So... even though it was crazy cold yesterday, we went out for ice cream (twice). First time Emily and Owen went to Baskin Robbins on a date. Second time Emily took the girls to Menchie's to celebrate their awesome report cards:
I wanted to just get him a cheap cone at McDonald's, but he said he wanted chocolate ice cream. So I sprang for the good stuff, where I knew there'd be plenty of choices to choose from. They had something like 32 flavors on hand, and guess what he chose... Vanilla. I told him "No way" (vanilla?) and got him chocolate instead.
Fro Yo at Menchie's
Can I brag a little? Liz took a standardized test at the beginning of the year, and she placed in the 98th percentile nationally for reading (4th grade reading level) and in the 99th percentile for math. Heidi has already mastered all of the state standards for her grade level, and it's only the first quarter. They are little smarty pantses.
At Mrs. Sims's trunk (She was giving out Halloween tattoos). It was really windy, so Heidi's witch hat wouldn't stay on.
Lizzie's face is my favorite. She was miserable. The temps were in the 50s and it was really windy, so everyone was freezing. We didn't last very long.
Owen wanted to give H-E-Buddy a high five. He was fascinated and wouldn't look at the camera, but at least you can see his costume. (He wouldn't wear it for the Trunk or Treat last week.)
Owen had a rough night. He has a construction worker costume, but he didn't want to wear it. He spent about three-fourths of dinner rolled up in a ball on the floor wailing because he didn't like the pants I picked out for him.
Our stake has a tradition of working with the Austin ISD school board to choose a campus in need of revitalizing, and then we spend a Saturday morning fixing it up. (Last year our stake had about 800 volunteers come out; I think this year it was closer to 550.) There were about a dozen projects going on, but we helped clean up the track. It was completely overgrown with weeds, so we spent 2+ hours digging up weeds and smoothing out the gravel. It was a huge makeover.
Some of the other projects were planting wildflowers (the girls helped with that), painting a mural in the gym, freshening up the teachers' lounge, landscaping, creating a garden, organizing books and other materials, cleaning, etc. The stake also collected a whole bunch of donations that the school was in need of (gift cards for uniforms, school supplies, etc.). It was a good service project.
I went to Utah to attend Grandpa Hadley's funeral. I didn't take many pictures surrounding the funeral services, but I snapped a few at the graveside because I was really touched by the military funeral honors:
These pictures of the Doug and Diane Ellsworth family were taken after the funeral luncheon, along with Uncle Bert and Aunt Gay (center), who came from Mississippi to attend the services:
After the funeral we hiked Ensign Peak:
Twinners!
(Great view! And this is only partway up the mountain. You can kind of see Al, Nor, and Anna in the bottom left corner there.)
From the top
You can see the State Capitol in between me and Nori. We're blocking Temple Square, I think.
These pictures are out of order, but before the funeral services, we drove to Ogden Canyon to see the beautiful fall colors. We snapped a few quick pictures at the newly renovated (well, in 2014) Ogden Temple since it was on the way. (I got to do a session there with Mom and Dad the day before.) :)
I wasn't particularly bright and didn't bring a jacket with me on my trip. (In my defense, it's still really hot in Texas.) Al was a champ and let me wear hers all weekend long since she was a smartie and packed two.
And this last group of pictures we took on Friday night. It was BYU's homecoming, so we wanted to go watch the football game. We started out at Chili's, where we ordered four waters and a pizookie to share, and then someone in our party came up with the brilliant idea to go bar hopping. After Chili's we ordered four waters and a molten lava cake at Applebee's, then we got (you guessed it) four waters and cheesecake bites at Buffalo Wild Wings. (Chili's and Applebee's had better food and service, but B-Dubs had the best TVs, in case you were wondering. Also in case you were wondering,... If you want to sit at the bar, be sure to bring your ID.) It was a memorable evening. P.S. BYU lost to Boise State big time.
Next night we got half-priced pastries from Kneaders (tarts and domes). Yum!
