Saturday:

Lowe's

When was the last time you had this much fun shopping for a garbage disposal?

We bought the loudest (and cheapest) model.

Arkansas / Kentucky Trip

This stone bridge is one of Arkansas' many natural pieces of art.  We had to go down an incredibly steep, narrow road out of the way of our destination, but it was cool.  I didn't know my home state had such creations.

We finally arrived at our rustic cabin in the Ozarks of Arkansas.  My two nieces came with our family on our little adventure in Northern Arkansas.  It was so great to have them with us.  They were so fun.  We stayed in a cabin built by the CCC in the 1930's.  It was very quaint, but perhaps a little too rustic with the nest of red wasps and moldy shower.  It was a stay to remember!

We were right by the Buffalo National River.  It was so beautiful.  If we didn't have so many little ones, we would have floated down it.  Maybe next time.

We just couldn't resist a quick, cool swim.  We were just going to skip rocks, but the water was too inviting.  Who needs swimsuits when you have jean cut offs?

Wesley had a blast playing with the little fish by his feet with his stick.  He didn't care his diaper was to his knees.  He was just happy being a good ole boy.

As much fun as that was, we all had to take a bath after our "bath" in nature.

The next day, we headed to Arkansas' amazing caves.  I had been before, but I couldn't wait to show my family the incredible hand of God in our neck of the woods.

I hope we post more of the pictures we took inside the cave.  It truly was breathtaking.  We traveled 216 feet down an elevator just to reach the upper level of the cave.

The cave is formed from a spring down the road.  We went to see it.  It was less impressive than what I thought.

Wesley could have stayed outside all day everyday if we let him.  He is all boy.  (I think Tyler likes that.)

Then, we were off to the Ozark Folk Center.  It is a small village with craftsmen and women working their trades using old fashion equipment.  This was Desarae's favorite part of our trip.  Here Wesley is making buttons.

Tallin and Rachel loved dying their own candles.  It was very fun to see how lucky I am to have modern technology!

Wesley was worn out by this time, and honestly, couldn't care less about candles.

And....he's out!  However, the girls could not get enough of the candles.  They wanted to do more, but time was ticking.

Rachel's favorite part of our trip was watching this nice lady tell us stories while she made the girls dolls from corn husks.  This shop was full of elegant and beautiful dolls that were unbelievably made from simple corn husks.  She had fairies and Christmas tree angles, and even Santa Claus.  I was speechless in a Tori sort of way.

We saw how wool scarfs went from sheep, through the cleaning machine, to spools, and then woven into clothes.

Classic, right?

Then, we made our way to Kentucky to visit Mae and her new baby.  Across the river is Indiana.

So, in total, we traveled through Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and saw Indiana.  What a trip!  It was a fantastic vacation with my little family to visit relatives and see another part of this great country.  I can't wait until next year's reunion.  Good Luck Dawn!

Traveling with children

DJ Wesley

Wes lays down a beat and the kids have a dance party:

DJ Wesley from Tyler Lloyd on Vimeo.

Provo River Trail 1/2 Marathon

My amazing friend Dana and I ran the Provo 1/2 marathon. It was a nice downhill run.  I finished just 5 minutes after her at 2:11. This is my 5th race and I finished at nearly the same time as the other races. It's a little annoying to run the same speed all the time, but I guess I am just a 10 minute miler and that is that. As always, it was tons of fun and a good challenge to conquer. Who's up for the next one with me?
Tyler and the kids came to cheer me on. We stayed in a hotel in Provo. I had to be up at 4:15 in the morning. The kids loved the pool at the hotel and the pancake breakfast after the race. I always love to see them at the finish line. They are the best cheerleaders! FYI-I look like death crossing the finish line. I look like I'm about to fall over, because after nearly 13 miles of running downhill, my quads and knees were done. At least you get the idea of the excitement of finishing.

Provo River 1/2 Marathon from Tyler Lloyd on Vimeo.