time flies: September 2011

Cole's Priest Ordination

Cole is now a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood.

He's had the opportunity of fulfilling some of his priesthood duties as a priest

including blessing the sacrament.

I'm so grateful that he is making good choices in his life and is worthy to advance in the priesthood.

Our family is blessed to have the priesthood in our home!

Love you Cole.

Pioneer Extravaganza

Another reason I love living in Provo...

The city totally celebrates Pioneer Day!

We don't just have a picnic,

we have a Pioneer Day Extravaganza!

There was all kinds of activities for the family -- all free!

They had crafts for the kids.

Emma made a pioneer bonnet and Max made a mustache.

So cute!

Max and Elisabeth went to the petting zoo while I stayed out with Emma.

Emma and animals don't mix well.

They got to meet Miss Provo...

They spent some time in jail...

Got their face painted...

Made a rag doll...

Max threw some tomahawks.

We made bees wax candles.

We visited the Pioneer Village and listened to some pioneer singers.

It was awesome!

Pie-oneer Cook-off

Have I ever mentioned how incredible Elisabeth is?

Not only is she a talented teacher, dancer, violinist, and just all-around awesome person

she also bakes.

Not just bakes, but she bakes pies!

Not just any pies, but AMAZING pies!

She wanted to enter the Pie-oneer Cook-off pie baking contest for

the Provo City Pioneer Extravaganza

so she did!

She spent a couple weeks before mastering her Shaker Lemon Pie.

Everything was done by scratch.

Can I just say

DELICIOUS!

She didn't win this one (I think because it wasn't a typical "pioneer" pie like apple or cherry because honest and truly it was AMAZING!) but she had a really great experience giving it a try.

I'm so proud of her!

She said about her experience,

"I may not have won but the Mayor of Provo and the chef at Communal tasted my pie!

How sweet is that!"

That's my girl. :)

We Finally Did It!

For years now, we've been debating on what color to paint our walls.

We decided on yellow.

I grew up with yellow walls and I loved it.

Once we decided on yellow, we had to choose the right shade (which was quite the ordeal!)

Do you know how many shades of yellow there are?

We went with a butter yellow and we

LOVE IT!

It's warm and bright and happy all at the same time.

It really ties all our furniture together.

We aren't 100% finished (we're going to paint the ceiling white and add painted white moulding around the windows) but it's a definite improvement!

She wanted me to take her picture in front of the new yellow walls.

I think she likes it too! :)

A Day at the Park

We went to Bicentennial Park one summer day with Ross and Kate.

The kids had a blast (even when we had a freak rain storm)!

Yeah, it was a fun day!

Max's 5th Grade Awards Night

The night of Scott's graduation was also Max's 5th grade awards night.

Max was fortunate to have Mr. Z (also known as Jason Zimmerman) as his teacher.

Mr. Z was Elisabeth's 6th grade P.E. teacher, Jake's 6th grade teacher, Scott's 6th grade teacher, Cole's 6th grade teacher, and Max's 5th grade teacher.

It's not often that pretty much a whole family can be blessed to have such an amazing teacher!

Even when they changed the school boundaries and we went to the new school, Mr. Z ended up at our new school also.

Mr. Z is one of those teachers that leaves a lasting impression on his students. He has a way with his students and they learn valuable skills -- more than just the what's on the curriculum. I really believe that my older boys have done so well in school because of skills that Mr. Z has taught them.

Thanks to Mr. Z for being so amazing!

Max worked really hard in 5th grade and improved greatly during the year.

We were so proud of his achievements this year and know that he'll continue to work hard in the 6th grade.

Max is such a great kid!

He was asked to be the captain of the track team because of his leadership skills. He took it very seriously and did a great job encouraging his teammates. Max is very likable. And so dang cute! (Even with a buzzed head.)

Mr. Z and Max

Scott, Mr. Z, Jake, Cole (with a really dorky haircut. Sorry Cole!), and Max in front.

Pioneer Day 2011 -- AKA Dote Over the New Cousin Day!

We went to Cristina and Jonathan's for a family party to celebrate Pioneer Day.

It was the first time the kids got to meet their new cousin, Blythe and they couldn't get enough of her sweetness!

Cole held her FOREVER.

Ruby and Emma

Awww! Beth holding Cole, holding Blythe.

The eldest and youngest cousins.

Emma was in HEAVEN!

All the Houghton Ladies
(and we didn't even plan this picture!)

Just Dance

1 Wii console + 1 Just Dance video game + 4 hilarious kids =

Hours of Crazy Fun!

Scott the Elder

Scott was ordained an elder the day he left for college.

It was a good day but kind of a sad one too.

Scott has prepared himself and done everything he needed to receive the

Melchizedek Priesthood. He is now an Elder and working to prepare himself for his mission.

It's hard to believe sometimes that he is grown.

He's an Elder and he's off to college.

Time truly does fly.

It was so good to have the whole family there to support Scott.
Is it just me or does it look like Lee and I are standing in a hole? :)

Our handsome new Elder.

Grammy, Scott, and Papa Peterson

Nanny, Scott, and Papa Houghton

front: Papa Houghton, Nanny, Scott, Emma, Max, Sam, Ethan
2nd row: Aunt Beth, Uncle Dave, Lee, Cari, Beth, Savannah, Aunt Cristina, Uncle Jonathan, baby Blythe
3rd row: Jake, Cole, Ruby, Uncle John, Aunt Mary