Merry Christmas

...from our house to yours...

Oops

I had finally convinced Nate to have a longer haircut than his preferred "buzz." Then what happens?! I accidently forget to put the attachment on the shears and I shave a bald spot in the back of his head. So let's just say Nate is pretty happy that he got his "buzz" after all.

Washington

This last weekend we went on our annual fun-filled road trip to Vancouver Washington to visit Nate's uncle and his family. We were able to take 3 of Nate's younger siblings with us in a tiny little car. It was quite the road trip with a lot of snow on the way back, but well worth it. Here are a few of our fun highlights. Sporting some moustaches with the cousins.The beatiful Portland, OR coast. We couldn't have asked for better weather.Taking some strolls along the beach.Nate's disgusting moustache. That's a story for another time. A must: playing jump-rope with some seaweed. Good times. Argg! We both look like we are in pain.
And finally on our way back we hit up Multnomah Falls. It was way too cold and rainy to hike up to the top of it this year.

We had a blast and of course laughed and ate until our stomachs hurt. Thanks fun Owens family. We love you guys!

13 Days

We love the Fall season and Halloween, but each year it seems to pass by way too quickly. So in order to savor the season and holiday, we started a tradition called "The 13 Days of Halloween Fun." We participate in an activity that has something to do with Fall or Halloween and begin on the 19th of October until the 31st. So here's to our 4th anual 13 Days of Halloween Fun!

Day 13: Making and exchanging Halloween Cards.

Day 12: Watching a scary movie. We picked "Sixth Sense." I didn't think Nate would survive but he did just fine. I was proud.

Day 11: Exchanging Halloween facts. We learned how apple bobbing and trick-or-treating originated.

Day 10: Participating in the Halloween fun run. (We counted the Halloween run we participated in earlier in the month).

Day 9: Walking through the leaves at Freeman Park.

Day 8: Making a yummy squash dinner with pork chops. And no those weren't our actual portion sizes.

Day 7: Carving pumpkins. Nate carved the witch and I carved the Haunted House.

Day 6: Dressing Kayla up. I dressed as a cow-girl for a Young Women's Halloween activity. Gotta love D.I.

Day 5: Dressing Skip up. We found this awesome dog wig and dress as Wal-mart and couldn't resist. Skip looks real happy.

Day 4: Drinking some home-made wassail. Yum!

Day 3: Making some rockin' Halloween shirts. If you can't tell, Nate's says " A Jack-O-Lantern in a Snow Storm." Very creative Nate.

Day 2: Making treats for Young Womens. I decided to make a skeleton out of cup-cakes. It turned out pretty cute.

Day 1: Happy Halloween!!

HALLOWEEN Fun Run

For work, I am part of a "Runner's Club." Each month the club members meet up to do something fun. This month, in honor of Halloween, we all dressed up and met at Freeman Park in Idaho Falls. It was pretty funny to see a bunch of people dressed up early on a Saturday morning running around. We got quite the stares......

Nate and Kayla: The "Vacationers" Sara: The "Pig"
Kate and Kyle: The "Romans"

We just love Halloween. It makes us smile!

Spud Days Disc Golf

A couple of weeks ago we made our annual trip over to the Shelley Spud Days. We love to go and participate in the Spud festivities. This year, Nate decided to invite some of his young men and join in the Disc-Golf Tournament. I decided to go along for the fun, but after some coaching from Nate and the boys, I entered into the women's league on the spot. I am sure glad I listened to their counsel because I ended up winning 1st Prize! That's right. I came home with an extra $40!! Nate came in a close 2nd place for the men's league. He thinks he is entitled to some of the money I won since he had to coax me into playing. I don't think so! I worked hard for that money. Okay...maybe not...I had a lucky day!

Nate and his young men sporting their discs

The winning disc

Practical

\prak-ti-kel\ adj

capable of being put to use or account: USEFUL

Wouldn't you agree our new purchase is practical?

Mesa Falls

Over Labor Day weekend we had a fun day trip over to Mesa Falls with our good friends Trev and Shan. It was a beautiful day! We enjoyed upper Mesa Falls and hiked (well, walked pretty slow) over to lower Mesa Falls. The day got even better when we witnessed a crazy guy kayak down the lower falls. Thanks Trev and Shan for a fun filled day!

A pretty rainbow at upper Mesa Falls

On top of lower Mesa FallsWaiting for the crazy guy to kayak down the falls

MONOPOLY

Nate and I had an ongoing game of Monopoly for a couple of days. He pretty much didn't stand a chance as I ended up buying almost everything. After Nate mortgaged off most of his property, he decided we should stop before I ended up taking all of the money.

I didn't realize how fun Monopoly really was!

LaSt BuT NOt LEaSt...

Nate's First BRAVES Game

Since the Braves were playing in Denver last weekend, Nate just had to go see them since they are his favorite team. Although they ended up losing, it was a pretty awesome game with great seats. We're glad Nate's dream finally came true!

ReSt of 2010 SuMmER HiGhliGhTs

August: Crazy Traveling

In August we enjoyed a lot of trips before I had to go back to work. First I flew to California to visit my brother and his family (including my brand new nephew), next Nate and I went to Bear Lake with Trev and Shan which included watching a play at the Pickleville Playhouse, and finally we made a road trip out to Denver to see my other brother and his family. It's been quite the summer of fun!

At Lego Land with my newphew Blaine Cute nephews Blaine and Ty

Outside the Pickleville PlayhouseWaiting for the play to startPlaying-dress up and doing make-up in Denver with my cute niece Paige

Without Further Ado (he he)

Hello to all you blog checkers out there! This is a test. A test I hope that you will be able to be a part of with me. A test to see how long Mr. Atlanta Braves gnome can remain on this site before Kayla plucks the poor little guy from his blog paradise. Speaking of which, did I mention Kayla and I are going to my first Braves game ever?!! Bless it be!!!!

MoRe SuMmeR FuN 2010 HiGhLiGhTs

July: Surgery & Blue Angels

While playing basketball, Nate tore his ACL and had surgery the end of July. Luckily he has been recovering very quickly.

Pre-Surgery: Very Excited and Ready to Go!
Post Surgery: Getting Bored

The Blue Angels also came into town and we were able to watch them from our front yard since we live right by the airport. This is my favorite clip because it shows what kind of neighbors we have enjoying the show from their roof. (Pay close attention to the end of the video).

SuMmeR FuN 2010 HiGhLiGhTs

June: Trip to Haiti

Nate and I had the most amazing experience spending a week in Haiti. We were privileged to go with the Haitian Roots group. Nate interpreted (he was a life-saver!) and I implemented a couple of counseling groups to children and adolescents dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake. It was an unbelievable experience. But when all was said and done, we just enjoyed loving and playing with the children at the orphanages. We couldn't get enough!!

Pictures definitely don't captivate the experience, but here is just a taste...

A glimpse into the amount of destruction from the earthquake in

Port-Au-Prince

The New Life Children's Home: The Orphanage which we stayed for the week

A cute little boy with Encephalitis at New Life Children's Home

One of the many "Tap Tap's" (local taxi's) which we rode in daily

Nate and David with the local missionaries (the middle one is the Mission President)

Playing some basketball with the locals

Nate and Kendy singing songs in Creole

Nate and Maranatha

Kayla and a little girl at the New Life Children's Home

One of the many tent cities after the earthquake

Brothers waving on the side of the road standing outside of their house

Holding and loving the children at one of the nightly devotionals

Haiti was a life-changing experience and it was very difficult to leave. We both definitely have a new perspective on life. We hope we can return again soon!!