Katie's been transferred to Charenstavan

..on December 20th. She's gone from the warmest place in the summer, to the coldest place in the winters. Check out the new slide show on the side bar. These pictures were actually taken while serving in Ararat and taking a trip on p-day to the touristy part of Armenia

Carson's First Birthday

Happy Birthday dear Carson!


He wasn't sure about eating the cupcake, but had fun playing with it!

a Fun Toy from Grandma and Grandpa Crockett

I don't think that Carson knew what was going on, but we sure had fun.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Carson watching Mommy from the window

It's here whether I like it or not, so why not enjoy it. It was perfect White Christmas weather, not to mention building snow forts. David, Melanie, and Ben spent a couple of hours creating an igloo. Richard helped stamp it down with his snowboard, I couldn't get the camera out quick enough to get him in action. David slept, well, tried sleeping in the igloo Monday night. Let's just say it was a long, cold night.

Katie has a new companion

Sister Davis is from Hawaii and fresh from the MTC. She had a little of a delay as she had pneumonia and spent some time in the hospital healing, but she is is Armenia and healthy!

Thanksgiving!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Vance's parents, Aunt, and sisters. It was a delightful time at the church and many hands make a light work load. I felt like I hardly did a thing and enjoyed the day immensely.

Vance tried out a new turkey recipe that involved kosher salt mixed with the fresh herbs sage and thyme. He basted, babied, and baked the bird and it was tasty!

Here was Jenn's part of the assignment, delicious homemade, hot rolls. YUM!

Can anyone gues her favorite food?

My favorite part of the day was not the dinner. Believe or not it was the clean up. David, Richard and Ben were working machines washing, drying, and putting away the dishes, while Jenn, Trudena, Laura, and I cleared and put away as quick as we could. David mopped the floor as we left.

Now our Thanksgiving holiday is never complete until the Christmas decorations are up. True to form, we had the house decorated inside and and out. Jenn was the decorator and Ben the Christmas chairman.

Video Clips from Armenia

Sister Fager sent a some video clips from Armenia, these 2 were my favorites.

Catching a Chicken

Armenian Baking

FALL TIME

Fall has been absolutely beautiful here. Pictured is the 2-year old red maple in our front yard.

Monday for FHE we carved our traditional jack-0-lanterns. We tried a u-pick place, but the pumpkins were green and moldy, so we headed to Albertsons and bought pumpkins for $4.99 each. Vance and I teamed up on a witch pumpkin, Richard and Jenn carved. David and Ben did their own creation.

Jenn and Richard helped with a church trunk or treat and dressed up as tigers (costumes Richard's mom made). David helped decorate the trunk and dressed up as "Monte the Tiger Tamer" and made a whimpy whip to keep the tigers under control. We had more trick or treaters than normal, perhaps it was because of the mild weather. It has been a beautiful fall.

State Tournament

We had a fun four days in Boise watching Ben play soccer. We stayed with my parents and it is always wonderful to be with them. They are always so gracious to put up with our comings and goings. I don't think soccer is their favorite sport, but I thought it was nice they came inspite of their aches and pain

The first game was against Timberline. It was the first time IF had faced an organized attack and the first time playing on turf rather than grass. Turf creates a faster game and a bouncier ball. They beat us 2-0, but I think if we played them a second time we would win. However the first round loss put us in the Consolation bracket. The boys were disappointed and bothered by their second loss of the season.

The second game, an elimination game was against Eagle. IF came out and scored a quick goal and that deflated Eagle. We beat them 2-0. It was their best game of the season. Interestingly Eagle beat Timberline twice during the regular season.

The consolation championship was against Coeurd'Alene, the other team we lost too in the season. It was a hard fought battle, but IF won 2-1. Northern Idaho teams have a tendency to be very physical and that proved true in this game.

Two of Ben's jobs as right defender is to throw the ball in from the sideline when the ball is bumped out and to take the kicks the clears the ball into the offensive half.



David was the got some nice actions pictures of the games. It is really quite hard to get good shots. Here he is with his coat of many colors. It was a bit cool for the 9:30 games, but warmed up beautifully by the end of the game

It was most fun having Jenn and Richard with us to enjoy the games. They were most supportive and excited for the games.

GOING TO STATE!

Ben's soccer team qualified for the State Tournament in Boise this next week. It is a double treat for us since mom and dad live there and we can see them. The tigers ended up 14-1-2 for the regular season. The final qualifying game was one of the most intense games I've experienced in quite a while. They finally beat Skyline 1-0 by scoring a much needed goal with only 10 minutes left.

Clearing the ball.

Incoming header

Throwing the ball in bounds.

The defense was not going to let the ball get behind them, all three are trying to get the header.

Getting tangled up.

Cool jackets!

Accapella Choir Concert Last Night...

...was fabulous, both the boys and girls sections were split into 4 singing parts each; now I have to figure out how to tranfer the video to the computer so you can enjoy it too, but meanwhile isn't Ben handsome in his tux!

From almost Empty to Full

So the adjustment to almost an empty nest for me is relieved for a few months: Jenn and Richard moved here last week, while Richard tries to find employment. Richard came in last Tuesday afternoon and Jenn followed Thursday night as she had to finish up at a job in Boise. She is working part-time for Vance at Rosetta. Richard is tapping into all resources looking for a job, plus he is helping me explore ideas on how to get my Diet Manual online. There is much more to that process than I thought.

(Looking at this picture reminds me that Jenn and Richard were engaged 1 year ago on October 19th.)

David came home from Provo last night while he finishes the mission paper process and earns a little money in the meantime. I do enjoy having my children home and will treasure the moments as I know it will not last long.