Everyone needs a fort!

I know it isn't much to look at, but my kids are very proud of this fort and spend HOURS here.  It is built of old rabbit hutches, leftover plywood, wood from the wood pile and the ever handy ladder!  It was so enjoyable for them to build it.  The ironic thing is that we have a beautiful playhouse for them!  I know there is joy in constructing and creating things.  Way to go kids!

Aaron's first shave

Yes, he is only 13!  But his peach fuzz has begun to fill out and grown darker.  He was looking scruffy.  Dad said "The time has come Aaron!"  (can you see Jimmy in the corner of the mirror?)  Aaron's voice has also deepened.  If you didn't know him, you would think he was 15-16 years old.  So cute! I mean er...mature!

Colorguard

Skylar Johnson, Becca and Lindsay Farnsworth, TIERRA!

There are actually more in the group but Torrie Lopez was homecoming queen, and Brianna & Brityn Ballard were with the tennis floats.  Brooklan Chant is the 3rd from the left.

Our high school has been a marching band.  This year they have included a color guard (the flags shown above.)  And Miss Tierra has joined the colorguard.  She loves it.  One way to tell is that she actually practices on her own at home.  And she mistakes songs playing in our home for the songs that they perform too! hehe!  Not sure how she got the Thumbalina song to sound like Bad Medicine...but she did!  Colorguard takes a lot of practice.  But she loves the group that she works with and she loves her coaches.  It helps that they are all of the same faith.  We are so proud that she is involved!  Sorry, no pictures of her playing tennis!

Hiking

Trying to get everyone plus the arch.

Whytney, Jimmy, Jameson, Arthur, and Aaron under the arch

We dub thee "Hawks Arch"!  hehe!

We love to hike!  Today we hiked to Corona Arch.  One of the benefits of homeschooling is that we can have a field trip whenever we want!  This hike is close to Jimmy's work, so we met him on his way home and had a lovely hike.  Jimmy's work encourages us to be healthy and so their new program is a series of hikes.  YAY!  We love hiking.

Birthday traditions

I love having family so close, especially during fun occasions like birthdays.  Grandpa and Grandma Hawks always take the children out to lunch (thus the cup).  And Grandma Secrest always take them to the store to purchase whatever they want (remote control truck with trailer).  Arthur called Grandma Secrest around 10 am to see when they could go shopping.  Grandma was available at 1pm.  As you can imagine, those 3 hours were an incredibly long wait!

Walking Sticks

We have the best scouting program.  Martin Hamaker comes up with fun, creative ideas that the kids love doing.  This time at pack meeting they made walking sticks (pvc pipe, colorful duct tape, and end pieces).  So Aaron has a dragon stick, Whytney is hello kitty, Jameson has zebra stripes and Arthur's stick is a leopard.  We have found that they also work really well as ninja sticks!

At the Farnsworth Ranch

We think visiting the Farnsworth's ranch is an adventure.  We are fortunate that they let us pick their fruit.  We love their honeycrisp apples.  Every year, we make a trip to pick apples, plums, and pears.  Somehow we come home with corn, onions, and squash too!  This picture is about 1/4 of the produce we bring home.  The fruit will keep for most of the winter in our basement.  YUMMY!  We also enjoy the fall colors in the mountains, and of course, spending time as a family and with the Farnsworths.