Thanksgiving in Utah

With Erin being at BYU, we decided that we would go to her for Thanksgiving.  It ended up being a bonus to see the Reid family who were there visiting the other side of their family.

Erin with Aunt Tiffany and sweet Natalie outside Erin's dorm apartment.

Boys aren't allowed in the girls dorm rooms, so all the men and boys sat in the lobby and waited for us girls.

Parker broke the rules and went lounged on Erin's bed (he thought it was soooo comfortable - thanks to the memory foam topper). 

We ate at one of our favorite places for lunch - The Italian Place.  No trip to Utah is complete without a visit - or two!

We went to a BYU basketball game with the Reids - so fun!  

Food plays a big part in our Utah trips - we dinner at another favorite - Cafe Rio

The other Chases arrived in time for Thanksgiving and we made a crafty dessert - Shannon especially had fun making the oreo turkeys.

It was so great being with the whole Chase family for the Thanksgiving holiday - it might be the last one we have all together for years since Brandon will leave on his mission soon.

Cross Country

I've never been a runner - but I always have wished I was.  Therefore, I was shocked when Parker told me that he wanted to run cross country for the middle school.  They only run 2 miles, but that's more than I can run without stopping - so I think that's pretty impressive for 12 year olds.  The teachers organized some practice runs, and then the students got to skip a whole day of school to go to the meet (where there were hundreds of middle schoolers from all over the valley).  

The week before the race, Parker had terrible pains in his heals - so we got some inserts and hoped for the best.  He was able to run the first little while without too much pain, but had to go slower the second half because of the pain.  I was so proud of him for sticking it out and running as hard as he could.  We learned a lot through the process and are looking forward to next year's race!

I couldn't believe the kids had so much energy after the race - they were out running around playing football.

A surprise visit from Erin

One afternoon after a long day at work, I came home to an empty house, went upstairs to our office, and started catching up on a few loose ends.  A few minutes later, I turned around and Erin was standing inside the doorway!  I was shocked!! In fact, I think I jumped because I was so startled.  Erin had decided to fly home for the weekend and had made all the arrangements so that she could surprise us at home.  What a great surprise it was!  The only bummer was having Rick away in Palm Springs at a conference (Erin wouldn't let me tell him she was here - she wanted to see the surprise on his face the next evening).

With just a couple of days to spend together, we made the most of every day.  Erin visited all her close friends, we did some shopping, and ate at some of her favorite places.  

Morning Announcements

Parker decided to follow is his sister's footsteps and apply to be in the Morning Announcements class at school.  The students in the class run an announcement each morning completely on their own.  They learn so many skills that will help them in the future.  

One morning when Parker was scheduled to anchor, much to his dismay, I decided to show up and watch the production.  It is always a bit stressful during the practice runs, but in the end, the production went great!

The principal decided to come by with some of her own announcements.

The Getty Villa

As my children get older, there are less opportunities to help out with school activities.  So when I was asked to chaperone a field trip to the Getty Villa, I jumped at the chance.  It was a wonderful experience - minus a really long bus ride full of high school students.  The Getty Villa was BEAUTIFUL!! Thank you Bryant for wanting your mother to spend the day with you and your friends in Malibu.