Oh no! Christmas is Coming!

Christmas only 8 days away and I'm far from ready. I still have gifts to buy. I least I don't have anything I have to ship. I think it will all work out though. Unfortunately I don't think I'll get to those Christmas cards. Hmm. We've got three Christmas trees up, but only one of them is decorated. It happens to be one that was at the Festival of Trees. No one had purchased it, so my mom did after the fact. We think she got a good deal on it.
Now if we can only get those other trees looking a little less plain.

Thanksgiving and such

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. My sister was here from Texas and my brother came up from St. George. Raymond's sister was also here from Colorado. It was great to see everyone. On the Wednesday before, we had our annual pie day with the Crane Clan. The kids all get to make there own mini pie. Samuel had pumpkin, Ammon had apple, and Gideon had chocolate cream. Thanksgiving was fabulous of course. I love all the foods associated with Thanksgiving!
This week has been a little unusual. Yesterday Raymond's company announced they would be closing their doors on Wednesday. So we are preparing for a new chapter in our lives. It's going to be an interesting ride.

War

On Saturday we were still in Heber. That morning we got to hang out at the lake. We got life jackets on all the kids and paddled out in a canoe. Samuel liked it when we rammed everyone. Gideon liked looking around and Ammon liked putting his hands in the water. Janet liked the nap she took. On our way back to camp we started throwing water from our water bottles at each other. It was fun and a great way to cool off.
After we got camp cleaned up and headed back to West Jordan. The kids played on the water slide some more in the afternoon. After dinner we set up an obstacle course for the kids using chocolate pudding. Wow - the kids got messy - but they also had a ton of fun. I was amazed at how quickley we got everyone through the shower and bath afterwards.

Independence Day

On Friday the 4th we drove up to the church's camp in Heber. The cabins there are really nice. We got to do the Challenge Course with the zip line. Raymond, Jamie, and Samuel all got to do the zipline. We are so glad Samuel got the chance to do it and he did great! We was a little scared to walk across the log so high in the air, but he did it! Later that day we had a sing along and Raymond played his guitar. After we had smores and played cards.

Crane Family Reunion - Thursday

Raymond's family reunion started on Thursday the 3rd. We went up the canyon and had pictures taken. This was the first time since 2000 that all of Raymond's sisters and their families were able to get together for a picture. Everyone was there except Craig's two older boys, Tony and Patrick. Tony is on a mission to Bolivia and Patrick was spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Smith. The kids have all been so excited to see each other. Raymond's parents were in charge this year and they got a big inflatable water slide. It was a great way to cool off.