Dueck's Roost

And to finish off October we have ...  Gettin' cozy for General Conference weekend. Fall sports with siblings;). End-of-season cross country party. Fantastic family home evening (FHE) lesson! Complete with yummy cupcakes. Our favorite new pastime! Nanci's first 5.11 completed!! And the kids' never-ending fixer upper. (they were determined to make this thing last!) Moving on!

Halloween 2016 was fun as always.  We had our annual pumpkin carving FHE, complete with creepy knife poses and orange Izze Jack-O-Lanterns (courtesy of Mae).  Attempting a family picture was not exactly a success, but it'll do. Of course, we had to post the final product!!  Amazingly, I don't think any got smashed or stolen this year.  And then came the night of the church Trunk-or-Treat.  Since I'm assuming it's not completely obvious, I'll list out the costumes ...  zombie, doll, sheriff, pirate, Where's Waldo people, and a 50s mobster.  Oh, and of course the pumpkin fairy. Can't forget her!! And now for fun times at the party! There were some pretty fun costumes this year. And all the favorite games. And activities. Time for a family picture.  Pass out some candy (grandpa happened to be in town which was great!) And home to sort it out and get more cavities. Yeah.

While we were away on our trip, Mae turned the big 12!! Fortunately, she had wonderful friends and family at home to make it special. Heidi was so sweet, and had the kitchen decorated when Mae woke up for school in the morning. M's favorite cereal and some small gifts were waiting for her on the table. And after school Heidi and Abbie took Mae to her favorite restaurant (Tokyo Steakhouse) for a b-day dinner!!  Also that day, Mae's thoughtful YW (youth) group came over to heart-attach her room as a nice surprise and welcome! B-day fun! Once we were back in town, we had a family party with some of Mae's favorite treats.  And of course some special gifts! She was in the process of re-decorating her room, so most of her gifts were for that. In addition to room decor, she got some thoughtful prizes from cousins as well.  Love you Mae girl!! You are A-MAE-ZING!!;)

Just a couple of days after Kevin's big exciting over-the hill b-day, we flew off to Orlando for a week of sun, fun, relaxation, and some innovative instruction (for K at least) at the Gartner Symposium ITXPO.  It was nice to get away together! And enjoy some cool Gartner events, like a private evening at Universal Orlando. Where we were welcomed by all kinds of delicious food at a pre-opening party. Scored some seriously reduced wait times at the Harry Potter World (and other rides/attractions). And, just before the evening was finished, got a glimpse of some of our kids', and our own, favorite childhood figures. While Kevin was enjoying his conference during the day, I got to do one of my absolute favorite things in the world!! Read outside by the pool in the warm sunshine. Okay, I did exercise and work a bit as well, but being poolside was definitely the best part!! We were lucky enough to have an amazing mom-replacement at home wi...

Okay, so it's official. After talking about "basically" and "almost" being 40 for the last 5 or so years, this guy finally turned the big 4-0 in October 2016!! We were able to celebrate him with some yummy food and a few fun prizes. If I remember right, his big exciting gift was the Apple Watch which is probably still one of his favorite things!  We were all happy to celebrate the hard-working, passionate, mountain-loving, God-respecting, basketball-playing, loyal, devoted, and sometimes goofy father of our home.  Love ya, Hon:-).